If you have ever thought you aren’t flexible enough to do Yoga, then Yoga is probably the best thing for you. We chat to b3 ambassador and Crossfit athlete, Nathan Wiese, about how his 6 weeks of one on one Yoga training and it’s positive effects on his mobility.
“Being the health conscious Crossfit Athlete that I am who likes to think that my training prepares my body for most physical activities that I can throw at it, I jumped at the opportunity to try out a month of Yoga Therapy with Jana. Although I didn’t really know what was involved, I was happy to give it a try and see what I could get out of it.
I currently train in Crossfit every day (except Thursdays and Sundays) and spend anywhere from 20 – 40 minutes on my mobility (stretching, foam rolling, smr) every single day. Yoga and Pilates definitely appeal to me however, as we all know, sometimes our busy lifestyles can get in the way and we have to prioritise what we would like to fit in and what may not make the cut. Currently, Crossfit makes the cut and Yoga and Pilates doesn’t.
I was very excited when I got asked to try out Jana’s Yoga Therapy as it is close to work and something that I was able to fit in my schedule – I just didn’t know what I was in for.
I definitely learnt a lot of new things about myself during my sessions. I learnt that breathing is a skill and I am not very good at it. I also learned that my balance could be a lot better, I have a few imbalances in my mobility and that Yoga is a lot harder than I thought it was. I was happy however to surprise Jana with my flexibility – although I wasn’t doing the splits during the sessions or anything crazy like that, Jana was expecting a 33 year old Crossfitter to have the mobility of an 80 year old man and I think I gave her a pleasant surprise.
The improvements that I saw over the 6 weeks were phenomenal – better control of my breathing (I didn’t even know that was a thing), the poses became easier and the sessions became more enjoyable when I wasn’t struggling as much. The personal attention from Jana was Amazing. She knew exactly what to cue to improve the positions I was struggling with and was always happy to put me back in my place when I got a bit cocky about how fast I was improving by showing me EXACTLY how a challenging pose was ‘supposed’ to look.
By the end of the 6 weeks I was sad to finish up. I really felt like I improved on many levels and my pre – existing thoughts of Yoga had been thrown out of the window. I still include some of the positions and movements in my weekly mobility and now I practice a daily breathing / meditation practice to make sure that I maintain everything that I learned in those classes.
I highly recommend this class to anyone who is willing to give it a go. We all have something to take away from this and I really feel like it can and will benefit EVERYONE.“
Want to give Yoga a go? Book your class here and feel the benefits for yourself.