Yoga For Beginners and Those With A Sense of Humor
It might be time for this author to see a professional and have a full psychological check up! I mean what in the world am I thinking? I am sixty-three years old and suddenly I decided to start a yoga routine! At sixty-three most people with half a brain are thinking about laying in a hammock in the back yard, sipping a cold one and letting old age slowly advance. Not me, though! Oh no, I decide that I’m going to halt the advancement of age and declare war on the sedentary lifestyle that sounds so wonderful.
So four weeks ago I did exactly that; I picked up a video and began a journey into torture. I called on muscles that had practically petrified over the past two decades and sprang into action. Well, maybe I didn’t spring so much as I gamely limped forward, but begin I did, and I can proudly say that I am still doing it. I haven’t tossed in the towel yet! Daddy didn’t raise no quitter and by God, if pregnant housewives in Bangladesh can do this then so can I. I am, after all, a United States citizen, and we can do anything the rest of the world can do and we can do it better, right? Except for soccer, of course….and cricket…we suck at cricket….and we really suck at rugby….and we double suck at LaCrosse…but besides that insignificant stuff we are really, really good.
How did I get to this point where I am standing at the edge of insanity, if in fact I have not already plunged over the precipice?
THE BACKGROUND
At one time I was a pretty good athlete. Show me a sport and I was more than willing to try it; toss in some competition and I was all over it like a Doberman on a mailman’s leg. I played college baseball, golfed, played tennis with a vengeance, shot hoops and ran 10K races. I tried soccer, climbed mountains and never met a bowling ball I didn’t like.
And then it all stopped! As a single parent I finally gave up sports at the age of forty-five so I could spend more time with my son. Looking back that may not have been the wisest decision for my health but I never claimed to be smart and at least I’m consistent. Anyway, my son had my full-time attention and by the time he graduated from high school I was getting along in years and not feeling the drive to compete any longer. Sound familiar? It is so easy to fall out of the exercise routine, and I embraced the sluggish lifestyle that I had adopted.
Fast Forward
And then I met the love of my life, Beverly, and she started to sweetly ride my butt (in that lovely way women have); she explained that she wanted her and I to have decades of happiness together and that wasn’t going to happen if I didn’t take steps to live longer. In other words, the old guilt approach! Having grown up in a Catholic home and having attended Catholic school, I was indoctrinated with guilt at an early age so naturally I was responsive to Bev’s approach. I can live and breathe guilt with the best of them; Sister Mary Attila would be proud!
THE HERE AND NOW
So here I am, four weeks into this new “healthy lifestyle” nonsense and yoga is a big part of the plan. I do it daily. I put my yoga mat down on the floor to the accompanying sounds of neighborhood dogs barking, and I soldier on each morning. If you don’t mind I would like to share this experience with you. I’m going to tell you about some of these hellacious bends and twists on the off-chance that you might like to try it yourself someday. Fat chance of that but I’m willing to do my part to save your sorry butts! Don’t try to thank me!
The Daily Routine
I need to give a plug to the architect of this miserable routine. I actually bought a video called “7 Minutes Of Magic” by Lee Holden. About the only thing magical about those seven minutes is the fact that so far I haven’t thrown that video into the garbage yet; but let’s carry on with the story. On this DVD there is an extended a.m. workout, an extended p.m. workout and a power workout. No, I do not do all three. Are you out of you mind? If I tried all three at this early stage I would be on a slab at the mortuary waiting to have my organs liquefied.
What is it about yoga where they have to use these weird names for the different exercises? Do you think I’m kidding? In one seven minute routine we do the following:
· Downward Facing Dog
· The Mountain
· The Cobra
· The Tiger
· The Child’s Pose
· The Lunge
· The Willow in the Wind
Too Far-East mystical for this boy and quite frankly not a bit truthful in the description. Let me translate those names in my own language:
· Downward Facing Dog…….Unnatural Position Causes Great Pain
· The Mountain…..Butt In Air Causing Embarrassment
· The Cobra….Spine Bending Wrong Way Equals Screams of Agony
· The Tiger….Kill the Damn Cat and Get Me A Beer
· Child’s Pose….Torn Ligament Position
· The Lunge….Goodbye Manhood If I Tear That Muscle
· Willow In The Wind….Praying To Yoga Gods For Relief
See, those are much easier to understand!
