Yoga

With all the cold rain we'd been having, I simply wasn't motivated to walk. In the past, I didn't mind walking in the rain, but since we went skiing I never could seem to warm up.

So I decided to do something I hadn't done in a couple of years--I went to the gym.

Actually, our fitness facility is very nice, with rooms to take various classes or lift weights, or do zumba, or simply work out on equipment. It used to be an old grocery store, so it's very open. The one thing I don't like about it are the fluorescent lights. There's something about them that bothers my eyes. Anyway, I knew I didn't want to simply walk on the treadmill, so I looked at their class schedule. There are all sorts of classes one could take, from seriously intensive to easier on the body.

I found a yoga class that timed well with my schedule.

My only experience with yoga--despite a yoga DVD I own and never played--is from the Wii Fit. The Wii Fit yoga leaves a lot to be desired. Oh, it helps you learn the name of the pose and how to balance the pose, but there is zero flow from one pose to the next. And there is a ton of time wasted between poses to see how you did, click on the next move, click past the 'instructional' part of the pose until you get to the actual exercise.

Well, this tiny bit of knowledge was helpful in my first yoga class.

It was a small group, only six of us and the instructor slowly went through a series of moves, holding each one for a period of time before going to the next one.

It was good in the sense that my back snap, crackled and popped and I felt freer in my normal movements . . . until the next night when my abs started screaming at me.

Wow! Who knew?

And then I took another yoga class on Friday morning, different instructor, larger group, different poses, and different muscles are now screaming at me. Though I have to admit my Wii knowledge has helped me in this learning phase.

I like it. It has zero impact and I don't feel like I need to kill myself to 'keep up with the instructor', though I did a pretty good job nailing the poses. Except one. It was an extension of the warrior pose. The feet are the same way, but the hands are palm together behind my back with a slight twist of the shoulders . . .  ye-owch! I'm flexible, but obviously not in my shoulders!

I'll still walk, but yoga is a nice addition to the routine. I'm glad I decided to try it out . . . even though it doesn't add any WW activity points to my day.

Later, Peeps!