Yoga and the Middle Aged Woman

I’ve decided to take up yoga again. Most of you already know that I’m pretty athletic. I play racquetball a lot and I lift weights once a week. Stretching, however, is not part of my routine. I make half hearted attempts at it, but really, I’m happier sitting in a sauna which isn’t the same thing at all. Sadly, sciatic pain and other tight muscles have convinced me that it’s time to try it again. Once long ago, I taught yoga classes, so it shouldn’t be that hard to get back into it, right? Guess what I discovered.

1. A decade of not stretching was a really bad idea. Touch my toes? Well, I can get to my knees. Does that count?
2. A strong core from weight lifting is not the same thing as abs of steel. And neither seems to be much help when I try to get into pigeon pose.
3. Pigeon pose? How about we call that old woman cannot tie herself into a knot pose?
4. I’ve done this for 3 days, 20 minutes each time. I’ve seen real pain reduction immediately. Well, not immediately. After I stop doing yoga, I feel much better.
5. My intro class was too easy. What was I thinking?

Answer: All of the above EXCEPT 5 My intro class was way too hard. What was I thinking? I have yet to complete it. My flexibility is virtually non-existent, but even a couple days of half hearted yoga has made a real difference. The sciatic pain is almost gone. True, I’m moaning and groaning as I do the yoga, but it really has been a great benefit to me. And yes, the real shocker is that I have a pretty strong core. My trainer has seen to that, but yoga strengthens AND stretches and that is not something I’ve done for a very long while. Ouch!

Just to make you laugh, I’ve included a couple pictures here of me trying to get into pigeon pose. Trust me, this is not at all how it looks in the books.