YOGA!

I have always thought that my flexibility was a little pathetic, and this year I have decided to do something about it. My mum takes yoga classes twice a week at her work, which is just down the road from school, so for the past 2 months I have been joining her. I would never have thought it would be such hard work! It is relaxing, but only in the sense that by the end of the 1 1/2 hour session I am so exhausted that my brain is completely empty. Because of SAISA football I have only been going once a week, but I would like to try and increase that to twice a week. I have been hurting in muscles that I didn't even know I had - particularly my hamstrings, which are also working from football, and all the muscles in my back.

There are a lot of poses that I have difficulty with because the strength and balance required are a little beyond me. I often end up shaking in the pose! The one pose that I want to work on particularly is the "downward dog pose" pictured below. This is used as a base for many of the other stretches. I really want to be able to get my feet flat on the floor and my spine fully relaxed like the woman in the picture. I figure that knowing what I have to work on is the first step.

I can feel the difference in my flexibility and balance already, but mostly the joy of yoga is that it does leave you feeling very healthy. Your muscles feel that they have been working, but in the right way. So even if I can only continue with one class a week, this is something that I WILL do, and hope to carry on with even next year in university.