"It only hurts for a little while...

...that's what they tell me; that's what they say."

It was a song on the radio when I was a kid.  I have no idea who originally recorded it, but I sing it in my head when I do yoga.

Yoga is the perfect place to apply the saying, "That which does not kill you makes you stronger."
I've been doing some, lately, and it's one of the hardest strength training I've ever encountered.  But it's the very best, too!  It's more interesting than doing plain old push ups and crunches, and I've found muscles I didn't know I had in places I'm surprised they exist...truly.  For instance, when I was trying to contort into a pose that the video instructor seemingly effortlessly glided into, I got a charlie-horse cramp in the muscles of my ribs.  I KNOW; I didn't have any idea there were any of significance, there, but I'm telling you...they ARE there and they don't like it when I go from the one-legged downward dog into whatever twisty pose I was attempting. 

My thought process, when doing yoga, goes something like this:

"This isn't so bad (during warm-ups)!  Maybe I was just a big baby last time...yeah, that's it."

"Right leg?  Which is my right leg?" (because on video, it's a mirror-image of what I'm supposed to do...I get all messed up)

"Breathe in?  or out?  Good grief!  I'm still working on finding my right leg...I'll breathe when I get that done, lady!" (I talk to the instructors, under the breaths I'm not remembering to take...)

"Cat pose, crane pose, fish pose, dog pose....how about a dead turtle pose?  THAT I can do."

"I want to die, but it feels good, but I want to die, but it feels good, but oh man, I really want to die..." (I say that more frequently than anything else. It's the theme of yoga.)

"Cramp! AAAAHHHOOOWWIIEEE!"

"HOW can those people on the video be smiling and serene?! WHY are they not sweating and rolling their eyes?! WHERE do they get those great outfits?!"

"Love cool down yoga!  We should do more of the cool down yoga...it's sorta dead turtle-ish..."

"Well. Now.  That wasn't so bad.  And I feel so strong! And I can breathe, now!  Yeah!"

That's the 50 or so minutes, all condensed for you.  It would be more amusing if you had the video of me doing the video, but you get the idea. 

I can tell you, it doesn't look like THIS:

Hurts just to look at it, doesn't it?

I'm seeing results, already, though, and that's what keeps me coming back.  And I love feeling strong...love it!  I like that I can do the yoga exercise without the interference of the yoga mind junk.  Even if it did have that mantra-stuff, I'm afraid I'm contrary enough to be thinking "You all can take your inner third eye and shove it, because I'm praying to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that I'll live through this experience with minimal damage to the surroundings and/or my physical being!"  Seriously.  It WILL bring you closer to God.  I pray to get through it, pray in thanksgiving when it's over, pray I can find the Aleve quickly...

I'm still running, but it's fun to have something different to work on.
Stay tuned, because next week, you get the report on my other new exercise endeavor...