Candlelight Yin

Yoga. More Yoga. More Candlelight Yoga.

Last night's class was Candlelight Yin. 90 minutes of streeeeeeeeeeeeeeetching, not the muscles but the connective tissues. Interesting.

The room is warm and the lights are very low, dusky. It is a comfortable place to be, laying on the floor, breathing slowly in and out, letting every muscle relax and your body sink into the mat. Each pose is held for 3-10 minutes - an excuse to lay on the floor and do nothing. Yet doing something.

Month of Yoga

You may be asking what Yoga has to do with bike riding. Well, I'm glad you asked (and I'm sure you are too)!

For me, Yoga is a new adventure. Something that I don't know a lot about so I am learning as I go. The way that it is tied into cycling is that it is something different from the regular workouts that I do. Another way to improve my strength & flexibility but also a way to give my body a break from the TRX, cycling, and strength training that I've been participating in for the past 11 months. Wow! Has it been that long?  

Of course, after the Month of Yoga (December), I'll need to figure out where I go from here; How I get back into bike training - What exercise programs are going to work for me. I have a feeling that it will include a mix of everything I have been doing with a sprinkling of Yoga. So far I've really enjoyed the relaxing nature of the candlelight classes and the challenge of Hot Yoga. 

Support me on this journey by donating to The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer - that is what I am training for after all. 

Am I a Pretzel?

Yoga.

Last night's adventure was Hot Yoga. 38C (100F) - No wonder it felt so darn HOT!!!

You may be wondering why there is so much Yoga going on these days. That Yoga Place offers a first-timers special - 30 days for $40, unlimited classes. So... yeah, I've got to try as many as will fit into my schedule in 30 days - within reason of course. :D

The class was listed as Hot Flow for "all levels". I was joined by Lorraine (who has done Yoga before) and it was great to see her last night! I'm beginning to think that I'll need to do some research on Yoga as I don't know/understand some of the "poses" that were done last night. It is a bit difficult when the instructor says "On the next breath, find Baby Cobra or Something-or-other Dog" and you don't know what that is! No, it wasn't Downward Facing Dog - something more like Up Dog (What's up, Dog?).

Hot flow is definitely more work/harder than Candlelight Yoga (which is meant to calm you at the end of the day) and I will be trying it again tomorrow night before deciding how much I like it or not. I mean, anything that uses a pose name like "Warrior" has got to be good, right?

Ah, and did I  mention that I was twisted up like a pretzel in this class? I guess I neglected to include that so here it is: Hot Flow Yoga includes some of the craziest pretzel twists I can imagine. Ready for this? Stand tall with your hands over your head. Lower your arms so that your hands are reaching for the ceiling but your elbows are bent out in front of you. Cross your right elbow under your left elbow and wrap your right arm in and around your left arm. Press both arms up towards the ceiling. Next, shift all of your weight to your right leg/foot, lift your left leg and wrap it over your right leg/knee and now SQUAT as though you are sitting in an invisible chair. Right, it is actually a NON-EXISTENT chair... Got that pose? Good, now hold it here. Don't move, don't fall over, just squat there. Are you doing it? Yeah? I can see you. No, don't laugh, that will make you fall over. Just breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Okay, good, now you can untwist.

I don't know what it is called so for now it is the "Be a Pretzel" pose. I can't do it... Yet.

Tonight's class - Candlelight Yin. More like the Candlelight Yoga class I tried on Monday. Stay tuned!

Candlelit Poses

Yoga.

What is Yoga? I tried Yoga and I'm still not sure what Yoga is. Yoga.

yoga

ˈjəʊgə

noun

noun: yoga

1.

a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation.

I visited That Yoga Place in Spruce Grove last night for my first ever full Yoga class. I've only had a 15 minute intro to Yoga so this was all new to me. The class I selected was Candlelight Yoga. The room was dimly lit with candles all around. Very relaxing, warm, and pretty. 

There was a lot of Downward Facing Dog. We've all heard of this pose in the movies, haven't we? My focus for the evening was "To learn something new". I did learn that I have very little balance standing on one leg  and the left is worse than the right. Something to work on. 

Picture this: Standing on your right foot, your left leg bent, knee out to the side, your left foot resting on your inner right thigh. Hands on your hips, or in "prayer" in front of you, or above your head. Now hold this position and don't fall over...

Next up, Hot Yoga