This past Saturday morning I attended a power yoga class in the early morning hours with hopes of starting the weekend off on the right foot leaving my mind and body void of all the stressors in life that I've been toting around recently. My intentions for the practice were to breath deep, maintain a quiet inner peace, and lengthen all of those muscles I have been neglecting lately. I love yoga, but I haven't kept a solid commitment with my practice this year and there has been little to no progress in my abilities to fold the body into the unthinkable positions. These days I call it a successful day when I can touch the floor in a forward fold without a soft bend in the knees.
As I was making my best attempts to not roar in laughter at my bodies sad efforts to bind and balance into ways that it just wasn't willing to comply with on that cold snowy morning, I finally had all the affirmation I needed to acknowledge that there has been a great deal of fitness lost in this creaky body in a 10 week time period. Utkatasana has a funny way of humbling the body and putting movement into perspective, it all looks so simple but requires an insane amount of mental concentration and bodily awareness which I do not posses at this time.
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Sure piece of cake, I could do that in my sleep.
False.
Then yesterday I went to the Bears game with some friends and was feeling the burn from Saturdays yoga practice while sitting in those uncomfortable stands with the chill in the air stiffening my achy muscles. By the time the game ended and I arrived home, I my body was so exhausted I felt like I had just completed a marathon.
So today that leaves me starting back at square one. Losing some fitness in the past several weeks has hurt my ego a bit, but essentially it was necessary for my mangled and battered body to have some time for RNR after a year long pursuit of chasing down my dreams. I know that with some work and plenty of love my body will be stronger then ever come marathon #7 this spring.
But in the mean time, there will probably be more then a fair share of days where I am again brought to laughter at my silly attempts to find my bodies limits. One day Utkatasana sequence I will figure out...one day.
okay so no yoga fart stories like I had hoped. :) I hear ya on this...such a weird place to be after working so hard and for so long but you're right, you'll be stronger than ever for your next marathon in the spring! I have no doubts that you'll be back ready to rip things up!!
ReplyDeletei feel like i lose my yoga progress so quickly...and then it's just too sad to even try!
ReplyDeleteYoga always manages to blow my mind. I have yet to master any poses that require balancing on my arms. Don't think in terms of fitness lost, think of it as a fresh start
ReplyDeleteI have such a hard time resting after marathons for fear of losing fitness. It is silly and my rational mind gets that. I am really hoping to start taking some rest weeks after hard races so that I don;t have to deal with muscle issues like I am now:) Yoga, sounds great!
ReplyDeleteRnR is sooo important. I think its important to remember we all want to stay fitness oriented for a lifetime rather than a couple of years. A little lull in activity helps prevent burnout (@least for me anyways).
ReplyDeleteAnd I think you're right, ultimately you will come back better and stronger for your next race =)
I'm already getting a little paranoid about losing fitness after my marathon on Dec 10th...but I know that I MUST let my body rest and heal up. So I was thinking of doing some yoga myself. Those moves look killer! Yeah not going to catch me pulling off anything tricky like that.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a really tough yoga move!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard NOT to be hard on our bodies! I hope you get closer to a comfortable place with yoga, and that you get your body back where you want it :)
I know I am supposed to do yoga but I'm too embarassed to attend a class bc I can't even get within 8" of touching the floor. I am so inflexible!!
ReplyDeleteI understand ,sort of, what you are feeling bc I was in great shape in may and then of course with the stress fracture I had to just watch my fitness slip away:( BUT here I am 4.5 mos later and gaining it back so you will get there lOve!! Hang in there!!!!xxx
I tried that yoga move and it was not good. I made it to step three and that was all the further I could get without falling over.
ReplyDeleteI used to go to yoga classes with my Mom but it was never that hard!
It seems like you are in a great place mentally and physically to begin training for #7 in a month or 2. That yoga pose looks challenging! When I was doing yoga, I tried something similar to that one, but it would kill my knee on the second step.
ReplyDeleteI have been doing yoga a little more regularly lately and I really enjoy it. I am really working on my flexibility and hope to get to a point where I am good at it. I always feel better after a class though!
ReplyDeleteThat's the one thing about yoga that frustrates me-I feel SO GOOD when I get in a routine but as soon as I stop practicing, it is soooo much harder to pick it back up (due to lost flexibility and just not being in the yoga mindset regularly)
ReplyDeleteI completely feel you about losing fitness and feeling out of sorts in your own body. There are some good comments from other people on this post, though, so I'm going to try and remember those while I sort through my own issues post-running season.
ReplyDeleteYou haven't completely lost it - your body is used to exercise and will "spring" straight back :) although hard-core yoga looks like it may have been a little ambitious! I've never properly tried yoga. Maybe I should...
ReplyDeleteGirl, I completely understand how hard that can be but I think that you have been so smart about taking it easy. Your spring marathon will prove that by taking a break and then coming back and working your hardest to get there, you will get that PR and I can't wait for you!! Hmmmmm yoga...I forgot about that;)
ReplyDeletedon't worry, any time u feel like u're not a yogi, just kno i'm a world behind u!! haha...i kno i wouldn't even be able to contain laughing at myself! :) i usually get too frustrated to stay regular with it, but am sure i should be doing more. keep it up and don't worry, that fitness of yours will come back faster than u think :)
ReplyDeleteYes! Strength is a good balance for running. Essential. I tried yoga once and nobody laughed, but i sure looked silly. So I will stick with the weights and stretching that doesn't require much balance :)
ReplyDeleteSurely this will make for a FAST #7 for you!
You'll get back at it girl. There was a time after the NYC marathon where I ate brownies for breakfast and my definition of a run was a fast sprint down 1st avenue to get me some Baskin Robbins. Don't sweat it, and when your murdering mile splits in the spring, you won't even remember how it felt to be out of shape.
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