The Yoga Unchallenge
I've discovered a side effect of working out almost everyday: Pushing myself all the time.
I've carved this mantra on to my brain so that whenever there's a new, tough move that I think I can't do, I just automatically push myself a little more. What, can't lift heavier? PUSH YOURSELF. What, can't double jump-rope for 30 seconds? PUSH YOURSELF, YA WIMP. Most days it works. Every workout is a challenge that I work hard to beat.
This became a side effect only when I started yoga. I've never done yoga before because, I dunno, I'm just not into that whole zen spirituality thing. My idea of zen has always been to sit down and read, very minimal physical exertion. Or play Letris on my phone.
A few weeks back, I started seeing yoga as another form of exercise that I can try to test my limits on. It worked the first few times. There's so much in yoga that puts to test my core strength, my chest and arms, my breathing technique, all those things I've been working on this past year. I push myself because I know I can do it, I just need to get over this pussy mentality of OH NO, I CAN'T.
If you've done yoga, you can imagine how frustrating it was for me that there are actually a lot of moves that I LITERALLY CAN'T DO. It has nothing to do with mental barriers anymore. There ARE limits. One of those limits is called The Camel Pose.
What Hning told me last night put a dent on my mantra. Apparently, the challenge of doing yoga is in fact NOT looking at it as a challenge. It's more about listening to your body, learning the things you can and can't do, slowing down without getting weaker. Yoga once a week between really tough cardio and strength workouts will make me slow down and un-learn all that pushing and boot-camping. It's easy to get lost in that.
It takes incredible security and mental strength to be able to take down all the pieces of what you've built and worked so hard for, slowly, for just one day, and then build it back up undamaged and still strong, to turn off that Push Yourself switch. There is no challenge, no competition, you just go through the yoga motions with yourself, accepting what's left of you once you've been stripped of all that toughness.
I am, after all, into all that zen stuff.
The things we learn from friends. <3
I've carved this mantra on to my brain so that whenever there's a new, tough move that I think I can't do, I just automatically push myself a little more. What, can't lift heavier? PUSH YOURSELF. What, can't double jump-rope for 30 seconds? PUSH YOURSELF, YA WIMP. Most days it works. Every workout is a challenge that I work hard to beat.
This became a side effect only when I started yoga. I've never done yoga before because, I dunno, I'm just not into that whole zen spirituality thing. My idea of zen has always been to sit down and read, very minimal physical exertion. Or play Letris on my phone.
A few weeks back, I started seeing yoga as another form of exercise that I can try to test my limits on. It worked the first few times. There's so much in yoga that puts to test my core strength, my chest and arms, my breathing technique, all those things I've been working on this past year. I push myself because I know I can do it, I just need to get over this pussy mentality of OH NO, I CAN'T.
If you've done yoga, you can imagine how frustrating it was for me that there are actually a lot of moves that I LITERALLY CAN'T DO. It has nothing to do with mental barriers anymore. There ARE limits. One of those limits is called The Camel Pose.
What Hning told me last night put a dent on my mantra. Apparently, the challenge of doing yoga is in fact NOT looking at it as a challenge. It's more about listening to your body, learning the things you can and can't do, slowing down without getting weaker. Yoga once a week between really tough cardio and strength workouts will make me slow down and un-learn all that pushing and boot-camping. It's easy to get lost in that.
It takes incredible security and mental strength to be able to take down all the pieces of what you've built and worked so hard for, slowly, for just one day, and then build it back up undamaged and still strong, to turn off that Push Yourself switch. There is no challenge, no competition, you just go through the yoga motions with yourself, accepting what's left of you once you've been stripped of all that toughness.
I am, after all, into all that zen stuff.
The things we learn from friends. <3
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