An Air of the Ethereal
Here’s another thing that baffles the hell out of me. While you are doing these routines Mr. Holden is speaking in the background, sort of walking you through each exercise with his words. I hate that he speaks so softly and gently, like that damn monk on the television series “Kung Fu.” While he’s doing his best to sound all peaceful I’m writhing in excruciating pain on the floor. I swear, if I ever meet this guy I’m going to beat him over the head with his own DVD, and I’ll gently whisper obscenities while I do it.
And here’s another thing! The video shows him doing these routines on an exercise platform that sits out in a peaceful lake. The sun is rising in the background, the air is calm, the water ever so gently lapping against the platform, and that soothing voice of his droning on. Who the hell does he think he’s kidding? I’m crammed in my writing studio, the rain and wind pounding the windows, horns honking and kids screaming, and not a peaceful vision in sight. How can I get in touch with my id with that kind of racket? My yin is all mixed up with my yang and I wouldn’t recognize a feng shui if you slapped me with one. I’ll bet Mr. Holden wouldn’t be so obnoxiously peaceful if he did the routines where I do them.
Are you doing yoga now?
Bottom Line
Hey, this is the United States, and in the United States we sue people. I’m going to sue this clown for misrepresentation of a product. I mean, shouldn’t I be slimmer by now? Shouldn’t I be able to wrap my leg around my neck by now? Shouldn’t I be able to experience one damn minute of peace and serenity by now???? I’m an alcoholic and I NEED SERENITY!!!
I’m going to give it a few more weeks and then I’d better see results or I’m calling a lawyer. I want the same lawyer who handled the lawsuit against McDonalds because their coffee was too hot. I figure my claim is good for a cool million if a penny!
Until then I’m going to keep placing my body in positions only the Marquis de Sade would appreciate. I should have known this would happen. Forty years ago I got a copy of the Kama Sutra and damn near killed myself following that advice.
I am such a sucker!
2012 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)
Comments
Very funny Bill! I just imagine you on the floor doing your favorite yoga position, lol. My cousin who is making fruit salad near me keep on asking whom I´m chatting to because I keep on laughing while reading this. Can you not change the DVD without lake with DVD with lake and sounds of the ocean? Right, just fun. I love this hub. Thanks for sharing.
This is really funny. But I'm glad you are trying to have a healthier lifestyle. My wife loves yoga. One time she encouaged me to try it out with her. So as a good and loving husband, I had no choice but to say yes. Around 5 mnutes into the routine I was already sweating like I'm almost ready to meet my maker. What surprised me is when she said...we're done with the warm up, let's start. WHAT?! this was just the warm up.
This is hilarious! I haven't taken on Yoga yet. I do the NY City Ballet tape for exercise. (As I child, I took ballet) But, now it is a bit late in life to be trying to hit that bar with my toes. So, I can imagine what Yoga is like for you. You are a good sport! Take care and happy exercising!
Good luck on your yoga practice! I must admit I haven't tried it. Not sure I'm fit enough to even try. LOL ^_^
Billy, I found you descriptions of the poses pretty funny...lol...
To do yoga, one's mind has to be a certain state. To make it easier, you would need to meditate on something peaceful and let your breathing carry you through the moves. You have to center yourself in order to reap the benefits.
Anyway, good luck with your new routine and I am proud that you haven't quit.
Kill the damn cat and get me a beer! LOL I absolutely love this, Bill! I think you just gave us some yoga for laughter :P
LOL I absolutely love your definitions of those poses :) I've tried yoga before, couldn't seem to stick with it. Maybe I should try again??? Voted up and Shared!
Thank you for sharing your wisdom with all of us!
