My hips dont lie…

by

When last I left you Id announced my excitement about attending a YOGA FOR HIPS workshop.

(click to read)

Since many of you asked it was held at this facility BUT BUT BUT this is NOT NOT NOT a sponsored post (to their delight Im sure as the ramblings unfold…):

We *love* our Lifetime.

What I didnt share with you is I wasnt all that excited to go.

I signed us up. I gots Ren Man all kinds of YES!! LETS DO THIS THING!! WE SIT TOO MUCH!! pumped.  I longed to bail.

Like a lot.

I almost did that thing where you pick a fight with someone JUST so you can storm off in anger (thats a thing, right?) so I didnt have to go.

But Im getting ahead of myself.

I LOVE MY LIFETIME FITNESS.  (<—– again, to clarify, this is NOT a sponsored post. Im just smitten.)

I love THIS area.

 

I love to do this!

 

And while I’ll do yoga it’s typically by DVD in my domicile.

I wont lie.  I  quit. A lot.

That said, I will lie.  To myself. Frequently.  About both the state of my HIPS and the status of my CORE.

Which is why I signed us up for the workshop and why I looked like this immediately before:

Look Ma! No yoga attire. Im a misfit.

 

The Tornado attempted to inspire me.

See, Mama? This is fun!

 

The husband just hoped to contain me & not let me run away.

Ren Man & Fake Smiles McGee.

 

I did almost run the opposite direction as he happily ambled down the hall to the studio.

Apparently he’s now MizTer Yoga.

 

But I did not.

I entered the studio.

I resisted giving the instructor a big ‘my piriformises (what IS the plural?!) are all kinds of owie today’ diZclaimer.

I unfurled my mat.

Om ready.

What did I learn:

  • My definition of WORKSHOP is not the universal one.  Id erroneously assumed it would be sort of a lecture.  Seriously. I almost brought a notebook (#nerdalert).  Id thought we’d leave having learned a series of specific poses we could do at home for our hips/low back.  I was incorrect.  The workshop was essentially a two hour class.  For Ren Man and me it was the equivalent of running a half-marathon when we’d previously walked a lap around the track.  We paced ourselves (I spent a ton of time just hanging in pigeon pose), but were surprised at the format.
  • I love doing yoga with Ren Man.  Thankfully he knew enough *not* to meet my gaze when doing so would have triggered me to erupt in inappropriate giggles.  It was a Ren Man winwin.
  • I still cry on the mat.  Im unsure if it was the length of the class (120 minutes versus 60) or the repeated reminders of where I used to be (hello backbend with ease!) versus where I am now (fearful and afraid to even attempt) but I cried.  I think the only thing which helped me to NOT become a sniveling mess was the awareness my husband was OMing next to me.  I care not what strangers think.
  • I still live a fearful yoga-life.  More than a few times the instructor came over & suggested I use a block to get into a pose.  Yet, when I ATTEMPTED said post I could, in fact, do it sans-block.  I was simply afraid.  I dont yet trust what my body can and can not do in yoga.  This ‘fear’ is still highly unfamiliar territory for me.
  • I need to be more grateful for my family.  I think I appreciate them.  I try and do something each day to demonstrate my appreciation.  I still fall short.  Quite frankly I’d have been a sad, broken mess after the workshop were it not for Ren Man & the Tornado.  We LAUGHED (all 3 of us).  We made fun of ourselves (Ren Man and me).  We went to Pei Wei.

(stops, rereads, realizes she may have been hasty in her I LEARNED NADA assertion.)

HUH.

I guess I did learn at the workshop—just not precisely what Id anticipated/planned.

Now you.

Have you ever attended a yoga workshop? What were your experiences?

Got any good links or information on HIPS-specific poses you’d like to share?

When was the last time you went to Pei Wei Asian Diner after a good cry?

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Comments

  3. I think I may have assumed it was a traditional workshop, too?
    I might have gone to too many writing workshops though and there we never do yoga LOL.

    And yes Miz.
    I cry on the mat every time.

  4. I think you learned quite a bit and you didn’t even need to bring a notebook.

    My hips don’t lie either. I should sit in pigeon all day. I’ve learned from my yoga teachers that the hips are the fountain of youth. If you neglect them, they’ll increase your age 10 fold. Love ’em and you’ll be youthful for ever. Well, maybe not forever. 🙂

  6. When I read that you were going to a yoga workshop I just assumed it would be a class 🙂 I love yoga but I have found that I only like it for no longer than 30-40 minutes. It took me forever to learn how to relax but when I did the experience was totally different.

    I’ve been looking for hip poses too.

