Darkazana's Journal, 11 Sep 15

Well done you for being able to still do it after a break! I tried yoga last year, and was enjoying it up until I hurt my leg doing one of the poses! I think I need a pre-yoga class to get more flexible and stronger, so that I can actually do yoga! It was supposed to be a mixed ability class, but it moved on too quickly for me, and anyway I have bad knees, so had to find alternate ways of doing some moves, which made nonsense of the sequences he was teaching. I think maybe tai chi would be better for me. 

One thing I found that I liked about yoga is that you can suit it to your own abilities. You don't have to be the poster Ramen for yoga, just do the best you can. It does sound like maybe you should try Thai Chi. Let us know what it's like and how it suits you when you do it. 

I hope you find the perfect class for you. They're often very different, and it's important to find your fit. It's funny you mention yoga today. I had spent the morning trying to talk my neighbor into joining me for yoga. (I haven't done it in quite a long time, and I am anxious to get back to it) It was a hard sell, but she has agreed to at least try it. I admit I shamed her into it a little bit. ;-) wish us luck. 😊 

I understand about going along with someone else, when I first started these classes I was lucky that a friend living near here also went to the same class (I didn't know until I told her where I was going) so we went along together. Now I'm happy to go alone if she can't make it. Anyway good luck with your class Amazing, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I must admit last nights class was a bit too quick for me. It was taken by a student as our regular instructor was away somewhere, and yes not everyone suits your taste, so I will be glad that Carol is back next week. It's a shame about your instructor Heidi, generally they should give you modified moves to do if you have any issues. We have one lady in our class who has severe mobility issues and works with a chair, Carol always advises her the best way to do certain poses, and she has been coming to the class for years, so sounds like it's not so much your knees that were the problem as the instructor who has a lack of understanding, what a shame as yoga can be very beneficial. I tried Tai Chi a few years ago, when I was working with young offenders, it was part of their anger management class. I quite enjoyed it, but must admit I do prefer yoga, then again I wasn't that keen on the instructor so maybe that was the problem.  

I agree the problem was the instructer not Heidi's knee's! I studied and then taught Kundalini Yoga for 2 years back in 2010 and love it because it is a matter of what you are able to do not what the person next to you can do! Congrats Darkazana...why is this season nearly over? What type of work do you do? 

I did Chi Gung many years ago, which is basically a form of Tai Chi. The instructor was very keen on getting us to do it right and would spend ages correcting everybody's movements. We used to spend a lot of time just trying to stand in the approved manner! I also did some yoga when I was younger, mostly Hatha yoga from a book, very gentle, static poses. We now spend winters in a country area of Spain, and I've tried both yoga and Tai Chi there. I tried Tai Chi 4 or 5 years ago, and didn't really rate the teacher. She demonstrates, but she doesn't correct. Basically she's not a trained teacher, just an enthusiastic amateur. I kind of felt if I wasn't being corrected, then I want doing it properly, and if so, then it wasn't worth doing. I stopped going to classes, and started doing a routine from a YouTube video, but out of the habit after a while. The yoga class I went to last year was quite good at first. He's a proper instructor, and good in lots of ways, but he couldn't show me alternate moves, and I looked them up myself on YouTube. But I am quite a competitive person, I like to be able to keep up with the others, and in the end it annoyed me that I couldn't, so I think I was almost relieved when I hurt my leg and had to quit for a while. By the time the leg was better, it was time to come back to UK. However I'd like to do something like that again. Those are still really the only two options for me if I want to join a class 😕 

My husband and I work for the Caravan Club, Spiritspell. So we live in our caravan on site for 8-10months of the year, maintaining the site and looking after the members when they visit. We go to a different site every year. It's more a way of life than a job, but it's a great way of seeing the country for free and we get to stay in the most beautiful locations. This year it has been Sandringham in Norfolk, next year it will be Clumber Park in Sherwood Forest (Robin Hood country!!) We have our own house in Lincolnshire which we get back to on our days off and spend the winter months there, in front of a roaring log fire :) 

Sounds nice! We're campervan people ourselves. Just off to Dorset and then Devon for a few days 😀 Weather is going to be mixed, I think, but we're going to a film festival and to visit a friend, so it doesn't matter too much. Catch you later! 

Wow, Darkazana. What a life. My Daddy took me to Sherwood Forest when I was 9 years old. I can't remember much of that vacation (quite a while ago), but one of the things I do remember is that beautiful forest. Lucky lady.