Beautiful Hub Bill! I have to admit I love yoga. It does bring me peace and it gives me a certain type of bendiness =) BUT I've been doing it for years. Stick with it buddy - and you will notice a difference. Please dont sue the video company...its way too American :P
billybuc, i enjoyed reading this, kindly tell your neighbor dogs to stop barking, or simply buy them off! i hope the barking is not part of the yoga thing.
You crack me up, Bill. I hope you stick with your yoga practice and figure out why it makes so many of us feel so great!
Hi Billy,
Funny you should write this now. I was just about to start a yoga program on DVD. I may have to give this a rethink now.
I was the type that would ride an exercise bike with a cup of tea in one hand and the remote control in the other.
Billy look at it this way, you could cause yourself an injury doing these positions, opt for the hammock. Unless you fall out, you are much safer.
Thanks for the laugh.
I Love it! I absolutely Love it! Recently Retired, I found out about a Yoga class that was for Seniors, taught by a Chiropractor. That in itself had to be a warning to my addled brain.
I went to the class and there were 2 other men and over twenty ladies, all of us seniors.
This was supposed to be a beginners class and we were all supposed to "try" but not to hurt ourselves.
After the mandatory 45-minutes, I couldn't even bend over and pick up my mat to leave, one of the really old women picked it up for me; with a smile of course.
I went over to pay the instructor, with an obvious new limp, and she looked at me and handed me her business card.
I just shook my head, and went home to spend three days on the sofa with my old friend, percoset!
Now? I play Golf! I can do it standing up, and if I am careful, I can complete 18-holes without hurting myself too badly.
SO, Goodbye Yoga, Hello Golf. Besides every golf course has a bar at the end of the 18-holes. LOL!
Bill the hub was hilarious, i tried doing it once and it worked too, but i was too lazy to continue
great hub, shared
By your sense of humor...lol...I can see your yoga style to be quite comedic! I laughed so hard when I read this! I hope karma sutra sat with you better...lol! That guys voice is annoying...lol! I hope you find the serenity you deserve. Peace Bill...lol!!!
Lol. Your welcome. I really like your work.
It's awesome that you are practicing yoga. Yoga is a great way to release tension in your body and mind. It does improve your strength, balance and flexibility. I've been practicing yoga for over a year now and I feel great. The child's pose is great for beginners. Usually you will start with the downward dog and from there the plank pose. With the plank pose, you will wake up very sore especially when you are first starting out. The downward dog is awesome because it builds strength in the upper arms and rejuvenates the entire body. It takes a while before you notice some changes. As far as doing a headstand, I haven't been able to do one yet.
Loved this one billybuc, unnatural position causing great pain says it all! Stick with it though, I think it's made your writing more flexible! Voted up and awesome!
Entertaining hub Billy :)
tis is by far the best the funniest the most succinctly written info commercial yet for yoga!! :) what? it is not meant to be an info comm?? :) too cool and look at all these comments in just a few days!! I have to keep reading your work; you are totally fantastic!! I clicked alllll the buttons and shared to my FB! great start to my day...now since I am a health coach and actually encourage people to try yoga how the hell am I supposed to do that today without convulsing in laughter over the phone as I remember your hub???? huh???thanks a lot billybuc :) I will be hitting my mute button many many times during my shift today! :)
Interesting and entertaining hub. You know I have never tried yoga and I keep saying I will, but I am one of those people who has no problem relaxing or limbering up. Still, I know I should give it a chance and if it helps you to lose weight I can't think of an easier way.
Thanks for the smiles.
Voting up.
Hi Billy
I have tried yoga and I remember whenever I did the child pose my feet would cramp up.
The only thing that hurts now is my stomach from laughing so hard. You should make your own video. It would fly off the shelves.
Voted up up and away!
Best wishes to you and Bev :)
Oh, geez, hehehe. You have a way of making me just laugh! As I begin everything anew in my own life, I'm thinking of ways to incorporate exercise. Apparently it helps to keep you young. So, I've got an exercise video and all the dance moves I can conjure up...plus a road bike and a mountain bike. I should be able to incorporate some exercise...it's getting the whole schedule thing down right now...I figure it'll take a good week to do that. Maybe more. Maybe a lot more. Ha! Thanks, friend. :)
Voted up and awesome!
