Yoga Do, Yogi Does

beach-yoga, originally uploaded by strangemagee.

After being slack and not doing yoga all year (I decided to take up dancing classes for excercise in 2008 instead, but my hips have not thanked me for it), I've decided to throw myself back into it this spring. That's right, I've possibly over-enthusiastically booked myself into not one but TWO classes of iyenger yoga at Yarraville Yoga a week, for the next 10 weeks. Folks, I'm basically going to be sore for the next 3 months.

I figured, in an ideal world I would have the motivation, discipline and environment to be able to practise at least every couple of days at home. But it's a bit hard to do a good dog pose when your dog is jumping all over you. Or to concentrate on extending into your warrior pose when your demanding cat is meowing at the door to let him in and give him a good scratch. I guess I could always try to INCORPORATE them into my routine like these guys do but I somehow don't think it would work.

Doing yoga makes me feel like an old woman. Why am I so inflexible and have such bad balance? It's ridiculous! Still I always feel grounded and calm after a yoga session (providing my lack of balance hasn't been too humiliating for the day). My grandma took up yoga at 40 and has done it every day since. I take this as my inspiration. The woman is almost eighty and she can wrap her leg around her neck. I will never forget when she stayed with us on a visit from Malaysia when I was a wee young thing, and I opened the living room door to find my grandma with one leg wrapped around her neck, and her other leg relaxed like she was just sitting cross legged... and then she started ROCKING! I wasn't sure whether to scream and run.

But it's natural right? I mean - look how all these guys make it look so easy:

Yoga Master, originally uploaded by kjdrill.

Biit yoga, originally uploaded by OhChiik.

yoga - dog pose, originally uploaded by vicky__.

YOGA in nature's way, originally uploaded by Tony George.

momento zen, originally uploaded by cakecosas.

Yoga for Beginners II, originally uploaded by thru_myeye.

There's just got to be hope for me yet! Awake the yoga master within!