Last week I stated that my initial approach to improving my flexibility would be to revisit a yoga exercise regime. This is a 28-day fitness program which I began – from Day 1, no cheating – on July 2. I’ll let you do the math but I am not on Day 15! Ah how things conspire against good intention!
But, although I find myself somewhat mired on Day 8, I am not disheartened. I have been distracted only by transient episodes that will settle down, and for each day I have missed, I have gone back one day to review before the next daily set.
This is the upside to having a ‘program’ approach. I have noticed that I got through the ‘rubber leg’ stage where my body was trying to reintroduce different muscle groups. “Hey, remember me? I’m that hamstring that has been coiled up in your thigh all this time. Thanks for the stretch!” I expect this dialogue will continue until all muscle groups are players in the game.
I was gratified to learn from the responses to my first blog that lack of flexibility is not totally a gender issue. I had assumed that women were naturally more flexible – due to their pelvic structure. I might have reached this conclusion from the pictures in my yoga book : the impossibly fit looking young woman in the extreme positions of every pose.
Also, that damn little box does have a different scale for men and women, with the bar set higher for women. But apparently this was misleading as some very fit-looking women have shared their own story of under achievement against that little box. I thank you for that.
Another comment was whether there was an approach to yoga that wasn’t too…New Agey? Well, yes there certainly is: make it your own style. The yoga exercises that I’m trying to practice are basically stretching exercises. Yes, the book does expound on some yoga practices that seem a little outside my needs (How long can you stare at a candle?) I can accept them as relaxation techniques – or gloss over them entirely, depending on my mood.
Yeah, this may not be in the true spirit of advanced yoga, but I’m not using this as a tool to spiritual enlightenment either. There is a gradual progression in the exercises which I find appealing as an internal measurement of progress – in addition to the comments that my muscle groups throw back at me!
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Similar to your hamstring my lower back sends out sharp little reminders every now and again saying “watch it missy or I’m going to make your life a living nightmare.”
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