Adding a Little Stretch To My Routine

My back is slowly getting better. Not great, but better. I still need to visit a chiropractor to determine where exactly the problem is and how to fix it, but for now the pain has resolved to a low-grade ache and I do my best to not aggravate it in any way.

I then used a workout video in my mid-20’s that was a combination of yoga and pilates. I liked it, although I never felt very relaxed or lean at the end of the video.

Not knowing where to start, I fired up Netflix and searched for yoga, looking for anything available as streaming content. I read a few reviews and finally settled on Crunch: Candlelight Yoga. It even sounds soothing with “candlelight” in the name. I admit, I’ve seen other Crunch videos before, and I was a little nervous that they wouldn’t somehow find a way to make every muscle in my body hurt the next day, but it promised to be a gentle workout.

The result? I think I could get into yoga. It was very relaxing, with easy moves that gave you the option to only move as far as is comfortable without reaching into painful stretches. For those who are less flexible (I’m somewhere in the middle myself), the instructor provided information on ways to modify each move to make it even easier. Thankfully, I only had to use the modification once.

When the instructor told me it’s OK to close my eyes through most of the video, I thought she was crazy. How can I know what to do if my eyes are closed? But most of the time she gave very clear direction when and how to move, requiring little time looking at the screen. That still didn’t stop me from occasionally craning my neck to make sure I was in the same general pretzel shape that the fitness models on the screen were effortlessly putting themselves into.

Honestly, the hardest part was the breathing. OMG, I’ve never worried so much about breathing! The video started with an instruction on the “proper” way to breathe, which is nothing like how I normally breathe. I practiced it with them, and even during the practice I found myself slipping. It’s only breathing – how hard can it be?

So the full 40 minutes went something like this for me: relax, stretch, breathe, change positions, HEY, BREATHE RIGHT! YOU’RE NOT BREATHING RIGHT!, OH, WAIT, RELAX…right, relax, stretch, hold, breathe…DAMMIT BREATHE THE RIGHT WAY!, HOW CAN YOU FAIL AT BREATHING?…stretch, hold, relax, change positions, breathe…WOULD YOU STOP HOLDING YOUR BREATH! HOW ARE YOU GOING TO RELAX WHEN YOU WON’T BREATHE PROPERLY!…wait…stretch, relax…

Breathing. It’s not as easy as you might think.

At the end of the workout, I felt strangely good. Laying on the floor for the last part of it, I felt like I could just melt into the floor and sink all the way to the core of the earth. OK, that probably wouldn’t feel so good, but you get the point – I was a well-stretched puddle of goo, relaxed and calm.

I realized at that point I was breathing properly, too. Figures.

I’m going to work yoga into my routine at least twice a week for now, possibly more if I can find time. Once I get bored with this workout (or if Netflix takes it off of streaming downloads), I may try moving up to something slightly more challenging. Recommendations, anyone?

Full disclosure: Crunch: Candlelight Yoga was something I found through pure luck of Netflix streaming availability, and they likely don’t even know I exist. (And yes, I pay for my own Netflix subscription.) The link to the DVD above is an affiliate link through Amazon, meaning if you click through and purchase the DVD, I get a few cents in return to then experiment with other DVDs in the future.