Mini-Job

A couple of weeks ago I started working at Yoga Yoga in their work-trade program. I work a couple of hours on Wednesday afternoons cleaning the studio and in return I get credit toward yoga classes. It works for me. I should earn enough for unlimited yoga each month. Woohoo! This will encourage me to be consistent with my yoga practice.

Getting in Shape

I didn't do very well with my goals of getting in shape over June and July. This month I have unlimited free yoga at one of the yoga studios in town, so I'm going to take full advantage of it. I have the whole month of work outs planned out. I'm planning on 2-3 work outs a day on the weekdays. I'm taking Saturdays off and planning one yoga session on Sundays. I started on Wednesday and I've been doing pretty well.  I completed 3 work outs on Wednesday and two yesterday. In addition to yoga I'm doing Firm DVDs. My legs and bum are sore! I have yoga in a bit...time to get in shape.

Set Split--with Miscalculation by Donovan

The set-split seemed to be easier for me to get than the set straddle. Everyone said my first try was awesome--of course after that I kept messing up.  It was warm in the tent, and I was doing lots of exercises between turns. We were short a couple of people, so the time between turns was shorter. I was very tired and very sweaty by the end of class. I'm getting better at climbing the silks, I got higher up this week.

I got one try to catch--and we just touched finger-tips. Donovan said it was his fault. He said I had a fast take off and to remind him of that next time.

I really tried to stretch the backs of my legs and pushed myself during Wednesday's yoga class.  I was super sore after yoga, and I'm still sore now, but I think it helped and my split looks pretty good. I may start a new trick next week, I may not. I'm not sure. I really think I need to practice this one more. I need to practice keeping my back leg glued to the bar.

Calluses are forming at the base of my fingers. I'm toughening up my manotas.  At least I haven't broken a nail.  Cello required calluses and short nails.

Forgetful

I have been very forgetful over the last week. Last week I forgot my yoga bag and had to tromp back up the stairs to get it. Three days in a row I forgot my cell phone. It is a miracle that I realized these things before I left for work.
Multiple times I have gone commando after yoga because I forgot to pack underwear. Today I forgot to pack a T shirt for yoga. I was wearing a long sleeve, very fitted, button-down shirt. There was no way I could do yoga in that super-restrictive shirt. I was a little bummed out, but then I remembered I had some extra T shirts in my car. I went back out to my car and got Ross's T shirt. Save! I realized I need to pack more than just shirts. I should pack socks (just in case I forget them for trapeze or step in a puddle), underwear, T shirts, and maybe shorts or something. Oh, and maybe a cardigan--I'm always cold.
Yoga was great. I'm hoping to go again on Sunday night. We did some great stretches for the back of the legs (including standing split), which is good because I think my next trapeze trick might be set split. We'll see Saturday.

I won! Again!

I enter to win freebies at Lucky Magazine and Glamour Magazine. I received an email the other day saying I'd won a year long subscription to yogavibes.com through a promotion with Lucky Magazine. Yogavibes sent me a special code and now I can watch/do a yoga class any time I want. I tried it out for the fist time today. So far it doesn't seem like yogavibes has a whole lot of videos, but the did have two Iyengar style videos. I tried the first Iyengar video today. I really put a lot of effort into it, so I got a little sweaty. The teacher was a little annoying (but who doesn't annoy me?) She kept dropping the last a on all the asanas. So she would say Tadasin instead of Tadasana. It was irksome, like when people drop the -ly at the end of an adverb. (Ross passed on that pet peeve to me.)

I'm not sure how much I will use this service, but it is cool to have won something. And maybe it will help me get back in shape.

Yoga Yesterday

I was a mess yesterday. I forgot my towels, and I don't think I was well hydrated. I fell over during tripod headstand, and I was unable to hold my regular headstand for very long. I think I was really tired, and the balance and core necessary for headstands was just too much.

