searching for yoga love… week 1
Inspiring yoga and sound sleep get my month-long searching for yoga love challenge off to a good start. From gentle, calming lessons to beach fun, aerial yoga and asanas while flying through the Universe, it’s been a trip already.
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Monday I wake up at 4.30am, my mind doing somersaults for two hours before I crash for another two. Not the fresh, motivating start I was hoping for day 1. But I’m looking forward to the Flyoga class by Aerial Arts Academy at Yoga Bam Bam in the evening. It starts with some basic yoga moves and stretches and eventually gets to the inversions, which is where I’m really enjoying myself. I love the gymnastic elements and challenging my courage and balance, but my current post-holiday weight makes some longer holds a tad uncomfortable. I walk home feeling like I’ve workout out, sweated and I’m ready for bed. I shower, put on a meditation CD and after ten minutes it is still whispering on. I lie down and am asleep in seconds. Although I wake up in the middle of the night, I’m still in meditation mode and find it easy to get back to sleep. Result!
Tuesday It’s yoga at home this evening. www.doyogawithme.com (DYWM) is under maintenance (boo!) and so I find a random yoga class on YouTube. It’s a good but forgettable session, but I shower, climb into bed and before I can even consider meditation, fall into a sound, night-long sleep.
Wednesday I go back to DYWM and love their fresh, new, improved version. I go straight for my favourite yogini, Fiji McAlpine and try her Backbending from the Base for the first time. It’s marked ‘advanced’ but I’m full of energy and although I struggle to keep up at times, I love the challenge. By the end I feel energized and as if I’ve really achieved something. Thank you Fiji!
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Thursday I am at the Pure Fitness gym opening at LKF’s California Tower. Their Les Mills Immersive Fitness 270-degree cinema screen studio is a super-saturation of music, sci-fi graphics and sweat during their spin class The Trip. We are led up mountains, down hills, around a race course and through the Galaxy. Afterwards they move the bikes out and we do a short 15-minute Mind-Body class with Meech Aspden, Director of Group Fitness. This calm yoga journey starts with the dawn sun, which rises and turns into beautiful New Zealand alps, which lead to more nature and a dusky finish that pulls back into the Universe. As Planet Earth gets smaller we are reminded about gratitude and the beauty of the world. It’s the perfect way to end a yoga class. I’m getting closer to yoga love…
Friday Friends from out of town and a late night… Yoga fail…
Saturday I’m heading to Shek O for a beach yoga class with the lovely Victor Chau. I arrive to a busy beach under hazy clouds rather than the blemish-free blue skies we’ve had recently, but I’m happy not to be burning while bending and stretching. I’ve forgotten to bring a mat or beach towel, so line my comedy-sized Good Morning hand towel up with everyone else’s mats. Victor’s yoga class mixes moves and stretches with some inversions and then partner work, like plank-on-plank. Although I worry about squashing my partner, it’s actually surprisingly easy and great on sand as it doesn’t matter if you fall. Thanks Victor – awesome!
Sunday I finish the day with a gentle half hour Bend and Stretch with Melissa Krieger on DYWM. Just what I needed for a comforting end to the week.
I’m getting into the habit, which is great, but not feeling much progress in terms of flexibility. I failed big time on keeping the meditation going and must focus on this for this week. I think both it and yoga make a big difference to my sleep patterns. And if for no other reason this is a great motivation for keeping going. I ate healthily… until the weekend.
