Monday’s Yoga (8/23/10)
It occurs to me that I spend more time writing about yoga than running on this blog. Hmm. What can I say to defend myself? I love my running and my yoga, but it appears that yoga is more of an everyday thing for me. I spend so much time running around that when I get home from work, yoga is what I want. It’s what I need. I need the stretch and the stillness of the poses, the feeling of being in one place with my body and my mind. Yoga is how I wind down. It’s part of who I am.
Monday was one of my craziest days at work in a long, long time, and when I finally got home, AFTER leaving my keys at work and calling a friend to rescue me, I was exhausted. Thank goodness dinner was a snap to put together, and it wasn’t too much work to watch a new episode of The L Word on Netflix while laying half-comatose on the floor. Then, and only then, was I ready to consider physical movement of any kind. Since I had done a long run the day before, I wanted to do a gentle yoga class, so I chose Gentle Hatha Yoga #3, which I hadn’t done in a while, so it seemed like a nice change of pace. This class is a great choice for runners because it features a lot of lunge poses and a decent amount of time in downward-facing dog, which is good for stretching all the muscles along the back of the legs. I hadn’t really thought of #3 as “Hatha for Runners,” but I think that’s the best way to describe it.
I felt wonderful afterward—it was exactly what I needed after my insane day. I just crossed my fingers that the next day would be a little more calm—and that I’d remember to take my keys home with me.
Have you looked into YOGAmazing? You subscribe through iTunes and get free classes. Chaz, the instructor, often does a yoga for runners class. As a non-runner I usually avoid them, but they may be worth trying
ReplyDeleteI have not! I've tried yogadownload's Yoga for Runners, and honestly, it's really hard! You hold the lunge/warrior poses for a long time, and it makes my legs ache. For that reason, I haven't tried it in a while. I like Hatha #3 because it's gentler and more relaxing, which I tend to like more than kick-your-ass yoga.
ReplyDeleteYou're singing my song! I actually tried Laughter Yoga on the weekend. I've wanted to write about it, but haven't a clue how to begin!
ReplyDeleteDo it, Laurie! Laughter Yoga sounds so interesting, and it'll be fun to try to write about it :-) Do it!
ReplyDelete