Thursday 7 August 2014

Strongman Yoga

If there is one thing that has allowed me the same kind of release I get with training, it's Bikram Yoga. It's been great for my injuries, and is helping me build back my core strength and balance. I feel I have gone beyond where I was with my flexibility before the accident, apart from the hindrance of my right knee, and I am feeling an all-encompassing sense of mental and physical clarity. My practice of Yoga has developed a whole lot over the past few months, and I am coming to understand the introspective journey that results from regular practice, and hence its popularity. I'm becoming much more familiar with all the postures, and as my flexibility increases, I am able to get deeper into them and correctly execute more and more. I am drawn to this kind of hot Yoga, as I am really learning to consciously meditate, whilst in a state of physical exertion. I have noticed that my larger muscles in my legs (mainly thighs) and arms actually hinder me being able to fully twist them together as is done in Eagle pose. I especially have trouble with my right leg, because of my knee injury. Nevertheless, I push on! I am loving my journey into Yoga.


Got a way to go, but Standing bow pulling pose is one of my faves.

When I went up and attempted the 150kg stone at training, I tried using a lot of focused (I think of it as Qi / Chi) energy when attempting the lift. I instantly noticed that the stone came up with ease! I have noticed this a few times before when performing strongman lifts. Doing Yoga has helped me connect a lot with my own inner strength and energy, and I am feeling quite strong! I was so happy after getting this stone, which I hadn't lifted since before the accident (~8months), and especially happy with the fact that it felt relatively easy. I played around with shouldering the 113kg stone as well.





It seems to just the knee which is still holding me back. I have been prescribed 1.5iu Scitropin (HGH) per day, in hopes of a speedier recovery. I am definitely feeling the other good effects of it, but I worry that it hasn't really helped my knee a whole lot. I'm going in for an MRI next week to assess how it has healed, so I will keep everyone updated. I am pretty keen to not go back to surgery, and rather aim for adaption. I am going back to basics and doing a 10 week program based around squats/bench/deadlift...with relatively light weights only (apart from bench).

Thanks for reading!