After my visiting my long-time friend Mitch in Los Angeles last week to chart our course of continued blog dominance, I decided it would be worthwhile to accelerate my foray into yoga. It’s done wonders for Mitch’s flexibilty, complementing his regimen of Tae Kwan Do, surfing and cycling. I am uncomfortable with the spirituality aspect, but it’s something I can try and not buy equipment.
My left wrist was still a little tender from schlepping luggage through LAX last week. (For some reason I’m not cleared to know, one cannot check bags more than four hours in advance. Thus, every time I had to perform a vital bodily function, my three bag entourage would follow.) The wrist didn’t bother me much after the 45-mile hill blast on Saturday. However, once I started working on the forward-leaning poses, it was clear that I was going to exacerbate whatever I had already done to it. But, being male, I rationalized that with a lack of blood or broken limb, I would finish the attempt at workout. No pain, no gain.
By Monday morning, I couldn’t type, write or apply the front brakes on my bike without some protest. The ice pack I fabricated dulled the twinginess… until the ice melted in the heat. So currently, yoga’s on hold until the wrist is better.
Meanwhile, seeing the slugs spontaneously combust in my front yard from this weekend’s heat-fest reminded me that I have less than four weeks until Ride Around Washington.
In previous years, I’d do a lot of events in preparation for the Big Ride of the year. This year, my riding has been primarily commuting, mixing up the different ways up and around the plateau. I’m about 1,000 miles ahead of where I was this point last year and, so far, haven’t (totally) suffered on the centuries I’ve done. At the same time, I am not sure how well mastering bike commuting on an empty stomach and in all sorts of weather conditions will map to this particular event. If the anticipated weather were hilly with either 55°F and sunny or 45°F and raining, I’d be fine. RAW will have at least four mountain passes (36k of altitude gain) and temperatures averaging 90°F.
Yeah, it’s strange what I call “vacation.”
Depending on what yoga you do, you wrist doesn’t come too much into play. In Bikram, there aren’t a lot where you are supporting yourself with your hands, since it mostly focuses on “core” flexibility and balance, meaning your middle section, spine, abs, etc. As you mention, however, “forward leaning” poses which require the hands to come into play would definitely be a problem.
Can you modify the wrist-bending poses into versions that use a wrist-straight fist to support you instead? I remember doing this with push-ups.
You know, after I started doing yoga I developed a ganglion cyst in my wrist from it not being strengthened enough beforehand. I started using the knuckle side of my wrist instead of mt flat palm and it worked wonders. Try that.
Stick with Yoga. You dont have to do the spiritual stuff to get something out of it. Also, invest in a mat – they are only like $12 and they really do help with staying in place during a pose.
Oh yeah, hi there again!
Mitch: I’m not sure what kind of yoga it was I tried. (Should have asked.) Nearly every move involved going back to a position called “the dog” which is literally being on all fours. (It was kind of hard to watch and translate that to a position.)
Hi Kiri: I used the wrist-straight fist (otherwise, it was too painful). I might investigate an alternative style like Bikram.
Sarah: ! Long time no see. Have a safe trip to Lafayette. I look forward to reading the six years of blogging about g-school.
A warning about Bikram: it is “hot” yoga, so it is held in a room heated to somewhere between 90-100 degrees (so you’ll feel like you’re back in Houston or in California this week).
The theory is that the heat lets the muscles stretch allowing you to get a deeper pose. This is probably true, but that heat can wear you out as much as the yoga does. Most of the time I am okay with the heat, but in six months there have been two classes where I thought it was almost unbearable, so it might depend on the exact temperature, where you are in the room, or maybe how hydrated you are on that particular day.
Whatever your case, it is just something to keep in mind. I like Bikram, but the heat isn’t for everyone.