What's cool about having the month long yoga pass is that I'm going to different teachers, so I get to do different things. I'd taken a classes with Will before, but it was a very long time ago. He says the names of the poses in sanskrit, and I appreciate that. I also find his voice very soothing. The odd part was his music mix. There would be some Indian music, then some classic rock--like Jimi or The Talking Heads, then maybe some classical piano, then some music with Om Shanti Shanti chanting, then back to classic rock. It was a musical roller coaster. I enjoyed it.

It was a slow class. We held poses for a long time. I was amazed at how long I could hold Warrior I and Warrior II. I guess my legs are getting stronger. My arms were what started to really burn. My deltoids. I guess I'm building up my shoulders too. Even though I was tired yesterday I tried my best not not to do lazy yoga. I tried to keep all my muscles engaged and strong.

My Freak Anatomy: Peroneus Brevis

Yoga has made me very aware of my freakish anatomy. I'm pretty sure I have a short peroneus brevis muscle or tendon. Way before I discovered yoga, I discovered the pain this short muscle can cause. Two words: Ski Boots. I hate ski boots. Ski boots lock your lower leg into a forward leaning position--and for me that hurts. It is one of the reasons I will never ski again.

I rediscovered the pain when I started doing yoga. Trikonasana (Triangle Pose) is one of the most basic poses, but it isn't really easy to do. I really didn't like it at first because that same part of my leg would just burn. I guess the more I have done it over the years, the more I have stretched/strengthened the muscle, and it doesn't bother me as much anymore. Recently in class Nancy mentioned that another yogi says that you have to try something for ten years before you can say you don't like it! Ten years! He says you really have to know something before you can say you don't like it. I'm not so sure about that, but I can say that I like triangle a lot more now than I did ten years ago.
In yoga last Sunday we did a vinyasa that included both trikonasana and pavirtta trikonasana (revolved triangle.) The revolved pose really hit that spot and I could feel it burn. I need to do a lot more trikonasana and pavirtta trikonasa before snowboarding season arrives. The snowboard boots are a gajillion times more comfortable than ski boots, but sometimes I still feel the burn on my right leg.

Kirtan Kriya

One of the last times I was at yoga--which sadly, was a long time ago--Nancy introduced us to the Kirtan Kriya. She's been reading books by Dr. Daniel Amen. Dr. Amen recommends the Kirtan Kriya in his book Making a Good Brain Great. The Kirtan Kriya is a Kundalini yoga meditation that combines mantras (words) and mudras (hand positions.)

I'm not good at meditation. My mind wanders, and usually it wanders in a negative downward spiral. I think the combination of mantra and mudra works for me. I was able to concentrate on that and not get lost in negative or random thoughts.

To practice the Kirtan Kriya touch each of the fingers consecutively to the thumb while saying the matching word--as shown below. Envision the sound coming down through the top of your head and out through your third eye. Repeat starting with the pointer finger. When you are done open the hands and say Aaaah. Detailed instructions for the 12 minute version are available here.

The sounds are based on the five primal sounds. Saa means birth or infinity, Taa means life, Naa means death or completion, and Maa means rebirth.

Maui Yoga

Of course I had to take some yoga photos in Hawaii. Surfing has its own vinyasa: laying on the board arms out in front, paddling, chataranga/cobra, hopping up to a crouch, then spreading out to five pointed star, crouching back down, then straddling the board.
Blurry photo of me trying to get up into headstand. It was kind of funny to see the waves coming at me upside down.
Side crow in the bamboo forest. This was an awesome yoga rock.
I call this waterfall full lotus. It's my favorite yoga photo from the trip.

Big Bolster

Back in February my yoga teacher was really into doing progressive heart opening laying supine on a yoga block. The heart opening felt good, but the block was uncomfortable. We lamented that the yoga studio doesn't have bolsters. Well, I finally bought my own. It is so much more comfortable than laying on a block. It was also nice to prop my legs up on when my knee was hurting. I haven't used it much lately, but I think I'll be doing a lot more yoga soon, seeing as I'll soon be unemployed.

Cherry Blossom Yoga

I couldn't resist doing some yoga amongst the cherry blossoms and I had Valerie take the photos.
That's me doing tree in a tree. If I was barefoot I would have been a lot braver.
This is me doing dancer under one of the larger trees near the Jefferson Memorial. Not very impressive. I need to practice.

