A torn among the roses - Yoga

I just finished my yoga class tonight . I was one of the two men at the session with 10 women including my 28 years old yoga teacher. I was like a torn among the roses.  Some of them very young barely 30 and the oldest among  the students is my wife and me.  We are the old die hards.

Well, the young girls or women , a mixture of them were nimble and flexible. Like a young bamboo , it can be bend at any angle . If you try a matured bamboo shoot,  you cannot even bend it an inch.  Yes, I know especially a man like me who have been playing competitive games when I was young and have build up strong muscles and stiff back and joints. I was like the 50 years old bamboo, inflexible and hard. You can only saw it in two and could hardly bend it.  An old ox as well,

However, today the focus was on  me. I have bought a tight fitting yoga T-shirt at Island plaza on last Friday and I wore it at tonight's session.  The girls were admiring my muscles which I have build over my five years of yoga training . I gave the merit to my young teacher and she was very happy and proud. She was able to make an old ox flexible enough to do some difficult yoga pose. Amazing, right?

Frankly speaking , after taking up yoga , I could feel the power in my hands and legs. Yes, my body and joints were painful after the  yoga session but the feeling of wellness is there. I could feel more lighter and more mobile. I have regained back much of my flexibility which was stiffen over the years. I can endure the pain and I love to taste the pain after the yoga session.

Today , my teacher emphasize so much on  the " golden cobra pose" building the strength in our arms, core and our back and after that, we did the "camel" pose stretching our back and lean backward. Both the cobra and the camel pose work on the back and it really make my back very sore. But , after awhile it will go away.

I believe men cannot endure yoga because we cannot tolerate pain but for the women, they are more tolerant and so the exercise is done mainly by ladies. For my case, I was accommpanying my wife and slowly and surely , I fell in love with it . I could  enjoy the exercise just like the tennis players enjoying a game of tennis. We should be aware of the process and enjoy the stretch and the pain.

I highly recommend yoga to all my readers and supporters. When you do yoga, you should concentrate your mind on the movements and the process and not the end.  Don't rush to the end and neglect the process. If you do this, you have missed the most beautiful part of the exercise.

Namaste.