Yiggity Yoga

My back's been totally thrashed since last weekend when I did two back 2 back long, hard rides. I've been stretching like gumby, but it's just not getting better. So after my VF ride on Thursday, my back was totally killing me and Thea by chance emailed me about her Yoga studio, www.dhyana-yoga.com, and that I could join her Friday evening if I really was interested in checking it out.
She thought I was just saying I liked Yoga b/c she liked yoga, so she was a little surprised when I took her up on the offer. I remembered how last year when I took Yoga at the YMCA in DE how I became uber flexible, but also lost all my back pain. Plus my balance became Jedi-like.

The studio is sweet. It's right on 17th and Chestnut, literally across the street from The Continental restuarant/Martini bar. We actually looked down on the place during our class. They had a buddhist alter in the corner of the studio and a mild incense burning in the studio. I typically don't care for incense as it tickles my nose, but this wasn't bad at all. As usual in Yoga, it was almost all women, can't ever beat the women/men ratio at a Yoga class, that's fo' sure....well maybe at a Pilates class, though I bet the men in that class aren't checking out the other women...

I was serious though in working out my back and getting my core strengthened up a bit and the class was perfect for it. It was a good hour and a half, though the first 10 minutes were mellow as was the final 10 minutes...the final bit included a slight head and neck massage too which rocked. I could have fallen asleep there if they would have allowed it.

The class was intense. Meant for yogis, I know the moves, but not the names of each one, so I was struggling at first to keep up, but alas, I used the force and did ok. Ha, though the force wasn't strong enough for when the class did headstands and handstands, that was the only move I didn't even attempt to try. Damn, it was a cool sight though... I bet once and a while, a person looks up from the Continental and is quite surprised at what they see.\

Anyways, the Yoga was great and even though I had a good lack of sleep on Saturday, I had NO back pain at all and I also had a ton o' power. I couldn't believe how often I would take a pull up front and no one would ever really want to come around. I think the 4+ hour ride into constant headwind on Thursday sure helped too. But yoga, here I come. Not planning on joining a gym this winter, instead will try my hand at that advanced yoga stuff. My whole body was sore yesterday from it, good sore though.

Time to get ready to ride....going to be busy in Philly today with the Marathon going on..