Kelly and I went to Yoga tonight. It was a Yin Yang class, where you spend the first part of class in ‘Yin’ postures that are held for one to three minutes. Then you move into a faster paced Vinyasa Flow. Finally, the class ends with some relaxing restorative postures.

The class has me hooked. I’ve been doing it for five weeks now, once per week, and I look forward to it all week. I had to miss class last Wednesday and went to a ‘Slow Flow’ class instead because I didn’t want to miss my practice for the week.

It’s awesome because I feel like there’s so much room for improvement, and at the same time, I feel like I’m making huge strides in every session. It’s a very empowering thing. Not to mention it just feels fantastic. My body feels better than it has in a long time.

I was surprised at how important strength is in Yoga. I always just assumed it was all about flexibility and since I’m not bendy at all, I’d be screwed. Don’t get me wrong, I still struggle with most of the moves but I’m pleasantly surprised with my ability. I mostly attribute that to many years of strength training.

It’s a nice feeling to see that I’m actually pretty functional and athletic and not just a meat-head.

And it’s cool to have jumped in and tried something that I was nervous about doing, only to discover that I’m actually decent at it and that I really, genuinely enjoy it. It’s also a fun activity for my wife and I to do together. We usually train separately since I like to weight train and she likes to do Barre. It’s quality time (and it’s time spent without having our faces in our iPhones).

In a 60-75 minute class, I sweat, move, stretch, meditate, practice balance, and practice deep breathing. Most of all, I’m able to test myself and push myself to new limits. All for $11. It’s an outstanding bargain and 100% worth it.

I’m already seeing the benefits too. I feel stronger and more flexible, my muscle endurance is much improved, and my nagging injuries seem to be less frequent.