Last year I had determined to take up yoga seriously after realizing I had exercise-induced asthma. Discovered that golden nugget while taking kickboxing classes. I loved it and the strength I gained…until I couldn’t breathe after a short jog. Week by week, it progressively got worse, so that every time my heartrate increased, my body would overheat and my throat closed up. I opted to get out of kickboxing, at least for the time being.
I did a little YouTube research. There weren’t many yoga studios close to home, and the ones that were did not fit into my busy schedule. But YouTube is a plethora (apparently plethora is my word of the month) of free information. I came across a Yogi who called herself YogiNora. She has hour long videos of her yoga regiment and a few broken-down classes, and if you want to be amazed, you can watch her full workout. Can you say “flexible”? I fell in love with her because–obviously–she knows what she’s doing. She practices up to five hours a day and also teaches yoga classes. She’s pretty legit.
I started out really strong. I practiced five times a week and had worked myself up to an hour. I felt amazing! I was stronger, more flexible, calmer, more positive, but then I petered out. Typical of me. I continued on and off all year. It’s frustrating how swiftly you lose everything you had built up. That’s what gets me. You work and work and sweat and put the time in, and in a month, it fades. So frustrating.
Anyway, I’ve been trying to practice more. It truly helps, and even if I only do 20 minutes at a time, I notice the difference. Yesterday, I was feeling really good and did a whole hour.
MISTAKE
I think I pulled….every muscle….in my body. So today I’m paying for it. I’m going to lie low for a few days, then work myself up from 20 minutes again. But if you’re looking for a relaxing, steady workout without cardio, check out YogiNora. She’s amazing.
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