Ironing Out The Details

I know I've been quiet over here these past couple months, but I've spent all winter trying to wrap my head around my combined yoga and bodybuilding practice. That process has been a journey all on its own. Believe me!

Again, I know that my yoga teacher endorsed my intuitive desire to bring yoga off the mat and into the gym as a bodybuilder, but, as often happens with intuitive hits, the aftershock of the moment took quite a while to fully understand. It's been a bit difficult navigating just how I could successfully combine these two practices without compromising either.

Even though there are some rather vigorous forms of yoga, few of them are as intense on the resistance training element as lifting weights. In fact, most forms of yoga will actually advocate peaceful practices where the real goal is to bring about a subtle, internal shift in the practitioner. The physical aspects of the practice are often only secondary. Whereas with the gym, the exact opposite paradigm is in play.

I've said countless times that the gym is my "happy place." It's where I work out my frustrations from daily life. I've also said that it's almost a meditation practice in and of itself for me. That's all true, but, again, it's a secondary aspect of the practice. It's not the main goal.

Beyond the differences in the practices, there are also differences in diet and lifestyle that have made the melding of these two major parts of my life "interesting." The yoga diet tends to be a bit more vegetarian/carb focused, whereas the bodybuilder diet seems to be quite a bit more concentrated on meat-based protein sources. Yoga has a fasting element, and bodybuilding can sometimes seem downright excessive in its food requirements. (I usually eat about six times a day right now.)

Any way, long story short, it has taken me most of this winter to really wrap my head around how I can effectively combine yoga and bodybuilding into my life. Fortunately, I have been working through the final stages of my Kundalini Teacher Training with Samadhi, and she's been a huge help. As I come to the end of the training (which is in a few weeks or so), I am just starting to iron out the details. (Pun intended.)