How do you manage to write such wonderful articles. Every article has a distinct style of writing. Loved it and it's a matter of health so carry on with your new found love that's yoga. I simply enjoyed the way you wrote. Keep writing!
Now I don't feel so bad when I attempt to do a certain pose on my Wii yoga. Love your description of the yoga .. you may have created a new jargon for the ancient art.
Cobra pose(Bhujangasana), Sarvangasana(3/4th body upwards, head and shoulders on the ground) and Dhanurasana (Bow-shaped pose) are my favourite ones....
Also Surya-namaskar(Sun salutation) is very good for overall body....try it out if you have never tried it before....
FYI, yoga makes your body flexible...if you do power yoga then you can reduce the body weight within a month or so.... but the normal yoga will benefit your muscles by making them flexible and it will also exercise your internal organs... they will get vitalized if you continue with yoga... and the most important thing is the BLOOD CIRCULATION increases and it reaches every part of your body if you do yoga.... :-)
Be regular in it and have faith :-)
Awesome!!
At 63 you are rocking, Bill. Sure, if pregnant women in bangladesh can do it...lol
why can't you??
Loved how you interpreted the postures in your own terms...lol
now your next challenge is to try Tai-Chi. If 63 year old people in China can do then why can't you? :))
voted up and voted as funny and awesome!!
sharing it across
Billybuc, if you ever saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, you'll know what you're working towards. I think some wit summarized the general idea this way: "If your heart is pure, you will be able to fly."
XD
Haha, too funny, BillyBuc! Try doing these poses on the beach during the day...people will give you strange looks and if you're REALLY focused, you won't notice their snickers when you lose your balance during "Tree Pose" and fall headlong into the sand! Going to stick to the (relative) privacy of my living room and my Denise Austin "Mind, Body and Soul" dvd...try and salvage some of my dignity while still being in close proximity to ice packs and Icy Hot cream: here's to healthy bodies!
Well this makes me laugh because I know your pain! I took yoga at my gym and started thinking it was going to be too slow and boring. I was totally wrong, what a workout I got. The last position, lying on our backs and "finding stillness", I practically fell asleep I was so tired. Anyways, keep with it. Your muscles are thanking you for it.
Product Recall: Dear Mr Holland, further to your recent purchase of our premier Yoga DVD, we regret to inform you there has been some contamination of the actual material. 'Seven minutes of Magic' is meant to something else sire. What we thought were authentic yoga poses have now been discovered to be positions extracted from Kama Sutra . This means that these should not... we repeat.. should not be done on your own but preferably with a partner of the opposite gender.
The Willow definitely should not be in the wind, sir.
We do apologise for this confusion and we have enclosed the correct product where the lotus, the head stand, the sun worshiper are all positions to be tried. Would you kindly return or discard the contaminated product swiftly before the cobra gets into a complicated coil.
Yours respectfully,
Holden McGroin
Allpositions inc.
I'd love to write a witty comment, but I can't stop laughing long enough to think of one.
Good luck, bullybuc! I used to do yoga lot, but I haven't got around to it recently. I loved it!! Don't give up yet :)
Bill, I hate to tell you this, but yoga might now be your thing. I've tried it before, too, and it does help with flexibility. However, I found it to be a real snooze. Also, it isn't so much getting in those positions, it is staying in them, or in even worse, attempting to get back out of them. If you are trying to get healthier, I recommend Tae Bo. It is not "the cool workout" anymore, but it is energetic, fast-paced, and Billy Blanks has plenty of positive things to say. Fun hub and voted up!
Thanks for this honest and amusing appraisal of this practice, billybuc. Being of a certain age, I've considered yoga to improve flexibility but as you said, it takes time. Voting this Up and Interesting.
Hahahaha Billy you are so funny. I can picture you doing the yoga poses and all...LOL I do yoga from time to time and it does help my flexibility. You can also try tai chi. Blessings. :)
You are so funny.. I tried yoga..it about killed me.. lol instead I walk 45 minutes a day and low impact exercise 3 times a week. and lift weights.. just to try and stay alive.. LOL.. Love your hub.. I will share to try and help you get more followers.. I know you would do the same for me.
