Yoga

As I may have remarked before, we have yoga classes twice a week. So far we’ve only had 2 lessons, but I figured that I would describe them. We generally do sitting exercises that correspond with breathing exercises. They are normally pretty rhythmic and repetitive. We end class by laying down in dead man’s pose. I’ll give you a couple of examples of exercises we do in class.

Breathing-only exercises: (not: you only breathe through your nose)

Fast-Breathing: You focus only on snorting out, and incidentally breathe in on occasion. (breathe out 20-50 times)

Slow-Breathing: You keep your ring finger, pinky, and thumb stuck out, and you fold in your first two fingers. You then use your hand to close one nostril while breathing in and out in a particular pattern, which is this: in left, out right, in right, out left, in left, out right, in right, out left… (repeat for 20 breaths)

Sitting exercises:

Toe Stretches: Sit up straight with your two feet straight out in front of you (legs should also be straight). Then curl your toes and breathe in. Breathe out and stretch out your toes as much as possible.

Boat: Sit up straight with your two legs straight out in front of you. Keep your hands separated, and move into a forward bend with your arms extended in front of you. Then pull back (as if rowing a boat) so that you get as far back that you almost lose your balance (you should be bending backwards). Then repeat. Remember to breathe out when leaning forward and breathe in while leaning back. (Note: this should be at a relatively fast speed). Make sure to do this the other direction as well!