(Disclaimer: I have tried Bikram yoga twice - about 10 years ago. For those of you who don't know what Bikram yoga is, it the kind where you spend 90 minutes in a 270 degree room trying not do hyperventilate to death in a puddle of your own sweat and tears. I lasted 37 minutes the first time and almost a full hour the second.)
A bit of background when it comes to Tony + exercise: I do enjoy sport, mostly tennis and whatever random pickup game happens to be self-organizing at the time. Short of intramural volleyball in high school, an overachieving college indoor soccer league, a solo cup softball league, and a summer kickball league half a decade ago (12 minutes of actual kickball, 5 1/2 hours of flipcup at a nearby dive bar), I have never really participated in a group athletic activity. Since college, I have attempted to prioritize exercise and health, but there is also the occasional entire bag of Doritos that gets prioritized - along with a HotPocket or three - which turns my efforts into a zero-sum game. Exercise is not an imperative in my life, in the way that some people need it to feel balanced and to relieve stress, and as a result I've had to work hard not to forget to incorporate it into my weekly routine. Otherwise, I'm typically the guy who takes the escalator over the stairs every single time. In fact, if the escalator had an escalator, I'd take that as well.
Up to this point, running is the only form of consistent exercise I've been able to maintain. I've been into casual running since college and have even been cajoled by friends into running two or three 5Ks. I'm drawn to it because I can do it any time I want, anywhere I want, and it's easy to set goals against previous benchmarks. While it can be monotonous, it can be varied with pace, incline, scenery - and music. Also, it's a solitary form of exercise, and I've discovered that I'm basically like the Gollum of joining and participation. If they gave out non-participation ribbons, I wouldn't get one because I wouldn't be there to receive it. I'm not sure why I've always been like this, but it's probably a combination of impatience, insecurity, and introversion.
Enter yoga. As I mentioned before, many people who I hold in high esteem espouse yoga and all of it's benefits, and so I thought it was worth a shot. Plus, it's easier to make fun of something if I come from a more credible position of experience. Preconceived notions notwithstanding, I've already identified a few challenges I'm going to face, and perhaps you have too:
First, it's a new activity. New things, as we all know, are dreadful. I only hope I can make it to the point where it's no longer new, and perhaps make it feel a bit less awful. I guess I have to, or I'm an asshole for writing this blog and getting everyone's hopes up. While it's not always easy, I try to live a life where trying something new always wins over any lingering fears, doubts or uncertainties. I've embraced this philosophy with traveling and new food (among other things), but it's tends to be a bit different when....
....Second, it's a group activity. Blech (that's the horrible sound of unwanted human interaction). On the bright side, committing to 10 classes may force me to accept the 'group process'. It's the path of least resistance...and the alternative is fearing each class. It's always somehow been a bit harder for me to participate in a group activity in my own neighborhood than it is to, say, hang out in a bar by myself in Reykjavik, or spend a weekend by myself exploring New Orleans. I guess that's just the way I'm hardwired?
Third, I have no idea what I'm doing. I usually won't approach activities without a fair amount of competency, or at the very least I do extensive initial research before I attempt any task - whether it's buying a new stock, tying a bow tie, getting a new gym membership or planning a vacation. Yoga seems to be one of those activities that you can't gain expertise from through a 45 second YouTube clip; it's as much about the process as it is the poses. This, coupled with each individual strain of yoga -and the etiquette of each individual studio - makes for difficult preparation. I don't even really know what to wear, but I hope it's not exclusively spandex - no one wants to see this in that. I'll focus on finding the entrance to the studio first, and then cautiously bumble my way through everything else after.
Fourth, and probably most controversial, I wonder if the perceived and actual values and merits of yoga are divided along sex/gender lines. While I can think of dozens of women who regularly practice yoga, I can think of almost no men who do so. On a superficial level, I can certainly draw parallels to the study abroad field within which I work - also dominated by women. Is this even a worthwhile activity for me to attempt - and are the rewards worth the effort - if my benchmarks for enjoying an activity vary drastically from the 'typical' female yogi? While I have no intention of researching this or drawing major (and probably mostly uneducated) conclusions from 10 classes, it's definitely an interesting point to consider.
Fifth, I'm not flexible. At all. Bricks are more flexible than I am. In my two feeble attempts at Bikram yoga, this was a major discouragement. While I have been reassured that yoga increases flexibility, it's disappointing to not be able to attempt some of the poses.
Off to class now. I feel like it's my first day of kindergarten! If I remember correctly, I took a 90 minute nap on a comfy mat on that day as well...
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