Yoga For You – First Update!

So, remember when I told you I was going to read this yoga book? And do what it says, and then tell you about it? And I bet you think I forgot all about, right? Well, I didn’t! I’ve actually been keeping up with it! Or the first chapter, at least.

With that, here is a summary of the first lesson (plus my commentary/experience!)  The chapter focused on instilling the very basic fundamentals of yoga. You know, breathing and stuff.

I find it easiest to absorb information in lists. So, a list of ‘main points’, if you will.

  • Waking Up: The first thing Indra tries to teach us is how to ‘wake up properly’. This involves doing a series of stretches and a few yawns to allow your body to fully awaken before actually getting out of bed. She mentions that animals can serve as a good example of how to do this. Unless in a state of alarm, they never jump up but yawn and stretch for a few minutes to fully awaken. And here I thought Jack was just being overdramatic about being woken up too early. This is a little different from what I’m used to. I usually lunge out of bed at the first sound of the alarm as though it’s one of those race cannons. The first two days, I did just that and had to remind myself to get back into bed and stretch for a few minutes.
  • Deep Breathing: Although this may seem like common sense, it’s actually one of the things most people find to be one of the toughest about yoga. Since breathing is something we do so instinctively, it’s difficult to be conscious of it. After all, it’s not like you’re going to stop doing it if you don’t think about it. Deep breathing means being conscious of your breath and drawing the air in through the back of your throat and through as much of your body as possible. I can feel you rolling your eyes as you read this. Try it out, let me know what you think! I find that it kind of calms my mind a bit (and according to Indra, cures thousands of ailments).
Deep Breathing

Deep Breathing

  • Neck & Eye Exercises: The book recommends that you do these exercises on an empty stomach and without any tight clothing on. I felt it made most sense to try to do this first thing in the morning after the aforementioned ‘waking up routine’. At this point, I’d like to mention that I wake up at 4:30 AM. Long story short, I don’t like to rush while getting ready. So there I sat, at 4:30 in the morning, in my spare bedroom, doing my neck and eye exercises. As you can imagine, I felt a little ridiculous. I mean, I could be getting an extra 10 minutes of sleep, and here I am moving my neck in circles and looking from side to side, and up and down. Surprisingly enough, I felt super awake after doing these! I mean, not a drop of coffee in me or anything! According to the book, doing this every day will decrease my likelihood of developing a double chin! Can’t go wrong there, I guess.
Eye exercises

Eye exercises

  • Yoga Postures: Last but not least, some actual poses! Nothing too intimidating here…no king pigeon or peacock or anything along those lines (not that I can actually do those anyway). Just a few basic poses to get you into the swing of things, including cobra, head to knee, and lotus pose along with some others. Indra promises to kick it up a notch once ‘your joints and muscles become more nimble and flexible’.

As you can probably imagine, this whole routine takes a bit of time. My first day, I only allotted about 15 minutes of my morning routine to try to get through this, which wasn’t enough considering I don’t have the routine memorized and had to read through the book as I went. So, I gave myself a little more time the next day and got through the whole routine.

In terms of results, nothing earth shattering as of yet. I did notice that I feel more awake than I normally do before a cup of coffee. As cliché as it sounds, after a couple days, I noticed a certain sense of calmness. Things didn’t seem to bother me as much. I didn’t become as irritable in traffic, or as impatient while waiting in lines. I don’t know, maybe it’s some sort of placebo effect.

Next week, you can expect a ‘lengthy discussion on the issues regarding food regimes’ and a half headstand. Yikes.

Meanwhile, someone appears to be in a foul mood. He is seriously pouting in every picture.

Yoga Update - Tulips & A Terrier

One thought on “Yoga For You – First Update!

  1. artashes antonian

    Read this thoroughly, and memorize: YOU WILL NOT TRY SALAMBA SIRSASANA (the headstand pose). Do salamba sarvangasana (the shoulderstand) instead – effect is the same. Dangers of the headstand cannot be underestimated, with severe neck injury topping the list. Especially for women, with their naturally slimmer necks and heavier bottoms.

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