Yoga for a Dummy

It sure is easy to feel that way when an otherwise fit and healthy person (me) tries yoga. I began to be intrigued when participants in my MELT classes (or Pilates for that matter) all of a sudden told me that that ‘was yoga’.

I am not a yoga teacher, and I am also not a yoga practitioner but I respect this modality highly. I am also aware that there are many schools of yoga which can vary quite fundamentally from one another in addition to all the hybrid creations of the western world (my favorite is probably hip-hop yoga).

I have taken some yoga classes, all of them at the IDEA Conventions where the teachers tend to be the best in the country and are of a yogic ability to give the artists of Cirque du Soleil a run for their money.

Being a bit pressed for time and not having time for a class, I got some DVDs and instructions and went to work. Fortunately, I have a studio with huge mirrors and can inspect myself from every angle. I can also understand when cues on form are provided yet it is interesting to slip back into the role of a student and acquire a new set of movement skills. Also quite maddening when one understands the instructions but somehow the body fails to comply because it hasn’t been in that position in a while (maybe never). Yet, I am determined to give it a try.

Good thing I know how to MELT. MELT is a great lengthening technique, and it prepares the body well for any other fitness modality, particularly yoga.

Who knows: maybe one day I will be able to twist myself into a pretzel after all J