My Freak T1

I can't believe this picture was taken almost a year ago. I've been meaning to post about it for that long! I have a freakishly large spinous process on my T1 vertebra. It makes certain yoga poses like shoulder stand, plow, and deaf man's pose quite painful. I always end up with a sore/bruised spot. It sucks cause I really like deaf man's pose. I'm not any good at any of these poses, and I don't think I'll get any better because when it comes time to do them I only do deaf man's pose (the third one in the photo), if I do any of them at all.

Aerial Yoga

Nancy, my wonderfully awesome yoga teacher, invited me to an aerial yoga class. We began with some regular yoga, and then started to use the strap/sling/hammock to help us with our poses. It takes some getting used to, but it was really, really fun. My two favorite things that we did were hanging upside down in full lotus and shivasana. The gentle swaying in shivasana was great. I curled up into the fetal position and rolled onto my right side and that was even better. I guess I like the cocoon feeling.

The glasses on my forehead cracks me up. I could actually see putting something like this up in my house.

Yoga Against the Wall

Today's yoga class was up against the wall. My favorite part was when we went from backbend to downward dog. I like flipping over. It is fun, like a cartwheel. The challenge was to go back the other way. I tried it a couple of times, but I wasn't successful. I was able to kick up into a handstand up against the wall. I'll keep working at flipping back up to the wall.

My teacher invited me to an aerial yoga class. I'm so excited. Maybe I can get her to take a picture of me so that I can post it.

Back to Yoga

I have been going to yoga again lately. I need to use up my 5 class pass before it expires (they are good for like 4 months, so I've been lazy for that long!) I've managed to survive the last 3 classes. A few of us were talking about the different yoga teachers after class last week. One lady said that she didn't like one teacher because she was "too sanskrit." What does that mean? The lady bragged about doing yoga for 14 years, but she's never bothered to learn the sanskrit asana names. Then she complained that one of the male teachers is "too flexible." What? She made it very clear that she uses yoga as a work out. She is into power yoga. She'd be a Joseph fanatic if he taught here.

The opposite of power yoga is floppy yoga. Skinny girls do floppy yoga. I saw a lot of it in class today. They cant hold their arms up straight. It annoys me and makes me chuckle at the same time. Yoga class brings out my OCD tendencies. I want to correct my fellow students.

In today's class there was a girl with a head covering on. It was hot yoga. I think it was her first time. I don't think she had any idea what she was in for. She left 20 minutes into the class--I think partly because her friend was feeling ill. She didn't come back until almost the very end of class. Lately I've just been completely fascinated with head coverings. My version of the head covering was to always wear my hair in a bun. With my hair so short I can't put it in a bun. I'm suddenly having the urge to cover my hair. We'll see.

Yoga Week

I went to Yoga 4 times this week. I had classes with 3 new teachers. One of the teachers was downright crazy. I loved him. He was mumbling in Sanskrit and teasing us that we were going to have to stand in Tadasana with our arms over our heads for the rest of the class. The music at the beginning of class was all calm flute music and in the middle of class Bohemian Rhapsody came on. I was smiling throughout the whole class. New teacher, new poses, new fun. The teacher suggested a full bind for Ardha Matsyendrasana (half lord of the fishes). I don't know why I'd never thought of it before. I always did the half bind. I enjoyed all the twists and binds, but sat out the inversions. I think he thought I was copping out. Especially with camel, but since I got pierced camel makes me feel as though I'm choking. I think by the end of class he might have realized why I was doing Viparita Karani instead of the inversions. I was so exhausted on Friday that I didn't go to yoga. I came home and was a total couch potato. I slept a lot yesterday and didn't work out at all. I think I may go to yoga tonight. I'm hoping to go to that crazy guy's yoga class again next week. Then I can show him how much I love inversions. As a reward for all that yoga I feel better and the scale has come down. I think yoga is helping with some much needed detox.

