Yoga

When I was a wee wee girl (I was once pretty wee, hard though that is to believe now), my mother would do Hatha Yoga with Kathleen Hitchcock on PBS, and as soon as I could move I used to do the yoga with her (along with our various cats). As I grew older it became clear that my body was as flexible as a pry bar. I never could touch the floor from standing, or sit up straight with my legs straight in front of me, much less touch my toes. I think that my inflexibility may have been one of the reasons why mom had me in ballet from a young age, and I loved it but was never very good (but I had a great turn-out, still do).

At any rate, I did not do yoga again until recently, when I decided that not only was yoga good for mindfulness, but also good for my lower back, and indeed since I started doing extremely gentle yoga for beginners, my back and leg pain has greatly reduced. Besides, If I want to gain any flexibility at all my only hope is gentle stretching. Another good reason to do yoga for me is to work on balance. I have LOUSY balance, and as I grow older I want to avoid falls.

My cats think it is very curious that I get down on the floor and wave various limbs in the air, and they like to help, especially with shavasana, or corpse pose, as shown in the photo below with Phryne, taken by Nathan. My goal now is to successfully do a downward dog, which my body has trouble with (getting those back legs straight is TOUGH! for me anyhow), and a tree pose when I don’t have to yell TIMBER! I love it, and do not expect perfection, only little bits of progress. After a session I feel just great, physically and emotionally. I found a good teacher on PBS Passport. I recommend Yoga, even if you may be inflexible. Especially if you are.