Trying New Things

Trying new things…

Most of us don’t like change.  Oh, sure, we want to improve, to do it better, faster, and have more fun doing it.  Tomorrow.  Today, we creatures of habit are most likely going to do what we did yesterday.  We liked it then and we’ll like it tomorrow, and it’s easy to keep doing it.  It’s pretty easy, too, to limit our ideas about self-improvement to the things we already enjoy doing.  Maybe I’m a runner, and I want to run farther or faster.  Maybe I like getting stronger, and in pursuit of that improvement I’ll do more reps, more of the same thing.  You get the idea.

Last night I tried something I’ve never done before: Hot Yoga.  I’ve always been a fan of balance, in theory.  Strength should be balanced by flexibility, and flexibility should be tempered with strength.

Hot Yoga

In theory.  But I hadn’t done much about flexibility in my own training.  I didn’t know what yoga would be like.  I didn’t know if I’d like it.  But I spent an hour putting myself in new positions, and breathing, and paying attention to exactly how my body felt… and I liked it.

So let me encourage you to move in a new direction by trying something new.  If you’re like me and you’ve focused on strength or speed, try a yoga or stretch class.  If you do yoga, some strength training will help you hold your poses longer.  If you play a sport focused on a skill, like golf, try exercising a different skill set.  And if you are an all-round athlete, try sitting still and meditating.  Get out of your comfort zone.  Stretch yourself. Grow.