Yoga-ta try this post!

I would bet that Fernando Delgadillo read this prior to writing Entre Pairos y Derivas

I have to tell y'all that sometimes I get inspiration (mostly for my personal posts) and it's like something foreign takes over my body mind heart and all I do is write until it empties.  I write, and write, and write.  I hit publish and about two hours later it settles and I realize, "Yes, I just did that."  I go through a cycle of wonder, "What came over me? Why did I do that?"and that is how I result posting things like  this.

On a different note, I must share with you and tell y'all that the highlight of my week is always my yoga sessions.  Among my other workouts, which are in the morning, I attend yoga twice a week in the evenings.  These are hardcore sessions my friends.  Most days I sweat buckets in there, and it's not even "hot" yoga.  I have resorted to not wearing a shirt and just keeping my yoga pants and sports bra on.  Hey, you would too if you were in this class.  No need to feel self-conscious, the lights are completely out in the room anyway.  Not just because I sweat a ton, but I feel so incredibly cleansed afterward.

In a variation of pigeon pose.  Excuse my messy hair s'il vous plait. 

Transitions
If you are new to yoga it may be a difficult transition from other forms of exercise.  Yoga takes patience, time, and concentration.  I find that when I fully concentrate in my practice it makes a load of difference than when I'm too focused on other things going on in my life.  The best thing to do when you're not sure what you should be thinking or how to "focus" is to breathe.  Keep breathing, through hard poses, and especially follow the guidance of your yoga instructor.  They typically do a great job of telling you when you should be inhaling or exhaling.

Isn't it all flexibility and pretzel formations though?
Most people who have never experienced yoga tend to think "pretzel" formations or "flexibility." And while yes, sometimes you end up looking like a pretzel in class and you definitely improve your overall flexibility, yoga is so much more than that.  I think it is often taken for granted how much strength it takes to get through a yoga class.  You are constantly strengthening your body by doing different poses.  You use the weight of your own body and, if done correctly, your core. Yoga sculpts your body, and with poses like warrior III and plank you are lifting pounds of your own body weight.

What it can do for you
Through yoga you learn to love your body in a completely different way.  As cheesy and granola as this sounds, you start to learn the rhythm of your body and become more in tune with it.  The power of the human body will surprise you, and you will gain greater self-confidence.  I love that yoga focuses on how your body feels and what it can do rather than how it looks.

First Timer
Don't be turned off if you find it to be intimidating going to your first yoga class.  There are always beginner classes you can try, and I promise there are pose modifications for every pose! Make sure and arrive early to tell the instructor you are new to the practice, ask them to show modifications for poses.  Yoga instructors can be some of the nicest people you will ever encounter.  Fear them not!

And last, I leave you all with the song that's been in my head all day.  Old, old, song from the nineties (best decade ever!).  A Tejano song by Bobby Pulido (what a hunk).  I find the video strange because he is in San Francisco of all places.  If you've never heard Tejano music before, it is a genre original to the state of Texas and listened to mostly by Mexican Americans.  The music has German influences, can you tell? (Hint, hint: the accordion).  Enough of that, here's the video:

What's your favorite yoga pose?

Namaste.