Hi All
I am about to go to my first Yoga class in 5 years! I started practicing Hatha yoga weekly when I was 14 and carried on until I was 19, I love it! Needless to say after 5 years of regular practice I was pretty darn good at it, in terms of holding correct posture with little effort, being able to practice more advanced postures and going into very deep, relaxing states of meditation.
I wanted to be a yoga teacher (part of me still does), but my parents were adamant about me going to Uni to get a 'proper' qualification, so I did, whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the course and experience I unfortunately fell out of Yoga practice, gradually practicing less and less until I got a bad case of glandular fever and was confined to my bed for nearly three months.
Anyway... has anyone else experienced a long break from yoga and then getting back into practise? I am a bit nervous, it feels like starting from scratch! I know that yoga should ideally have nothing to do with ego and everything to do with just taking time out for your Self, but I can't help feeling frustrated that my body just isn't anywhere near as strong and flexible as it once was! Meditation is also a lot harder these days, I cannot stop my mind from chattering away. Any advice on how to relax back into it and stop my big ego getting in the way?
Thanks
george
Hi George
I went back to hatha (and started Pilates) at the end of January this year after not practising for about 2 - 3 years. Previously I had just done a 45 minute practice at home every morning during the winter months and about two or three times a week in the summer. I just did the same routine which was meant to keep me flexible. I'm a lot older than you (I'm 58 now). That daily practice went on for about 7 years, so although I didn't challenge myself I was happy with what I did. I've never had a very supple body, have short hamstrings but I loved it. Anyway, for various reasons I stopped and , as I say above, just started again with a weekly class. Well, I would definitely say 'do it'. Although I started off very stiff, I'm gradually loosening up and loving the class. I'm going to India this winter for three months and hope to get back into my daily routine there. Of course you're going to be frustrated to begin with as it will take some time for your body to reach its former level of flexibility. Likewise with meditation, I feel there's no magic formula, just practice, practice, practice. Without ever beating yourself up about it. The benefits of starting again, at whatever level, so much outweigh not doing anything. Do it! And train to be a yoga teacher too. Good luck and let us know how you get on.
xxx
Hi Sunanda
Thank you for the encouragement. I went along to a Vinyasa class last night. It was really good, I was really impressed in the space they had (it was held at a purpose-build Yoga studio) and there were only three of us and the teacher in the class too, so it was really nice getting lots of attention from the teacher.
The yoga itself got me sweating! I found Vinyasa yoga much faster paced than the hatha yoga I used to do, lots of strong postures in quite a fast paced flowing sequence. The teacher was lovely, helping us make adjustments to suit our ability and bringing focus to the breath. It got me sweating and my muscles ache a little today (but in a nice way) and the relaxation at the end was very powerful. I felt like I was walking on air for a couple of hours afterwards!
I am definitely going back again next week!
Thanks
George
Sounds great, George. I know what you mean about a 'good' muscle ache. And of course that won't last very long. I couldn't do a flowing programme nowadays but if you enjoyed it and it made you feel good, then it's obviously for you. It also helps enormously when you've got a small class and lots of room. Enjoy!
xxx
I've been following your thread and heading Sunanda's advice re the meditation - practice and more practice.
Great that you got yourself to a class, I love that good ache feeling- you know you've worked your body. Isn't relaxation great!
Keep it up, before long your body won't even realise that you hadn't practised for a while.
Om Shanti
Purplewolf