Max Riffner

The Parlor

My weblog work journal.  »Archives  »Links

Home Yoga and (Lack of) Cycling

Both of my parents’ birthdays were last week, and I bought them gifts that reflect their current activity interests, which ironically mirror mine. For my father, who has pretty much traded running for biking now that his hips too much, I got him a travel pump with a patch kit and bar ends for his bike. I showed him how to use them and we traded stories about how the gun range by the trail scares the bejezus out of us when we go by it. For my mother, I bought a yoga kit, complete with blocks, mat, bag and strap. We’ve both been taking Ben’s class, and it has been so much fun to share this with her.

Now, since I already have a bike, I thought I should take the plunge and purchase a yoga mat for myself finally so I can work on it outside of class.

I just practiced yoga for 40 minutes, and right now as I type this, my posture is wonderful, my stress-level is low, and my muscles are busy rebuilding everything that I worked out. I’m hooked. I think the thing that appeals to me about yoga the most is its simplicity. All you need is a mat and some time. Longtime readers know that this core philosophy is why I loved running so much. All you need to run is a pair of shoes.

Cycling still presents a challenge for me. I’m having trouble getting into it, I think perhaps because there is so much you can open yourself up to and learn (which does appeal to my inner-geek quite a bit). I would like to get a better bike, but I keep questioning what sort of bike I should get! Do I want to race (maybe?), do I want to just commute (sure?), or do I want to tour (I guess?); so many questions. I think the main thing is to try commuting once a week and seeing where to go from there.

You can also browse through the Parlor archives.