Home Practice from tape

I'm sure I've mentioned before that I'm not a big fan of home practice, but I know that's it's not something I should shy away from nor should I discourage. While I maintain that a practice with an instructor is my mode of choice, these classes are not always held at practical times or at practical places, so sometimes you just have to go with a home practice!

Home practice presents it challenges for me: it's very easy to put off until later (and then never get around to it!), sometimes there are young children about who like to play jungle gym with my limbs while practicing asana, sometimes I do a DVD so often that I memorize what's coming next and end up not holding the pose long enough, and there's always the dilemma of never knowing if I'm properly positioned in the pose. It is oh so helpful to have an instructor there to encourage you to put your muscles and limbs into proper placement.

Anyway, there wasn't a yoga class offered at an amenable time for me today, so I had to go with a quick home practice. The kids spent the morning at day camp, so I eliminated my biggest issue (the "mommy as jungle gym" issue), and I picked a tape that I hadn't done in quite some time. Yes, readers, not a DVD, but a TAPE. VHS. I'm actually surprised that it worked.

My practice of choice today was "Upper Body Yoga for Beginners" with Rodney Yee. This was actually the first yoga DVD I ever purchased, and I remember how it kicked my butt way back when. I figured, as I popped it into the VCR, that it would be interesting to see what was so intimidating about the practice now that I have a few years of experience under my belt. And you know what? It STILL kicked my butt!

It is laughable that ole' Rodney thinks that a beginner can handle being in Chaturanga (which he calls push-up pose) for 30+ seconds. I was dying, and I'll admit here and now that I couldn't do it. He also gives the instruction to move into Upward Facing Dog, and has you hold THAT for 30+ seconds. After that, we were in Down Dog for a while, and even that is a challenge. Later on, he moves the viewer into the Wheel, which I also consider to be an advanced pose. Maybe I'm a wimp, maybe I'm a push over. Maybe I'm not as good as I think I am given 3 years of practicing, but this tape still gave a challenging workout! And yes, it totally worked my Upper Body - all in less than 30 minutes! I can envision myself giving this one a go again soon.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to do a home practice today, and despite all my grumblings about it, and obstacles to overcome, I feel like I accomplished something.

I have a good shot at my week of yoga! I had a nice, gentle Thursday class yesterday, and if I fit in another home practice on Tuesday, there are enough classes that I just might be able to pull it off. Stay tuned as I post my progress...