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An important lesson is finally embedding itself into my brain – yoga is what I need to feel better.
I freely admit that I’m as surprised, or even MORE surprised, than anyone. Who would have thought I would do yoga? Who would have thought I would START yoga at age 69? Who would have thought that I could start a session, feeling old and creaky, with pain across my back just under my shoulder blades and finish a session on one part of my body, then an overall flow session, feeling MUCH better.
I’m proving this lesson to myself daily now. I realize I’m still doing ‘old lady yoga’ – tactfully named, “Gentle Yoga”, emphasizing good, long stretching in various poses, rather than standing on my head or folding myself into a pretzel shape while singing, “I’m Happy.” But this practice is proving a life-saver for me.
Very slowly – very gradually – I’m loosening up. This creaky old lady is becoming a BIT more flexible.
The hardest part for me still is the time at the end of each segment where you’re supposed to lie on your back and completely relax. At the beginning, my mind would race, thinking of what I needed to do today, wondering if I remembered to put something on the list or not… I’m slowly learning to put things away for later and concentrate on the moment.
- I’m learning to breathe into the area of my back that tightens itself regularly.
- I’m working on being able to sit on the floor with my knees bent under me. (My feet cramp in this position and my thigh muscles are awful. Gradually, though, if I can get my feet to quit cramping, I can sit like this for several seconds at a time now.
- When I started several weeks ago, I could not lie on my back and put my arms over my head and rest my hands on the floor. I can do this now – not comfortably – but I’m working on it.
- There’s a pose where you’re lying on your back. One leg is straight on the floor and the other is pointing up at the ceiling. Using a strap, you move your leg over to the side as far as possible. Then you move it across your body to the other side. THIS is when my body says, “Oh, NO!” The great thing about Cat (the yoga instructor) is that she stresses that how far you’re able to move isn’t important. It’s the moving in the right direction to your personal edge and then breathing into it that’s important.
The very best news lately is that they have created another DVD composed of ‘the next level’ of yoga practice. I’ve ordered it so that, between these two DVDs, I’ll have enough good instruction and encouragement to be the best that I can be.
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