Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Round 7: Day 4: Yoga

Considering all the aches my body is currently experiencing, having just returned to my workout regimen, I was both looking forward to, and dreading, yoga. Over the past few weeks, I've felt a bit of tightening in my hamstrings and, due to a bit of stress on my back, a little residual soreness and constrained movement when bending forwards. Both of these areas get a lot of attention during a typical yoga practice.

Mentally, I was really prepared for yoga. Physically, not so much. Just bending over at the start of the practice made me realize that I've lost a bit of flexibility in the past few weeks. My hands didn't quite hit the mat in the manner they used to, and it felt like my hamstrings were preventing my legs from completely straightening out. My range of motion improved as the practice went on, but it was really a challenge today. My right hamstring in particular felt tight, especially during the hamstring stretch portion of the practice, but I was still able to grasp the bottom of my heel and get my nose relatively close to my knee. It's a challenge to keep the leg straight during this pose, but I felt that I was coming reasonably close to success.

Sore as my body was, I felt much better following yoga. It wasn't the full body massage feeling I've had on previous occasions, but it definitely took the edge off, and eased the worst of the soreness. Remember, this is only Week 1, and there's bound to be some soreness at the outset of a program. In time, my body should adjust. I just hope that time comes sooner, rather than later.

Namaste.

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