My wife's yoga class kicked my butt (in all the right ways)!

I think Vinyasa is Sanskrit for “make your husband look like a silly fool.” At least that’s what it seemed like this morning as I peered around my wife’s yoga class. This was not the first time I jumped into some form of physical activity thinking “how hard can this be . . .” nor, sadly, will it be the last. Yet as I bent in ways I did not think possible and felt the burn in my hamstrings, abs, and muscle groups I don’t even know the names of, I realized how good this was for me despite my inexperience and self consciousness in the class. While it's nice to be "corrected" by the teacher, is she coming over to me because I look like an idiot?

I’ve done some yoga in the past, but I’ve never made a practice of it. This will be the year! It’s amazing how a good class can make you feel stronger, more limber and mellow all at the same time. More developed core strength will make me a better cyclist. It will also just generally make me feel fitter. I also hope that yoga will help take the "little old man" curve out of my posture that hours on my bike only seems to make worse. Now that my cycling has tapered off considerably with reduced light, colder weather and the psychic need to give myself a break to maintain my love of riding, it’s time to switch gears to other forms of exercise and training. Taking yoga classes with my wife this winter will bring us some real joy doing something together and that’s no small thing after spending so many hours away in the saddle.