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My first Yoga X workout was intense. As I relate below, I cried during the ohms at the end.

July 7, 2007

Day 4: Yoga X

Although I’ve never really gotten into it, I have done some yoga before. I’ve tried a variety of types of yoga with a variety of instructors at a variety of studios, but was never so inspired that I committed myself to it.

I have a Master’s Degree in Eastern Classics from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM, where my favorite texts were Hindu and the tradition I most identified with was Hinduism. One of my favorite texts is Pantanjali’s Yoga Sutra. In fact, the Yoga Sutra was the first Eastern text to which I was exposed, and, in large part, inspired me to enroll in the master’s program. At present, I am working (slowly but surely) on a Master’s Thesis on Bahkti Yoga in the Bhagavad-Gita… but I’ll write more about this in the future.

Getting back to Yoga X… it is intense. In fact, with the exception of a yoga class that I once took from one of my fellow master’s students, it is the most intense yoga I have ever done. I didn’t even attempt a few of the poses, and my form was horrible on a few others. This was a real challenge… and, at 92 minutes and 24 seconds, it is a long routine (the longest in P90X).

I think what is most important to note about Yoga X (and yoga in general), is that it is as much a mental test as it is a physical test. Yoga is done most effectively when you are uncomfortable throughout the routine. Not too uncomfortable, mind you. But, if you are breezing through Yoga X without any discomfort, then you are not doing it properly. In a sense, the point of yoga is to push yourself just outside of your comfort zone and stay there for a while. Holding uncomfortable positions requires as much mental fortitude as physical fortitude.

In all likelihood, especially when you are just beginning to do yoga, you will find yourself delving into areas of mental and emotional discomfort as you are pushing yourself into physical discomfort. No matter how you try to clear your mind and focus on your form, when you are first starting out, you can anticipate your emotional baggage surfacing during the routine.

I’ve been going through a difficult time in my life lately, the most significant event certainly being my father’s recent passing. I cried during the ohms at the end of the routine. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I have been emotional all day, alternating between feelings of anger and sadness for the most part. However, as I said, this is to be expected.

I am confident that, over the course of the next 90 days, Yoga X will help me to process the recent (and not so recent) events in my life, contribute to my emotional and physical well being, and purify my soul.

I still find Yoga X to be the most mentally challenging of all the P90X workouts. However, my Yoga X performance has been continuously improving… but more on that in future posts.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007 at 1:13 pm and is filed under Exercise, Ripped, P90X. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.