Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Yoga of the Tuesday

     I have stood up to my fear and spit in its eye. My fear, meanwhile, seems to be taking out its frustrations on my knees.
     It's sort of like a sweaty circle of life.
     A few posts ago, I wrote about stepping up my efforts at the gym. I'm happy to report I continue to progress. Elliptical, treadmill and weight machines all are integrated into my routine now.
     What's more, I've taken the utterly terrifying plunge into uncamouflaged group exercise with Bodyflow. As I've previously related, this Les Mills creation is described by my gym as:
 "A yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates workout that builds flexibility and strength, leaving you feeling centered and calm. Controlled breathing, concentration and a carefully structured series of stretches, moves and poses create a holistic workout that brings the body into a state of harmony and balance."

     After surviving two whole classes, I can't really comment on the harmony part. I can say with great certainty, however, that my balance utterly stinks.
     I can also say with great certainty, "Ow. ... Ow, ow, ow. Ow." I'm merely quoting my knees.
     Additionally, I have commented on Facebook that I am quite stunned I haven't spot welded to the floor.
     My mantra — aside from "Ow, ow, ow" and under-my-breath random cursing —is "It'll get better."
     And it will. Honestly, I was very pleasantly surprised to find I had begun to noticeably adapt in just two classes. I'm not kidding myself, I've got a long, long way to go, but I feel I can do it.
     The unfailingly pleasant instructor, Kay, who strongly reminds me of one of my favorite high school teachers, has been wonderful. She gave me a quick rundown of the process my first class and simply said, "Do what you can. Don't beat yourself up. You'll learn."
     The other folks in the class — it's a mix of ages — have been welcoming and encouraging as well. That's something I worried about, given some previous encounters with ultra-fit gym rats who look at fat old me as though I am something they just scraped off the bottom of their shoe. Thankfully, though, they are turning out to be the ones in the minority, and as I go forward, I'm learning to be less intimidated by them.
     I can't say I'm going to be totally free of my Simmophobia, though. I think I'll always be embarrassed/scared by the thought of falling on my face/butt/other extremities in public exercise situations. That, and, well, Richard Simmons is a little frightening.
     In the meantime, I'll just keep at the Bodyflow thing in addition to my other gym work. I'm getting to the point that I really like it, and I'd like to be more proficient at it.
     But I do have a suggestion. I stumbled across a meme recently that appealed to me very much as both a budding yoga fan and as a geek, and I think the gym might benefit if it adapts this into a real program. Surely I'm not the only sci-fi nerd out here who wants/needs to improve fitness-wise.
     Behold, Star Wars Yoga:


   

     The whole set of poses can be found here.
     Apparently there are SW yoga mats and bags available on Etsy, but I've not heard of this as a real class. ... Hmm, maybe that's my new million-dollar idea. Remember, you heard it here first.
     May the force be with us all.

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