After reading good things about how Yoga can reduce blood pressure and help with flexibility, I decided to take a Yoga class at the YMCA. I ventured to Wal-Mart and purchased the ubiquitous purple yoga mat.
The class began with a period of calm relaxation with us on our backs and eyes closed. The instructor, a friendly younger woman then instructed us to get into a down dog pose- A what pose?! Anyway, I followed her closely and realized that this was much harder than I thought. I felt like an awkward doofus trying to follow the poses .The instructor quickly pointed out (after seeing my contorted versions of her poses) that Yoga is about non-judgment and not to worry about what others were thinking….
So, I tried to forgot myself and actually had a decent workout that revealed how inflexible I am.
The class ended with a final OM chant with the instructor saying “Namaste”( I bow to you- a gesture of respect).
It was a very nice ending to a challenging stress relieving class.
