In part following on from my
previous blog (reassessing priorities, self-improvement and generally beating yourself
up for not yet becoming the 30-something your 20-something-self had foreseen!) …
I’ve taken up yoga!
My motives are
primarily to keep a check on health of body & mind, conquer stress management,
improve physical fitness and to have a little time for just me. As a child I favoured sports that required
strength, suppleness and coordination rather than speed or stamina. Years of dance, martial arts and gymnastics
have left me with reasonably natural flexibility - the pre-middle age spread hides
it well but essentially yoga is a sport I know I have a fighting chance with
both mentally and physically.
So without further ado, I
enrolled in a full day’s workshop on Saturday with Yoga Manchester. Their approach is relaxed and none-spiritual (which
was an instant hit with my good friend Ignorance). I’ve googled bits of Sanskrit & loosely read up on the theology but I’m only really in
it for the physical practise. We completely
broke down and worked through the primary series; Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskara A and B), triangle poses, seated, standing,
vinyasa’s and towards the end hit the shoulder stands and crabs. It took over six hours to cover the lot in
great detail. I had wildly
underestimated the variety of basic content.
Sunday was achy but not
unbearable and I had an overwhelming sense of not wanting to fail before I’d
started - even by the end of the workshop I was able to stretch further than I’ve
been able to in ten years and I realise that perseverance/confidence play their
part in equal measures. So I hopped
along to the Monday level 1 class which took place in an old empty church,
wonderfully atmospheric with yoga mats weaving between tall pillars, incense
burning and the evening sun setting through floodlit stained glass windows. A very structured steady approach to class
meant that by the end of Monday’s session I had progressed shoulder stands to extended
legs beyond head and resting on the floor, joyfully suffocating in my own ample
bosom. Needless to say I felt pretty
accomplished after one class!
I've been again to class this evening (Thurs) - basically just trying
them out and see which nights I prefer and establish the routine. Tonight was a different teacher and venue, twice the temperature and
twice the pace. I’m not sure I fit all the
moves in and certainly didn’t have good technique with dripping hair and soggy/slippy
mat, but am trying not to be put off by this (or the fact I can’t lift my own body
weight, flip my leg casually round my neck or stand on my head!) It’s probably a good strategy to pick one
comfortable class and one that’s beyond me each week for the sake of inspiration
& improvement. There
were some amazingly stretchy people in tonight’s class - I imagine my muscle
memory would reverse with less than twice weekly sessions.
Finally, my favourite part of the
experience so far is the relaxation at the end of each class - it reminds me of tiny tots' nap time on the mats at nursery. We all zonk out on our mat listening to delicate (hippy!) music and the teacher
randomly applies pressure to shoulders/feet, or massages your head and rocks
your torso. It’s been without doubt the highlight
of my week to lie heavily and anticipate the attack of head-to-toe tingles. Bliss!
