Today's workout - YOGA! Now I have to admit I have a love/hate relationship with yoga. I know it does wonders for the body in terms of flexibility, strength and even relaxation. And as someone who lifts heavy, does HIIT and LISS (see previous Workout Wednesdays if these terms of foreign to you) and has a physical job, I know I need to stretching and increased flexibility. But if I am being honest, I hate it. I find it hard to relax. I find it boring. From the second I enter, I am counting down the seconds until I can leave. I try to like yoga and I used to really enjoy it when I first started doing it about 6 years ago, but as my workout intensity increased, my desire to spend time stretching and relaxing decreased. The more I needed it, the less I wanted too.
Cut to now and I have been working with a good friend of mine to lose the last of her baby weight. Our husbands are friends and so she'd heard that I love working out and eating healthy and we bonded over our shared interest (and our desire to do the Tough Mudder - stayed tuned for details on that in October 2012). She asked if I had any interest in yoga and I lied and said yes because I knew if I committed to doing it with her, I wouldn't back out (workout buddies can work wonders in terms of motivation!). We joined a studio near my house and I have to say, the more we go, the more I like it. I don't love it. I still hate that it's an area where pushing yourself isn't always the right idea since my go-to attitude in working out is harder, heavier, faster! But maybe that's exactly why I need it - it's a new kind of challenge. I am used to being the one of the strongest people in the gym, but here I struggle and I have to look to those around me for how to improve. It's humbling...and challenging.
Working out and being healthy is a way of life, not a goal. And it requires constant change and improvement. I think yoga will help me in the other areas of fitness that I enjoy more but I also know that if I keep doing the same thing, I will keep getting the same results and that's not good enough!
Do you do yoga? Do you enjoy it? What's your favorite type of yoga?
LOVE yoga! But kind of hate the really slow classes that focus a lot on breathing and holding stretch poses for long periods of time, those classes annoy me. I like flow & power classes where there is constant movement and the poses you have to hold for awhile (like Warrior poses) cause a serious burn! I feel like I get an actual workout from them rather than a supervised nap.
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