Previously most of my workouts where focused on cardiovascular improvement. My hours on the elliptical helped me burn fat and I had some improved muscle tone in my legs, but I wasn't doing much else to work the rest of my body. The gym in my building has a few basic weight machines to work upper body, but it's pretty limited and I didn't stick with it as consistently as I should have. I was also finding I'd get bored quickly doing cardio, so I always had to keep myself entertained with music and reading material.
I travel quite a bit for work and in some ways cardio is a good option because of that. You can always walk somewhere or climb stairs and even the most basic hotel gym usually has at least one treadmill and an elliptical trainer. But doing cardio on the road also means packing sneakers, reading material, iPod, headphones, etc. and it's not fun dragging extra luggage through the airport.
I'd been thinking about trying yoga for a while, and the more I considered the limitations of my cardio only workouts the better an option it seemed. Then I talked with some friends who already do yoga and became more convinced it would be a good idea. It would help me regain flexibility I desperately need, help my overall muscle tone, require a small enough amount of space I could easily do it at home or in a hotel room AND require less equipment on the road. One friend even confirmed she does yoga while traveling in her pajamas with a hotel towel standing in for a yoga mat.
I didn't want to invest a ton of money just in case I was wrong, so I picked up a yoga mat and a Jillian Michaels yoga video at Target. Then one of my friends sent me one of Bob Harper's DVD's as a total surprise. It's so much easier to get healthy when you have supportive friends!
I started with Jillian's 30 minute "Level 1" work out. Thank goodness I didn't start with "Warrior Bob" or I wouldn't be able to write this. Here's how it's gone so far.
- Plank pose hard as crap when you have lousy upper body strength (that would be me)!
- Chaturanga push-ups are evil.
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| Courtesy of Yoga Journal |
- So is the damned Camel pose. I am not a camel so I shouldn't have to bend like one. Not to mention no camel I've ever seen can do a back bend either!
- I did a decent job with Warrior II, but almost went ass over teakettle on my first attempt at Warrior III. My balance absolutely sucks.
- I could not get the sequence of a Sun Salutation right for the life of me. I'm a little better now that I've done about 30 of them.
- At least I think I've got the Mountain pose down.
Jillian has two helpers in the video, the "beginner" girl and the advanced one. The beginner chick is no beginner and she wasn't modifying the poses nearly enough for this wet-behind-the-ears yoga rookie. The advanced chick can just kiss my you-know-what and go away. Actually, she's advanced enough she can probably kiss her own you-know-what...
I never assumed yoga would be easy, but I have to admit I never expected it to be this hard. Holding your body in an unnatural position for 15 seconds is hard work even when you're trying to use every muscle in your body. Oh yeah, and you're supposed to BREATHE at the same time. Huffing and puffing makes that a bit of a challenge.
But for all the struggle starting yoga has been, there are definitely things I like about it. It takes complete focus to get the positions right and actually DO the workout, so I'm never bored. It honestly works muscles my body hasn't heard from in years (as evidenced by the sharp pain in my abs every time I cough). And I'm already noticing positive differences in my range of motion and posture.
Best of all, as Jillian keeps reminding me throughout the video, yoga is a PRACTICE. No one starts yoga and gets it "right" the first time. You just have to keep getting better day by day, session by session, pose by pose.
At the rate I'm going, I'll be practicing for a LONG TIME, but I'm OK with that. Practice makes perfect.
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