As you may recall, I received a one month unlimited classes gift pass to the Upward Dog Yoga Centre for the FoJ. I started classes one week ago with a plan to attend the 6:30 – 7:30am sessions every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I didn’t manage it exactly because after starting on Wednesday, I was still too sore in the legs and shoulders to face Friday morning. Instead, I went to a Saturday class for noobs and then made the Monday and Wednesday morning class as per the plan. Close enough.
More importantly than adhering to any preconceived schedule, I am very much enjoying the classes and getting some badly needed serenity, stretching and strengthening from top to bottom. Although I have not been able to do all the poses, being either too inflexible or weak (if not both) in certain areas, I am pleased with what I have been able to do. I also think the teachers have been pleasantly surprised by some of what I managed as a yoga noob. Hooray for natural gifts (in particular, good balance) and previous experience in learning form, breathing and movement from martial arts classes.
Unfortunately the news isn’t all good. Part of yoga is paying close attention to specifics within the body while holding a pose or transitioning between poses: relaxing or stretching specific muscles or joints, breathing in/out in coordination with movements, distributing weight a certain way and more. All of this requires you to listen to the body, and sometimes what it says is not comforting.
I broke my left collarbone as a teenager, and my left shoulder hasn’t quite been right ever since. In addition, my lower back has a structural predisposition towards weakness. I know enough of bio-mechanics to know that when one component isn’t carrying its load properly, the burden shifts to another area that wasn’t intended to carry it. Eventually, something gives, and you may even end up with a series of cascading failures. Between my shoulder and back, I am going to be in some strife further down the line. I can safely predict neck, shoulder and hip problems in my future. Regular yoga will certainly help delay any issues, but it’s only a delay, and would have helped a lot more if I had started ten or twenty years ago.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
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Sounds like you are doing some good listening. My body is a battlefield of scars, breaks and hits. I'm quite happy it does as well as it does. I'm not looking forward to arthritis etc...
ReplyDeleteKnees, for me. Twenty years of picking up my own bodyweight and more and throwing it around the room. Add my congenitally lax ligaments to that, and apparently it's a bit of an issue.
ReplyDeleteI'm making adjustments and compromises, though. Now when I execute ippon seoi-nage, I keep my feet about twice shoulder-width apart; the hell with good Judo form. And when I'm doing kata-guruma, I only stand up in the middle of the throw if I really, really want to scare the shit out of somebody...