P90X - 1 Down 11 More to Go

                        YOGA POSITION - - - Upward Facing Dog

P90X- Day 8  

First order of business today…I am patting myself on the back for completing 1 week of P90X. Yes, 1 down and 11 more to go.

Last week reminded me of boot camp. In Canada, boot camp was also 3 months long, just like the P90X program, and was equally brutal. At least in boot camp we got to blow things up…

Yoga X is on the menu for today. So, here I was, getting everything together for what I anticipated to be an easy hour. I had visions of the class I see at my gym; you know the one I mean…mats all over the floor while a couple dozen women (and a guy or two) lay stretched out in what looks like a very comfy position while listening to some Enya CD playing softly in the back ground. As I run on the treadmill, I can see them occasionally change positions, the song remains the same. Yes, I can handle an hour of that and with an eager heart I started today’s Yoga X dvd.

My eyes must be failing me. What does that session clock say? What? 1hour and 39 minutes? You’ve got to be kidding.  Oh, and as far as resting and gently stretching for the duration goes, you can forget that theory. Apparently, those gals at the gym are doing much more then napping. After the first 30 minutes I was sweating like a leaky water pipe and still I had just over an hour to go. This was one crazy session.

I did manage to keep up but only by doing my own variations on some of the moves. There is no way my body can bend the way the instructors does, but at least I was able to establish a beginning or starting point for my future advancement. When they were doing something I dare not try, I simply stretched the same muscle group, but in a more user-friendly way. Still, I was soaking wet with sweat dripping off of my nose and the clock still had over 45 minutes on it (the duration of my first session).  Clear the mind – clear the mind – c l e a r   t h e   m I n d !  Easier said than done.

I loved the part when Tony, the instructor said that the hard part was done. The little voice in the back of my brain let out a giant, “YIPEE”… Was that my mantra?

Eventually the minutes left were few and the final few cool down stretches were completed, one at a time. My favorite - - - there were two. First, laying there on my back, on the floor with legs and arms relaxed, eyes closed, mind flushed for a full 60 seconds…LOVELY!  Second, I loved the part where we just folded our hands (in a prayer position) and let out a long and harmonic tone with each long slow exhale…LOVELY!

Do I dare go to the gym and run my 3 miles? Yupp, I dare and I did. That makes today’s workout almost 2 ½ hours long.  Hot tub time.  Bring on the YOGA!

Hey, I said "Bring on the Yoga" - "Not Bring on the Yoda"