Yoga Is Not For The Flexible. It Is For The Willing
It is rare for me to tick off multiple items on the same day, but that is exactly what I achieved back in August. Item #82 – Try Yoga and Item #93 – Visit the Sky Garden. I guess I should provide some context to each of these items.
Yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices originating from ancient India but gaining popularity beyond India in recent years. It is a form of exercise that has alluded me. My preference is towards football, a form of exercise with considerably more physical contact. It could be argued yoga and football are complete polar opposites. Whilst I have never tried yoga, it had always intrigued me, especially once I started working in London and everyone and their dog was a yogi. Many of my colleagues would come freshly into work having attended an early morning yoga session, whilst there was me, wandering around in a zombie state trying to wake myself. On every occasion, my colleagues would invite or challenge me to try it.
The second part of this post involves the Sky Garden, a viewing deck that sits atop a relatively new skyscraper known as the Walkie Talkie. I am sure it has a more formal name, but it escapes me. Much like the Gherkin. Both buildings gaining these nicknames based on their appearance. The Sky Garden is also named after its appearance with much of the space taken up by a large garden. When it opened, a popular activity was to go to the Sky Garden for cocktails or a meal whilst absorbing the views and the sunset. My experience was the complete opposite.
The second part of this post involves the Sky Garden, a viewing deck that sits atop a relatively new skyscraper known as the Walkie Talkie. I am sure it has a more formal name, but it escapes me. Much like the Gherkin. Both buildings gaining these nicknames based on their appearance. The Sky Garden is also named after its appearance with much of the space taken up by a large garden. When it opened, a popular activity was to go to the Sky Garden for cocktails or a meal whilst absorbing the views and the sunset. My experience was the complete opposite.
Having purchased a cheap yoga mat on Amazon, I ventured into London at 5 am to meet my work colleagues at the Sky Garden where we would be doing yoga as the sunrises before having breakfast. On this particular occasion, there was not too much to see with the views obscured by the fog that had rolled in over London. Instead, we would just have to settle for yoga, an activity that I found a lot more challenging than I had expected. Whilst some of the more competent members of our group highlighted the class was more difficult than the beginners level advertised, I still was not expecting there to be so much physical exertion. This surprise was thoroughly welcomed and yoga is definitely something I will be trying again soon.
I will finish this post there.
Namaste
Photograph by Nicholas Moon
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Having purchased a cheap yoga mat on Amazon, I ventured into London at 5 am to meet my work colleagues at the Sky Garden where we would be doing yoga as the sunrises before having breakfast. On this particular occasion, there was not too much to see with the views obscured by the fog that had rolled in over London. Instead, we would just have to settle for yoga, an activity that I found a lot more challenging than I had expected. Whilst some of the more competent members of our group highlighted the class was more difficult than the beginners level advertised, I still was not expecting there to be so much physical exertion. This surprise was thoroughly welcomed and yoga is definitely something I will be trying again soon.
I will finish this post there.
Namaste