Originally Posted by
Road Fan
We had our first lesson this week. I'm hunting now for some printed instructions to remember the gist of the asanas we did. Would like to run some of them once before next Wednesday. I feel some minor cramps and muscle pains where I felt stretched a lot. Almost the sort of thing that would keep me off the bike for a day or so, hence I'm a little concerned. If I felt nothing, I'd want to practice them twice.
I tend to go at things with full effort. I think I'm patient, however I'm always taught that my patience has a long road to hoe.
Yoga reinforced that.
We're all different, and at different levels of flexibility, strength and patience. Asanas, as I do them currently is not how I did them years ago. Like getting base miles, yoga is a long term thing.
As cyclists we become prone to pushing - we know that we don;t improve until we push the envelope.
Yoga works that way also, but yoga doesn't work best when you try to do 'intervals', it's more like LSD or moderate tempo rides.
Finding where an asana starts transforming you without causing issues is one of the most important things to be aware of in the beginning, 6 months later and years after that. It's actually an awareness I believe is always needed.
Instructors can only know what they see of you, how you feel is something you can communicate to good instructors, They'll help in finding that balance for you - but you have to make the decision. If you're no longer the perfect specimen, then adjusting a pose to work in your envelope is important - with the objective to get closer to the desired pose, at some future point, if that's in the cards.
Yoga continues to teach me more about myself, everytime I practice.