for-the-love-of-adventure
The Why
I’ve been thinking about why I run; especially why I run when I don’t feel like it or when the weather is bad or why I run up big hills over long distances. Sometimes I feel tired or lazy or cold or it hurts to keep going. Sometimes I wonder if I should stop, if I’m pushing myself too far or if the drive to continue is coming from an unhealthy place.
Yoga, but probably not as you know it…
A Yin practice is great for releasing tension and building strength in ligaments and tendons. So, if you have chronic tension, back/neck/shoulder pain, very ‘tight’ joints or an old injury then Yin is an excellent practice for you! Static stretching isn’t always the answer to tightness because a lot of this ‘tight’ feeling isn’t due to contracted muscle fibres as we usually assume. If you suffer from stress, anxiety or are fatigued, the slowness and depth of Yin will probably be extremely good for you.
Why Wild?
A superb opportunity to acknowledge and loosen our hold on the ideas we have about ourselves and what yoga is - at least for an hour or two.
Taking yoga to a different environment gives us an excuse to shrug them off for a moment; perhaps allowing us to experience both the asana and our bodies in a new light.
Get a lungful of this…
Deep slow breaths are commonly known to bring calm and focus but faster deep breathing while running for example is also beneficial - we may even still feel calm despite working hard as we’re co-ordinating heartbeat and breath and getting enough CO2 in our blood (yes - we need enough of it as well as O2).