I've recently embarked on an activity which is totally new to me. YOGA. And hot Yoga at that.
I've always warranted Yoga a lackluster mindset, believing it to be all hype and no substance. Flexibility, yep. Balancing, ditto. Flushing off body toxins, sure. BUT!!! Meditation? Chanting? Calm and inner peace? Spiritual tranquility and mental well-being? GAH! IT ALL SOUND SO FLAKY. Unimpressed and dismissive, I was.
I've always been in favour of core exercises; preferring Pilates over flexibility-focused Yoga. Yoga just seemed, well, soft. And what good is flexibility and balancing without a strong core? It's like a tree without deep roots.
And so, it was with this nonchalant-cum-haughty attitude when I purchased a Groupon deal online for Yoga a couple of months back. I figured that it would be no harm a try. After all, it is a good deal; working out to be less than SGD$6 per session (totally worth it!). And, after Pilates, what is Yoga? Or so I thought.
The first session (3 Saturdays ago), surprisingly, induced a limp jelly out of me. The seemingly innocent-and-oh-so-easy poses, surprisingly, are a bit of a challenge to hold with the passage of time. Regardless, I completed the first lesson with relative ease and a good ending note; giving myself a mental pat on the back while using the showering facility post-Yoga. THE NEXT DAY, however, my entire body was aching and crying foul. Arms. Thighs. Hamstrings. Shoulder. Upper back. Butt cheeks. You name it.
The second session (2 Saturdays ago) got relatively tougher. The poses started to get more and more demanding. I had some difficulty holding the Balancing Stick. And nearing the end of the Yoga session, I was sweating buckets and was developing a slight heavy head. The resultant muscle ache the next day made the previous one pales magnificently in comparison. Oh gosh, in fact, my muscles were protesting like rebels!
The third session (2 days ago on the 1st) nearly wiped me out. The instructor is going on to more and more advanced poses. At the end of the lesson, a collective sigh of relief was heard from all the yogis. Me? I wasted no time and grabbed my bottle and towel, retrieved the necessary items from the locker, and headed to the shower.
In conclusion, Yoga is totally NOT as 'soft' as I had mistakenly anticipated it to be. It is definitely not as easy as it looks. And I'm not regretting taking up Yoga one bit! I'm enjoying it loads! Tremendously!
I've always warranted Yoga a lackluster mindset, believing it to be all hype and no substance. Flexibility, yep. Balancing, ditto. Flushing off body toxins, sure. BUT!!! Meditation? Chanting? Calm and inner peace? Spiritual tranquility and mental well-being? GAH! IT ALL SOUND SO FLAKY. Unimpressed and dismissive, I was.
I've always been in favour of core exercises; preferring Pilates over flexibility-focused Yoga. Yoga just seem
And so, it was with this nonchalant-cum-haughty attitude when I purchased a Groupon deal online for Yoga a couple of months back. I figured that it would be no harm a try. After all, it is a good deal; working out to be less than SGD$6 per session (totally worth it!). And, after Pilates, what is Yoga? Or so I thought.
The first session (3 Saturdays ago), surprisingly, induced a limp jelly out of me. The seemingly innocent-and-oh-so-easy poses, surprisingly, are a bit of a challenge to hold with the passage of time. Regardless, I completed the first lesson with relative ease and a good ending note; giving myself a mental pat on the back while using the showering facility post-Yoga. THE NEXT DAY, however, my entire body was aching and crying foul. Arms. Thighs. Hamstrings. Shoulder. Upper back. Butt cheeks. You name it.
The second session (2 Saturdays ago) got relatively tougher. The poses started to get more and more demanding. I had some difficulty holding the Balancing Stick. And nearing the end of the Yoga session, I was sweating buckets and was developing a slight heavy head. The resultant muscle ache the next day made the previous one pales magnificently in comparison. Oh gosh, in fact, my muscles were protesting like rebels!
The third session (2 days ago on the 1st) nearly wiped me out. The instructor is going on to more and more advanced poses. At the end of the lesson, a collective sigh of relief was heard from all the yogis. Me? I wasted no time and grabbed my bottle and towel, retrieved the necessary items from the locker, and headed to the shower.
In conclusion, Yoga is totally NOT as 'soft' as I had mistakenly anticipated it to be. It is definitely not as easy as it looks. And I'm not regretting taking up Yoga one bit! I'm enjoying it loads! Tremendously!
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