Yoga

The whole week I had planned to work on an investment proposal. To do that I need a couple of hours without any interruption, but it’s almost impossible to work longer than 10-15 minutes in my office without any disturbances. Therefore I decided to do it on Saturday. However, when I woke up yesterday after 10 hours of sleep (a new record I think, I guess I needed it) I was still too tired to really be productive. Work at Spill Group Asia has been busy from the day I set up the company, but it’s getting more busy and stressful lately as the company grows. The recent problems do not really help either. No complaints from my side, I don’t mind to be busy, but I also know that there are limits to what you can do.

In the past I went running almost daily to clear my mind, but since bike riding in Tibet I have a knee injury that does not want to go away. Each time I start running the pain comes back, so I have cut back a lot on sports. But I have now started with something completely new (to me at least): yoga. I always thought that would be nothing for me, but it is a completely different experience from what I expected. I actually thought it was just relaxing and it would not take much effort. But after one hour I am totally exhausted and the next day all my muscles are sore. But I am also very relaxed, and during the class I manage to switch my mind completely off work. I love it!

I have a private teacher, and she was surprised to have a beginner student (people normally start in group classes when they do yoga). For me groups don’t work because of my work schedule. They start at 7 or 7:30 PM, and I often cannot make it on time. If I do it, I want to do it right and not miss half the classes. Also, progress is much faster with a private teacher. The basic postures and breathing techniques are quite important, and getting these right is easier when one person constantly observes and corrects you.

I just started two weeks ago, so these are just my first impressions. Let’s see how I feel about it in a couple of months. I think it would be perfect to combine this with long distance running, after my knee allows me to do that again. Right now it looks like a good way to reduce stress, and get more out of your day – both work wise and in terms of quality time.