Yoga is just one of those things, right? Seems like everyone and their sister loves it, and I'm the only one not on the bandwagon. Case in point: my 74-year-old grandmother does yoga twice a week at her local YMCA. Seriously. It has always looked easy to me, but people swear by it, so there must be something there, right?
When I was in college, I tried yoga once (technically it was a yogilates DVD). The instructor had a long black braid and a white unitard. She was on a beach somewhere under a palm tree. I swear I heard a dolphin. During leg raises, I got into a full-on giggling fit. Rolling around on the floor. My takeaway - yoga is stupid.
So. When I wrote "take yoga [seriously]", I meant:
1. Seriously. Try to get into yoga.
2. Learn to do yoga without laughing.
I tried Jillian Michaels' Yoga Meltdown first in my apartment living room with the blinds closed. I love her 30 Day Shred and doubted it would be cheesy. Oh. My goodness. Why do I keep losing my balance with both feet on the ground?? How does she get her leg up there?? What the H is a sun salutation?? By the end, I was dripping sweat and my arms were shaking from the chaturanga push-ups. My shoulders ached for two days. This is legit.
I especially like it in the mornings. J and I have been working out at 5:30 AM (more on that later), and yoga is about the only thing I get excited for.
There are still some aspects of yoga that I don't get - during a savasana pose, you literally just lay on the floor. Ummmm?? But it's at the very end of the P90X3 workout, so I'm not complaining.
For me, the key is no fake beach, and I have to sweat. I can tell I'm getting better. There was one time I glimpsed my pose in the mirror and thought, "This is what my leg looks like in warrior III? Very cool."
I'm taking it seriously and I seriously like it.
I don't laugh at all until J says, "What tha? Why didn't you tell me I'm on the wrong move??" when he realizes that he's in a standing split with his leg in the air and I'm in plank. : )
You can read the rest of the 31 list here.
