May
9
It’s the start of the week, and with all the gardening and yardwork and stuff that comes with May, some good stretching and exercise will come in handy. And now that my physio is going well, I think it’s time to start trying some yoga again.
But life as a stay at home mom means little free time or free income to go to classes, and more importantly, little down time just for myself. So it’s not like I can just go swanning off to some yoga studio somewhere for an hour or two.
Nope, instead, I’m doing my yoga online, and for free. With Yogamazing.
If you have iTunes, you can download a video podcast called Yogamazing, which is a full 20-30 minute class. (There’s also a website, yogamazing.com, but the last time I visited, the free classes are view-only and it costs for downloads.) The instructor, Chaz, makes the classes readily accessible and fun to do whether you regularly practice yoga or whether you’re a newbie. If you’re just getting started, you can pause the class to figure out “what did he just do?” or if you want to spend a little extra time doing a particular pose. It’s all good. And because it’s a download, the class is there to do at your leisure whenever you have time — during naptime, or before bed, or even first thing in the morning. (Ugh. No thanks.) I have even done a class while Stinkerbelle played around me.
I also like the fact that I can do it by myself. I’m self-conscious and still relatively cumbersome at yoga, so I like just being by myself to focus on the poses and the relaxation and not be forever worrying that I look foolish. AND DID I MENTION IT’S FREE? This is big for me. We just don’t have a ton of extra cash for classes at studios and stuff right now.
There are three kinds of classes, basically. One is a “prescription” class — let’s say “Yoga for the Neck and Shoulders” — and these classes focus on moves to help you with a particular sore spot on your body or an injury recovery. They are a little more focused on one area, but still are great gentle classes.
The second type are more general classes, like “Yoga for Golfers”, that give you a full body workout with a particular sport or activity in mind to help you strengthen and stretch. These are my favourite classes because they offer a full body workout, and even though they say they are for golfers or for snowboarders or for rowers, they really are great overall classes. (My favourite, I think, is the one for rowers. And I don’t row.)
The third type of classes are flow classes. These are classes that are a serious workout. They are a series of poses linked together that you move through continuously, and they get you moving and sweating and get your heartrate up. They are a real sweat blowout. Awesome workout.
So, each week on iTunes, one class is available for download. And, after a few weeks, you have a number of classes that you can pick and choose from: “Hm, what do I feel like today?” And if you want a longer workout, you can mix and match a couple of classes, combining, say, a flow class to get you going and a “yoga for…” class to work on a particular thing.
Or whatever. The great thing is, they’re yours. They’re on your computer. And to fit in with your busy life, you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. For free.
So go. Take some time for your body and mind. Relax. It’s good for you, and it’s fun.
