Tag Archives: yoga

Looking stupid and going back for more

Today I tried Hot Power Yoga for the first time in my life.

I’ve done some yoga classes before, but this was the brutal. It was the hardest yoga class I have ever taken. And, it was in what felt like 90+ degree room.

The result?

It killed me. After the first 15 minutes, I hit a wall. The yoga moves were getting difficult, and the heat was unrelenting. I was sweating like crazy, my muscles wouldn’t do what they were supposed to do, and I would occasionally get light headed. I started taking breaks every few minutes. Halfway through the class, I just walked out and created an extra long water break. After my break, I went into survival mode: I just wanted to keep trying to do what I could, and then get out of there.

yoga

Not me.

The crazy part is that there were these girls that did it all. Yes, they were also sweating like crazy, but they could actually do all the advanced poses continuously without much of a break. They definitely belonged.

Me? I felt out of place, and being somewhat inflexible, I’m sure I looked pretty stupid there.

But that’s cool. Because it reminded me of many of my other firsts.

The first time I let loose on a dance floor, I bet I looked stupid. (Most likely I still do).

The first time I hit the bench pressed in high school, I probably looked ridiculous lifting just the bar.

The first web product I built after quitting my job was pretty bad. To an educated product person, it is probably just plain horrible.

At the beginning of anything, you always look stupid. They only way to get past it is to just own it, and keep moving.

And so I’m going back for more hot yoga tomorrow.

If I keep trying, one day I hopefully won’t look too stupid on the yoga mat 🙂

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P.S. This is post number #64 in a 100 day blogging challenge. See you tomorrow!

Follow me on Twitter @alexshye.

Or, check out my current project Soulmix.

 

Saving our bodies from the desk job

YogaStretch

Our bodies weren’t meant for desk jobs.

We were meant to be upright, roaming around picking berries, hunting, etc.

We were not built for sitting all day, hunched forward in front of a computer. It stretches out the muscles in our back, and shortens/tightens our chest muscles. The slight forward tilt places our head in front our of body, throwing off the alignment and muscle usage in our neck and back. The constant keyboard and mouse use causes repetitive stress injuries.

In general, the desk job wreaks havoc on our body.

What can we do about this?

It seems this problem is going to be bad with my generation, and possibly worse for the younger generation raised on laptops and iPod Touches.

I’ve been running as a workout, but I’ve started to realize that it isn’t good enough. Running  is great cardio, but has a limited range of motion. I’ve found that I feel great afterwards, but my upper body muscles are still stiff from the desk job.

I occasionally strength train. Sometimes it is good, but sometimes it ends up irritating my neck and back, which are constantly tight. I’ve learned to do a light weight training workout that emphasizes full body motions.

So far, the best thing for me has been yoga. It is fairly light-weight (compared to strength training), but the huge benefit is that it actively puts you through a wide range of motions and stretches. Personally, I haven’t found anything better than yoga for combating problems with the desk job.

Recently, I found an 7-min yoga/stretching workout that I have incorporated into my work day. It is fairly quick and can be used as a work break. It doesn’t require much flexibility, and is accessible to most people. It leaves you with a light sweat, but not enough where you can’t do it in work clothes. I would recommend it to everyone.

7-min yoga, plus the occasional runs have been working pretty well for me.

What do you do?

I would love to hear how you save your body from the desk job!

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P.S. This is post number #14 in a 100 day blogging challenge. See you tomorrow!

Follow me on Twitter @alexshye.

Check out my current project Soulmix, your daily mix of food for the soul. Request an invite now for free access to the private beta!