Sunday, July 28, 2013

Yoga 1.0

I don't have much experience with yoga. Even though I've often been involved in sports, in the past I've typically avoided stretching as much as possible. I'd stretch when my coaches told me to, or for a couple of minutes before a run, but that was it.

Predictably, in recent years I noticed that my muscles were becoming less flexible. For a while I managed to ignore this unfortunate fact, but recently I acknowledged that this is an issue to be dealt with sooner rather than later. As we age, flexibility decreases, which has a negative impact on mobility in the later years. If I intend to be active in my 80s and beyond, I'd better start doing something about my flexibility now, before its too late.

My current workout program is Focus T25, which includes a full 25 minute stretching sequence that should be done at least once a week. It incorporates active stretching as well as yoga positions. I've been enjoying the yoga aspects of the workout, especially a section that incorporates the "pigeon" pose. The stretch through the hip is fantastic, but I feel like I haven't quite gotten it right. I'm now hoping to take a yoga class at least once a week in the fall, but in the meantime I found a website which offers some good tips on correct position. Please check it out - the link below is about the "pigeon", but once you're in the website there's a lot of good information for beginning yoga practitioners. Enjoy!

http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/1808

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