We went to yoga last night as is our usual on Monday nights. I was excited because my legs are getting restless with the rest before the race and I thought it would be a great chance to work them a little with a safe margin of time before race day. It's odd to me how I can run for hours, but ask me to hold a simple lunge like pose and I am shaking within a minute. Sure, I get the different muscle thing, but… RUN FOR HOURS… can't hold a lunge pose for longer than a minute without trembling like a leaf!
I digress though. Last night our regular instructor was out and we had a sub. He was ready to work the class and we flew through several poses in the same time it took our normal teacher to explain what we were going to focus on.
I soon found myself covered in sweat and trembling. Here's where I get a little confused. Yoga is all about breathing and settling into your body and poses. There's an odd relax sort of vibe. I am accustomed to attacking a workout, even if it's just a mental shift. I do that with running and going to the gym. I ease into the workouts, but my mind is set on tearing through the task in front of me. If it starts to hurt, I push myself harder to get through. I just naturally transfer pain to motivation.
That's where yoga seems confusing to me. I get to the hurt and want to attack it. "Oh, another fucking warrior two pose?!? Bring it on!" Not quite the zen that I think I am supposed to get. It is also tough to keep hearing the speech, whatever you can do that day is where you are supposed to be. If that were true, I'd be on my back on that mat in 20 minutes enjoying nap pose.
As frustrating as it is, I am intrigued by the challenge of it. I know at a few hard points in my last marathon, I used the breathing techniques. I was also focused on the thought I gained while trying to hold that damn warrior two pose for the hundredth time, "this is only temporary." Both got me through some tougher points. I know I can learn something here, it's just not fully known yet.
I digress though. Last night our regular instructor was out and we had a sub. He was ready to work the class and we flew through several poses in the same time it took our normal teacher to explain what we were going to focus on.
I soon found myself covered in sweat and trembling. Here's where I get a little confused. Yoga is all about breathing and settling into your body and poses. There's an odd relax sort of vibe. I am accustomed to attacking a workout, even if it's just a mental shift. I do that with running and going to the gym. I ease into the workouts, but my mind is set on tearing through the task in front of me. If it starts to hurt, I push myself harder to get through. I just naturally transfer pain to motivation.
That's where yoga seems confusing to me. I get to the hurt and want to attack it. "Oh, another fucking warrior two pose?!? Bring it on!" Not quite the zen that I think I am supposed to get. It is also tough to keep hearing the speech, whatever you can do that day is where you are supposed to be. If that were true, I'd be on my back on that mat in 20 minutes enjoying nap pose.
As frustrating as it is, I am intrigued by the challenge of it. I know at a few hard points in my last marathon, I used the breathing techniques. I was also focused on the thought I gained while trying to hold that damn warrior two pose for the hundredth time, "this is only temporary." Both got me through some tougher points. I know I can learn something here, it's just not fully known yet.
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