Yoga For Guitar Players

[Shawn@PRS]

Thanks again, Shawn...love it. And very much appreciate you posting these videos.

Thanks Bill, I'm glad you're enjoying them.

 

[Shawn@PRS]

Nicely done! It'd do me a lot of good to incorporate this into my routine and looks highly complementary to my karate training. How often do you do this?

I practice about 5 times a week. Yoga is great for your body, but I do it mostly to burn off stress.

 

[veinbuster]

Today was the toughest 10 minute plank yet. I blame it on getting up too late to fit it into the morning and having to do it after spending the day installing floor joists.

 

[Shawn@PRS]

Today was the toughest 10 minute plank yet. I blame it on getting up too late to fit it into the morning and having to do it after spending the day installing floor joists.

10 minutes all in one shot? You're a beast!

 

[veinbuster]

10 minutes all in one shot? You're a beast!

I snuck up on it by adding half a minute every couple of days. I was confident 10 was in range once I broke through 7. At 8 1/2 I figured I might as well just go for it. I’ll keep it in my routine for the rest of the month, maybe until the temperature gets above freezing again.

 

[alantig]

I snuck up on it by adding half a minute every couple of days. I was confident 10 was in range once I broke through 7. At 8 1/2 I figured I might as well just go for it. I’ll keep it in my routine for the rest of the month, maybe until the temperature gets above freezing again.

I was up to 4 1/2 the other day. The toughest part for me getting to a full 10 would be mental. As soon as I start, my brain clicks into 'how much longer?' mode. Which makes it seem interminable. Oddly, the last 30 or so seconds fly by pretty quickly - it's just getting to that point.

 

[veinbuster]

I was up to 4 1/2 the other day. The toughest part for me getting to a full 10 would be mental. As soon as I start, my brain clicks into 'how much longer?' mode. Which makes it seem interminable. Oddly, the last 30 or so seconds fly by pretty quickly - it's just getting to that point.

It is definitely mental. That is why I added half a minute at a time. I thought 3:30 was about my limit before Shawn’s challenge. But when I got up, I didn’t feel stressed so told myself I could do 4, and so on. I do need a distraction to keep me from watching the timer. Our weather channel conveniently runs on a 10 minute loop: 3 minutes local, 1 minute world, 2 minutes commercials, 1 minute chatter, 3 minutes regional trend. And by the time I’m done I know how much longer I have to hibernate. The timer moves far too slow - it would feel like an hour.

 

[alantig]

It is definitely mental. That is why I added half a minute at a time. I thought 3:30 was about my limit before Shawn’s challenge. But when I got up, I didn’t feel stressed so told myself I could do 4, and so on. I do need a distraction to keep me from watching the timer. Our weather channel conveniently runs on a 10 minute loop: 3 minutes local, 1 minute world, 2 minutes commercials, 1 minute chatter, 3 minutes regional trend. And by the time I’m done I know how much longer I have to hibernate. The timer moves far too slow - it would feel like an hour.

I’ve been focusing on the breathing. I try to get to 20 breaths now before I look at the timer - that’s usually around four minutes. But I have to have something on TV while I do it. Same with stationary bike - to just ride drives me to boredom tears. I have to have something on TV and something to read to block the timer. When I ride the trail, I take an iPod shuffle. That helps because I usually play uptempo or driving music. One time, near the end of a longer ride, when my legs were dying and I just needed to get another two miles back to the car, it brought up a comedy routine. I almost stopped dead. Learned my lesson - no more comedy on there!

 

[Shawn@PRS]

I slacked off and failed to follow through on the "3 For 30" plank challenge, but hope to circle back to that at a later date.

Things have been kind of crazy lately. I was just invited to be a featured instructor at Floyd Yoga Jam 2019! Floyd Yoga Jam has been a favorite of ours for years, so I am beyond thrilled to return as a teacher. This family-friendly festival is filled with yoga, music, art, food, games and more. Please join me and the entire Floyd Yoga Jam fam this Labor Day weekend in Floyd Virginia.

If you like yoga, music and having fun, check it out!

 

[alantig]

 

[alantig]

I will say Floyd yoga does do a better job of keeping you in tune...

 

[alantig]

I slacked off and failed to follow through on the "3 For 30" plank challenge, but hope to circle back to that at a later date.

