Thursday, January 08, 2009

It Expands and Contracts

One day off from yoga, I was back tonight.

After feeling so good, I am now starting to notice some muscles that just don't want to yield. Yet. I need my chiropractor. I need deep tissue massage. Like every day of my life!

Breathing seems to be harder too. I just can't get enough air in. Maybe I'm congested.

When the instructor tells us to... "breathe deep, filling your belly." I am reminded that I never could do that. I can rarely get enough air to fill past my esophagus - much less all the way down to my belly. I would have to take another breathe before I could finish.
Mental note to share this with my allergy doctor.

When we moved into one stretch, the muscles in my back would not loosen up. They pulled against the direction I was pulling and I made a squeak before I even knew it!

The rest of the time I just wanted to peel my workout clothes off. It's just so hot in there. And I'm not going to the hot yoga class. I tried to think of what fabric, and what length would make the ideal yoga pant!

After class, I apologized to the guy next to me for disturbing him with my squeak.

We chatted for a little while as we rolled up our mats then parted to find our shoes and coats. He found me again at the front of the studio/shop where I was feeling the weight of the yoga pants they had for sale. He inquired and I told him I was looking for something lightweight, and sort of joked that I really only wanted to wear a swimsuit in there it's so hot!
I said that I noticed everyone else was in yoga pants, would it be okay to wear shorts? He described a pair of 'boy shorts' that he saw another girl wearing, suggesting they would be cool enough.
"Hmm." I thought aloud. "I have a pair of those but I need to get my legs firmer before I would wear them in public. "
To which he responded. "Man. You're such a girl!"

The lesson here is - we as women can be so self-conscious about things other people - especially men - don't even notice. Men are much more forgiving of our bodies than we are.
Lighten up on yourself. That's my lesson for the day.

TRS Accountability: One hour yoga

4 comments:

  1. Thanks. I've long since given up worrying about what I look like in a swimsuit when I go to the pool. One of the things I love about the pool is that everyone is there for exercise. No bikinis (though occassionally a guy'll wear a speedo...yuck), and half the people that are there are over 50.

    Looks like I'll be walking for the next 2 exercise times I have to get in this weekend. I was starting to feel better last night, but something kept me up last night (watching my team lose) and I think that the lack of sleep hurt me. I'll get a good night's tonight, and then I should be in good shape to at least get some fresh air (it's finally sunny outside!) and movement in tomorrow and Sunday afternoons.

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  4. Just so you know, when I wrote 'you' - it was NOT directed at you, Ronnica specifically. It was for the 'you' of blogdom - if they care.

    Funny, it takes something like that guy's comment to realize how critical I am of my body.
    I'm all... "My arms aren't buff enough for that dress." My boobs aren't perky enough for that shirt." "Should I be wearing a skirt that short? Not until I get more muscle tone in my legs."

    No one in the world looks at me that critically. Maybe a few women do, but certainly not men. Men just think, "Woman. Good."

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