Yoga

   One of the things I have committed to do as a soon to be "woman of a certain age" is to get into better shape. This is a challenge for me. Thanks to a series of phy ed teachers ranging from mean to sadisti, I have a great dislike for participating in many athletic activities especially teams sports. This means that my preferred activities are those that can be done alone like running, walking and biking. I like all three, but what do you do when it's too cold or unsafe.
  One answer is to take classes at a local health club or at the YMCA. A good option,but not workable for me. My unpredictable work schedule and shyness about exercising around others makes this an unattractive option. (I really don't want to expose my right left confusion to those who could make fun of it. By the way according to the internet 20% of the population have this difficulty.)
  This leaves the trusty workout videos on Youtube or on DVD. This is a better option for me. There are a whole bunch of different workouts providing variety as I get bored doing the same thing all the time. There are some that require minimal equipment. There are workouts that focus on various body parts. There are workouts for all fitness levels.
   Then there is yoga. I used to dabble in yoga a bit many years ago. It was low impact and somewhat low stress. I  knew several people who were seriously into yoga. Some were teachers. Many of them were into natural foods and herbs and tended to view me with suspicion as a pharmacist. (Because pharmacist push drugs on people who don't really need them. Better living through chemistry. Making people deliberately sick in order to profit off of them. Yes, all of these things have been said to me.) As a result I was turned off. I don't need this kind of judgment.
  Last winter I tried it again. I couldn't do anything strenuous because of the anemia, yet I still wanted to do something to help keep me fit. I found a few yoga flows that I could manage. It was fun. Better yet it was something I could do without getting bored. Even better it was something that would also be challenging. It was something I could do while I was recovering from my surgery.
  I saw that there were many kinds of flows I could do. There were stretches,flows that emphasized balance and flows that helped develop spine and leg strength. There was even a flow that incorporated some high intensity intervals. I found a flow that I could do in my pajamas at bedtime that seems to be helping me to sleep better and another that stretches my feet after a long shift at work.
   There are routines in various lengths from 10 minutes to one hour. ( I haven't tried an hour long flow yet.)
   This is perfect for me. I have variety. I can do this at home with minimal equipment. Best yet, I enjoy it. It doesn't bring back unhappy memories of school phy ed classes. In fact I feel taller, leaner and less stressed after even a 10 minute flow. You can't beat that......