yoga with training wheels

I don't know anything much about it, but I DO know that I need to start doing it. And various other things to protect/maintain/encourage good physical and mental health. My experience in this area is limited to one day, over a year ago, in much warmer weather. My friend J. was going to north FL to teach a yoga class in an old house at a herb farm. A friend of hers has been running this organic herb resource since her husband deceased, and trying to hold it together on her own. The yoga group was meeting in this ramshackle, former residence (so old it did not have indoor plumbing - and I heard today they had done some fundraising events there to accumulate the resources to have a bathroom/toilet/sink installed in a closet!) once a  month, to: ponder, sit, lay, squat, fold themselves up on the floor.  I was mostly just  along for the ride having no personal knowledge of what was going on or history of the 'moves'. Listening, observing and attempting to match the stretches and positions of the several other women in attendance.

That all occurred before I discovered my joints starting to get stiff, especially hips and knees. I've even been to doctor several times last year, too  get some help with identifying cause, figure out a plan of action. That story will not be told here.

I went to south Georgia yesterday afternoon, to visit the auntie, and spend the night. Planning to get up this morning and drive over to Lakeland to join others in a new year's yoga session. Lakeland is about 25 miles to the east of Valdosta, and J. lives just south of town, very close to the Withlacochee River. I think the property she is on actually runs down to the river bank back in the woods. She and her husband have bui8lt a a barn like enclosed building where she lives, that we were in for the day. There were probably 15 or so other women there, with J. apparently being the center of the Venn diagram.

Another instructor shard the duties of directing the group, where we spent three hours finding ourselves. This instructor pointed out that the first day of this new year was very unusual because it also was the first day of a full moon. And: the date for today is unique: 1-4-14. We started off with a bit of journaling to establish some goals, and help to focus our thoughts. Lots of mental exercises to designed to encourage peaceful state of mind, mediating on serenity, reminding ourselves of personal worth, and that we are fully capable adults. And then some actual on the floor yoga positions/stretching/practice.

It was all very interesting. I feel like I was probably the only 'newbie' to this, and the others had much more experience/time in classes and organized situations. I've been thinking I needed to get started doing something to help with flexibility, mobility that would involved keeping joints working smoothly. I know there are classes all over town, and think I will gather up my gumption to start going to the Y. I hope I can scootch in the on the back row, and be unnoticed until I get a bit better at doing the positions, learning how to not make a scene by falling over and disrupt the entire room.