Mirror Self (Me^)

Day One yoga complete! Well, I did it. I got back on the mat. I did about 45 minutes of yoga last night and and looking forward to my daily practice.

I prefer to do my practice in the evening, after dinner, before I go to sleep. Some people prefer to do early morning routines, but I do not. I like to take my time and I usually have more of that after my kids go to bed. ;)

I set up my mat at the foot of my bed, closed the curtains and got down to business. I usually play music, but did not last night. I forgot to pull out my block, so I will remember to do that today. It has been far too long since I last did yoga and even with the minimal work I did yesterday, I can feel it today, the most in my shoulders.

I did modified Sun Salutations and interspersed some random stretching that I needed in, where I could. I did 4 Sun Salutes, then moved to the floor and worked on stretching out my legs, specifically my hamstrings. I might have the tightest hamstrings in the entire world. Ok, probably not, but still. Even as a child, when we did the PE tests where you had to sit, legs out and stretch onto a ruler, I could barely bend forward. My routine went as follows:
Mountain Pose
Raised Arms to the Sky, slight back bend to
Forward Bend (could have used my block here) to
Standing Half Forward Bend (eyes forward, flat back) to
Plank (Yoga plank)

Downward Dog (a lot of stretching it out, here)

(One Side) High Crescent Lunge (Warrior 1)

Warrior II (my favorite pose)

Back down to Downward Dog

Walk feet forward to hands so you are in a 

Forward Bend again

Chair Pose

Back to 

Mountain Pose

and the end of my first cycle. I repeated this 3 times (4 total) and then moved onto the floor. There, I started with a few Cat and Cow stretches

Reminding myself to breath with each movement

In a few weeks when I am more limber, I will be going into inverted poses from here. Not yet, though. 

I then rolled over and laid flat on my back, bringing my knees up in to 

Half Bridge (my hands were by my sides, not tucked under, like the pic.)

I went from this down to the floor again, then in to 

Legs up the Wall pose in which I did not use a wall, just put my feet straight up, parallel to the floor

back down for a few more Half Bridge/Legs up the wall, then in to 

Boat pose (which I also love even though it is difficult)

I did some on-the-floor calf stretches as well, then moved back down for the final 

Corpse Pose

I am always surprised at how quickly my body reacts to yoga, however. The stiff Downward Dog I did last night will not be the same Downward Dog I do tomorrow. One of the many reasons I love yoga. I'm looking forward to working back into my practice in a slow and safe manner. I gravitate to yoga because I am not a competitive person.  I am not fond of gyms or running or 'fitness challenges' or anything like that. I like to compete with myself, at my own pace. I have known a few folks that have injured themselves in group yoga classes because they simply did not listen to their bodies. I am not ready for  more advanced poses yet, but I will be. I look forward to building toward a headstand or getting all of the way into Bridge. Yoga has so many poses that it's almost impossible to be bored with it. A custom-tailored routine can benefit anyone. I encourage research and safe experimentation-ideally with a certified instructor.

Day One is done and on to the next...