Yoga Madness

OK... so I've gone a bit yoga mental.

I joined the Reading Sportspark Gym, the official Reading Uni gym, for 2 excellent reasons; 1) it's 10 minutes from work and 2) it has between 2-3 yoga classes every single day! Whoop whoop. For a reasonable monthly fee I can do yoga pretty much as often as I can handle it; morning, noon and night.

I've started slow(ish) attending Beginners Ashtanga Yoga, on Wednesdays, and Flow Yoga, on Tuesdays. Add this to my normal classes on Thursdays and Saturdays and I'm a busy bee indeed.

I can thank Ashtanga for the dull ache in my arms and shoulders right now. My plan is to attend the beginners sessions until I've got my technique nailed, and built up the strength required to do the full practice without looking like a tit. I think I've got a way to go though; I did about fourteen Chaturanga Dandasana's and I'm now a soggy mess. It's good for the ego though; there's nothing like going from top of the class (well ish) with one teacher only to become the dunce of another teachers class. It's liberating.

Question: How on earth do people roll over their toes through from Chaturanga to up dog? It's a mystery to me... I plan to do some research.
Answer (after said research): It's all here at yogagypsy's blog... glad to know it's not just me!

Muscle Sensations

I've noticed I've begun to get slight aches in my muscles; my back, arms and legs are tingling and aching causing me to twist and stretch every 5 minutes to get rid of the feeling (aah).

It's not the first time I've experienced this. As a sometime gym bunny, having gone through stages in my past where I worked out at the gym > 3 times a week, this sensation is not new. It usually means I've been working hard, and I need to do another workout to get rid of the niggles. It's this feeling, as much as the endorphin withdrawal, that got me back in the gym.

At it's worst it keeps me up at night with aching, at it's best it's just a slight feeling that is a bit pesky. I'd hoped that with doing yoga 3 or more times instead of my previous gym workouts that wouldn't be a problem. Ah well. I've just kicked off my shoes to sit cross legged in my work chair and already the pangs are disappearing. Hopefully the yoga session I've booked later will get rid of them altogether.

Upping the pace

So it feels time to up the pace a bit on yoga. I'm doing it twice a week and it no longer feels enough. I think I may be a yoga addict.

This would be a little easier if I had the willpower to make myself practice at home. I really don't :(. So instead I've discovered that the Reading Sportspark does good yoga classes most evenings for a reasonable amount of 6 pounds. Yay! I'm going to start going, and sign up for membership if it works out well.