Beginning Yoga

Start Yoga 2016

It is the New Year and, like most people, I have decided that I need to get back into shape.  Over the last year, I have gone from training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) twice per week and running 5 days per week to doing one workout every couple of weeks.  I have noticed a change in my fitness level, a change in body composition (fat vs. muscle), and I seem to be more injury prone (BJJ is unforgiving).

What am I doing about it?

Before the New Year, I sat down to really think over what I want for myself from a fitness perspective, which I will cover in a future post, but the short of it was that I need to balance my body (left vs right hemisphere), improve my cardio, and get stronger.  I want to be in the best shape of my life this year and feel good getting there!

One of the ways that I am going to try and meet these goals is to take up Yoga, which I have decided cover in a weekly Yoga post.  I will  aim to get these posts out on Wednesdays.  I think that I will be able to provide a unique perspective (a normal guy) to beginning Yoga and what to expect both in and from it. 

Why the heck would I choose Yoga?

Why Yoga?  The primary physical benefits from yoga, as I can tell so far, are:

  • Improved flexibility
  • Improved breathing
  • Better balance
  • Increased strength

The improved flexibility, balance, and strength will help with injury prevention, which is my primary concern at the moment.  The majority of injuries I have sustained over the years from BJJ have hit certain areas:  the back, the joints, and the neck.  Yoga is known for its ability to stretch and strengthen the entire spinal area, which is the entire back and neck. 

Since Yoga is a different kind of strength workout, I hope that I will hit muscles that I have not traditionally strengthened with weightlifting.  A common adage in fitness is to keep tricking your muscles.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with this concept, the reason is that your muscles ‘get used to’ exercises and weights.  What worked well yesterday, doesn’t work quite as well as today and so on.  Since my body is not used to this type of workout, I SHOULD see some additional gains.  I think this is different enough to fall under that category.

For me, it is a different kind of workout, specifically low impact, for which my aging bones and joints will be thankful (at least they better be).  I don’t want to be drained all of the time, like I used to be in college from weightlifting.  I certainly don’t want to be sore all of the time like I am now from running (when it happens) and BJJ.

This is how I am starting

This coming Sunday, Ali and I will embark on a mini-Yoga journey.  We are taking a 6-week introductory course at the YogaLifeNH Institute in Exeter, NH.  Using this 6-week course as a primer, I am going to develop a home practice, take up Yoga, and see if I can make it a part of my lifestyle.  Hopefully, I will notice a difference in my flexibility, fitness level, and strength.

What will my posts be about?

I will use this as an opportunity to provide information on what I learn, how well I am doing (more likely how poorly I am doing), what I have done for the week, and what the plan looks like going forward.  This will be a fun little side project to add another story in order to motivate you or, depending on how I do, to entertain you.

 

Do you practice Yoga?  If so, what was your experience when you started and do you have any pointers?

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