Today I became more self-aware. I discovered I’m not as fit as I thought I was. In fact, I’m not even as fit as I used to be.
I recently began attending a class in Gentle Yoga, thinking that it would be a continuation of the yoga classes I had taken in the past. My first mistake was in thinking that Gentle Yoga was roughly equivalent to Easy Yoga. It isn’t.
My second mistake was in failing to realize how much time had passed since my last yoga class. It was before Covid; quite a long time before. When you get older, passages of time become a lot more elastic. It didn’t seem very long ago to me, but my body is telling a different story.
That was my third mistake. I really did not appreciate how much aging affects one’s bend-ability. I have never been very supple, but now I am less flexible than a bank’s loan officer. I tried to do one of those “bend over, stick your bum out, and hold your arms out” exercises and my thighs vibrated like, well, a vibrator. It was not pleasant and the instructor’s commands to breathe and relax fell on agonized ears.
I imagined that I was beyond caring what anyone thought of me, but that was mistake number four. Every time I gave up on a pose and stood or sat, the instructor told me to do something else. She seemed to think I knew more yoga lingo than I do, but it means nothing to me to be told to do a figure four by lying down. I heard only complete gibberish. In saying that, she mentioned me by name and the whole class knew I was a yoga dunce. Some smiled in sympathy, and that helped a little, but not enough.
The other problem I had (number five) was that the class members were all situated in a circle, and some mirrored the instructor’s poses while others copied them. Hence, I was looking at the participant on my left facing me and the participant on my right doing the same. Ditto with the other end of their anatomies. I wanted to do what we were being told to do, but the instructor never referred to right and left, only front and back, this and that, one and the other. I never knew how to contort myself into the poses required. It is bewildering to try to pretzel one’s limbs correctly when you have no sense of direction, your neighbours are oriented differently, and your head is near your knees. By the time I figured each one out, we were on to the next pose.
Today when I left the class (the fourth out of six that I signed up for) I determined not to attend the final two sessions. Instead, I went home, changed into normal non-yoga clothes, and signed up online for Fitness Level 1 instead. I’m flexible enough to know when I’ve failed and I’m going to go easy on myself from now on.
Snowbird of Paradise 
You just chose an inappropriate class, don’t be silly hard on yourself
OK. I’ll try not to be silly hard on myself. 🙂
Exactly
Sympathies. I have found Qi Gong to be ok for someone my age and still useful. The instructor is at the front with a mirrored wall showing you what to do. However I haven’t got back to doing it after my last hospital stay this winter.
I will look around for something else. In the mean time the Fitness Level 1 will get me out of the house.
My wife and daughter follow a yoga instructor on the internet. They absolutely swear by her, rather than at her so I guess she knows her stuff?
I forget her name ( the instructor, not my wife!)
They are out on a delivery at the moment. If you want I could ask them and pass on the details?
Yes, please, Ark. I was looking for something on the TV but the Internet is probably a better idea.
Here you go, Anne.
Thank you!
Pleasure. Emily told me if you go to her website she has a beginner vidieo that is gentle and slow. Enjoy.
OK!
We do a chair yoga class that we like very much. I have attended a variety of classes with our instructor for many years. Since Covid, she does the class on Zoom. I can send you information if you are interested, and she will let you do a trial class.
Yes, please send me the link, Susan, and I’ll take a look.
Edie’s website is https://www.yogawellness.ca/. We do the Tuesday morning chair class, and I have done her Monday evening Cultivating Calm class, but it doesn’t fit in my schedule now. Her other classes are all in person. If you email her just tell her I recommended her and she will let you do a sample class. She offers 7 to 8 week sessions and then takes a 1 week break.
Thank you, Susan. I will check it out.
“….but now I am less flexible than a bank’s loan officer.” Ha! I hadn’t heard that one before! I have had mixed outcomes with classes too. I like the online idea, for getting up to a baseline of flexibility. It’s a great thing to pursue though. Walking and hiking are great, but we need other exercises for that flexibility. Your post is a great reminder for me to get back to my “prescribed” exercises from a physical therapist. No finished date on those; it’s now ongoing maintenance.😊
I don’t get out much in the winter, so online may turn out to be a good alternative. I really need to get out and about more, too, but I’ll prioritize the exercise over the getting out.
That sounds like a great plan to me!
Definitely the wrong class for you. Glad you haven’t given up 🙂
Yes, the class has to fit the person, doesn’t it.