I felt surprisingly good this morning after lots of walking around London streets yesterday. I managed 'Cardio' better than the first time around. I'm so much more in control of my breathing.
During this period of exploration, I'm finding myself in a bit of a quandry about how to approach this programme. I said in my first blog entry that I would give up my other exercise activities whilst doing UY if I found that it was detrimental. However, I feel as though I'm currently in no-mans land; I'll happily commit to the 108 days - I have already - but I'm unsure if I should keep going with the running, swimming and weights. I guess that the answer should be to let my body guide me, but I was interested to know what other members of the group were doing, so I asked the question on facebook: are you solely doing the yoga programme and nothing more?
There were lots of answers; most of the group are just doing the yoga. Some are doing cardio - a bit of running and/or walking - but no one mentioned continuing a weights regime. The general consensus is that the yoga is enough and there is certainly plenty to be getting on with! What struck me, though, was that several of the group have, in the past, been quite extreme exercisers, pushing their bodies to the limit. I'd put myself in that category too. The wonderful thing is that there has obviously been a shift in their mental approach to exercise, the emphasis on being kind to the body instead of pushing it and learning to enjoy other areas of life more rather than live for training. I think this is something that the programme teaches you.
So, at this relatively early stage in my journey, I'm still a bit unsure where the balance is. Funnily enough, I write endless programmes for my clients and know what they need, but I think my own mind and body are still battling a bit; they're not quite beating each other up anymore, but there's still some aggravation there! I like the idea that I don't have to decide NOW how I tackle this though. I can play around with other exercise and see how I feel with it. I think that, as long as I remain aware, I can back off if necessary. That was my feeling as I did a weights/cardio DVD this evening. I felt like doing it and was pleasantly surprised - I felt fitter than ever before! Usually I find it challenging and I'm left gasping for breath, but I kept bringing my focus back to my breath and all was calm!
Having said that, I do feel that I will shift away from traditional training more and more. Before UY, I'd been doing more 'natural' training (climbing trees, simple acrobatics, etc.) and this makes much more sense to me. I will continue to add additional bits to my regime as well as the UY but a) will cut back if I feel it's taking too much time or too much toll on my body and b) will stick as closely as possible to natural movement.
Now, I have 'Strength' tomorrow which I'm going to try in the morning. I have an early client, so I'll have to start at 6am to get finished in time. I may regret doing that DVD this evening...we shall see!
A quick note: A lovely yoga teacher and friend (Emma - yogawithemma.co.uk) sent me a message after reading my blog entry on 'Yin'. She explained that when she flows through this particular type of practice, she ensures that she's not taking stretches too deep and focuses more on the restrictions going on within her mind and working on releasing any resistance to the 'stillness'. Great advice - I will take Sunday's 'Yin' from that perspective :)
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