I arrived early at the class and the instructor handed me a block and a blanket. I had no idea what this stuff is for. Apparently, they are for people (a la me) who can’t quite make the full poses.
The instructor started with a little Thanksgiving story which was nice, but I kind of wanted to get moving. Once we did start the stretching I noticed people a lot older than me moving easily from pose to pose. Those jerks. How dare they be more flexible than me! Grrr! Again, my competitivenss is out of control these days. I am sure these people are regulars. In fact a few of the women just got back from India and were insanely flexible. Which made me a wee bit jealous. I can’t help it!
Ok, so I know that yoga is supposed to be all peaceful and relaxing and blah blah blah, but I can’t help but feel stupid when Grandma Moses is better than me. I tried not to pay attention as Grandpa Joe wrapped his ankle around his head while I barely touched my toes.
To make matters worse, I was right next to a window. I kept seeing runners pass and thinking, “Hey! Wait for me! I am a runner too! What am I doing in here with these Gumby’s?”*
At one point we were in some animal pose (crouching squirrel, hidden duckbill platapus) and I couldn’t get low enough with my hips so the instructor came over and pushed me further into it and realized that my hips just wouldn’t budge. She stuffed the blanket under them to give me the support. Sigh. I am a yoga failure.
The final portion of the class that involved what I like to call sleeping, was too much for me yesterday. When she said we would have 10 minutes of relaxation I felt like I had ants in my pants. This whole relaxation stuff at the end just isn’t for me. I have things to do people! (Hello Type A!)
Now, it wasn’t all bad. The stretching was certainly nice on my muscles and there were some great new poses I had never tried, in yoga or otherwise. (Heh, perv alert!) I just don’t know if yoga is for me, at least not yet. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so I am going to give it another try and attempt to be more centered or whatever.
My hips don’t lie, yogini I am not.
this post made me laugh out loud, because it brought back so many memories of my first yoga class too. I really should do it more often, but I don't! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, enjoy the weekend!
I do not have the attention span for yoga. I bought a DVD a few years ago and when I got the the meditation portion of the video all my cat wanted to do was climb all over me. I took a Pilates class about 5 years ago and there were people in that class twice my age kicking my butt. It's totally not fair when that happens!
love the way you write!
I do yoga 2 or 3 times a week, and i still cannot do hidden squirrel, crouching dolphin.
I am very inflexible, but are starting to notice small changes. but i still cant touch my toes.
At least you tried! good job on the effort!
I am so not a yogi and often feel the same way when I take a class (which is extremely RARELY).
10 minutes in that sleeping pose? Gah, I have a hard enough time laying there for 2 minutes.
I'm a yoga failure, too. Don't worry! It'll get easier… I think… I do find that when I do yoga poses in the morning that my neck doesn't hurt during the day.
Glad you're giving it another try, though 😀
-00kate.com
Ha, I tried to do yoga on Monday in honor of HBBC, and was a total failure too. If it's free though, go for it!
i am trying to get better each week.. and slowly I am getting more flexible
This was totally me on day 1 of Pilates! Those older women are way more flexible than me, but I'm getting there – SLOWLY. I just wanted to say… Yes, I suck at this, but I'm a runner! ha!
If I have an hour to spend working out…I want to be buring calories and fat! My hips (and fat rolls) don't lie either…Yoga's not for me!
As you know, I am a big runner, but when I am training for a big race, I go to yoga every tuesday & thursday without fail! It helps me prevent soooo many injuries it's unreal!
Oh I heart the relaxation part! Yoga is amazing! I do it all the time 🙂 Keep it up, you'll be flexible runner before no time at all!
yoga is rude like that…here do something you can't possibly do.
I've tried yoga before and had a similar experience. Those people are freaky flexible, but I'd rather spend an hour lifting or rowing if I am not rowing. And the whole inner peace thing? Meh, not for me
As you know my dear B.o.B I yoga lover and believe me it takes a LONG time to be able to do half of those poses so tell your head to shut up (I know this is difficult)! But I am definitely a Type A personality but yoga is the one thing that really helps me relax and chill out a bit. It took me quite a while to allow my brain to relax (and I still fight with it sometimes) but if you keep working hard at it one day you will be able to do it!
haha. this is pretty much how i feel about yoga… i'm not so flexible myself (though i am OK with not wrapping my leg around my head) and i can NOT relax in "shavasana" (?) at the end. i just lay there and think of 100 other things i could be doing.
I hate yoga too BUT over the last few weeks I've been forcing myself to do it more often and, surprise surprise, I'm starting to LIKE it. The meditation part especially and I'm a total Type A aswell!
Keep going regularly, if you don't like it after 4-6 weeks of it then maybe it's not for me. But I have a feeling it will grow on you!
PS: Laughed out loud at "some animal pose", I'm guessing it was pigeon? LMAO!
Amber it was totally pigeon!!! LOL!
I like the 'duckbill platypus' position. I might try that myself.
You had me rolling on the floor again. No no. With laughter. Not yoga poses. Honestly, when my three kids were doing yoga was when they were at their top athletic form. And one of them was a scholarship rower, one a recruited baseball player, and the third rowing internationally at the ripe age of 15. Stick with it – the returns are there.
SO FUNNY!! I always joke that I run because I'm too uncoordinated for step or any other aerobics, my butt is too big for the spin (bike) seat, and I am too ADD for yoga. I just cannot keep that still or that quiet for that long.
BUT, it's supposed to be good for you. Kinda like the spinach of workouts.
Girl, I'm with you. I keep trying yoga, but I just don't looove it like so many others. I know it's good for me…but I just can't be as serious as the class requires! Maybe if they played the Black Eyed Peas and just called it stretching…
Delurking to say I feel the same way about some yoga. Try a Bikram or other hot yoga class. The whole vibe is different and there's no sleeping involved.
OMG! Soooo funny! I am in the same boat as you! I have never felt so ashamed of my running body until I went to a yoga class! I wanted to wear a sign that said "Wait, I am a runner! Really, I am active!"
I haven't been back since. My ego can't take it either. 🙁
*LOL* I was convinced my yoga teacher was drunk when she said my arms would one day meet at the back in one particular pose…nuh uh, I said, I have wee arms, ain't ever going to happen and smugly took the strap she offered me. Well, 1 year later, not only do my arms meet, I can clasp my hands and do a jig at the same time! I kid you not! So persevere, Grasshopper, you have just entered the temple…. *L*