Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 266

Day 266 Well it had been a while but I finally got to another Yoga class. My friend Kim Wiebe had been bugging about not getting to her Yoga class this year amongst all my workouts. I had really wanted to but either my schedule didn't work or something would get in the way of me making it. Today, I finished work a bit earlier and so did Nicole. So Nicole and I and her sister Clare went to Kim's class tonight.

Today's Workout:

90 minutes of Yoga (Strength and Soul Yoga with Kim Wiebe)

I had a great time tonight at Kim's yoga class. I had heard many great things about her class from a few clients of mine and was eager to try it out. I was told to be ready for a very challenging workout and Kim definitely lived up to her reputation. I was originally planning on doing some weights earlier in the day then going to yoga later on. I skipped the weights because I was too hungry and I was happy I did. Kim crushed me.

Everything from my feet, to my quads, my hips, my core, and my shoulders at one point if not all at once were on fire. I've mentioned in the past how I've under estimated how strenuous yoga can be. It had been a while since my last yoga class, so tonight was a very strong reminder of what a great workout it can be.

On top of the physical side I really appreciated the more spiritual or meditative component of the class. I've been working quite a bit, with a lot on my plate, so taking the time to just focus on my breathing and slow things down a bit was a nice change of pace. Kim's class schedule doesn't typically work that well for me but I'd really like to make it on Fridays when possible. I think it would be really good for me.

At the end of Kim's Classes she likes to read a little excerpt from various stories to get people thinking their day to day lives and how their yoga practice relates to what they're doing. I found the story today really quite beautiful. I don't think she'd mind so below is the part of the story she read:

Story that was read in Strength & Soul yoga this week: I recall as a child bringing bouquets of brilliant yellow flowers to my mother. It didn't matter that the stems felt sticky or that my parents cursed the presence of these flowers in the lawn. I thought they were beautiful. I spent hours picking the flowers and popping the blossoms off. But the supply of dandelions never ran out. My father would chop off all their heads with the lawn mower, but that didn't stop these hardy wonders. Nowadays, chemicals have managed to kill what human persistence couldn't. As I worked in my garden last week, I marvelled at the flower that some call a weed. And I thought if only I had the staying power of a dandelion! If only I could stretch my roots so deep and strong that something tugging at my stem couldn't separate me completely from the source that feeds me life. If only I could come back to face the world with a bright, sunshiny face after someone has run me over with a lawn owner or purposely attacked me in an attempt to destroy me. If only I could spread love and encouragement as freely and fully as this flower spreads seeds of itself. I hope that we can stretch our roots deep enough that the strongest poison can't reach our souls. I hope that we can overcome the poisons of anger, fear, hate, and competitiveness. I hope that we can see flowers in a world that sees weeds. After someone has mowed you over, can you come back with a bright sunshiny face? I'm gonna try.

If you're looking for a great Yoga class I highly recommend checking out Strength and Soul Yoga with Kim Wiebe. For her teaching schedule visit strengthandsoulyoga.com