I’ve become a converted Yogi…..try it!

I have always tried to keep myself physically and mentally fit. As I approach 60 and having developed asthma these past few years, and I can feel increasingly my body tighten with the aches and pains of age, workouts have become important to me. Having played many sports in the past, and enjoyed swimming and running, I was finding that activities like gardening alone and daily walking were not suffice. So here we come to the present with Covid-19 in our community and ‘Lockdown’. My daughter who enjoys yoga suggested to my wife that she ought to try, so she forwarded her some online links to yoga lessons. Not being a natural fitness queen, my wife forwarded those links onward to me. Being willing, I engaged with some example sessions and found them to my liking, and soon I felt that I was physically able to address some of those age related stiffness issues within the confines of my own home. Moreover, I quickly found that I enjoyed the online routines and tutorials and once again the self-discipline to commit again to some structured daily exercise. There are many Yoga teachers, sessions and programmes to be found on You Tube for example. Though I know that engaging in a paid local group will be beneficial too. For now, and for 5 days a week I have entered into daily yoga routine, and at the moment I particularly use Adrienne, a renowned Yoga teacher from Austin, Texas, who my daughter favours – but there are many teachers out there, each with their own style and focus, and also offer alternative methods for completing more advance moves. There are also a number of evolved yoga classes/styles from Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Hot Yoga et al. For me, unknowingly I started with Hatha, following programmes from yoga stretch, to flow, to a particular focus on part of the body -hamstrings, lower back etc. These sessions can be as long as you like, I tend to plan my day around a 20-35 min session, but also I engage in other stretching exercises, to on the spot running, and using weights to further tone. So yoga is complimentary to other exercise programs. Yoga has also made me think and be far more conscious about the movement of my body, particularly my back where I do suffer with some occasional lower back pain. Equally, I have become more aware of my breathing and moved into short mediation, allowing me to think less about what is happening in our World, and more about myself and conscious well-being. Exercising and stretching the muscles and ligatures of my body is enjoyable, and achieving some of the more advanced yoga exercises/positions both a challenge and joy. My favorite position at the moment is the arm balance Bakasana – the crow pose, but equally I have been working on various headstands. That said, my body these-days doesn’t seem to want to throw itself into a handstand, not so nimble these days. However, I know at home, I can work at my own pace, as long as I warm up first, relax the body, and learn/enjoy the benefits of each session. My only advice to any budding ‘Yogis’ is invest in a good mat, it makes a difference, and check-out a yoga teacher who puts you at ease, it is not a race! So find some relaxing clothing, a bit of space in your front room, and I recommend you give it a go, you’ll be quietly surprised.