Yoga: I Officially Apologize
July 7, 2008 by Kelly Turner
Filed under Fitness
Can I swear on here? Cause it’ll probably happen a lot….
The first time I took a yoga class, I wanted to walk out halfway through. A friend roped me into it, promising relaxation. It was free at my gym, so I figured, what the heck? Instead, I ended up upside down with one leg in the air, cranning my neck to see what the hell I was supposed to be doing next. My confusion must have been apparent, probably due to the fact I was the only one flailing and audibly grunting, because the instructor kept physically moving me into the proper position. This only led to my becoming increasingly more tense and angry.
Throughout the class, I peeked longingly out the door into the gym, where people were doing real workouts, on machines and with weights. I sucked it up, finished the class and vowed never to return.
Years later, (maybe 2?), after voicing my growing boredom with my current fitness routine, and incessant tightness in my hamstrings, and hearing the same response of “try yoga” over and over again, I decided to give it another shot.
I opted to avoid the florescent trap of my gym’s poke-happy instructor’s class, and bought Mr. Rodney Yee’s YogaBurn DVD.
Thanks to MizFit for sending me this link and forever ruining my image of this man. Guru my ass; predatory sounds more like it.
I popped in the DVD, pushed my coffee table out of the way, and scoffed and fidgeted my way through the first 10 minutes. I was about to turn it off, but thought I shelled out $15 for this, I might as well give it to the benefit of the doubt.
Eventually, it got harder and I found myself coming down from poses to shake out my burning arms or legs. I cursed Mr. Yee out loud for being able to perform these moves so easily and fluidly transfer from one pose to the next so effortlessly. He also had his toes spread apart like a monkey hand the entire time, which bothered me. Blech, feet.
I’m an ex-gymnast and still consider myself mildly graceful. However, I was stomping and transitioning with the grace of a lumberjack.
I started to get the hang of it, enjoying the burn of the static holds, and the releasing effect of the stretches.
I felt the tightness in my hamstrings begin to loosen as the routine went on. I felt both strong and graceful; aware yet relaxed. And his feet left me intrigued, yet repulsed.
When it came to the end, and I was in the morbidly named corpse pose, I relaxed to the point where I fell asleep. I woke up in a Rip Van Winkle-like state where my dog was licking my face and I had no idea what happened. I had to check my phone to see what day it was.
I was instantly hooked. The next day, I was sore in places I didn’t know I had, and I could not stop touting my new find, the adulterous Mr. Yee and his amazing thing called yoga.
After further searching, I have found, that unlike most people, I prefer to do yoga in my own home, where if I mess up or sneeze or let one rip, it doesn’t mess up anyone else’s juju. I have acquired quite the collection of DVDs and love every one as if it were my first born child.
Yoga has taught me that fitness is about more than how much weight you can lift or how long you can run. Its about being strong, limber, whole and connected to your body.
Moral of the story: yoga really is a workout (really!) and always do everything every one tells you to do. Then take credit for discovering it on your own. People like that.
Ah… yoga! I love it too. Although as a fellow ex-gymnast, I liked it because when I finally went to the gym to get back in shape it was the one place I already felt really comfortable knowing that despite being weak as a kitten at least I was still gumby:) I still love it though - nothing beats those chataranga pushups for shoulders!
As a runner and a lifelong tom boy, I too have kind of scoffed at yoga. All attempts have been awkward and lacking in giving me that feeling of having worked out.
I am intrigued and may purchase myself a DVD to give yoga another shot after reading this post.
or, is he the GURU OF PICKING UP THE BEST PIECES O’ASS in this classes?
who can say.
I’m intrigued now. I’ve been meaning to try yoga forever but its hard when there are so many more heart pumping activities out there begging for my attention. Although the last thing I need is another home workout DVD obsession, what beginner yoga DVD would you recommend?
CHARLOTTE- yeah, too bad my flexibilty is below average now because I didnt maintain it after i quit competing. and you know, my huge muscles get in the way.
