It was time. I had to do something. My legs were screaming and I knew I needed to stretch. Yoga was calling my name!
Thankfully, Lululemon Portsmouth offers yoga classes every Saturday during the month of June. I was hesitant, to say the least, but I figured there would be other beginners attending. It’s hard to try something new. What if I look weird? What if I fall over? All of those thoughts were running through my head, but my sore muscles had the loudest voice.
When I arrived, there was a mat and a place just for me. Allison, from 3Bridges Yoga, made me feel so comfortable. She introduced herself and asked if I had any previous injuries or other concerns in my body. I told her about my running and high impact activities and how tight my legs were. She assured me that we would address those issues.
I sat on my mat and Allison instructed us to “float our eyes closed.” I love that. It wasn’t squeeze your eyes shut, but float them. Immediately some tension left my body. Throughout the hour I stretched, twisted, turned and did things my body completely responded to. She instructed us in the most gentle way. She explained everything we were doing, how to make adjustments to our bodies, and offered modifications. By the end of the class, I knew I was standing taller.
This photo shows a couple of poses that we did. No crazy hand stands were attempted, though 
Some of my favorite poses were: Down Dog, Butterfly, and Tree Pose.
Benefits of Yoga: flexibility, heart rate decrease, blood pressure decrease, reaction time improves, core strength, balance, and more.
I will be attending my 2nd yoga class this week in Prescott Park. Every Tuesday, at noon, the park is open to anyone and everyone for yoga..and it’s free! This week they are featuring children/family yoga. Yep, the Mosleys will be channeling their inner peace–pray for those around us-ha. As I was doing a little research on yoga, I came across the 10 most popular poses for children. Check out the article here. Can’t wait to see how my kiddos like the different postures.
No matter who you are, stretching is important. We all need to take moments, throughout the week , to clear our mind and lengthen our bodies. If you are hesitant to try yoga, look for a beginners class. Most studios offer programs for newbies like me (and you). Also, I hear there are great videos that you can do in the comfort of your home.
Questions for the Day:
If you practice yoga, how long have you been practicing?
Can you recommend any Yoga Videos for readers to try at home?
Yayyy yoga! Glad you enjoyed the class. I agree that stretching as we do in Yoga is so important and beneficial, for athletes and non-athletes alike. I started yoga last September and have been converted. Now I do it 2 -3 times per week. I recently started doing a “morning yoga” dvd that is just 30 minutes and it’s for beginners, so anyone looking to try it out at home first, I highly recommend it (http://dareyouto.blogspot.com/2012/06/wake-up-with-am-yoga.html) The instructor explains and demonstrates poses very well, and gives a strong emphasis on breathing that I haven’t gotten in my classes.
Otherwise, youtube is your best friend! Lots of resources there for free.
YAY for YOGA is right!
So happy that you listened to your body, Cheryl!
I have been practicing for about 8 years and cannot imagine my life without it! The benefits go way beyond the physical postures that you do on the mat that day.
Like most things, ‘live’ is better than a dvd, but regardless, you want to make sure that you have a qualified instructor ~especially if you are a beginner.
Having a live instructor keeps it fresh and can help you make adjustments and modifications to the postures to avoid injury, but if you just can’t make it to or afford a class, yogatoday.com is a great website. You can at least have a different class every day (one a week is FREE) and they also offer a good resourse for beginners: http://www.yogatoday.com/videos/search?skill_level%5B%5D=1.
I’m so proud of you Cheryl… and your body will LOVE you for listening!
NAMASTE!
I am just getting started in yoga and loving the stretching.
I have been doing a yoga-Pilates DVD from CRUCH that I like but need more JUST yoga. I am interested to read what you get for advice, too.
I absolutely love yoga, but I don’t practice nearly enough! I just started taking Hot Yoga classes a few ago though – so I’m finally getting more into my routine.
I just started Yoga a couple of months back! I absolutely love it! Feels so good in every way, shape and form!
I have an off and on relationship with yoga. I typically find my way back to it when I notice I’m having a hard time keeping my balance or when encountering especially stressful points in my life and I always feel so much better after! You’d think that’d be enough for me to keep doing it consistently…hmmmm. Anyway, there was this AWESOME yoga show called Inhale by Steve Ross that came on early mornings on Oxygen. It was so great because you could do your yoga in your own home (so no one could see you fall) and he did the yoga with his students, who were at different levels of abilities. BONUS: he played fun music in the background! Sadly, Oxygen cancelled the show *sniff*, BUT not before I burned a few of his shows to DVD! ; D