Continuing with my week of stretching, I took up the second half of Yoga X, having done the first half yesterday. This is the first time I've done this, although I've seen on the web that many others have tried before, usually due to lack of time or lack of patience. My excuse today was lack of time.
It's not the best idea to do just the 2nd half of Yoga X. A better idea would be to to the first half, which involves stretches and moving options. The second half, consisting of balance postures, some stretches, and Yoga Belly 7 (abdominal exercises) is best pursued having first seriously warmed up your body. Entering into this venture cold could result in injury by overstretching. Conscious of that possibility, I made sure not to push my body past the point of no return. When I felt resistance, I stopped, breathed, and tried to go a few millimetres farther, but without risking injury.
Similar to yesterday, I found the second half of this DVD fairly easy to get through, in spite of the fact that I hadn't done it in quite some time. I think that the other yoga DVDs in my collection have proven to be adequate substitutes for Yoga X and, although they lack the length of Yoga X and in some cases, some of the intensity, regular practice has made me sufficiently supple and flexible to pick up Yoga X and complete it with relative ease. The exception might be Wheel pose, which has always been difficult as my spine doesn't seem to want to bend into a reverse-U form, and the Warrior pose with the hand grab behind the back. While I can still do this pose, I always find it difficult to grab my hand, one side presenting more problems than the other. Similarly, seated spinal stretch is tough. It goes to show you that taking care of your spine is really important.
Having had so much fun, I think I'll return to Yoga X on a more frequent basis. It's nice to remember that it's there to add variety.
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