Eighth day

Today was day eight of the thirty day yoga course I've set up to do and the focus of the episode was "Meditate". 

I like our yoga guide, Adriene. She's calm and loving and gives as good verbal instructions as you could ask for and, she's got humour. What I find disturbs keeping my focus is that I mostly has to look at her movements on the screen at the same time as I'm doing them  myself, listening to her voice. I must admit there is a considerable age difference too, I'm 65 and she looks like a highly trained, flexible, well under 40 person. She's very good in repeating that I'm doing this for myself and it's only me who is in charge of my body and decide what it can or can't do. Big part of the experience for me is to, lovingly, persuade my mind out of doing what I would want my body to do. Today was a difficult mind struggle. "Meditate" sounds calm and totally nice but it involved sitting in painful, unrelaxed positions, stretching parts of my body that doesn't want to, at the same time as I'm supposed to exhale and inhale in a peaceful focused manner. I'm nowhere near where her body places itself and my thighs cramp. The last bit of the exercise, "lie on your back and let your body float out on the mat at the same time as you rest your head on a pillow", I could do very well and was pleased to have completed todays episode. 

I do find it worth while though and I think I'm going to follow all of the thirty day course "and beyond". What I mean is that the challenges are on several layers. Physically of course but mostly noticing the mental barriers that has to be overcome by adapting to reality and to notice the difference the course has on my body. My stomach muscles hurt. It must mean something. Something good, hopefully.