Halls of the Dark Muse

Naturally, when one thinks of knife throwing the next thing which immediately pops into mind is Yoga. I mean clearly those are two activities which compliment each other perfectly. Yes, needless to say I am still enjoying me avid pursuit of knife throwing and I think I am making some progress with it. And for those of you who are on the edges of your seat wondering what the outcome is of my epic battle with Mr. Cup. I have to report that thus far my arch-nemesis remains undefeated and has been able to continue to evade me, but the battle continues.

Now to answer the question which I know is on your mind, what does any of this have to do with Yoga?

Well in addition to my pursuit of knife throwing I have recently begun doing Yoga in the park and by recently I mean that this morning was my first session.

What has led up to this?

Well there are varying different factors. I have had some experience with Yoga in the past, and have enjoyed and maintained an interest in it, though I have not really committed myself to actively continuing to do it. I have for a long time now maintained a habit of working out off and on. And by off and on I mean periodically I would get the whim to do it, but I wouldn't really have any actual plan, or routine, I would just kind of do whatever, whenever until I fell out of doing it and completely forget about until the next whim comes around.

But at some point last year I suddenly decided that I really should actually try and get into a regular work out routine and stick with it. I don't want to do the whole gym thing, for several reasons.

1. I cannot actually afford a gym membership

2. I don't want the hassle of having to go to the gym

3. I find the type of typical gym-style workouts to be mindlessly boring

4. Why would I want to be around other people

So I went online to look up some interesting sounding exorcizes that I could do from home without expensive machinery and put together a routine for myself. It was decent enough, but still I would have my moments in which I approached the thought of having to do it with some dread, and saw it as something of a chore I just had to force myself to get done. I know most people view this as the natural reaction to working out, but nothing a person chooses to do for themselves should feel like work. That doesn't mean working out should be easy, or not challenging, but it should be something you look forward to accomplishing.

Then recently I started having issues with my lower back. Nothing serious or major, but it has been rather annoying and inconvenient. I was talking to a friend of mine about it, who has had a back injury and suffers from chronic back pain and he suggested trying out Yoga. I have heard before that Yoga is good for the back among various other benefits and since I already had an interest in Yoga I figured I would give it a try.

I put together a routine of some basic Yoga posses good for beginners, and went up to the park as part of my usual morning walk, and began my first Yoga session, and I afterwards I felt both relaxed and invigorated. It was a great all around feeling, I felt far more sissified than I would with my previous work out of which usually once I finished the thing I felt most was relief that it was done. But I find that Yoga is a perfect balance between meditation, relaxation, and physical exertion. In addition to being far more spiritual than a normal work out. At the risk of sounding very corny and New Agey, Yoga engages the body, mind and soul.

In addition to that I love being able to do it in the park. It is so nice being outside, close to nature, it adds to the overall experience, ad in the mornings when I go up there is generally no one else around so it is also nice and secluded. I am looking forward to my next Yoga session tomorrow.

Also, truth be told, even after just one Yoga session I have already noticed improvement with my back.