I recently purchased a Groupon for yoga classes near my area of town hoping to not only learn the stretches, but also the many different poses that would help me gain more flexibility, strength and definition in my body. I have to say I was slightly disappointed with the two times that I went because I did not really learn any of that. While I did get a great stretch, I wanted to be challenged. Today, I got just that with the Yoga X portion of the P90X program.
I had said yesterday that I already knew I would not be able to complete the full 90 minute session due to time constraints so I finished about the first half of the DVD. That first half focused on moving asanas which were done in a vinyasa style of yoga. The movements flowed from sun salutations, mountain pose, planks, upward dog and downward dog, just to name a few. I have done a yoga DVD before, so I was somewhat familiar with the warrior poses, crescent pose and chair pose and the others I mentioned. I have to say that even though I felt a little clumsy and off balance, I did feel a noticeable difference in the tension I was carrying in my neck and shoulder area afterwards. I know I got in a full body workout just in the 50 minutes of work that I did, especially my thighs. And tomorow is leg day. Joy. My only complaint with today's session was how it was at times difficult to be focused on looking down, breathing and having to check the T.V. to make sure I was doing everything correctly. Over time, that will diminish as I will know what to expect.
What I like about yoga is that it helps you to relax and find your center. At the very beginning of the session, Tony tells you to shut the garbage out of your mind and just breathe and relax. I definitely needed that. The journey of weight loss can sometimes take its emotional toll on you mentally as well as physically. Yoga is a great way to reconnect and refocus on what you want to get out of this whole experience. Next week, I plan to do just the last half of the session and then switch back the following week to the first half. By week four, it will be on a Saturday and I will be able to complete the program so on that day I will test myself to see how far I can really go. Even with today's workout, I managed to burn nearly 400 calories so I cannot wait to see what happens when I do the full day. As I said earlier, tomorrow is leg day. I am not sure I am ready for that. I mean, I enjoy things like being able to walk and sit and I am still sore from Plyometrics on Tuesday so come Saturday I am sure I will be feeling it. But, this is all just part of the fun, right? Until tomorrow...
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