Faith

One of my sister's best friends recently lost her father suddenly to a major heart attack.  I don't think anything or anyone can prepare you for that kind of loss.  Her family has found strength in their faith and church community during this difficult time. I am not religious but I do think having faith that there is something larger than us out their is important.  I cannot believe that a person's spirit dies along with their body.  Everyone has their own beliefs about God and I am not going to delve into that. When going through difficult times, FAITH, in my opinion, means letting go of the control you thought you had and while you hope for the best outcomes in life, knowing that there is something greater than us out there and that if someone passes they are not gone forever. You will meet them again.  And hopefully that belief alone will give you some comfort during your time of pain. 

At times I compare going to yoga with going to church.  It is a time that I use to reflect on my choices in daily life and at times I pray to God.  I don't talk much to others about my relationship with God.  I believe my own thing and I am comfortable with that.  Lately, with a lot of people that I am close to struggling with family illness, death and financial troubles I have started to think a lot about my faith and that is why today I deviated away from my yoga talk to this subject.

As for yoga...my 365 days of yoga are still going along.  To switch it up a bit I took a break from the heat and did yoga at home a few days this week. It was good.  Everyday I send out my devotion and prayers to those I know that need it right now in hopes it is doing some good. 

Yoga Day 19

I'm here! I'm here! I am still going at it strong.  My body is feeling a little tired but I think that is a combination of my new job of policing nose pickers and biters, yoga and the rest of life.  I love my new job, although when my students are around I have to be 100% aware and present of what ALL of them are doing...turn your head for a moment and someone might be putting something inappropriate in their mouths...like someone elses arm or headphones.  Yoga has been helping my focus and my time management.  If I really want to do it everyday I need to plan for it.  Corepower is great for a busy schedule because it offers yoga non-stop and has a variety of studios to choose from so planning just takes a few minutes.  I have gone to the 6am class a couple times this week.  This is a great stretch in the morning...but a challenge because you need to be awake and aware to be able to balance.  The second day was definitely easier than the first day where I felt like I was unable to balance standing up straight with two feet on the ground.  Still no internet but I am working that out with my provider and will soon be up and running and maybe offering more insightful and thoughtful posts not just rushed ones letting you know I am still around and still going for my goal.

I am still here!

ACTUALLY written on 9/11/2010... thought I posted it but didn't...
Hi everyone! I am still doing yoga...and my internet is still out of commision. So  many constants in my life. Ha.  My yoga has been going well...some days are harder than others to find the motivation and the energy to go but I always feel better once I do.  My energy goes up and I am able to focus on other aspects of my life. I am feeling stronger, my jeans are starting to feel a little loose and I have shed a few pounds. Yesterday there was a woman with a body bug on her arm. I asked her what it was and what it did.  She said it measures the calories your body burns when you are wearing it.  I asked her on average how many calories hot yoga burned and she said 800 calories per hour!!! I am thinking about integrating running back into my life soon.   I think I will start

Flipping my dog...

Internet is still out but I am hunkered down at the local Dunn Bros Coffee to update my blog and manage my life...so much of that is done online.  Yesterday afternoon I went to Corepower and had a great practice.  I really pushed myself to attempt some poses that I had never tried before.  I guess I was intimidated by them in the past because I am NOT a very flexible person.  Something motivated me to attempt them and I was successful.  I did wheel pose and flipped my dog.  Which essentially means that I started in downward facing dog and flipped over balancing on one hand and my feet....the picture below will probably help you understand what I am trying to describe. 

Wheel Pose.









Flipping downward facing dog.

Wheel and flipped dog are really similar but the way you come into them is different.  You start wheel on your back and you start in downward facing dog before you flip your dog.  Both feel great and give your hips and front body a good stretch.  I am not sure why it took me so long to try these poses.   Fear is a powerful thing. Yesterday I was also successful at holding my crow pose (seen below).  I had attempted this pose before but always was a little off balance and holding yourself up on your forearms is a little intimidating. You kind of feel like you may fall flat on your face.  And I guess you might but you won't fall far....

Crow Pose

Sorry for the delay...

My internet has been out for the last few days....but my yoga hasn't.
Friday:
In the past I have discriminated against male yoga instructors.  My discrimination didn't just appear out of nowhere I had a few experiences with male instructors that were negative.  When I first started doing hot yoga I had these instructors that happened to be male who seemed to be teaching for a boost to their ego.  It became a one man show and they would start doing all sorts of crazy poses that I would say 100% of the class could not even attempt. So I was more comfortable with going to classes led by women.  Friday I had a very positive experience with a male instructor and it made me realize that I should not try to predict what each class will bring me. 

I don't have much time today to write much about my yoga classes on Saturday and Sunday but I will say overall I feel great. I have been sleeping great and eating healthier.  I am finding that my alcohol tolerance is extremely low.  One drink and I am tipsy and ready for bed.  That could be because I am almost 30 Plus 1 or it could be because I am sweating like crazy.  Off to do my fantasy football draft...I am still not sure how all of that works.

I did it...

now I am crashing.   I did a class called yoga sculpt today. I felt like my muscles were going to give up on me and I was going to be a blob of skin unable to move off my mat. Essentially yoga sculpt is a yoga/weight lifting/aerobic class in a room heated to around 90 degrees.  Not my idea of a good time. More like a version of hell on earth...but I did it. By the middle of class it was really difficult to move as fast or as coordinated as the instructor wanted me to move.  Positive side is that my favorite instructor taught it and she played really good hip-hop music.  Not the introspective yoga of the last few days. But once a week this class will be good to build my strength and kick my ass.
I was ready for bed at 8 but I am forcing myself to stay up until 9.  Is it 9 yet???

Your life only tips into old age if your regrets begin to outnumber dreams.

The title of this blog is a quote that I heard at yoga.  I hope my regrets never outnumber my dreams.  I think sometimes it is hard to remember to dream when you are just trying to get through the day to day.  I hope your regrets never outnumber your dreams....if they don't you could be young forever ;-)

Today the yoga instructor that I had was really into encouraging us to think positively about ourselves.  She kept on telling us to say our name in our head as we were doing the postures. For some reason I had a really hard time with that.  I kind of felt anxious about it.  I guess because it felt so unnatural to be saying my name repeatedly in my head.  Although, I think I got the idea of why we were doing it....because we should be focusing inward and remember to take time for ourselves? Maybe.