Day 11 - Yoga!

Okay, I got to do the Yoga-X today. You may recall that last week I couldn't continue beyond 15 minutes into it...

So...the Yoga workout is long. But I have to admit that I felt really good afterwards. The first half is "Moving" poses, while the second half is "Balance" poses. I didn't think of Yoga as a sweat-enducing activity, but during the "Moving" poses section of this workout, I was sweating more than I have during any other workout I've done...I'm serious. It's tough. I ended up fast-forwarding through the last 10 minutes or so of the "Moving" section, 'cuz I was just so exhausted from doing them. The "balance" half is a much more relaxed series of poses, much more focused on stretching and flexibility rather than strength (although there definitely are some strength - especially that work the abs - poses in there).

When all was said and done I felt good about having done it and will definitely be doing it again next week. The biggest thing I learned is that my Yoga Matt is WAY too slippery! I found that when I moved to just the carpet that although I wasn't as comfortable, several of the poses (ESPECIALLY the downward-dog) became much easier. I guess when my hands were sweating that trying to hold some of those poses on the slippery surface of my Gold's Gym Yoga Matt (in spite of the little ridges in to), I was spending a lot of energy in keeping my hands stationary, whereas when I moved them to the floor my hands just stayed and I couldn't focus on the rest of the pose.