Yin yoga

Yesterday I decided to take the opportunity and attend a yoga class.  Boston may be a running town, but it is also a generally fit town and there are no lack of yoga options -- particularly around Central/Harvard Squares, which is near where I am staying.  I decided to check out Karma Yoga because they had a class called yin yoga that looked interesting.  The description on the website was as follows: "Through the elegant combination of appropriate asana and gentle timing, Yin Yoga deeply stretches and nourishes the joints of the body, helping to generate much greater flexibility and core-level relaxation."  Basically, you hold uncomplicated stretches for a long time, so it was a nice class to take.  One of the challenges I find of just dropping in on a class like this is that you can be behind the students who have been attending for a while.  With a focus on holding the poses instead of the poses themselves, you don't have that problem.

I was doing yoga in Tampa, trying to go twice a week.  Mine is bare-bones yoga taught at the city's recreation facility.  The price can't be beat ($6.25 a class), although you have to bring your own mat.  Our teacher there is very nice and doesn't insist on doing annoying things like playing 'relaxation music.'  There is only one problem: when the teacher goes out of town -- as she did for the month of August -- then there is no yoga.  What is fun about being in a place like Boston are the wide number of options.  I liked the yin yoga so much that I've requested a DVD about from the library at home.  It was challenging but not taxing.

Like a lot of runners, I have basically no flexibility.  Hopefully, by doing yoga I can help prevent an injury and provide some relief to tired muscles.  When I went running today, I didn't notice any problems, which is always a good sign.