Complete Cycle

Wednesday marked one week at the gym: one full rotation of yoga, spinning, muscle conditioning and kickboxing.

GymBuddy joined me at yoga this week, albeit briefly due to a deficit in her time telling ability.

I noticed this week, that I was actually able to flow from pose to pose, as the name of the class implies: FLOW yoga.

With one week behind me, I was able to concentrate on the movement and the poses, rather than learn them. Don’t get me wrong, I am still learning as I go, but they are becoming more familiar. Now that I am not struggling so much with where my feet and hands need to be, I can actually flow. I am rather proud of my warrior poses. I feel like Xena, the Princess Warrior.

This week brought something new: the side plank pose. Not sure if that is the official name, God knows I should know it, given the amount of times I have stared at magazine layouts wondering how those models seemingly defy gravity, and usually with a smile.

To accomplish this, you have to lift/balance yourself one your right hand and right foot, rotating your body to the side. When complete, you look like the diagonal arm of a triangle -- your right arm extended and your body descending down to your feet. The slowly raise your left arm to the ceiling.

All of which I was able to do. Momentarily. My arm started to shake, and then, at the most inopportune time, my labrynthitis kicked in, enabling me to flow into my next move: the yoga belly-flop. Thankfully, the lights were off so the visual collapse was hidden, but not much could be done about the great OOMPH!

I will say briefly, by way of an explanation, that labrynthitis (not even sure if I am spelling this right) is an inner thing that I can best describe as a great, but brief, wash of dizziness. I’m still getting used to dealing with it, which came upon me suddenly last year. The dizziness itself lasts no longer than the snap of a finger. Those little finger-snaps of dizziness can last a few days, a few weeks or a few months, and are usually prompted by slightest movement, such as just shifting my eyes. I can never tell, just as I can never predict when they will start.

It’s been a few months now since the last bout, but side plank pose was just not the right time to return.

Back to yoga.

By the time we shifted to the other side of the body, I was begging for some chanting and the sound of little finger cymbals. Can I please get an “OHM?”

Not likely. This is yoga is not for the touchy-feely.

Or the dizzy.