  7. I love this post on so many levels.

    I admire how you knew you did not want to go and still went.

    I love how Ren Man went with you and the Tornado cheered you one.

    I adore you, Mizzy.

  8. maybe that was the purpose of the workout shop, to break you down then build you back up.. stronger, with less fear, more faith, and together (with REN MAN). yes, i think so.

  9. I saw on your Facebook page that you said Ren Man saw you cry.
    I think I would not like that for my boyfriend.
    Did you feel all kind of uncomfortable afterward?

  10. You learnt loads. It seems to have been worth every minute – crying or not. You can’t fix something without facing some bit of your fears.

    I can’t see The Boy EVER going to a yoga workshop – with me or without! Give me a proper pilates workshop and I’d be there in a heartbeat. It’s helped my hips/glutes/ITBs/core massively.

  12. oh mama
    how I love thee
    and thee honesty you spew
    we are booty sisters, so stick with me
    together we will om til we’re blue.
    we will be pain free.
    we just need to be patient, who knew?!?
    you will see
    together we get thru.
    together with me
    and the family who lives with you.
    hugs from me!
    hugs to you!

    xoxox

    (it’s a wee bit early for this chica and I amstill on 1st cup of coffee – I hope you enjoy my lil rhyme anyway!)

  14. The definition of yoga workshop is tricky to define, and you are a FAR braver woman for going to a 2 hour hips workshop than I! No matter what I know 2 things: to always bring my notebook and the fact that I will be DONE for the rest of the day.

    My teacher says we store all our “emotional sh*t” in our hips, so I wasn’t surprised to hear that you cried. When I’m having a hard time emotionally on my mat, pigeon pose always brings me to tears – for the emotional release not the physical one.

    As for poses, I can’t recommend this one enough: a frog pose variation where you lie on your back with your feet on a wall, your ankles and knees at 90 degree angles. You press your feet into the wall to engage your leg muscles while working your hips open. An easy one to do while watching TV! (This pic is traditional frog, so flip the woman on her back for the variation: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-99q1gEqiSv8/Tyb5lmd8M4I/AAAAAAAAAd0/mdKCCGHKfO0/s400/frog%2Bpose%2B2.jpg)

    Also check out this page of Yoga Journal: http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/finder/anatomical_focus/hips

    p.s. you + me + yoga together at FitBloggin’?

    • IT IS SOOO ON AT FITBLOGGIN. you would have to beat me off with a (soft loving OMing) bat 🙂

      I swear I could have just sat there and sobbed on the mat.
      IM TOTALLY THE ONE WHO COULD DO BACK BENDS AND WALKOVERS ETC with fearless ease until I woke up one morning about 3 years ago…hmmm…two years I think.

      I can totally pinpoint the day too.

      I didnt know the name yet but my piriformis hath seized up…

  16. I’m always SO inspired by how “in-tune” you are with what your body needs. I aspire to be in that place where I know my body so well some day, though I am taking steps to get there.

  17. My patience for yoga ends at about 25 min, but I have done a one hour class a few times. I might enjoy having done a two hour class, but I’m not sure what it would take to get me in one in the first place.
    Natalia, there are foam roller classes? OMG!

  18. Oh, how I relate to this. Yoga (with an instructor) = amazing. Certain I stretched out enough to gain an inch in height. Yoga with my DVD at home….lots of falling over sideways and my kids jumping around me saying, “Look, Mom! I’m a ninja!!” Not so peaceful. 😉

    Thus, I think I will join a gym this fall.

  19. I preach The Yoga too much (for someone who is not, and doesn’t want to be, a teacher) but yoga is all about overcoming the fear. Listen to your body, not your mind.

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

  21. Mizzzzzz! The mere fact that you went to this workshop with no desire to just affirms that you are such an open, strong woman! I stink at yoga. I am antsy and impatient. Holding a position for a minute? How about 5 seconds? Recently, my hip abductors have been giving me some serious issues, so alas, my trainer suggested doing yoga. *Cue the sighs* Okay, I guess. I found this: http://www.fitsugar.com/Yoga-Poses-Your-Band-23478872?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fitsugar+%28FitSugar+-+Healthy%2C+happy+you.%29&utm_content=Google+Reader. It’s stretches for the hips and IT band that have helped me. I hope they help you too! I’ve never attended a workshop, but maybe I need to? 🙂

  23. Never done yoga but I keep saying I must! I am still stretching a lot so I can do my splits & stuff after 15-20 minutes of warm up when it used to be wham bam! 🙂 YES, I could do backbends & back & front walkovers in the early days & afraid to try now – that afraid word you mentioned. My hips are much better since I started doing the things I have mentioned to you before BUT I could always benefit from more…. I don’t have a yoga class like this at my gym.

