Ever heard the expression “Find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life?” I think that exact same principle applies to exercise: if you don’t enjoy doing a specific activity, don’t do it. Whether it’s running, swimming, pilates…whatever: the minute you start to dread a particular exercise, chances are you aren’t going to keep up with it in the long run!
Personally I can’t get into yoga at all…which is why I don’t bother signing up for classes or making use of the abundance of yoga instructors in Mumbai. Yeah yeah, I know how wonderful it is for my mind & body but it just doesn’t cut it. I have tried it over and over again, and maybe I’m not evolved enough spiritually, but I find it boring & under-stimulating. As for Bikram yoga, don’t even go there! I just can’t seem to reach that level of zen which most “yogis” rave about, and random thoughts seem to wander through my mind at a billion miles per second:
- What should I have for dinner
- Why isn’t there a clock in this room?
- Aren’t Indians meant to be good at yoga?
- Some of these poses are pretty dirty
- I could live in yoga pants
- I hope the person next to me doesn’t let it rip
- I can’t wait to rehydrate with coconut water
- I need to phone ____ back
- I really need to repaint my toe nails
…You catch my drift!
However that all being said, I still do practice yoga occasionally…just not in the typical, class setting or for very long either On the rare occasions that I take more that 185 seconds to stretch, yoga poses are my best bet. Especially after what seems like a trillion lunges or a speedy run, there’s nothing my hamstrings beg for more. Hold the pose long enough, and it hurts oh so good! Some of my favorite stretches include:
Plow Pose
Downward Dog
Tree Pose
Triangle Pose
Cobra
Pigeon Pose
Warrior
Butterfly
And my personal favorite…and one that I do daily for at least 7 hours 😉 :
Savasana
Yoga- hate it or love it?
I kinda like yoga, but sometimes I just get bored to be honest haha! I do love me some child’s pose though, I always get so relaxed! 🙂
Love the child pose!
I get really bored doing yoga too! Every so often I’ll have the focus to do a 30 minute video though. And like you, I love using yoga poses to stretch! I do the downward dog at some point almost every day just because it feels so goooooood!
Downward dog really does give a fantastic stretch!
it’s okay i guess. i never got into it either. i just felt really tired and exhausted cause i couldn’t do half the poses or hold up my own body weight. what’s funny is the white folks in the yoga classes are amazing… so much better than the Indian who are usually out of shape or overweight. and i have a similar thought process, i’m always thinking of what i need to do and my next meal rather than focusing.
have a great weekend K.
🙂
Hahah our Indian genes must have missed the flexibility gene!
I love yoga… When you want to get a good workout and only have time to do yoga or a hard workout I probably would pick a hard work out though.
But something about yoga IS really special. Not only is a great lean muscle training for your body, it does relax your mind. It releases stress. I even feel less hungry a lot of times after doing yoga. I’m looking forward to catching up with my yoga when my wrists are all better! 🙂
Hope your wrists feel better asap!
As you know, I started going to yoga once a week. I really think it’s helped my muscles out a lot and it’s a great mid-week break. I can’t say that my mind is 100% focused and I am 100% relaxed but I really do enjoy the powerful feeling I get while doing it. 🙂 I wish you lived closer to me…we could go together!
If I lived nearer to you, I would definitely feel more motivated to give it another go! 🙂
I love yoga, but it needs to be a quick vinyasa for me to really enjoy it. The slow, uneventful yoga has my mind wandering too. I love the twists, and back bends.
Have you tried power yoga? I have only heard about it but I wonder if the pace of it would make me concentrate more?
i know exactly how you feel about the whole yoga thing! i can never relax for that long. but i recently tried a class again and it was great! very challenging
Good to know- I guess finding the right class makes all the difference!
I’m sure yoga is very good for you but I’ve tried it and just couldn’t get into it. It was too slow and quiet for me. I do swim squads and I much prefer them. Like you say, all exercise is good but you’ll only exercise if you find something to do that you love xx
Exactly- exercise should be something we enjoy!
I used to detest yoga but ever since taking it easy with the exercising and trying new stuff, I have liked it more! I am sure I would enjoy it even more if I actually was better at it… but you can’t improve without going haha
True story- all the more reason to keep truckin!
There is no way I can focus during yoga either…my mind is going a mile a minute! But I love it anyway because it totally stretches me out.
Hope you are having a great weekend so far!
Thanks Ameena, hope you had a great one too 🙂
I do love yoga, but I admit that it took a long time before I could even start to focus and turn my very noisy mind off. Kudos for honesty! You should definitely never make yourself do exercise that you dislike!
Hope to one day reach that point where I can completely get into the zone during yoga!
I love doing yoga! My body always feels so much better after an hour-long class. If it weren’t so darn expensive here, I’d join a studio here…but until then, I make use of the donation-based yoga classes here in Austin 🙂
What are donation-based yoga classes? Sound interesting!
They are essentially “free” classes that survive solely on the donations from people who attend the class. Most people give ~$5 each time they go. You’d think these wouldn’t be as good, but some of the best yoga classes I’ve taken have been at these types of studios!
Haha love this post… how good is the last pose 😉
I agree, it is definitely different when you love something… you don’t have to motivate yourself to go! I’m the same with yoga.. I know I SHOULD do it but I spend my time looking at the clock and thinking stuff like you do 🙂
The last pose is definitely my favorite- apparently my body does crave yoga 🙂
Savasana is the best pose ever!!! But why don’t you like Bikram Yoga? I know you don’t need it but it has really helped me and a few friends. To be honest, I’ve never tried any other yoga. I guess once I got used to Bikram, nothing is hardcore enough for me!
I tried Bikram once and I felt so light-headed by the end of it..and then downed a liter of water which only made me feel like puking! You’ve convinced me to give it another shot…eventually :)!
I love yoga but only in a class setting with an instructor – I cannot bring myself to do it at home I get bored without the constant flow. That said I mostly view it as a means to relax/stretch out and tune out mentally, I’ve never been to a challenging enough class that I could call a workout.
I agree! The only one time I felt like I really got a workout out of it (but not in a nice way) was bikram yoga…I walked out drenched in sweat and exhausted!
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