I'm not a very good tree. Or, for that matter, a cow or a cat or even a cobra. In an attempt to amp up my physical conditioning I had decided to stream some beginning yoga classes and give it a try. After all, it looks relatively easy, and it's supposed to be good for you. Right? My YMCA has virtual classes stored on-line, so I chose a nighttime yoga class directed at beginners. The instructor said she was going to take things a bit slow since it was a night class - forty-five minutes of relaxed movements. I was OK with that idea. I did fine during the breathing part, and my first moves of cow and cat and even downward dog were fine, but then she repeated things and then she repeated again, and I was supposed to move a foot closer to my hands while in downward dog, ... and it didn't move at all. At least it didn't with any facsimile of grace.
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The class had us going back to downward dog time after time. After the fourth time or so, my body said "Nope" and I collapsed on my yoga mat. Not the most auspicious start - LOL. |
But I did moved it clumsily, and caught up again. The next grouping of movements had us starting in the cobra position. The first round I didn't get my arms right and my back was saying "Why are you bending me in this odd direction". On the second round, my arms managed to get to the correct extended position, but then we were supposed to push up into the downward dog position yet again. Nope, didn't happen. And once I was finally into the downward dog, we were supposed to raise each leg into a higher position. That didn't work well for me either.
At last we were supposed to stand. Hallelujah - I could stand on two feet. Except, now I was supposed to be a tree. I barely did OK with my right leg being the roots (my left foot braced against my ankle), but when it came to switching sides, I couldn't keep my balance on my left leg at all, and my right foot couldn't move off the floor because having it braced against my ankle was necessary for my balance. Doing the tree was utter disaster.
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I was attempting the very first pose - standing on one leg - my roots firmly planted, with my other foot resting against my ankle. That didn't go so well. My balance wasn't there at all. Can it get there with practice? Possibly. I'm not calling this experiment done, just not successful this time. |
I looked at the screen and only 18 minutes of the planned 45 minutes had passed. Damn, I was failing my attempt at a BEGINNER'S level course for relaxation, I said to myself: "Self ... there's got to be something else". I exited that video and did a search for beginning yoga, finding chair yoga for seniors. "I'm a senior," I thought to myself, "and I have a chair right over there, near my sewing table. Maybe I can manage this one." I grabbed the chair and pulled it over and started the video. I actually made it through the entire exercise, not necessarily super smoothly, but I made it. Hallelujah - I'm not totally hopeless. But I have a long way to go before I allow myself to attend a yoga class in person.
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At last, a yoga routine I was successful at. I found a You-Tube video of chair yoga for seniors and was able to get through a full routine of stretches, etc while seated in a chair. The chair took care of the balance problems I was having in more traditional yoga. I'm not calling this quits, though. I want better control over my body, and that means yoga. Nothing else teaches muscle control as well. |
So, OK. Yoga isn't going to be one of those things I can just jump into. I'm going to continue to work on it, though. I like the idea of getting more control of my muscles and tuning them up individually so that they'll work better as a whole.
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I'm delighted with my license plate frame. I now can proclaim that I'm a "BRONCOS FANGIRL" to the world - if they didn't already get the message from my Broncos Logo on the left. On the right is my Minnesota Wild logo. Unfortunately, we lost to Las Vegas in a "must win" game last night, and are now out of contention for the Stanley Cup. So disappointing. |
On the car front - I had the car at the repair place at 7:00 am and was the first person checked in. Unfortunately, both of the screws snapped off when they attempted to remove them. Not really a surprise. They drove me home since it would be a couple of hours before it would be ready (their COVID regulations won't allow people in their waiting room for more than 30 minutes at a time). But when they called at 10:30 am to tell me it was ready, he said they were swamped and didn't have anyone available to pick me up. I could have called DH. He would have left work and picked me up to drive me over. Instead, I Google-mapped it and it was only a bit more than 2 miles from my house, so I decided to walk over. It was a beautiful day with blue skies, but also with a brisk breeze, so a little cold. I put on my leather bomber jacket, my hoodie and my headphones and headed over to the repair place. I enjoyed the walk. The rest of the day was various errands and my failed attempt at yoga, but all is well. My car is legal again.
Tomorrow is our five hours at the State Fair and Monday is a Holiday here in the US (Memorial Day - a day of remembrance and thanks to those who serve in the military). I won't be posting again until Tuesday, so have a lovely two days and please, be kind and stay safe.
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