    I love that RenMan came & both he & Tornado helped you thru! 🙂

    Luckily I do a ton of core work & always have along with lots of back work too! 🙂

    Will you keep going?

  24. I’ve not yet mastered the iPhone keyboard.alas I can’t comment back eloquently 🙂 till I’m at computer.

  26. hey love you did it and that’s all that matters. its the journey not the destination. I used to do and teach yoga, but damned if i’d try a backbend right now I’d probably break my pretty face. Practice, and doing it even though you’re afraid. Props to you my painted sista!

  27. Funny how you assume you don’t learn something but you really do even if it’s not what was expected. Sometimes that’s the best though. And I agree, I need to truly appreciate my family more as well and not just assume that I do. Great reminder

  28. Love this post! I love yoga, I have never done a workshop but I regularly practice in my own home. Sad to say I have been neglecting my yoga practice and you have inspired me to pick it back up! I think we could all precise our family more and every time I read one of your posts you remind me to do that, you are truly an awesome role model!

  30. 2 hours is a serious workshop. I try to go to a 50 minute class weekly and it’s such a challenge. I’m terrible at shutting down my mind. My yoga teacher this week suggested that if we find our mind wandering, we should count our breath as a way to focus back to what we are doing.

    I love how you talk about trusting your body, it’s so true when it comes to yoga. I think we can do so much more than we give ourselves credit for doing.

  31. What a neat, honest post, Carla. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us! To be honest, I kind of like the fact that it was tough for you to go because I feel that way about different classes and actually haven’t gone to very many! Only now that I’m at a gym and am occasionally subbing for others’ classes do I feel the need to try them out, and it opens me up so much!

    I’ve never taken a yoga workshop before, but, like you, I KNOW that my body would benefit (all running and strength training without much stretching makes for a pretty stiff body, and I can feel it!)…Time for me to listen to my body too! Thanks for that reminder. Glad you and RenMan got to do this together too, and it’s neat he seemed so comfortable! The family that works out together… 😉

  32. I <3 yoga, but since I moved to the city and left my Core Power Yoga studio behind I have yet to "get into it again" with much sadness in that statement! The studios here are EXPENSIVE! I would love to attend a workshop and glad you had such a positive experience!

  34. I find myself living in that fear to move place every single day. And constantly dance with moving anyway or giving in to the fear.

    That’s the main reason I decided to get some ART treatment for my hip. I HATE THE FEAR. But if the muscles don’t move right, that’s all I can rely on.

    Yoga is THE prescription for getting over that fear.

    It sounds like you NEED to go to class not fake it at home. I know – you don’t want to hear that. But I’m also betting that in your heart you know that yourself.

  35. “I dont yet trust what my body can and can not do in…”

    This. This is where I am every day. I live so much in this fear. Daily.

    while I don’t cry during yoga, I do have a tendency to tear up on runs. Sometimes I blame it on the show I’m watching if I’m on the treadmill, but I think it has more to do with everything is at the surface when I work out.

    I love your honesty. I love the pigeon post. And I’ve never eaten at Pei Wei.

  36. You are on the most beautiful creatures I know. This honesty is a big goal I strive for to guide yoga clients to. Hips are hard! We contain emotion and our resilience against the world in them… you arrive when you can let go. And crying is common as you dive into hip openers. You rocked this workshop, when is your next one?

  37. My daughter in Austin gave me yoga DVD’s for Christmas but I haven’t progressed very far with them. I am signed up for my very first class tomorrow afternoon. They call it gentle yoga and the description says it is perfect for beginners and concentrates on stretching, relaxing and meditation. I’m a little scared by it but going anyway. 🙂

  38. I think crying on the mat is a big old win.

    I’ve been doing yoga since I was 19 (no, I will not do the math) and I consider it a successful class/workshop if I DO cry. Yoga is about physical but also about spiritual and emotional for many of us. It’s my experience that when I get to the deeply stuck parts of my body it runs parallel to deeply stuck emotions. When I’m willing to open (not. always.) and let it all go, it’s brilliant. Thanks for sharing your experience, lovely.

  39. I love that you were nervous but you went anyway. I love that you’re not good at everything because neither am I. And mostly I love that even in a room full of strangers you’re not afraid to be you.

  41. So honest and so thought provoking. Thank you!

    I’ve never been to a yoga workshop but I would like to!

