Wednesday, January 2, 2008

So where are we at?

Here's where I am at.
In march, I had to take a last P.E. class and after 5 semesters of aerobic, I decided it was time for a change. I picked "body art". Wikipedia claims that it's painting in the human body, but fortunately it wasn't: it was yoga, but without the whole philosophy.
I didn't love it. I was doing two semesters at once in college and was constantly tired (plus I have health issues that make me even more tired). I couldn't exercise a whole class through. I was always doing the easiest versions of the poses. The teacher was saying how much strength this workout gave her, but I didn't feel as empowered as her.
Then came the summer, with it's usual loosing weight and doing lots of cardio resolutions. I swam a lot and it felt great, but there were times when I couldn't for various reasons. I took my bike and that was a disaster - I'd ride 10-20 minutes and feel weak and exhausted, I could barely stand up. I got more aware of my health issues and understood I really had to manage my effort and not overdo it. Worse yet, overdo for me meant way less than overdo for a healthy person.
"Then how on earth did you swim so much?" would be the question to ask right now. Well, my swimming pool is 8 meters long and I'd make a short stop every time. On the bike, I'd just drive like crazy, since stopping isn't really an attractive option.
Shortly later, a friend gave me her old roller skates. That was fun, but then came the autumn. My immune system doesn't like me going out, especially when it's cold but I get hot because of the effort. I had to practice in and came back to yoga.
I took a magazine and reminded myself of the sun salutation. I started doing it on a regular basis, as it's a minute long and you can easily fit it into your day. I work at the computer a lot and need to take breaks from it and firmly believe that doing a few sun salutations is the best way of spending such a break. I started seeing the results after only a few weeks. I could do the harder versions of the warrior, my flexibility improved, I felt way way stronger. I even got a way flatter belly! (Which I wasted during the holidays, but I'll get it back. ) So right now, encouraged by all the progress, I'm learning new poses and doing yoga with a great enthusiasm.

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