Morning Yoga

I have been trying to increase how often I practice yoga lately and it hasn't been going so well. Anyone else having that problem? You say you will do something and then.. it just.. never.. happens. Yeah, we've all been there. But this morning I wanted to do a 30 minute session before I laid outside to tan, so I took out my mat and did it! Now if only I can do a session tomorrow or Monday to follow it up ;D

Back in February, I learned of the opportunity to sign up for a yoga website called MyYogaPro while completing Erin Motz's 30 Day Yoga Challenge. The 30 Day Yoga Challenge is an entirely free, Youtube based yoga workout series that you can sign up for here. It's got a little bit of everything and each workout is emailed daily to you for 30 days. I saved them all in a special folder in my email, but you can also search for the workouts on Youtube.

Anyways, they were announcing this soon-to-be-finished MyYogaPro and I couldn't resist signing up! You can read more about it here. I purchased Two Lifetime Access Warriors, convinced that Judah would join and do yoga with me, but let's be real here... he is never going to do that. So much for wishful thinking :) But now I have this extra passcode and no one to use it... I'll figure something out for it.

You may be wondering why should we practice yoga? Interestingly enough a friend asked me on Facebook today a very similar question. She asked:

"How do you like it? Is doing yoga really showing you results that equate to the hype, or would you prefer old-school cardio/strength training? Im considering trying [it]... but I want to know it's actually going to be worth the investment"

I was so glad to see that when I was writing this post :D I replied that absolutely it is worth the hype, when you practice consistently. If you do yoga only 4-5x randomly per month, I doubt you will see much results, though even that may not always be true. I was going to Bikram Yoga - performed in a 105 degree heated room for 90 minute sessions - only once, maybe twice a week, and still saw results. But 90 minutes in one day can be equal to three 30 minute sessions spread out throughout the week. So if you are only doing yoga for a total of 2 hours a month, I doubt you will see many results. However, it you begin to commit 6-10 hours a month, there may be more noticeable differences in your body.

Yoga is certainly an integral piece of a balanced training regimen and it has so many versions/levels/whatever you wish to call it, that truly anyone can participate! Never judge yoga by one bad class, even if it was your first class ever. Try different instructors and types of yoga to find what you like and don't like. If you're new in a live class, don't hesitate to let the instructor know of any health problems you may have or just the fact that you're a newbie to yoga! I once had an instructor start her classes by asking you to place your hand on a body part that was giving you problems so she could be sure to incorporate poses to target that muscle group. My experience has always been that instructors are caring and compassionate and want to provide the best class for their participants so don't be afraid to talk with them before or after :)

One of the best benefits of yoga is it teaches you to know, understand, and respect your body. It doesn't matter where you were yesterday or where you will be tomorrow, but focus right here, right now on what you can do and do it to your best ability. There is so much more to yoga than flexibility. It can be a cardio workout, it can be a strength workout, and you don't have to be flexible to do yoga! That is by far the number one myth concerning yoga. I would challenge anyone "new" to yoga to try the 30 day challenge above (even if it takes 45-60 days to complete) before you make up your mind on this type of exercise.


Readers: Have you tried yoga before? Do you like it? Do you practice consistently or wish you did it more often?