Home

Strength. Flexibility. Balance. Harmony.

“don’t worry do yoga…”

Hello Friends,

Happy June! The following is a short essay from our new yogi, Leonard Duncan. With his permission, it is my pleasure to post his experience in his new-found joy….yoga. Enjoy!

Yoga for the OFFG (Over Fifty Fat Guy)

By Leonard Duncan

Honey and her buddy went to yoga, while my buddy and I planned summer camping. When the girls got home, we had it planned down to the size Dutch oven for the upside-down cake.

Boy was Honey excited! She liked this exercise plan! It was not competitive. It was a great workout with good company and her joints did not hurt! For decades, we’d looked for an exercise program we could both stick with. And when Honey slept that night through, I knew I had to try it.

So the next Wednesday found us at The Chi Room with Tina Tonkin. Tina is very kind and was happy to see us. Now I’m not a fashion plate, unless there’s pot roast on it. So it was great to see other guys there. Tina got right down to business and I only had time to focus on my breathing . . . I want to continue . . . breathing.

That night I learned many poses, if you can call something that I barely accomplished (more credit than I deserve) before Tina called out another one. I learned the Downward Facing Dog, Warrior 1 & 2, Reverse Warrior and many others.

I successfully accomplished Corpse, Child’s, and Upward Facing Dog poses. But I wasn’t satisfied. Instinctually, I moved right into Gasping Rabbit, Red Faced Grimace, Wounded Deer and my personal favorite, Supine Bear! The short story is that this kind and gentle lady kicked my donkey clear up the wall and across the ceiling.

But the next day, I realized that I had saved some time. All the stretching from the night before was still working so I didn’t have to stretch to tie my shoes. It was easy! Of course the belly that defines this Over Fifty Fat Guy (OFFG) is still in the way and has to go. But we sleep better. We still walk miles each week and ping pong is more fun since we’re getting our speed back. And our posture is better, at least to us. And we’re going canoeing earlier than last year.

Personally, I have kissed my back pain good-bye. I now have the tools: awareness when I’m getting sucked into the computer screen at work; stealth stretches so I don’t have to explain, “What are You doing?”; and confidence, since I recovered from a back spasm episode in 24 hours instead of the usual two weeks.

So we’ll continue going to yoga with Tina to keep our personal flexibility and freedom. We look forward to learning more poses and perfecting the Swan Dive to Dog to Standing Split to Crocodile to Upward Facing Dog. But I’ll finish with Flopping Goose!