Once again yoga saves the day! I was having quite the classic difficult Monday (definitely a case of the Mondays), and nothing seemed to be going right. I had back to back meetings from 10am until 4pm and didn't even get to take a lunch until 4pm, so needless to say I was getting a little cranky. But every Monday night I go to the 7:15pm Hour of Power class, which is a Hot Power Vinyasa Flow Yoga practice. Basically its an hour of various yoga poses, in a somewhat organized sequence, done in about a 90 degree sweaty room, all crammed into a 1 hour session. By the end of class your dripping in sweat and feel so accomplished. After almost every yoga session, you come out feeling a kind of "high", but this particular practice really saved the day. Besides the physical aspects that allow you to remove any negative thoughts or stresses of the day, the class gives you an optimum time to meditate and clear your mind of any bad emotions and really get a grasp of what's important in life.
As I discussed, every week I wanted to share a Sankrit word that I learn in class that really has a positive message about how I want to live my life. At the end of every class we usually end with our eyes closed, and our hands close together in prayer at our forehead, bowing and expressing the word "Namaste". As I'm learning, their are many different translations, such as "greetings" or "be well" or "I bow to you", but my favorite variation is "the light within me, honors the light within you". The meaning that I get from this, is that every person is important in their own way, and I as a human being, also acknowledge that importance. This teaches me that every person is special in their own way and has a inner glow that shines. I know this may seem a little cheesy and maybe a little overboard, but if everyone, accepted this concept just a little, maybe the world would be a better place.
I feel so peaceful by reading your "At the end of every class we usually end with our eyes closed, and our hands close together in prayer at our forehead, bowing and expressing the word "Namaste"" . I went to GYM yesterday, but missed the yoga class then I tried to sneak in a Zumba dance class. The big classroom has two walls made by glass (outside people could see inside), and one wall made by a huge mirror (inside people could see each other by turning around). Since I was a new learning, I always had a wrong direction against the others. I felt embarrassed, so soon, I sneaked out and jumped to the swimming pool. I felt much better in the swimming pool.
ReplyDeleteHuian and Larry,
ReplyDeleteI love exercise after a hard day, it is really helpful to come alive and get rid of all the tension in one's life. But like Huian I am insecure at having people watch me when I work out! I am dyslexic and so the dance classes can be torture for me - class goes right and I go left - ouch! Whatever happened to free style??? LOL
There truly is nothing better than to blow off steam at the gym. Whether its lifting weights cardio, or yoga they all help.
ReplyDeleteI have recently started to do yoga(meditation) in the evenings after i work out, it is so relaxing and it helps me sleep way better surprisingly. In fact, it even helped my bench press go up. It is a challenging activity that no one should underestimate!
I took a yoga class here at south and I always felt amazing afterwards. I remember ending class the same way as you and reading your blog made me feel at ease and less stressed out. Yoga is definitely a stress reliever. I also love Zumba, although I am not the best dancer I feel like it gives me a great overall workout and I definitely sweat a ton during class. I think it is a good alternative for people who cannot tolerate the heat from hot yoga
ReplyDeleteIt's always great when you find something that works well to clear your mind. I have done Bikram yoga in the past but was never able to get into it myself. I do love me some regular flow yoga though. Its amazing how yoga movements can create such calm inside of you. I'm also a huge runner which always helps me clear my head since all I can think about is not dying.
ReplyDeleteI've never actually done yoga, but I have always wanted to try it especially Hot Yoga. I always seem to never have enough time to get around to it, especially with school and work all the time. But after reading your posts, I am definitly going to try and make time so I can get some more relaxation in my life.
DeleteAfter reading yours and Kate's blog I really want to start getting organized enough to do yoga again. I love the feeling you talk about in the beginning, after a stressful day how it’s just such a relaxing high after you finish and you feel so accomplished, especially with hot yoga. It feels so great to sweat out all the stresses of the day.
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