Yoga and Training: Be present!

Yoga and strength training have so much more in common than you might think. I've mentioned the connections before, but I noticed them again today. I went to yoga yesterday and I trained today. A few things came up today in training.

Khris mentioned that the people out in the gym who do their own thing seem to think that the people who get trained get their butts whipped by the trainers, but what really happens is we are doing the exercises properly. We are using correct form. We aren't just going through the motions.

That's what having a trainer can do for you, among other things.  (He also has made me progress by having me do such a wide variety of exercises: repeating certain things, adding new, creative things all the time, and going back to things; it's not the same circuit of exercises and just adding reps or weight as I improve. It's a completely different thing than you might imagine. But that's a whole post in itself.)

My trainer watches and teaches and corrects the tiny things that make big differences. Just like in yoga, the tiny adjustments make big differences in your poses.

A good yoga teacher will let you know if your hips should be pointing forward instead of to the side or if your front foot should be aligned with your back instep. Or if you can use a block to bring the earth up to you so you're not rounding your spine. I've moved my hips or my shoulders so slightly after good instruction, and had my yoga teacher say, yes, and I can feel the difference.

Today I did some new things with the battle ropes and just tiny adjustments with how I held the ropes and where I put my fingers and if I stepped in a half-step made a huge difference in the fluidity of the movement of the ropes.

So many times in life we look to make huge changes or we wait until we can make major adjustments, when the big changes come from starting now. Starting where we are. From paying attention to the little things. Paying attention to the details. Simply paying attention, period.

In both yoga and strength training, you have to pay attention. Pay attention to your teachers. Pay attention to your breath. Pay attention to your form. Pay attention to how you feel. Pay attention. Be strong in the struggle. Let go in the struggle. Be calm in the struggle. Be present in the struggle.

All lessons for off the mat and outside the gym!