Please do. The "3 For 30" wasn't going to pan out for me because I have to have surgery on my hand after all, pending PCP signoff because I was diagnosed as diabetic in December (which apparently can play into the trigger finger thing). But I am up to a 5-minute plank!

 

[veinbuster]

I slacked off and failed to follow through on the "3 For 30" plank challenge, but hope to circle back to that at a later date.

Things have been kind of crazy lately. I was just invited to be a featured instructor at Floyd Yoga Jam 2019! Floyd Yoga Jam has been a favorite of ours for years, so I am beyond thrilled to return as a teacher. This family-friendly festival is filled with yoga, music, art, food, games and more. Please join me and the entire Floyd Yoga Jam fam this Labor Day weekend in Floyd Virginia.

If you like yoga, music and having fun, check it out!

View attachment 7027

Is there a KISS yoga?
Personally, I prefer Floyd, but it doesn’t suit everyone.

 

[Shawn@PRS]

Please do. The "3 For 30" wasn't going to pan out for me because I have to have surgery on my hand after all, pending PCP signoff because I was diagnosed as diabetic in December (which apparently can play into the trigger finger thing). But I am up to a 5-minute plank!

Damn Alan, I sorry to hear this. Is the diabetes something you can overcome with medication or is insulin the only way to deal with it?

 

[Shawn@PRS]

Is there a KISS yoga?
Personally, I prefer Floyd, but it doesn’t suit everyone.

Dark Side Of The Mat

 

[alantig]

Damn Alan, I sorry to hear this. Is the diabetes something you can overcome with medication or is insulin the only way to deal with it?

Thanks, Shawn. It runs in the family, so it's not a huge surprise. The largeness of the numbers was, especially because we'd been monitoring for a few years, and while my numbers weren't great, they were decent and either holding steady or trending downward a little. My dad was diagnosed almost 40 years ago, and he got hit with a lot of restrictions on his diet that I haven't been given (he's still going pretty strong). So far I'm just on meds, and my numbers at home are WAY down. Doc said that day that a lot of docs would have gone straight to insulin, but he's generally pretty conservative about first treatments, and he's been right just about every time. Looks like the meds and some dietary changes should do the trick. We'll see. I have my suspicions that a couple other medical issues may have played a part because of the timing and the sudden, drastic change, but I'm realistic about it, too, because of the family history. It's going to be an interesting journey, I'm sure. I just want it to be a long one (unless it's cured - I'll take that on a short journey, but not the other way to end the trip!).

 

[alantig]

Dark Side Of The Mat

View attachment 7028

There's a mat with that somewhat famous body paint by the pool image...

 

[Shawn@PRS]

Thanks, Shawn. It runs in the family, so it's not a huge surprise. The largeness of the numbers was, especially because we'd been monitoring for a few years, and while my numbers weren't great, they were decent and either holding steady or trending downward a little. My dad was diagnosed almost 40 years ago, and he got hit with a lot of restrictions on his diet that I haven't been given (he's still going pretty strong). So far I'm just on meds, and my numbers at home are WAY down. Doc said that day that a lot of docs would have gone straight to insulin, but he's generally pretty conservative about first treatments, and he's been right just about every time. Looks like the meds and some dietary changes should do the trick. We'll see. I have my suspicions that a couple other medical issues may have played a part because of the timing and the sudden, drastic change, but I'm realistic about it, too, because of the family history. It's going to be an interesting journey, I'm sure. I just want it to be a long one (unless it's cured - I'll take that on a short journey, but not the other way to end the trip!).

I'm glad to hear the prognosis is good. Take care of yourself and listen to your doctor.

 

[veinbuster]

I was within a breath of ending my streak at 92 days of 10 minute planks. I just wasn’t feeling it in the West Virginia hotel room. In the end I decided my body would be kinder to me tonight if I squeezed in a short (24 minutes) in the morning. I guess it’s a habit.

Just in case anyone is interested, Oct 6 and Nov 30 are the last days I did no stretchy bendy stuff.

 

[matonanjin]

@Shawn@PRS thanks for starting this. If it will help guitar mayb that will be the impetus I need to get to it. After 3 spinal fusions I am still in constant pain. An anesthesiologist friend of mine has been pushing me to go to Yoga. I just keep procrastinating.