Fitness: A month of Yoga

A couple of months ago, Laura and I decided that we want to try out yoga, since we both aren't very flexible and often have cramps because of all the running and other sports we do. So, we signed up for a two hour introduction class at a local yoga studio, Yoga Dreams in Zaandam. After the introduction class we could try out every class for a month.

So what exactly is yoga? I was kinda scared for a room full with girls in very stretchy clothes, trying to tie themselves into impossible knots. I was wrong. There were lots of different people, which is fun. We first learned what Yoga is; Yoga is a series of very precise body weight postures and movements which are designed to improve the body in important areas.There are LOTS of poses, focusing on different goals to develop both strength and flexibility at the same time.
Along with those poses there's a lot of breathing going on. Breath in, breath out. Controlling and optimizing your breath is very important to do proper yoga.

During our introduction class we learned a lot about breathing, we did some basic poses, pretty manageable. We also learned about all the different kinds of yoga classes they give at the studio. They have lots of options. We learned that yoga is a chance to relax and treat yourself right, to fix your neglected and over used body and prepare for the next challenge. That sounds pretty good, right? Since I've started CrossFit, not a week goes by without sore muscles and I could use some more stretching.

So after our introduction class, we got together to see what classes we'd like to take: We decided to do neck, back and shoulder yoga, since we both have stiff shoulders from work. We also wanted to do Ashtanga Vinyasa (Power Yoga) and Kundalini.

Okay. So we did all of these classes and I liked Ashtanga Vinyasa best. We did the Basic class and we did lots of poses for strength and balance. I liked it because it wasn't as vague as I thought it would be. We also did classes where we had to focus on our 3th eye (wait, my what?), stuff like that just doesn't work for me. At the end of each class we had a relaxing exercise, controlling your breathing and focussing on your body relaxing. It was a bit too relaxed for me, because each time I almost fell asleep!

In the end I really believe yoga could be good for you, very good. I noticed my posture was better after a yoga class, all the stretching helped me with my sore muscles from CrossFit. But, I'm not continuing my yoga experience. I'm just to busy. A full time job, CrossFit 3 evenings a week, keeping up this blog and name paintings business, Yoga would be too much. Our teacher would disagree of course, it could be just what I need. One hour to relax and just think of me. And you know what, maybe she is right (but when?).