Breaking News: Yoga Good For Health, Makes You Feel Good
I just realized my underwear match my shirt. It’s a secret joy that I share with no one. Except you, dear reader.
My Bikram yoga practice has become more serious lately, as I focus (like a sophisticated light beam known as a “laser”) on becoming a yoga teacher. Last week I went seven days in a row. It felt GREAT! It was hard to take days off the following Sunday and Tuesday (this week.) The more serious I’ve gotten about yoga, the more careful I’ve been about what I eat, especially the days I practice. Any blast of refined sugar (like a cookie or a donut) will mean I have a tired, lackluster practice that day. Though the series seems to burn up lots of calories, it also seems to dial down my resting metabolism—yesterday was my second day in a row without practicing, (I’m going back tonight!) and I was very, very hungry by evening. (My hypothesis is that I am hungrier on the days I don’t practice.) I picked my in-laws up at the airport, returned from LA, and went out to Chinese food. I ordered one of my favorites: Crispy Eggplant in Tangy Glaze. The glaze is doubtless high-calorie and high-fat, but the real indulgence is the thick layer of deep-fried breading, equal in thickness to the slice of eggplant it surrounds. Basically, the actual eggplant is just a pretext! I ate about half of it and I felt TERRIBLE. I had awful indigestion and I was SO tired, I dragged my hiney to bed at 9:00 after making up the guest bed and folding the bare minimum of laundry so that one could sit on the downstairs couch. I wasn’t actually ill—this morning I’m fit as a fiddle. I guess I have been focusing on eating lots of fresh fruits, dairy, complex carbs—healthy food—and my body has gotten used to it. So. No more deep-fried sugar-laden crap for this “yogi!” Or better yet, as my friend’s fridge magnet has it: [click here.]
On Tuesday, I went running for the first time in at least a week. I’ve noticed before that if I’ve been practicing yoga regularly, I still have a good run even if I haven’t been running in a while. Tuesday was no exception—my muscles were loose, I ran pretty fast, and I just felt this intense bubbly sense of joy in running. (More so than usual!)
Next month I’ll do thirty days in a row; I can’t wait. Won’t have much time for running, though!
posted by yogainseattle at 10:09 AM
2 Comments:
how do you sustain your yoga enthusiasm ? i tried it once worked well for a week and found it boring doing the same old thing over and over again. any suggestion/ advice is welcome
1:50 PM, March 16, 2006
Hmm. This is a good question. I practiced off and on for years before I really started practicing consistently. The first step was realizing how much better EVERYTHING in my life went when I went to yoga class (and conversely, how things were not so good when I didn't go--especially the state of my spine!) You don't say, but from "same old thing over and over again" I suspect you were doing Bikram or another yoga style that repeats the same or similar series each class. In that case, that type of yoga may not be for you! I would advise you ask around at different studios and find a class that's different each time. I mostly do Bikram, obviously, but I know there are plenty of classes that just emphasize one part of the body at a time--hip openers one day, for example; spine strengthening the next. Doing something different each time is great because you're not mentally preparing for each pose, you just have to take it as it comes. Of course the advantage of doing the same series repeatedly is you see more rapid progress, but I think you should find a practice that engages you mentally, aka one that you enjoy. Otherwise there's no point! hope this helps!
10:34 AM, April 11, 2006
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