Last night i attended my first ever yoga class at the Sausalito Yoga Studio. After failing to get into the first position of the evening - sitting "indian" style with hand in front in a praying position while uhmmmming away, i knew it was going to get even uglier. When the yoga instructor inquired why i was lying on my side while everyone was effortlessly in this basic position, I fessed up that my sitting in on a yoga class is like Lou Ferigno doing an aerobic class - it's just not a seamless fit.
As I surmised, it got even worse. I got my ass kicked by flying penguins, upright warriors, and downward dogs. The instructor was really supportive, though. She spent a bit of time trying to move my body parts into their theoretically assumed position. Not a pretty sight. When i told her that i am just not flexible outside of the physical bicycle-riding range, she disagreed. Her rebuttal was that I am very flexible, I just need to put my bones in the right position. Was I motivated by that? hahahaha. Was it sweet of her to share that sentiment? yes.
I was invited to class by two fellow cyclists Janelle Kellman and Katharine Carroll (her blog is http://katcarroll.blogspot.com/ for some fun reading). As i suffered through each move, they performed them with ease. They told me they too suffered at first. Hard to believe considering how nicely they transitioned from one pose to another!
We ended the session with a lie-down. After the instructor tucked us in with thick warm blankets, she dimmed the lights and left the room for about ten minutes. I was so exhausted from all the straining for the past hour combined with overload training AND living on belgium time, that I just wanted to sleep. But every time I started to doze off, the guy next to me beat me to it; his half-sleeping stuttering snores jarred me out of my trip to dreamland.
Although it will be many months before i attempt another session, I do look forward to giving it a go again. At least next time around I will know what to expect. Maybe I'll take along a neophyte to make me look good - preferably another cyclist! Too bad it is probably in poor taste to bring a camera!
The highlight of the evening was the post-event celebration of a Punjabi burrito and a tasty glass of red wine courtesy of my roommate Don.
Thanks for reading.
:Peanut
2 comments:
that's funny. since switching focus to race cx this winter there's been a transition for me. woke up monday morning after sunday's race: not sore. went to yoga that night, tuesday morning: sore. but i think that also has to do with the wack-attack you do on your back racing cx, the off balance lifting of the bike while running. then when i get in there doing yoga the soreness is more a message that i've been mean to my back. your friends are right, though. it gets easier and the body awareness pay-off is big. then eventually you're doing seriously wacko poses and it feels good. ask me to show you ganda bherundasana some time.
uhhh...could someone tell them penguins dont fly..
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