hsapiens - The Yoga Curse

Previous | Memories | Tell Someone | Next

29 January 2008 @ 09:38 am

The Yoga Curse

Amy and I prevailed against The Yoga Curse this past Saturday -- with the help of

yams69 and his family -- and I finally took my first yoga class. I had way more fun at it than I ever expected and I can hardly wait for the next one. :)

Amy and I have been trying to start yoga classes. In the span of 8 days, we made 3 attempts:

Attempt 1: Major traffic snarl on the freeway. The 15 mile drive took me 1 hour 20 minutes and I missed most of the class. To sweeten the annoyance, I'd accidentally left my cell phone at the office so I couldn't call Amy to tell her I was stuck in traffic and she couldn't reach me to find out where the %$^@$# I was.

Attempt 2: I arrived WAY early at Amy's and we decided to watch an episode of Babylon 5 until it was time to go. About 15 minutes before we were going to leave, my parked car was rear-ended. Amy rushes out, shouting "Stay!" at the dog, and pulls the door behind her without closing it entirely. Amy has a dog and cats and I'm a long-term pet owner, so I rush out the door but take a second to pull the door firmly closed behind me. A dented car is sad but a dented pet is unforgivable.

Turns out Amy meant for *me* to stay because her front door has an old-fashioned version of a lock that engages when you close the door; a kind of I've never seen before. We were locked out without cell phones, money, keys, or credit cards. Poor Amy didn't even have a jacket and it was blustery cold. Instead of going to yoga, we waited at the corner store for her husband to come home from work.

It all turned out ok - my car wasn't visibly damaged, nobody froze, and we got an amusing story. Amy was so concerned about my car, which I appreciated, that she didn't take the time to disengage the lock and I was so concerned about her pets, which she appreciated, that I carefully closed the door.

Attempt 3: Dead car battery. Amy, her husband, and I met

yams69, his wife, and their adorable kidlet for breakfast before making a valiant third attempt to go to a yoga class. I've driven a car for 23 years and Saturday was the first time ever that I've drained a car battery because I left my headlights on. But of course. I had wimpy jumper cables but they did the trick, once we'd pushed the car into place the second time.

yams69 stayed to jump start us -- thank you! -- and we finally made it to yoga! Yay for us!

It was worth the tribulations in getting there but I'm hoping we've banished the Yoga Curse and can just enjoy the classes without the hurdles from now on.

Tags: real life

Current Mood:

determined

29 comments | Leave a comment

( Post a new comment )

la-directora.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 04:02 pm (UTC)

I gotta tell you, the things I've learned studying yoga make me absolutely convinced that the universe was trying to make a VERY important point with you, something about what yoga is going to bring into your life. And it's annoying that the universe felt it necessary to make its point SO VERY CLEARLY, but I think once you've been doing yoga for a while, you'll look back on all of this and laugh. And be grateful for the calm that yoga provides. :)

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)

hsapiens.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 04:22 pm (UTC)

I wouldn't have minded if the universe had been a little gentler in its message though both of us find the whole thing amusing and get a good laugh out of it. It was certainly frustrating at the time but since nobody and nothing was hurt, it's easy to find the humor. I'm glad that I had Amy pushing the issue because it meant we had to keep trying until we'd achieved success.

The instructor told us that grace had brought each of us to the class but Amy pointed out to me that in our case, it was pure stubbornness. :) I liked the instructor a lot and the class was relaxing beyond anything I had anticipated. I was amused to tell Joe that I'd learned to sit, stand, and breathe but he's taken a different version of this before and said that was a good beginning.

I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. I completely lost track of the outside world and passing time. I'm no longer just interested in seeing Amy once a week, now I'm also eagerly anticipating the class.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

la-directora.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 04:25 pm (UTC)

I completely lost track of the outside world and passing time.

You are already a natural yogini! Yay! :) Yeah, that's what it's all about. Heavenly.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

hsapiens.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 04:46 pm (UTC)

I can't claim that the foot positions come naturally to me - quite the opposite - but the mental benefits were immediate. :)

(Reply) (Parent) (Link)

demusetta.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 04:39 pm (UTC)

I had two years of Yoga Curse and finally managed to get back to a class two weeks ago. It felt like coming home--comforting, safe, healthy--just wonderful. My next class is tomorrow and I can't wait. : )

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)

hsapiens.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 04:51 pm (UTC)

I had no idea the Yoga Curse had you in its grip, too.

Where do you take yoga classes? Amy and I ended up finally making it to the Yoga Institute over on Portsmouth.

I had never considered trying yoga before; it was too touchy-feely for my tastes when I was younger. *g* I had long since moderated my views and the great feeling from one class has convinced me that I have much to learn.

(Reply) (Parent) (Link)

tejas.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 04:46 pm (UTC)

Who knew yoga could be so dangerous?

