Things Yoga is Teaching Me
- Yoga is teaching me to be aware of my body. With every movement of my (sore) muscles, I’m aware of my body’s capabilities, its strength, and its beauty.
- Yoga is teaching me how to endure discomfort. At the class Wednesday we did some “yin” practice, which basically means that you just assume a stretchy position and relax. Rather than being all “yang” — more aggressive and outward — “yin” is more inward and yielding. But boy, it’s not easy. We got into position and it seemed fairly easy at first, but the longer I held the position the more pain I felt. I tried to relax and get over the pull of my muscles, breathing deeply and intensely. And I used my mind to focus on relaxing, and to focus on things other than the pain. I was thinking this aspect of Yoga might be applicable to situations in which my discomfort led me to eat (and this happens a lot with stress, boredom, etc.). If I could push through, as in Yoga, and breathe, rather than putting something in my mouth, that would be a huge breakthrough.
- Yoga is teaching me that I deserve to treat my body well, and I deserve the time to do it. I’m really torn sometimes when it comes to doing things on my own, because it means leaving behind DH and the boy. I feel like we rarely get to spend time together as it is, and I make our time even more scarce by taking time by myself. But I really need that time, and it makes me a happier person, I think.
- Yoga is teaching me how out of balance I have been in my life. I haven’t taken time for myself. I haven’t treated my body like the temple it is. I need to do these things, and desperately.
- Yoga is teaching me that I might not need running or triathlon. For some time, I’ve struggled with these competitive sports. I enjoyed setting goals, like completing a marathon or triathlon, and achieving them. But at this weight, especially, I’m not even a middle-of-the-packer, and I spend way too much time silently berating myself for being too slow. I know you’re supposed to compare yourself only to yourself, but it’s not easy to do when the whole environment is set up as a race. Maybe I’m just not meant for that game. Or maybe Yoga, or something, will help me get over that.
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Hi. I like your post. I learned from yoga that it’s tougher than I thought. Back when I was in the very best of health, yoga STILL kicked my sphincter.
Regarding running, have you ever considered trail running? The beauty of it, and one of five reasons why I took up trail running, was that there’s far less judgment about speed (okay, in the top 10% maybe people still think about it, but folks like you and me can putter, and no one screams). It’s great for one’s body when they have a few extra pounds on (when I started way back when, I had like.. almost 100 extra pounds on). And some other stuff. I’m rambling.
Wish you well, whatever you do — Chris from FatGuyGetsFit .
Thanks, Chris. Good to hear from a new commenter!! I actually really love trail running and always have, but I’ve never done it “competitively.” Maybe something to look into now that I live in an area that’s sure to have something like that available.