Movement with Breath and proper alignment. What I have observed is that many yoga participants move beyond the control of there breath and forget (or are not aware) of what it means to maintain a neutral spine. At every class I attend I see people pushing beyond where they should and as an instructor in training I must take this awareness into my classes when I begin teaching. You should 'stretch' yourself, this is the point of stretching in general, beyond normal lengths and to a point of discomfort but do not jump over the edge.
So, today I took my father to do yoga at Yoga is Youthfulness in Mountain View, a nice studio with good instructors. We did a nice class that allowed us to move into our stretches and challenge ourselves and repeat the posture. The instructor moved at good pace with a good explanation of the postures and demonstration. Class took an 1 hour and 15 minutes and I feel the difference. I focused on staying within my breath and a strong concentration on my body within space. Walked in tight walked out mobile.
Awesome to work with my dad and see him out at 67 working to improve himself.
PS: The instructor noted that I need to not lift so much weight, it is holding back my flexibility....lol guess she does not know me well :-)
4 comments:
Good post Joe, I'm looking forward to getting back into yoga in the coming weeks. I had a visual of my Dad in a yoga class. Hilarious. I would pay money to see that. :)
lol, let me tell you flexibility is not his best attribute but great way to hang with the pops.
Provides a great personal balance for me and allows me a way to meditate in a peaceful state...love it
Joe,
Keep the balance you have and accept that the expectations of a "yogi" might not match up with reality for a strength athlete.
those are great words of wisdom Brett, I accept with open arms. See you in a couple weeks time
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