We’re teaching yoga to an incredibly cool group of baseball players – the Keizer Volcanoes. It’s a little awkward and challenging because … well because it’s 25 year old dudes and some of them are not there voluntarily. I’ll come back around to why.
BUT FIRST! If you’ve got stuff going on in your head that’s bringing you down or holding you back then the advice is generally to get out of your head.
Now, I’m obviously a proponent of YOGA but another way that I think most people can relate to easily and quickly getting completely out of their head is to GO SWIMMING. When you’re swimming, as a beginner, you’re basically thinking of two things: BREATHING and NOT DROWNING!
And as you gain experience, your focus shifts to: breathing and challenging yourself.
Maybe you just want to swim a little further or maybe you want to learn the butterfly or do backflips off diving board. (maybe you want to travel more, change jobs, start a band or move to another state).
THIS IS WHY YOGA WORKS FOR ME. BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE A SWIMMING POOL.
As with swimming, when you begin practicing yoga, you’re usually thinking of two things: BREATHING and NOT FALLING OVER. (or looking silly, or farting, or hurting yourself). BUT, As you gain experience, your focus shifts to breathing and challenging yourself. Maybe you want to get IRON MAN STRONG or ZEN LEVEL RELAXED.
Lofty, but okay. Or, maybe you’d simply like to release tension and pain in your body so you can focus on other things. Like swimming!
PLUS, there’s a ton of other perks. Better balance, better sleep, lower blood pressure, stable joints and flowy movement that borders on . . . . exerciiiiiiise? There, I said it. Yoga can be exercise also.
And if you really get serious/good/advanced . . . you can practice anywhere, anytime, in any class and get exactly what you need.
(but that will take years of you giving me money to teach you all the mysterious secrets behind the practice. Don’t worry, I’m here for you).
SEE, HERE’S THE PROBLEM: Tension.
Not just any tension. EXCESS TENSION!
Because tension comes from a lot of places. It comes from your body being in the same place for long periods of time and it also comes from your mind being in the same place for long periods of time. So yoga gets you moving your body in different ways and redirecting your mind in different ways. TO RELEASE TENSION.
Sure you can get out of your head and distract yourself by watching another episode of Friends or The Office, maybe you have a couple of drinks or go shopping. But you’re probably still able to multi task, worry and think your own frightful thoughts during that time.
In the pool and on the mat, you don’t even know how much time has passed. You’re just in there, breathing . . . as if you’re life depended on it. (get it? lol)
So it’s a little awkward and challenging. So what? So is swimming. But I’ll bet that doesn’t keep you from going to the pool? Probably because you’ve taken a swimming lesson at some point in your life and feel like you know a little about what to expect.
SO TAKE A YOGA LESSON.
With ME, or any of our teachers. But whatever you do… DO NOT GOOGLE it. Trust me on this. Google searches pull the most extreme examples of everything. Moms, have you ever googled ‘diaper rash solutions’? If not, don’t.
TO SUM IT UP, finally
Practicing consistently makes you physically stronger.
Feeling stronger gives you confidence.
Confidence is calming.
Calm creates clarity. (Ever get a great idea in the shower??).
Relaxation wins.
Get Strong and Calm.
BOOK YOUR YOGA LESSON or find out more, HERE
Ok, BACK TO BASEBALL:
The Volcanoes are a class act. 100%. Even in their mandatory yoga sessions, they’re in it. They practice. Now I figured going in that yoga is probably not their thing. But they feel it. Head, shoulders, hips and toes. These guys are in the middle of a brutal schedule! 76 season games, 38 of them on the road! They don’t really have a lot of time to be ‘in their head’ about anything.
But I bet they are. I bet they evaluate every pitch, every inning, every at bat, every win and every loss. So while, yoga might not be their thing… yet. I’m hoping to provide a few minutes of ‘something else’. Something that feels strong, calm and relaxed with a little less tension and zero evaluation. But I think they enjoyed savasana…
GO VOLCANOES! (Game tonight at 5:05pm).
: )
Suzanne
p.s. all the info you’ll ever need about us starts here: Love Yoga Studios
p.p.s. Beginner classes start in September!
