Escaping yoga... or not

I try not to do yoga, I really do. Part of me, at least, finds it too physically demanding. And there's always so much else I'd rather do, or have to do.

I do ashtanga yoga, which is very athletic - moving from one pose to the next after five breaths, with press-ups and leaps in between. It's hard work. (Not that I ever do the full 90 minute routine these days...  20 to 40 minutes is my maximum).

The washing dried on the clotheshorse and
my tray of lettuce grew in the sun
as I rolled  out the mat and got to work. 

But I just can't stop. My body gives me a week maximum before it starts feeling like a dirty bathroom - all cruddy on the inside. My joints go stiff and my muscles get gummed up.

So there I go again... cleaning out my body with yoga.

What's more, if I leave it too long, my long-standing lower back pain comes back. The problem, as I've come to understand it, is not enough yoga. If I do too hard a yoga session when I haven't been doing much, my back gets REALLY sore. But the problem again is not enough yoga.

Therefore, if you ever want to try it, be prepared that you may never want to go back to having an old-feeling, rusty body, and you will be hooked.

The temperature in our dining room as I did yoga in the sun, June 2013:
winter time in New Zealand definitely has its good patches!