    I learn a lot about myself on the mat…so I’ve learned.

    xo

  42. I’m always surprised how hard yoga is. I can’t believe how much I sweat without traveling beyond the boundaries of my mat. I was also terrified I would wake up in the middle of the night in complete muscle lock from contorting myself, but I was surprisingly loose the next day. I hope we start doing yoga more regularly.

  43. I would SO love to do a yoga workshop with you!!! (and I’ve cried in yoga before too…you are not alone) I also have that Shakira song on my mind now – apparently, my hips don’t lie either today!!! And I’ll be in my chair doing her amazing belly dance moves in my mind… Have a good Tuesday.

  44. I have never heard of yoga for specific body parts before this, I have only ever done a general class and Bikram Yoga. I will now be looking into one for my back thank you!

  46. Wow! TWO hours of yoga? You go girl!! I do not do nearly enough stretching/yoga as I should and I may have to join you on the yogaing, planking and working on my core strength. My run today was brutal, and I was so much faster three months ago – I also had a much stronger core then too. Coincidence?

  47. I would love to take a weekend yoga workshop. I need to find a way to LOVE yoga. My body needs it. Especially as a cyclist and a runner. I need it. But hate it.

  48. Sounds like a worthwhile experience. Zliten and I tried partner yoga once, which was a lot of fun, but maybe not as productive as regular yoga. And there was lots of giggles. 🙂

    I just cannot get my butt into yoga either, although said posterior could certainly use it lately (nothing chronic or bad, but I’m definitely pushing my limits on training). It just feels like wasted time to me when I’m right now in double digit hours training.

    I’ve never had yoga send me to tears, but once it did give me this tingly woogy out of body experience which was awesome, but usually, it’s just a long stretching session for me. And I have to be careful not to go to class when I feel anything out of place, or I get competitive and hurt myself. Because I’m just that silly girl.

  49. I believe it is key to work your external obliques for proper hip health and flexibility. This will help you move a lot more loose and limber and give you better shaped hips as well. There are some great external oblique workouts such as bicycle crunches and side pillars.

  51. never done a yoga workshop, want too but a little scared. as much as I love yoga, I am not that good. Once I get over putting that pressure on myself, hopefully I can do it again.

    • yoga is not about comparing yourself to others so there isn’t any “good” or “right way” or “not so good”. Do it!

  52. I love the yoga at Lifetime. I used to tell myself that I would never do yoga because it was too slow and I wouldn’t get anything out of it. Boy was I wrong! I attend the Hot Vinyasa classes as often as I can. I am completely addicted. It is one hour of my day where I can actually shut my brain off. I recommend the workshops and classes to everyone.

  55. I’m afraid I just don’t get enough out of yoga. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think it’s easy or a waste of time, I just don’t enjoy it.

    My legs / knees are hyper-mobile so I often overextend and hurt myself as well….

    Will you be going back for more?

    Deb

    • then you need to take a power yoga class and focus on the strength and balance and less on the flexibility part maybe?

  56. I didn’t know there were workshops just for certain body parts. TWO HOURS is an eternity, Mizzy.

    • not if you have done several iron mans or multi-day bike rides…2 hrs. is a blink in time!

  57. I’ve been taking the summer off from my yoga class and now I’m somehow afraid that I can’t go back and be content for an hour class. So funny to hear others get the same antsy feeling. I have been on 2 yoga retreats where we had 2 hours of yoga in the morning and an hour in the evening. Can’t think about that right now either, my mind just doesn’t want to be still. I have to admit that I always left class when they started meditation. I mean my mind is fearful of just sitting even for 10 minutes completely still.

    • I AM.
      It is on my schedule for friday.
      I feel as though I dont have time for it.
      Im going to make me make the time.
      for my HIPS sake.

  62. I wouldn’t know what to expect with a yoga workshop either. They word workshop would have made me want to bring a notebook too!! But I do like the idea of it being a 2 hr yoga class. That’s incredible. I think it’s equally awesome your hubs came along as well.

  63. LOVE THIS.
    The woman who taught the workshop emailed me this last night.

    I’d like to share a quote with you that is one of my favorite when I’m facing my fears and doubts. It’s from Yogananda.

    “A negative attitude limits us in whatever we try to do. In India they say that when an elephant driver wants to temporarily leave his elephant, he ties the animal to a post or a stake with a straw rope. When he comes back later, the elephant is still securely tethered to the stake. The elephant thinks he is tied fast and can’t get away because of this little rope, but it is only a straw—-he could break it with just one jerk of his neck and be free. That is the way we are sometimes: tied down by doubts and all sorts of negative thoughts, ideas and attitudes. These convince us that we can’t improve our situation. But we can. All we have to do is change to positive thinking.”