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)

hsapiens.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 04:53 pm (UTC)

I know! And yet, nobody and nothing was truly damaged. That's the amazing part.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

tejas.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 05:01 pm (UTC)

Except your psyche. :-)

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

hsapiens.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 05:05 pm (UTC)

It definitely raised my blood pressure for a bit and I have to admit I'm annoyingly skittish about "what will happen next" when Saturday rolls around but the chain of events that led to our being locked out was funny. I'm willing to laugh about that one. :)

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

tejas.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 05:19 pm (UTC)

Hey, it's *all* funny... eventually. :-)

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

hsapiens.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 06:42 pm (UTC)

So very true. :)

(Reply) (Parent) (Link)

superbadgirl on January 29th, 2008 04:50 pm (UTC)

I enjoy yoga, but I've never been brave enough to take a class with other people. I've walked by and I'm intimidated by all the bendy young things who look good in their yoga gear. I'd just look lumpy in yoga gear, so I stay at home and yoga in my jammies. ;)

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)

hsapiens.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 05:02 pm (UTC)

Oh god, I know exactly what you mean.

I'm not young and I'm not even half as bendy as I used to be back when I took dance classes. I'm distressingly lumpy and believe me, I was very self-conscious when I walked into the room in my decidedly not yoga gear. I'm really glad I did it, though, because the instructor took the time to walk around and correct each of us in our positions. My heel will never naturally turn out slightly but the change often made the exercise easier. I need that level of instruction at this point.

I have no interest in becoming a human pretzel. Increasing my flexibility, working on a little strength, and getting a lot of stress-relief are what I'm all about. :)

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

superbadgirl on January 29th, 2008 05:24 pm (UTC)

I tend to be the sort of person very self-conscious. I've never joined a gym, even, because though no one is looking at me I feel all squirmy. Plus, I'm not confident people wipe down machines adequately.

Anyway, it takes a lot to get me out of the house (hence my lack of social life) for any thing, and always has. Back when I actually did go clubbing, it would be a LOT of work for my friends to get me out (sometimes this involved force), but once I just did it I really had fun.

I need to get over this, methinks.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

hsapiens.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 05:56 pm (UTC)

You could be my long lost twin, I think. I can't say that I've always been extremely self-conscious but the time I spent in high school being weighed weekly, dancing with a group of young and bendy things who all looked better in their leotards and tights than I ever did made me extremely self-counscious of every curve, lump, and fat deposit I had that was bigger or different from "the norm."

Of course, I now look back on that and cringe. I was young and bendy. I was fit but had hourglass curves. I was well-muscled without being muscle-bound. And I still wasn't happy with my body. I would give my right arm to be that fit again. I'm trying to learn to accept myself but that lesson seems to be beyond me as yet.

One of the things that I really liked about the yoga as opposed to dance was that I spent a lot of time with my eyes closed, concentrating on what I was feeling and experiencing. Taking away the incessant comparison to everyone else around me was immensely helpful.

I also get the preference for staying home. I'm exactly the same. I do enjoy myself once I'm out and about but getting me to leave the house is a task. No matter how much I'm looking forward to seeing a friend or doing something, there's a part of me I have to fight to make it out the door.

Thus, I own exercise DVDs and that's been how I've done my exercise in the recent past. This class thing was new to me. I'm really grateful I did it. I hope that if you try it, it turns out to be a really great experience for you, too. :)

(Reply) (Parent) (Link)

improperlydone.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 05:04 pm (UTC)

I have to tell you, I used to have issues like that, but I decided that it was more important for me to attend the class than what I thought I looked like. Turns out, I was the largest (and lumpiest LOL!) person in class - but my instructor used me often because of my flexibility. She thought I was one of her best students and I have to admit, I was. :)

I'm not saying that you're wrong for feeling what you feel because I understand. I felt that way for a long time. I just wanted you to know that the reality of it is, most people who bother to take yoga classes are there for the yoga and won't be bothered with who is wearing the cuter outfit or whatnot. I'm looking forward to getting my job so I can afford classes again. I miss them!

And, yes, I will be looking really lumpy in my t-shirt and stretchy pants. And I'll be feeling good. :)

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

Mish: Teyla - Blindfolded Amongst Textures

hsapiens.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 05:15 pm (UTC)

One good thing about taking a newbie level class is that we were all new and uncertain. A lot of people looked better than I did. I had my oldest and dearest friend there with me, though, and that helped me get over the mind games. Also? It didn't hurt that the instructor was lumpier than I was. That told me that my lumps might not be helping but they sure weren't the impediment I tend to assume they are.

Another great part about the yoga is you spend a lot of time with your eyes closed, removing the external measuring stick.

(Reply) (Parent) (Link)

superbadgirl on January 29th, 2008 05:26 pm (UTC)

I'm getting the sense I should just get over it and take an actual class. It would be good - I only have my own sense of feeling to know if I'm doing the poses correctly, and I suspect with some of them I am not.

I'm pretty dang good at corpse pose, though. ;)

(Reply) (Parent) (Link)

tubin.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 05:10 pm (UTC)

I haven't been to a yoga class in a long time, but the last one I attended regularly featured several people who dressed in pajama-like clothing. There were very few "young things" (I think yoga requires some level of maturity) and quite a lot of lumpy people in yoga gear.

