Yoga Day One

Every yoga day is different. Your body carries various levels of sleep, water, circulation, balance, oxygen, stamina, you name it.
And yoga is completely void of negative self talk. So if you can't get into the same position you held a day before, that's just what your body is going to do today. Instructors use words like "invite your hips open" rather than "push or force." And EVERY TIME, you learn something new. If you don't, your mind was wandering too much to notice what you learned. Yoga Vida advertised as a power vinyasa flow in a heated room, which I'd established in my head meant lots of sweating. I imagined I'd be feeling the pain. It turns out day one was a nice ease back into it after a couple weeks off.

There are two studios in Austin. They are owned by a guy named Dean who had his "yoga birthday" when he was in his forties. He's been practicing yoga every day for 1,900 days straight. Makes my 20 day goal seem like peanuts.

The instant temperature change as I moved the sliding door and slipped into the warm room soothed the goose bumps on my arms.. Even though it was only 85 degrees (about 15 degrees cooler than my other power vinyasa studio) it still offered some cozy from the crisp winter day. There were only five other people in the naturally lit, pine-floored room. The instructor was male- a minority in yoga- and he led us through a slow flow. By that I mean the transition from one pose to the next was slow. Moving quickly through poses helps keep my mind still. The slow flow and extended silence left my thoughts room to wander. You're supposed to focus on your breath to keep the busy-ness at bay. Sometimes instructors will talk about things like the intricacies of hip angle and weight distribution across your foot to help keep you focused on yoga. You don't want to be thinking about the conversation with your mother, the dishwashing detergent you need to pick up or where your dog will stay while you're traveling. Yoga is presence, mind and body. Really good thing for adults with ADD.

As a teacher, I understand the energy it takes to inspire students. You have to get yourself worked up to a place of total investment in their experience. It requires a detachment from self and attachment to the energy around you. Some days you just can't get there. This instructor was having one of those days.

He did teach me a move I've never done before. He asked us to lay on our backs with legs straight up. Then put a foam block just above the tail bone. Pretty good one for the lower back. 

In the end there was minimal sweating, no soreness, an active mind for most of the hour. I also came away opened shoulders, strengthened thighs, extended spine, relaxed jaw. And a pat on the back for showing up. I can totally do this for nineteen more days!