I'm still very much a beginner. I can't bend as much as I wish I could, or hold myself in positions that are challenging (like Plank or even Down Dog, which is supposed to be a restful position...I'm sure it will be, eventually) for as long as I'd like, but I see my progress in millimeters and sometimes even centimeters, and that encourages me.
When I first started yoga. I couldn't stand up straight, lean over, and touch my toes. I could almost touch my toes, but not quite. Now, very recently, I realized that, after I've warmed up my muscles and stretched them a bit, I can put my hands, palm down, flat on the ground (and by recently, I mean yesterday). When I first started yoga, I couldn't do a full plank for more than two or three seconds. I had to drop into half plank. Now, I can hold my body in full plank for...well, not very long, but longer than two or three seconds. It's still very, very hard for me, but I see improvement, and for me, that's huge.
I started this journey with Lisa Senetar, who teaches yoga in Berea at Fitness, Friends, & Fun. I still try to make it to her class every chance I can get, but as I don't have a membership there, it's gets a little bit expensive after a while. She was the first person to really challenge and encourage me to pursue this, and I'm so very thankful she did.
Now, I regularly take a class with Casey Stull, who teaches in Richmond at the Richmond Athletic Club where my husband and I have a membership, twice a week. At first, I was very, very nervous about this class. As I said, it's offered twice a week: Thursday is Beginner Level Yoga, and Tuesday is Power Yoga. As a novice, the idea of Power Yoga scared me. A lot. Luckily, Casey was very encouraging and understanding of my fear, and pushed me. Now, I very much look forward to both classes each week.
One of the things I love most about yoga, so far, is the fact that I never have to compete with anyone. I do what my body allows me to do, and I challenge myself accordingly. Every person has to move at their own speed, meet their own challenges, and do what their bodies' tell them. It's very personal, and in the end, when you make progress, it's very rewarding. Each time I go a little further into a stretch, or move into a posture a little easier or a little more steadily than I did the class before, there's a real sense of accomplishment that I've never felt before (at least as far as my personal physical health is concerned).
I asked Casey to teach me a pose I've seen in her class, as well as in yoga journals and online. Like any good newbie, I googled "yoga poses" when I first started and scrolled through them, making a mental list of the ones I eventually wanted to try. I came across a pose called King Pigeon or Kapotasana and immediately wanted to be able to do it. This is what a Full King Pigeon looks like:
One reason I love yoga so much is it showcases what the human body is capable of.
As babies, we contort our bodies into impossible poses, yet as we grow older, we let those muscles grow tight because we don't use them in the same ways. I want my body to be able to do those things again, to move again, and I'm so excited that I've started that journey.
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| My King Pigeon: Day 1 |
*Thanks for helping me with the name, Casey!