And the class wasn't held somewhere where a stranger could "walk by" and see what we were wearing, so maybe that's key. Yoga in front of a big window seems wrong somehow, even if I do love the sunlight.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

superbadgirl on January 29th, 2008 05:29 pm (UTC)

Yoga's pretty popular out here, all ages. As for the lumpy thing, that's primarily my own sizeable body image issues. While I know I should relax and be grateful for what I do have...I still struggle.

(Reply) (Parent) (Link)

hsapiens.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 05:43 pm (UTC)
My comment here is off-topic...

I've been meaning to give you feedback on the zinc experiment, btw, and haven't made the time to do so. I haven't noticed an uptick in my metabolism but I did have some interesting health changes. Despite the fact that I've gained weight, stopped exercising with any regularity, and my diet was not nearly as healthy since my last physical, the results of my annual checkup were surprisingly good and showed some interesting changes.

I had low total cholesterol anyway, but my HDL was up 10 points and my LDL fell from 93 to 69. My triglycerides have always been low; I don't think their drop of a few points was significant. My blood pressure, normally unvarying from appointment to appointment, dropped 10 mm on both numbers.

I have trouble believing that the various vitamins could have those kinds of effects because I'm certain they'd be aggressively marketed as lowering bad cholesterol if those were common, reproducible results. Given that I did nothing else to help, though, it leaves me wondering how much can be attributed to natural variation in my chemistry and how much taking the vitamins, zinc, and a flaxseed omega fatty acid pills I've been taking.

So, no metabolic rate benefits from the zinc that I could discern but I'm continuing to take the handful of pills each day in the hopes they contributed to my improvement. Now, with yoga, better eating, and exercise, I hope to see even more improvement in my health.

Edited 2008-01-29 07:09 pm (UTC)

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

tubin.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 07:47 pm (UTC)
Re: My comment here is off-topic...

Well, the omega fatty acid pills have been demonstrated to cause beneficial changes in HDL, LDL, and total cholesterol - so that's probably responsible for that change.

The lower blood pressure is harder to explain...

On zinc, my weight quickly stabilized and went back up some - but for me the big lasting change (now at a few months in) has been more energy and better mood. Now, a lot has gone on in my life during these months so it's hard to figure out the chicken-or-the-egg effect - but I'd been saying for months that I needed to go find a new job and make some other needed changes in my life, and now I've gone and done it. I'm grateful, whatever the cause...

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

hsapiens.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 08:36 pm (UTC)
Re: My comment here is off-topic...

I said I didn't notice metabolic effects but what I meant was I didn't notice it was easier to lose weight. Now that I'm thinking on it, my body temperature wasn't low for the first time in a couple of years. I don't know why I didn't think of that before because it has made a noticeable difference in my cold tolerance. I am not very good at self-diagnosis.

I'm no lover of pills but I'd rather take a flaxseed pill any day than some of those scary might-cause-liver-failure statins. I have no idea how I won the blood lipid lottery since I have significant risk factors in both of my parents and I'm nowhere near my target weight. All the more reason to keep downing my daily OFA pill.

I can't say that I've noticed mood elevating effects from the zinc (or any of the other supplements I've been taking) but with lots of changes at work and with the holidays at home, the last two months of the year probably weren't a good sample for mood. Who knows, maybe it helped me survive the year without resorting to sweets -- or killing someone. ;)

I'm so happy for you in your new job! I know that clinical practice wasn't the perfect fit for you given the current circumstances for U.S. doctors. I hope this new position offers you the challenge you're looking for and reduces the stressors in your work life.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

tubin.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 09:07 pm (UTC)
Re: My comment here is off-topic...

Me too! (on the job hopes)

Yeah, I hadn't thought to mention it, but I think I must be running a slightly higher body temp also. Normally I run low and hibernate under heavy quilts from mid December until about March. This year I've found it easier to get out of bed...

I dunno if it was the zinc or not. Or any other component of my multi. But I'm not inclined to alter a routine that seems to be working for me!

(Reply) (Parent) (Link)

memento1.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 08:12 pm (UTC)

*L* That does sound like a curse! Sucks that you got so unlucky, but thankfully none of them was serious. Enjoy yoga!

And I have left my lights on, run out of gas, had a tire slashed, hit a tree...hopefully my car-related incidents are done!

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)

hsapiens.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 08:40 pm (UTC)

It was a curse all right! I'm hopeful it's broken.

Yipes! I've had remarkably little in that way of car problems. I've locked my keys in the car once, several flat tires, a window smashed in, and one car with endless starter problems.

I hope your problems are done, too. That hitting a tree sounds dangerous.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

memento1.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 08:45 pm (UTC)

A window smashed in?! Wow.

And yes, I wouldn't recommend hitting a tree. ;)

(Reply) (Parent) (Link)

majorsamfan.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2008 09:03 pm (UTC)

Wow...glad it was worth it all! I enjoyed the few yoga classes I went to, enough to buy video tapes to use on vacation, but then didn't...

(Reply) (Link)