After forty plus years of my life, there is only one physical activity that I stuck with to stay healthy, and that is Yoga! I wished I had started this long time ago, but I never thought a person as physically inflexible as I am, could do yoga.
When people say yoga, what I see in my mind is a person with his/her arms and feet all twisted around his body :-) I couldn't even bend and reach the floor with my fingers! And now that I'm older, I'm even more inflexible.
And then there's that chanting during meditation. Admittedly, when I was young, for some reason I thought all these chanting was against my religion, me being a Christian. Pardon my ignorance! And even when I realized later on as I grew up, that this is very similar to our spiritual reflections, I couldn't find myself to rid of the distractions that go on in my mind, and thus I fail to really get anything out of it.
So I never really explored it at all, then one day I read this article about yoga sessions for those people with no flexibility and I got curious! I also realized that I'm getting older, and that I really need to take care of my health. So I finally took and survived my first step: attend a trial class!
As I stepped into the yoga studio, I immediately liked the environment, it was simple and refreshingly minimal with nothing of the sorts that I associate yoga with, like incense, dark walls, etc. LOL. And here, even no mirrors to distract you!
Our instructors were great. I loved how they used words to really explain each and every movement and adjustment in a way that even without looking at them, I can follow along. I was amazed at myself. Although I easily got tired compared to the rest of the class, I was able to follow along and do the poses. What I realized is that all along, I was doing my bends incorrectly. "Bend from your pelvis, and not your back" was the tip from the instructor. No wonder I could never reach my toes! Just after a few practices, I can now put my palm on the floor while doing a forward bend with straight legs :-) What I like most about the class was that the instructors kept on reminding us that this is not a competition and that we need to be honest with our bodies and it is alright to follow our own pace. And on some days, we are more flexible than other days. So the focus was always on ourselves and our body. What a perfect deal: exercising, yet in a relaxing environment! Today, physically, I can do most of the basic poses except for a few arm binds. I swear my arms are still too short! LOL. But I have a more toned body, despite needing to burn some more belly fat :-) And my balance has definitely improved.
The absence of mirror was another brilliant idea. Because there were no mirrors, we were not distracted. Instead, we are forced to quiet ourselves down and learn how to drown out unnecessary distractions, so that we can concentrate on listening to the instructions. This was really good training for our minds, not just for the session, but for my everyday activity. Today, I can easily keep distractions away, whether it's a work activity where I can need the utmost focus or even during my own informal reflections.
I still can't stand on my head nor twist my arms and legs around my body, but that isn't the only thing yoga is about :-)
From the very first day I tried yoga, I just fell in love with it. Somehow, I feel refreshed in mind and body after every session, no matter how difficult the practice was for that day. I've been doing this for the past 8 months now and I'm still loving it.
Namaste!
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