Round 5: Day 67: Yoga

Hey! This is post #300. Where does the time go?

This morning was a study in contrasts: the calmness of yoga, followed by the chaos of riding a bicycle through downtown Toronto traffic. If not for the former, the latter would have been much less tolerable.

This morning's session was Patience "Hummingbird" Yoga. The more I do this workout, the more I enjoy it. Tony is very low-key, giving cues sparingly and sometimes not at all, and his voice is calm and quiet, except for the introduction. I enjoy holding the poses for extended periods of time, which brings the challenge of breathing and an awareness of the body that doesn't come with more frequent movement. There's still ample opportunity to tune out the world and anything on your mind.

There were a couple of moves today which I really enjoyed: warrior 3 with straight front leg, and triangle pose. Warrior 3 with the straight front leg gave me a fantastic stretch extending from my hips to my fingertips. Holding that pose for an extended period of time was terrific. Triangle pose gave me an opportunity to really stretch out my hamstrings, which have felt a little tight lately. At the same time, it opened up my chest and allowed me to stretch out my shoulder as I extended my arm towards the ceiling, my open hand in line with my face. I felt that all the way through the back of my shoulder, and could feel the muscles of my shoulder squeeze the bones in my shoulder.

I also appreciate a minute just holding downward dog and breathing. It's a great calf stretch, exactly what I need before jumping onto the bicycle. As always, yoga comes at the right time of the week and offers a great mental, as well as physical, release.

Namaste.