How to Be Competitive At Yoga

Yesterday, T and I decided to try a yoga class.

The yoga class came as an extra benefit for membership at the local rock climbing gym.

Since I am up for anything that is "extra benefit," and since we were planning on going to the rock gym anyway, we decided to give it a whirl.

When we got there, the gym was REALLY crowded. It looked like there were about 100 people. Every wall was taken except for the really hard stuff. The really hard stuff, is REALLY HARD, and has climbs where you hang up side down and traverse upside down under and across the roof of the gym--but even that had some people on it.

T and I were the only ones to show up for the yoga class.

The yoga room was brightly lit, compared to the relative dimness in the rock gym, and had a sheer glass wall (not "window", but wall) , that allowed for a very clear view, so that T and I felt just a wee bit exposed.

We told the teacher we were beginners.

So in this bright, bare room, with the floor to ceiling glass wall, and nowhere to hide, she was kind enough to give us a private class.

Let me tell you, that stuff is hard.

After the warm up sequence (in which I realized I wasn't limber at all), she had us stand in "mountain", "tree" or "stork" pose. I don't know which one it was, but we had to stand on one leg, while reaching over head.

I was thankful that I still have good balance from my younger days as a gymnast, and my current work, in which I stand on one leg all the time.

We stood in this one-legged pose for a while.

I was proud of T, who was standing next to me, and who I could sense was keeping good balance.

A year or so ago, I had told him that people start losing their balance sense in their 40's or 50's. He had quietly taken this to heart, spent time challenging his balance, and had made some noticeable improvements.

Now, in this yoga class, his balance homework was carrying over and paying off.

At first it was OK.
Then, my leg muscles started to feel a little tired.
Then I began to wobble a bit and had to make corrections.
Then my calf started to burn and I wondered if I was going to be able to climb after yoga.
We kept holding the pose.
And I mean for a long time.
Talk about Feel The Burn.

And then we FINALLY got to stop.
So we could do it all over again on the other leg.
I thought, "There is no way I am going climbing after this."

When we done, we politely asked the teacher how long she holds these poses. Her reply was, "For as long as people can hold them without losing their balance."

OK.
But we're beginners.

The problem, we realized later, is that T and I are both competitive people, plus we like to rise to the challenge. When someone gives us a challenge, we'll do everything we can to be as good as possible. So both of us attempted to stand on one leg for as long as we could--waiting for the teacher to call it--while she was waiting for one of us to lose our balance.
Whew! Was I thankful when she finally called it.
Were my legs POOPED!!!

We did end up climbing afterwards, but it was a short session.

I didn't like the yoga and thought it was hard and uncomfortable--which means I should probably keep doing it.
T liked it.
As T puts it, "Once a week is enough."
So, he is dragging me back next week....