Flexibility

Several posts ago, I mentioned taking one or two occasional group fitness classes to get me out of work before the ripe ol' hour of 7pm.

One of these was boxing. The other a "relaxation" class that taught us how to stretch, rolling our bodies on foam rollers to mimic deep tissue massage, and increase our flexibility.

Have you ever foam-rolled? It's like rolling your body around a gigantic rolling pin.

My pal Vera and I, after reading the brochure on this "relaxation" class, thought it would be a great way to defrag after a crazy day. We both purchased new yoga pants for the occasion and she gifted me cute footies to wear in class.

Is it ironic that I wanted to pass out several times during the flexibility class and handled the boxing class pretty well (except for being sore for five days afterward)?

I learned something about myself in this so-called flexibility class...I'm not very flexible.

Like, at all.

A big fan of intense cardio and sometimes a fast-paced Pilates, I struggle with making time to stretch. As a result, I get hard muscles that won't stretch much without incurring some sort of injury. This is not good.

As the class contorted their bodies on the foam rollers, I looked over to see Vera all blissed out and relaxed, immediately getting the hang of this weird rolling experience.

I, on the other hand, struggled with the most basic of poses and exercises. The instructor hovered in my general neighborhood, offering little modifications that wouldn't tear my muscles or seriously wound my pride!

As I fought through the class, it got me thinking...I really hope I'm not this inflexible in the rest of my life. Is there some secret message that my tight muscles were supposed to impart on my even-tighter resolve?

Hmm. Maybe it's time to stretch and regain a greater sense of flexibility.

Or maybe I should just stick to boxing!