Yoga and Yachties (Sunday - March 14, 2010)

The cruising community offers a lot to one another... and many times free of charge. My friend Jo on the sailing vessel ‘Blue Moon’ got me interested in yoga and offered me a one-on-one session... she’s been doing it for years and is an excellent instructor. And, she’s in really good shape! After she sailed south, Darlene on s/v ‘Scrimshaw’ offered to have me join her group of gumbies. It has been an absolute cure of some of my pains (mostly in my neck and shoulders), but more than that it has helped me get in tune with my physical balance and proprioception... or my lack thereof! The reason I like the yoga is because I can do it in small place (a boat, for example), I can do it at any moment during the day, and I don’t have to hold any one position for very long before I can feel the difference.

When I began to do the beginner stretches I was alarmed at how unflexible and OLD I had become! I really had no idea that I couldn’t bend down from my hips and touch the floor anymore. I did know that I couldn’t sit with my legs crossed (indian style) without pain in my hips, but thought that was normal? Really... how much sitting comfortably with legs crossed does a mom do anyway? I had to have a conversation with myself, "Okay... let’s get honest here... I may be small, I may not be overweight, I may do power-walking three times a week, but that does not mean that I am NOT out of shape!" It was a shock and it was embarrassing! To see women older than I bending and flexing, doing ab work and muscle toning, dolphin pose, happy baby pose, the seal, mountain, sun salutation, cobra... oh well, I suppose my fate in life is to be a humble and faithful student.

I began in January... beginner yoga poses and stretches. I am still doing beginner yoga poses mid- March, but I have added a couple of intermediate poses to my sequence. I am still not as flexible as I would like to be, but that will come in time. There are lots of beginner yoga instruction and You Tube examples online. I have piece-mealed mine together. At any rate, my goal is to be able to do the splits by July. Yes, the splits! No, I’m not kidding.