SWEETS AND SWEATS- im more of a pratical yogi, i think. i dont get too into the whole connectiveness with the body and spirit and mind and tree people or whatever, but i like to focus on how it feels to work my muscles in ways they aren’t used to. Id say its worth a shot.
MIZFIT- psh, i could snap that girl in half. also i think its hilarious that they are so disfunctional that they cant even hold it together for an interview. you should be on your best behavior then. unless that is them at thier best, in which case ithink i heard his ex wife laughing all the way to the yoga empire bank.
KEYALUS- i think it depends on what you want. i dont know specifics or anything (thereare SO many DVds out there) but if yo uwant to really learn what yoga is all about and how to do it properly with respect and junk (notice my enthusiasm?) you should start with beginner. I knew i wouldnt like it unless it made me sweat and cry, so i got an advanced yoga burn DVD and havent gone down in intesity since then. look for words like power, advanced or burn in the title.
I’ve never been picky about where I work-out, but I am extremely picky about where I yoga.
I’ve been to so many yoga studios that were too dark, too cluttered, too competitive, etc. Some people that I know come away from yoga saying, “ugh, it just wasn’t for me.” This may be true, but sometimes I wonder if they’re in the right space, or have the right instructor.
Right now, I need a space that is clean, open, uncluttered. I’ve been practicing in my home because it offers what I require right now - I’m not good enough at clearing my mind of distractions when I’m surrounded by bells, wind chimes, wall-hangings, and figurines.
Also, Rodney Yee’s body is amazing.
I’d like to start Yoga as well. What DVD do you recommend?
Thanks!
ARTSCI- yeah 24 hour fitness isnt the best place to zen out. thats why i prefer my home- where i can just turn out all the lights, light some incense if i want, and be completely comfortable.
HUMAIRAH- i guess it depends on what you are looking for. you can check out my response to keyalus above- and there are also some that combine cardio for calorie burning, if weightloss is your goal. Theer are just so many DVDs out there. OR if you have cable, you can check out fittv, they have a lot of shows if you just want to just experiment until you find a style you like. ust if you do, dont rub it in, cause i dont have cable ;)
Maybe someone else has some suggestions of favorite yoga DVDs?
Maybe someone e
Thanks for the tips Kelly! I’m a certified Fitness Instructor Specialist through CanFitPro (Canada). I’m into aerobics and have been thinking about Yoga for a while. I’ve read it about it on About.com, but the articles are disconnected and I’m not sure about how to go about getting a good DVD. I’m currently in United Arab Emirates, so.. no FitTV here :) But I’ll look @ my local stores and see what they have.
Looking forward to more articles from ya.
-H
Great post and welcome! I laughed so many times while reading this - it so mirrors my own yoga experience. First time = frustrated, pulled back, restless, jealous at my husband who had spent that same time working out and was dripping in sweat. It felt like wasted time. Second time = new class, new instructor, hard as hell, sore (in a good way), refreshed, renewed, starting to buy into it…several classes later, and I’m actually starting to enjoy the corpse pose.
Really glad you’re here. Hello!
wait which one is his student?
i have a similar yoga experience to you except that i’m still waiting to get into it. maybe ill get a dvd of my own. last time i went to yoga i made the mistake of wearing pants with no more elastic waist band (ya know your favvvorite pants) and the entire time i was too pre-occupied with keeping them up that with my inner self.
I didn’t know you did yoga!
I didn’t know you had a fitness blog!
I didn’t know you could draw! (in a style suspiciously similar to Exploding Dog/Toothpaste for Dinner)
…guess there’s a lot I don’t know, eh?
Anyways, love the site and its contents, keep it up!
gabrielle- corpse pose is my favorite too. i think its because you get to lay down and do nothing.
kootz- the blonde one, goof. the one hes hugging.
SHINGO!!! how are you? glad you like the site- visit often. when are you coming back to the states?
and i didnt draw that. i couldnt never draw anything that good. and its NATALIE DEE, not toothpaste for dinner. I use those way too much over at my other blog http://www.everygymsnightmare.com