What My Body Knows

I used to do a lot of yoga. I went to a class once a week at my gym for awhile. I've been to Kripalu three times for retreats, which usually resulted in new spurts of classes when I got home, and for a while, doing yoga at home with dvds several times a week. I fell out of the habit, and then got into my new workout regime and hadn't been to a class in several months.

On Friday, I both pulled a muscle in my leg and told my trainer I wanted to be able to do push-ups, which led to a solid hour of upper body strength training. Afterward, I had to wait to take a shower because I couldn't raise my arms high enough to wash my hair. Saturday, I ached. And then I remembered yoga. I went to a class at my gym this morning and was shocked at how much more I can do now. Not only am I stronger -- Downward Dog doesn't hurt my arms, and my ankles don't scream during balancing poses (even my balance has improved a bit) -- which makes sense after two months of strength training, but I am also much more flexible. I can reach my toes in all the poses that I used to stop mid-calf. It was terribly gratifying to see the improvement, plus my muscles are all happier.

Must remember that my body likes to stretch.