    • The fact that an elephant thinks it’s tied to anything is SO wrong.
      I know it’s a metaphorical “lesson”-but yeah.

      India does not have it all together-hence the huge power outage.

      Just because it it “cultural” doesn’t make it “right”.

  64. I love that you did this as a couple.

    I’m not a huge fan of yoga but I do it from time to time because I know it’s good for my muscles next to all the running.

  65. Ugh, yoga. I’m with you, sister, though I could never describe it so hilariously.

    I have a hard time getting through yoga. I do it, once in a while (maybe that’s the problem) and when I actually get through it without swearing, I feel as though I’ve reached a new spiritual plane. Yoga is awesome. I’m just not.

    And I love the parts about your family and the power of positive thinking. This is honestly what I think of when I think of you – being in control of your own happiness, and owning it, and positive thinking.

  66. I have never done yoga but should, actually I’ve never been to a gym *sigh*. I give up way too much, something I’m not proud of. One day, I’ll do it, and stop the fight! Glad you are doing this together!

  69. We all feel like this about our fitness routines at some point or another. Heck I feel this way most days. But you did what most people fail to do which is why you succeed and will coninue to do so….you did it anyway 🙂 Good job.

  70. I have always worn my running stuff to yoga. Many do. Refuse to buy special yoga clothes as it’s all about marketing. Love being next to the girl in pajama pants splattered with paint!

    I “OM” with joy-and even harmonize at times.

  72. I took yoga in college and I went through an emotional catharsis too. So imagine, college where you want to fit in and be cool. And I’m a sobbing mess. It was all worth it.

  73. Never attended a yoga workshop before…I think I would be too scared to sign up!!
    My hubby and I used to go to yoga twice a week together (when we were dating)…It was oddly romantic and intimate despite having a room full of people =)

  74. Seems like you made a good investment of 2 hours for the return of a few light bulb moments! Connecting mind to body and getting both to agree on what is possible is quite a journey (I’m still in process).

    To keep your hips happy try my video to transform hips
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9i1Tp_Ot0A&list=UULOvgdqDbAivklHZwaL1iZw&index=9&feature=plcp

    Or my chair yoga
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4HGtyHWnU4&list=UULOvgdqDbAivklHZwaL1iZw&index=2&feature=plcp

  75. 120 minutes? 60 minutes? Either way, I must have Yoga ADD. 20 minutes is all I want. Any more than that and I’m bored for something more fun… like couch-azzing.

    Rock on with your Yogification. Go, gurrrl.

  76. I used to take yoga with both my husband and daughter. Bringing family to class is the best way to go and support each other when it’s hard or frustrating or just downright emotional. My daughter and I are starting back tomorrow, I’m super excited!

  77. Reminds me of the time I went to a yoga workshop for people that had arthritis. My freind fit the description and didn’t want to go alone so I cam with her. I figgered I would be the star of the show. They got us twisted up like pretzels and had us lower ourselves to the ground. No problem! Now untwist your legs and lift into downward dog. Big problem! I can’t lift. I can’t fall over. I’m stuck. I start pulling on my foot trying to get out of the position and I look over at my freind. She is stuck and yanking on her foot. Well that was it for me. That big whooping laugh that I usually keep hidden came roaring out. We got help at that point. My friend was mortified. Me not so much. I still think it was funny.

  81. I have yet to attend a yoga workshop although I do attend classes regularly (or used to!). I really want to do an inversion workshop because I am just not comfortable with them but everything a workshop comes up, I talk myself out of it. For hips, I love love love me some pigeon. For me, that’s the pose that really gets into my hips the most. It too me a long time to trust my body enough to actually USE props, etc. rather than just muscling my way into a pose.

  83. Love this! And I’m so proud of you for doing it and sticking it out! I actually have a yoga workshop coming up in a couple of weekends at The LifeTime too!! I wish I could go with you – although there would be inappropriate giggling for sure then;) But you didn’t say if it helped your hips/back/butt issues??

Trackbacks

  3. […] Now that I am recovering from my ITB/glute/piriformis issue, I am looking forward to getting to do more challenging workouts. I can’t wait until I’m confident enough of my recovery to get back to speed intervals. (Like these treadmill interval routines from Laura @ MommyRunFast.)  I can’t wait until I’m strong enough to try a CrossFit workout. (Like this one from Carrie @ FamilyFitnessFood.) I can’t wait until I can cut back on my physical therapy exercises and make more time for yoga again (but probably never as much time as Carla spent at this yoga workshop!). […]

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