yoga!
Hello all!
I was going to write this as a stand alone post, and maybe I will one day but for now I'll write it here. YOGA!!! I know, I know, a lot of people have very funny ideas about what yoga is, but I assure you Yoga is about the best thing you can do for your body. You will build strength, flexibility, balance, concentration as well as improve the connection between your mind and body which is something very useful to all pilots. I recently took a friend who is a slave to the free weight room to a yoga class. He was extremely sceptical as to how intense yoga could be. Anyway, the class kicked his ass. It's funny when you realize how great a workout you can get using your muscles to work against each other and gravity.
Another plus is that you can do yoga anywhere, with out any other equipment other than yourself, which makes it convenient as well as cheap once you have learned what you're doing. Before those of you write me off as some kind of a loony nut, look at your fellow pilots. Look at the round bellies hanging over blue slacks. Look at the sagging backs from years of poor posture. I find it strange that our profession, which requires a certain medical standard, leaves so many of us in poor health. For those of you who want the best and most brutal workout you can find, check out a Bikram Yoga class. It is a series of classic yoga poses done in a very hot room, so the muscles are very loose and pliable. Yesterday, I got my heart rate up to 161 bpm while basically standing perfectly still on one leg while holding my foot. Sounds crazy, but if you try it you'll see what I'm talking about. I hope some of you check it out, it'll make you better. Try www.bikramyoga.com for a class near you, or try some other type. Some Yoga is fast and difficult, other kinds are slow and deliberate. Best of luck to all!
Hello all!
I was going to write this as a stand alone post, and maybe I will one day but for now I'll write it here. YOGA!!! I know, I know, a lot of people have very funny ideas about what yoga is, but I assure you Yoga is about the best thing you can do for your body. You will build strength, flexibility, balance, concentration as well as improve the connection between your mind and body which is something very useful to all pilots. I recently took a friend who is a slave to the free weight room to a yoga class. He was extremely sceptical as to how intense yoga could be. Anyway, the class kicked his ass. It's funny when you realize how great a workout you can get using your muscles to work against each other and gravity.
Another plus is that you can do yoga anywhere, with out any other equipment other than yourself, which makes it convenient as well as cheap once you have learned what you're doing. Before those of you write me off as some kind of a loony nut, look at your fellow pilots. Look at the round bellies hanging over blue slacks. Look at the sagging backs from years of poor posture. I find it strange that our profession, which requires a certain medical standard, leaves so many of us in poor health. For those of you who want the best and most brutal workout you can find, check out a Bikram Yoga class. It is a series of classic yoga poses done in a very hot room, so the muscles are very loose and pliable. Yesterday, I got my heart rate up to 161 bpm while basically standing perfectly still on one leg while holding my foot. Sounds crazy, but if you try it you'll see what I'm talking about. I hope some of you check it out, it'll make you better. Try www.bikramyoga.com for a class near you, or try some other type. Some Yoga is fast and difficult, other kinds are slow and deliberate. Best of luck to all!