Bless you
Debbie
This was hilarious, Bill! I always love stories about self-inflicted pain and suffering! :) In my younger (much younger) days, I enjoyed yoga, but I'm afraid I have no desire to hurt myself at this age! :0 Good for you for giving it a good shot!
omg haha this is too funny! I've always wondered about Yoga. The descriptions of those positions are hilarious! I have been doing Zumba (another exercise craze in the USA), and that has been working out well. Maybe I should give this Yoga a try and let you know how it works out! Another great hub, keep it up! Voted up, funny, and sharing!!
What?! - cricket and rugby insignificant stuff! Excuse me, but being English I must protest! There, that's my exercise for the day.
This is an hilarious hub. I've never tried yoga but I have friends who swear by it - I think I would swear long and hard if I tried doing any of those positions you mention. My sport is tennis, though this is the first year I haven't played any, apart from vicariously this week and next as I watch Wimbledon. Thanks for the chuckles here billy. Voted up and funny. Ann
Okay, so, because the rest of us don't do yoga (in our tights/leotards) you are writing things like this to make us writhe in laughter and thereby exercise muscles we didn't know we had?
Maybe we should all find a platform on a lake and meditate!
" Legend tells of a legendary warrior whose kung fu skills were the stuff of legend. " Would that be how we should start describing your yoga skills?
Voted up, funny and interesting.
LOL! I'm so glad you've finally joined us crazies who do the yoga...now we just need to get you onto meditating! ;-) I've also started yoga, this past week. I bought one of those kinetic Fitness workout games, and must say I am in a little bit of pain today. But, it's all good. What do they say? No pain, no gain! Look forward to reading how you're doing in the next month or two! :)
Hahaha! This is so, so hilarious! I think i just had my laughing workout by just reading this hub.
Thanks billybuc for making us laugh out loud.
voted up!
Ha...ha...ha..you are so funny billybuc! I can't seem to visualize you on those Yoga positions and the ohmm, ohmm, ohmm sounds with your hand clasp together while at rest on your yoga cross sitting position on the floor. I did it once in my life and I got bored. It felt like it was the longest hour of my life. Lol! Sorry, I know the good benefits and all, it's just not for me. I'd rather go play basketball or squash or better yet go boxing. That's a very brave attempt for you though. Keep up the good work. This made me laugh. Thanks.
I loved this Hub! I do Yoga, and I'm not telling my age, but if you look at my photo and count the wrinkles, you can guess! I'm really into meditation, too. Have you tried that along with the yoga?
I voted this UP, shared here and will share on FB
Believe it or not, I have that video and was a faithful yoga enthusiast until Hubpages entered my domain. All kidding aside, yoga is a wonderful exercise. I still do the stretching without the video. ( I don't even know where it is. ) I have faith in you. Stick with it. Bev knows best. Funny hub, made me laugh. Thank you..
Bill, have I told you that I just love your hubs!!! Thanks for making me laugh, you have a great sense of humor! Hey, I think that is a wonderful idea, good for you!
Bill this is one funny piece of writing right from the start. Those translations were very cool. I love your favorite yoga postion. Wish I could do it! Hehe.
BTW Bill, thanks for including that link. Goes well with this hub isn't it ? Lol.
Voted up and funny.
lol! Too funny. I have a big yoga poster in my loft that shows all the sun salutation positions and a bunch of other stuff. I've done it for awhile, then quit. I also have a treadmill that I use sometimes until I injure myself. Usually that happens about two weeks in, when I can finally do a mile in 20 minutes. I fall off of it or twist my ankle or whatever. I am too flaky and clumsy to commit to a formal exercise routine. I walk my dog and lift food to my mouth. ;)
Yoga is amazing Bill! It's great for strength, flexibility, and stress reduction. I haven't been doing much yoga lately but I'm glad to know that you are. Why didn't you provide a video of your experience? Thanks for the great laugh. Kelley
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