Day of Reckoning

I stepped on the scale this morning and the balance arm hit the top. Hard. I slid the weight to the right and I'm about 150. That's it. I quit the shred. I'm done with it. I've gained weight since I started doing the shred. It doesn't work for me. I need to do what I know works. Yoga works and the Firm dvds work. I haven't been feeling well at all lately. I decided that I really need to put yoga as a priority in my life again. I went to yoga today for the first time in about a month. I feel great. Because I'm so overweight I'm going to go to Yoga tomorrow through Friday. Then I'm going to hit the Firm hard. When it comes to diet I'm going low cal liquid for a couple of days and then I'm going to really try to avoid salt and butter for a bit.

Yoga Focus

The last few times I've been to yoga I have really tried to focus on drawing up my kneecaps. Keeping the legs strong the entire time turns yoga into really intense exercise. A while back my yoga teacher talked us through handstand. I needed her help to get up. I've been really practicing it since then. I think I've almost got it.

Today in class I was able to kick up into forearm stand from dolphin pose. I think I did it on my first or second try! I shocked myself. I was even able to bring my shins against the wall. My toes were pointing toward my head, but I don't think there were anywhere near it. I suppose it was a baby scorpion against the wall. Now I have something new to practice.
As in a lot of yoga poses I think the prep and positioning are actually more important than strength. I started in downward dog and then brought my right knee to my chest and kept my toes on the floor. I think that is important. I'm really up onto my toes. I think it helps if I shift my head down (to look at my feet) and my weight forward. I kept doing this step by step, but it is a lot easier to get upright if I do it in one fluid motion.
I kick off the right toes and swing the left leg up.
Almost there.
Up into the handstand. I try not to lean against the wall. I think I need to bring my hands a little closer together. Oh yeah, my muffin top is all that!

The plan is to go to yoga twice this week and twice next week. I'm trying to get back in shape.

Yoga Practice

I'm trying to be more regular about my yoga practice. I went to yoga today--third week in a row, but I need to do yoga more than once a week.

It didn't smell like taco bell in the studio today. Well, it might have, but I put some (good) smelly stuff under my nose so I wouldn't be distracted by any funk. Today we did more work against the wall. The best thing we did was wheel with our toes up against the wall. Then we put one foot up against the wall, and then the other. I got my right leg straight up, but my left foot was stuck up on the wall. The teacher helped me by lifting up my left leg and then she said to flip over. Oh! I thought the point was to get up into handstand. I tried it again and was able to do it on my own. The teacher said I should be able to flip over without the wall soon. I'll have to try that in the living room!

The other thing we did against the wall was forearm stand. Well, I didn't do it, but I attempted it. I tried and tried to kick up from dolphin pose, but just didn't get there. I was totally jealous of the guy that could do it without the wall and the girl that came down into scorpion pose.

I didn't do camel pose because that's the one pose that is really uncomfortable since I pierced my neck. I also pulled up out of a half backbend against the wall. I just feel like I'm choking. I'm going to try and do at least 30 minutes of yoga a day. Hopefully that will get me back into shape and help me progress toward more challenging poses. Yoga is one of the only things that I feel like I'm good at, and if I practice I know I can get even better.

Random Things

I'm not ever going to make Lemon Blueberry Cake again. When it turns out right it is awesome. It only turns out right half the time. Usually when it doesn't go quite right the cake is really sticky. Well, I made it this weekend, and it came out rubbery. Frustrating. I love cake. I ate a slice. It is pretty gross. It isn't cake. Now I have to throw it all out! Awful! I'm blaming the oven here. Things don't turn out like they usually do in this oven. Piece of crap electric. Still, I'm not going to make that cake again. I'm a little worried about making any cake in that oven. Will the dessert party be possible? We'll see.

I'm super stressed out and can't blog about it (which annoys me, but is probably for the best).

We have had guac with the jalapenos from my mini garden. Yummy. I have another eggplant growing. And another bloom, so I might eventually have two growing at once. I'm going to try and take a photo every day, or every couple of days and see if I can make a little slide-show movie out of it, like they do in those documentaries.

I didn't go hiking today because I feel like I just need to chill. Maybe I'll do some yoga.