Me doing yoga

I bought some power yoga DVDs on recommendation of my co-worker and other fellow runners that are geared towards stretching and strengthening muscles specifically for athletes. I've been having some soreness in muscles I've never been in sore in before, including last year, so I'm hoping this will help out.

Anyway... yoga and I typically don't get along, because this is how most yoga DVDs seem to go:
"Bend your body this way. Twist into this which is completely impossible. BREATHE. Now stay there. DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE. Now turn your body in this equally impossible position. YOU'RE BREATHING, RIGHT?"

These DVDs came highly recommended and one review specifically mentioned his gentle breathing reminders, so I was hoping they would be different. They ARE, actually - instead of "BREATHE. KEEP BREATHING. WHY AREN'T YOU BREATHING YOU FAT INFLEXIBLE COW" he tells you to inhale into this pose, exhale as you move your foot here, inhale as you turn your head to the side. Instead of just giving you a bunch of directions and then barking at you to remember to breathe, he actually helps you remember to breathe AS you move. It was very helpful for me.

What wasn't helpful is I still don't know all these poses and my body still doesn't bend like that, LOL. At one point he says "swing your leg forward into pigeon pose."
I've got my head down because we're in downward dog, and I'm thinking "pigeon pose... what is pigeon pose..." so I look up at the TV and OMG!
This is pigeon pose:

NYAAAAGH! Okay, my body doesn't do that, let alone can I "swing" my leg into that!

I shall also mention that during one downward dog, Payton got underneath me, flung himself on his back, and proceeded to roll around on my yoga mat (I borrowed it from mom) staring up at me and making wookie noises and trying to mouth at my hands. That is not "doing the DVD" Payton. When I said "we are going to do the DVD!" I meant you would be like Auggie and go snuggle up in the crate for 30 minutes while I flail around on a yoga mat trying to twist my body in ways I'm pretty sure it was never meant to go.

Anyway, despite being a bit challenging and reminding me of when I was a kid and had a friend who was a dancer and could make her body do all kinds of bizarre things that my body wouldn't, I actually really enjoyed it. It was difficult at the beginning because it goes pretty fast and a LOT of the poses I am not flexible to do the way he is demonstrating, but I could definitely feel stretches where I'm sore, so hopefully it will definitely improve my flexibility and help in the long run. I think it will just be a matter of learning the poses I don't know so I can keep up without having to keep stopping and go "wait, what??" Then I should be able to cruise along and hopefully one day I can swing my leg into the pigeon pose...
As long as Payton doesn't do the DVD with me.

Lmao. I love Payton.

I hate yoga. I'm flexible, but it's tiring and kind of boring for me.

I've been trying to do some yoga, mostly "sun salutation" routine, in the morning and Sawyer tries to help like Payton.

If you can, I would suggest going to a class, at least for a couple times. I had been doing yoga videos off and on for years and never "got it". Then a friend of mine (who is also an instructor) gave me and some friends a class. HUGE difference. Understanding how the breath is related to each pose really helps. Also, she could modify poses on the spot for us (I am horribly inflexible) and could also help stretch us into correct position so we could get the feel of it. It was an amazing experience and now doing those same videos there is a world of difference.

I LOVE yoga. I wish I still did it. But honestly, doing yoga is like wearing heels. In a sense "My body CANNOT bend this way" vs the heels "My foot was NOT meant to bend like this. 3-4 inches heels? No problem. 6 inch heels? H3LL NO!"
I am pretty flexible.
I hate Pilates lol

Lol at Payton.

just be careful. if your body feels like it cannot get into a position, don't force it. If that DVD doesn't offer modifications & a class isn't possible, I'd def find one that does show modifications.

Maybe Payton can offer alternatives!

But seriously, that is how people get hurt with yoga, so be cautious

Gotta love it when the dogs help

Watson is the helpful type too...I bet he would love doing some yoga with you and Payton

I had spinal fusion done as a kid, and have had (mild) back pain all day every day for nine years. Then my mom finally convinced me to go to yoga (even though my back doesn't bend) and omg. Pain GONE--it's incredible.

We go to a great class called deep stretch, and the instructor offers lots of options, and lets everyone go at their own pace, and doesn't push us. He's really hands off, which is great for me, because it's really a bad idea for me to be pushed at all.

WOW!! That has me all super inspired. That's amazing that even though your spine is fused you can still reap the rewards of it.


Zoom, this particular series is also based on a sun salutation routine! Maybe there's something about those particular poses that make dogs "helpful" LOL.
Auggie liked to help years ago when I first started doing yoga. The downward dog was also his fave. ;P I would do some yoga after a workout so I'd be dripping sweat, and he'd wander in and look up and decide he needed to help lick all the sweat off my face. So in hindsight, Payton was less intrusive than Auggie. Though I just couldn't stop laughing at him. I don't think cracking up at your puppy is helpful for proper breathing hahaha!

Hahahaha sorry,Payton made me laugh.
i just tried the pigeon pose!

So today, because I don't learn to just put the dogs away, Payton did much better... until the very end, when you are basically just laying on the floor. And my shirt had come away from my pants so I'm laying there face up on the floor, eyes closed, just breathing and feeling the earth under my body and all that crunchy granola type stuff.
And POKE! With a cold nose, right on my belly.
And then I couldn't stop giggling LOL.

I LIKE doing this stuff, especially before bed. It's a really nice little workout to start, you move and stretch quite a bit, then it gets slower and very quiet at the end. I don't know if it will really help me sleep better, but I feel very nice and relaxed right now. Just very nice and dialed down, ready for bed I guess you could say. God I hope it helps me sleep better!

I'm going to take both DVDs with me to St. Louis (I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon for agility) to put in my laptop and do some yoga in the hotel. I haven't tried the other one, it's an hour long of just stretching rather than flexibility like this one is, so I'll have to see how they compare. That DVD actually has three hour long workouts on it so I may try the other two at some point too. The stretching one is the one I was told to get and it just so happens to only come on a combo DVD now. We'll see!
I'm actually kind of excited LOL. Excited... for yoga...
I guess I should go buy my own yoga mat.

Hey, you will be in my city

Yes, I love doing yoga before bed, nice and relaxing but also very energizing.

Blaze does this, too, sometimes. It's way cute.

I do power yoga, too. It's great! I notice a difference in my body if I don't do it for a few days. I feel so much better, too, after a workout.