Tricotomania and more

A few weeks ago, Havi declared it “non-sucky yoga month” and packaged a DVD (available commercially) with a couple of short e-books of her own to explain and assist in the actual use of that DVD. I’ve done a bit of yoga before and usually liked it. But since one of my barriers to doing yoga is knowing what kind of yoga to choose, having someone else suggest a good DVD was important for me. The extra material from Havi about the DVD specifically and this kind of yoga more generally was a bonus.

That DVD has sat on the shelf under the TV gathering dust for the past few weeks. (Sorry, Havi, I know that was one thing you specifically wanted to avoid.) I am trying to recognize why I haven’t done more than read through Havi’s little e-books. One issue is related to my partner being in the house all the time and some lingering issues around “what other people think”. I’m going to leave that aside except to say that he left town on Friday and won’t be back for a few weeks. I have taken the bold step of doing something about the yoga DVD in his absence.

I’m still not doing the yoga. But I have made a move towards doing the yoga. I am much more comfortable (and successful) if I know what the purpose of an exercise is and how it works. This can be as simple as someone telling me which muscle I am trying to work while I am doing it. Therefore, one of the advantages of this particular DVD is that one whole disc is about the theory of the particular series of exercises (which yoga people call “practice”) on the other disc.

Last night, realizing that Mat was out of town and having some time before knit night (which I was hosting), I got out my spindle and while spinning up some BFL* that I’d dyed a few weeks ago, I started watching the theory video.  Today, after dropping Tigger at her extra long drama practice, I finished watching the theory disc. It was fascinating. I learned a lot about exercise in general, about meridian theories, and about how joints work and how joints deteriorate through use and age. I might watch the theory disc again just to further take in the ideas Paul Grilley is talking about there. (He also has a book about this for those interested. Emily, you might find this theory stuff fascinating.)

That understanding of the theory behind the exercises made me more interested in the practice, though it also raised questions about what this kind of practice might do for me, how it fits into my life, etc. I’m leaving those questions aside for now but recognizing that I will have to address them if I am going to successfully integrate this particular yoga thing (or perhaps another exercise practice) into  my life. But the interest level it generated also awakened my own knowledge that my learning style is such that I am much more comfortable doing kinesthetic stuff if I have a good visual of what it is supposed to look like. Trying to do an exercise/dance/whatever while it is being shown to me for the first time causes me more stress and difficulty. It works better if I watch it once and then try it.

So I put in the practice disc and started watching the actual series of postures. I’ve watched one of three. They are each at least 60 minutes (and designed to have playing while you do them so someone else is timing how long you hold each pose). So I need to find other time to watch the others. But watching the series did help me feel more comfortable with what this practice might look like for me.

I consider this actively moving towards beginning a yoga practice. Issues I need to sort out to actually do it: Which exercises are the best for me to start with? What time of day is best? How to cycle through different series with different goals? What I should wear? And whether I have suitable props to assist with poses that I might need help with?

Although these issues range from the almost trivial to the very deep “what purpose is this exercise fulfilling in my life”, I think they are all solvable, at least to the extent necessary to actually begin doing something regularly.

Next steps:

1. finish watching the practice series
2. try each of the practice series

Timing: while Mat is away so that I can be more comfortable with what I am doing when he returns. (The theory makes me think that this might be really beneficial for him, too, but that is another step altogether.)

This whole approach to trying this new thing is probably going to compensate for the fact that I am not actually doing the yoga yet. Because I’m pretty sure that this kind of approach is exactly what Havi wants to result from her dissolving procrastination stuff (if I understand this post correctly). So even though that wasn’t why I got the Procrastination Dissolve-o-Matic, I do seem to have taken in enough to actually apply those ideas to other areas of my life. Hurray!

* BFL = Blue Faced Leicester, a breed of sheep and thus type of wool fleece