You want me to put my what -- WHERE????

Good afternoon....  blogging bonus today!

After some reading up on improving my back and to keep the potential back spasms at bay, I came to the conclusion that in order to "build a better back", I need to do something different than my usual routine.  After seeing my neighbor out and about, I asked him (since he is a phys ed major, teacher and trainer) what would be a good starting point to increase flexibility and strengthen core muscles.  His answer....  Yoga.  Well, that and light exercises that consist of walking, treading water in a pool, and utilizing a stability ball.  After getting that plethora of information, I figured I would give yoga a try today.  Forgetting to do my morning stretches that the Chiropractor told me to do, I was feeling the muscles in my back getting a bit stiff... so a yoga class should do the trick.

Cringing over a previous experience with yoga that I had, I figured that I should give it another try.  Yep, I am one clumsy chick.  I managed to knock a clock off the wall in a yoga class years ago.  Kind-of disrupted the chi of the class doing that and never considered trying again.  Acting like a tree is not my thing and the instructor allowed "new class members" to utilize the wall to stabilize themselves.  As I thought I had my balance, I went to slide my hand off the wall.  Instead of letting go... I slid my hand upwards and knocked the only clock in the room right off the wall....  Totally embarrassed about that to this day.

I have tried yoga another time and learned rather quickly that you need to drink a lot of water after the class is done....  Splitting headache within seconds was my teacher... OUCH!  But the second place I went to... the class was smaller and I had a handful of options to keep my balance and it went pretty well.  I just had a hard time grasping the whole concept of saying "Namaste" at the end of the class and felt a little weirded out.

Since the place I went to that offered a smaller class and more attention to their students, I felt as if I could really get the hang of it, but time was not on my side and never made it to a second class.  Well, that and the splitting headache was making me think twice about doing it again.  Unfortunately, the beginner class was not happening today and I wanted to start off light.  So my neighbor, the trainer, suggested that I check the local YMCA since they have loads of classes every day and there are beginner classes every day.  After looking up the class schedule, I found one that started at 1:00 in the afternoon (perfect!).  I got dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt, grabbed a full bottle of water and the yoga mat that I do happen to own (yes, that second place had me convinced that yoga was for me) and headed off to the gym.  Hating to be late, I got there 25 minutes early and decided to take a 15 minute walk on the treadmill to warm up.

I enter the classroom.  People with mats and water bottles are scattered all over the room.  Some were meditating (which felt was odd since this is a beginner class), while others chatted until the instructor entered the room.  As things started, I felt I had a fairly good grasp of things until, that is...  the poses were being explained.  As this instructor reminds us to keep our minds open and to release the stress of the day through breathing, my head could not let go of the grasp of WHAT IN THE HECK SHE WANTS US TO DO.

Bend this way, twist that way, put your foot behind you and twist outward, hands above your head, BREATHE, and if these poses are not producing a comfortable stretch.... you can thread your arm through here, bend that arm around there and get your fingers to touch each other... HUH?  Even on my best day and even in the best shape I have ever been, I could NEVER twist that way!  I thought that this woman is more than double jointed to get into positions like that... she has to be completely BONELESS!  That whole zen feeling I was supposed to get vanished rather quickly.  As I tried these poses that had me practically jam my face into my mat (BTW should have gotten a dousing of Febreeze because rubber and time sitting in the back of my closet by my shoes will make it stink), and reach in directions that I was not sure I could manage to reach...  I felt my muscles stretch, relax and even my spine cracked.  The end result was AWESOME, but the method was absolutely awful.  Still got the splitting headache afterwards (apparently I did not bring enough water to class), but walked out feeling pretty darn good.  Not sure if I did all the poses right since the class was big and I did not see any assistance from the teacher if I did anything wrong, but I did it.

I think I might try that other place I liked and see how that goes.  I gotta give this yoga thing another chance... it might be the thing for me :)