Today after skiing the full course at Riverside, and then having lunch and band rehearsal, I was not feeling like going along to this new yoga class with Liz. But I did. I haven't done yoga since my sabbatical when I worked at Macromedia (summer of 2003). Back then it was pretty frustrating for me because the left side of my body was so unstable that just staying up straight was a challenge. Plus, my energy level was still very low. And even in San Francisco it was hard to find a yoga teacher I really liked. There are a lot of yoga teachers out there (or so it seems) who are preaching calm, centered meditation but who aren't practicing what they preach. I find it really disconcerting. In that case, I'd rather they just stick with teaching good form, but unfortunately that didn't often happen.
I didn't really like the instructor today. She neither gave me (nor anyone else) any comments on how to improve form, nor added anything particularly spiritual to the practice. I did like her speed, though. On the physical side of things, my body is much more stable so it was a lot more enjoyable this time, but I think to really enjoy a class like that I'll have to add some kind of pushups to my morning therapy. As it was, I admit that the one time she added a spiritual element: "this is a gratitude pose, so think of something that you're particularly grateful for" I was thinking: "I'm very grateful that this class doesn't last for more than an hour and a half." Having. Trouble. Lifting. Arms. Oooch.