Am I the only one who finds Yoga, even “power” yoga like Ashtanga, too calm & peaceful for use as exercise?
It’s not that calm and peaceful doesn’t go with exercise, exactly. During a hard run or stairs I’ll get into the inner peace, and I love it. It’s just that I am used to suffering a bit on the way there - and I like that too. You can’t just go right into the inner peace. It’s just - odd. And peaceful. Yuck. Don’t these people have some frustrations to work out, or something? It just feels wrong to me to get all geared up, pop in the DVD and have impressively cut señor string-bean talk me through a workout in really, really calm tones. Eerie.
I know, I know …. some Yoga, Ashtanga especially, is quite aerobic. Mostly though, it builds strength. It’s quite efficient: slow, prolonged contraction of muscle fibers builds stronger muscle mass much more quickly than faster repetitive contraction - because it’s more difficult and fatiguing. Yoga really works.
Even so, Yoga is often mocked as a form of exercise, including by yours truly. Just for the record, I also have a problem with getting dressed up in spandex (for any reason, but especially) to go out for a brisk walk. WALK. It’s just walking. But, be sure to swing your arms. The only thing worse is really, really slow jogging. (Why, oh why would I mock gentle folk out enjoying the world and a bit of light exercise, sometimes with valiant effort? Because I am a sad sorry excuse for a human being, that’s why.)
Anyway, yoga kicks my butt and I should do it more often. But still, sooo peaceful. It makes me anxious. This used to be a problem - I’d have to go out for a run midway through the standing sequence because I was just too hyped up to keep standing there. So still. Thereby negating the real advantage of a Yoga program - a workout after dark, or in the rain, or early in the morning. Finally, though, I have found a very satisfactory solution. My particular DVD has none of that new-age stone flute music (that, frankly, I rather enjoy at other times - such as when I am poking cute little kittens with sharp sticks), and so I can play my own choice of music. But, I might be the only person I know who needs Metallica and Public Enemy to do my yoga in peace.
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