The time between leaving the studio last night at 9 p.m. and returning this morning at 9 a.m. seemed a lot less that 12 hours! There wasn't much in between, except a few rolls of sushi last night with Heather (we decided to re-introduce seafood into our otherwise vegetarian diet), cups and cups of green tea, seven hours of sleep, some more green tea, half of a Balance bar, and a glass of "super juice" from the farmer's market.
The Friday morning instructor, Kat, is great, but this will be the only class in this time period we can take because we go back to work next week.
The heat wasn't as oppressive today, but the humidity was intense. I sweated out every ounce of green tea! I sweated as much during the final resting poses as I did at the hour mark. All I could think of was water--fresh, room-temperature water minus the salinity of human sweat. During corpse pose, Kat played a CD recording of a rainstorm. The sounds and images it brought about were cooling, but all I could think of was opening my mouth so that the rain could splash on my tongue and trickle down my throat.
Oh, I wish it would rain...........
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Day Four: Fun and Joy
I'll take a breather on the blog and just say that tonight's class was fun and joyful. It was quite a lovely day!
....and no meat smell.
....and no meat smell.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Day Three: Funky Meat Funk
Meat.
This morning in class, the scent coming off my body was meat. Not just meat (which usually smells good to me), but of meat-based babyfood that comes in a jar. Think Gerber Beef & Beef Gravy or those miniature grayish/pink Vienna Sausages made for toddlers. Sorry, I know it's not very polite to mention, and not at all feminine, but it's the truth. I hope the guy practicing 4 inches from me didn't notice. Hopefully he was dealing with his own personal smells. I think his wife just had a baby, so if he's not familiar with the smell of meat in a jar, he soon will be.
The irony: The last time I ate meat or fish was Saturday (delicious grilled tri-tip and fresh fillets from the 87-pound halibut that the men in my family caught less than two weeks ago in Sitka, Alaska....yum!!). So, I won't begin to analyze what my body was doing. Nor will I spend time contemplating the positives and negatives of a flesh-free diet.
I just hope that tomorrow I smell like lemons or fresh cut grass!
This morning in class, the scent coming off my body was meat. Not just meat (which usually smells good to me), but of meat-based babyfood that comes in a jar. Think Gerber Beef & Beef Gravy or those miniature grayish/pink Vienna Sausages made for toddlers. Sorry, I know it's not very polite to mention, and not at all feminine, but it's the truth. I hope the guy practicing 4 inches from me didn't notice. Hopefully he was dealing with his own personal smells. I think his wife just had a baby, so if he's not familiar with the smell of meat in a jar, he soon will be.
The irony: The last time I ate meat or fish was Saturday (delicious grilled tri-tip and fresh fillets from the 87-pound halibut that the men in my family caught less than two weeks ago in Sitka, Alaska....yum!!). So, I won't begin to analyze what my body was doing. Nor will I spend time contemplating the positives and negatives of a flesh-free diet.
I just hope that tomorrow I smell like lemons or fresh cut grass!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Expectation or Its Best Substitute
As a teacher, I've had to find my peace when it comes to substitutes. Students love them; teachers....ummm....not so much.
The times when I have to be out of classroom, I have taken the advice of my more experienced colleagues: don't expect what you want to get done to get done. So, as much as possible, I simplify my expectations and hope for the best. Often, what is completed--or partially attempted--is tossed in the trash...sorry, but that's the truth. It's not the fault of the substitute (not usually), I think it's just what happens when you interrupt a flow.
I'm in the process of finding a flow to how the weeks of yoga will go. Maybe there will be a pattern, maybe there won't. Usually, I expect to walk into class to Rached's "Hello," but that didn't happen today. I'm not quite up to the Tuesday, 8 am, full series Astanga class yet, so I opted for the 11 am beginner class. I was expecting a lower key, more gentle experience than yesterday. There was a substitute, Judy. She was very nice and led a very gentle class, but, not what I was expecting. I wanted the sweat, the group rhythm, the cool music. I had already started solidifying what I expect to experience in the studio.
I felt flat. I was expecting her to create the flow; to give me what I need. That wasn't happening. Nice reminder that that's not how yoga works....that's not how anything works. I may not always be in control of what takes place, but I sure as hell better not expect someone else to be responsible for what takes place.
Hmmm....I notice I'm using the words expect and expectations a lot.....Interesting.....
"Expect the best, prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes" --Zig Ziglar
"If you don't know where you're going, how do you expect to get there?" --Basil S. Walsh
"Life works out, but not as you expect it" --French proverb (That's not what Basil said)
"What did you expect to happen?" - Everyone's mom
"Act with kindness, but don't expect gratitude." --Confucius
"If your heart is a volcano, how do you expect flowers to bloom." --Kahlil Gibran
"How wrong is it for a women to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than create it herself." --Anais Nin
"Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue." --Tao Te Ching, Book 10
The times when I have to be out of classroom, I have taken the advice of my more experienced colleagues: don't expect what you want to get done to get done. So, as much as possible, I simplify my expectations and hope for the best. Often, what is completed--or partially attempted--is tossed in the trash...sorry, but that's the truth. It's not the fault of the substitute (not usually), I think it's just what happens when you interrupt a flow.
I'm in the process of finding a flow to how the weeks of yoga will go. Maybe there will be a pattern, maybe there won't. Usually, I expect to walk into class to Rached's "Hello," but that didn't happen today. I'm not quite up to the Tuesday, 8 am, full series Astanga class yet, so I opted for the 11 am beginner class. I was expecting a lower key, more gentle experience than yesterday. There was a substitute, Judy. She was very nice and led a very gentle class, but, not what I was expecting. I wanted the sweat, the group rhythm, the cool music. I had already started solidifying what I expect to experience in the studio.
I felt flat. I was expecting her to create the flow; to give me what I need. That wasn't happening. Nice reminder that that's not how yoga works....that's not how anything works. I may not always be in control of what takes place, but I sure as hell better not expect someone else to be responsible for what takes place.
Hmmm....I notice I'm using the words expect and expectations a lot.....Interesting.....
"Expect the best, prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes" --Zig Ziglar
"If you don't know where you're going, how do you expect to get there?" --Basil S. Walsh
"Life works out, but not as you expect it" --French proverb (That's not what Basil said)
"What did you expect to happen?" - Everyone's mom
"Act with kindness, but don't expect gratitude." --Confucius
"If your heart is a volcano, how do you expect flowers to bloom." --Kahlil Gibran
"How wrong is it for a women to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than create it herself." --Anais Nin
"Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue." --Tao Te Ching, Book 10
Monday, July 27, 2009
Day of Day One: Fun with Skin
On my road trip home from Seattle with Heather and Jonathan last week, we played a game called "What the F#*@" while sitting by the campfire in front of our $29-a-night yert on the central Oregon coast. In this game (usually played with alcohol), each person is asked questions about how they would respond to specific situations. The other players try to predict how that person will respond. In theory, everyone is supposed to be honest. It tests how well the players know each other (and how honest we can be with ourselves).
One of my questions was, "Would you shave off the top layer of your skin and roll around in a sandbox for $100,000?" (Gives you an idea of the types of questions asked.)
F#*@ no! Jonathan thought I would.
I have a high pain threshold, but the thought of having my 5'9" worth of surface area fully stripped (even one dermal layer) sounded horrific--and potentially scar inducing.
So, what does this have to do with Day One? No, yoga is not like having your skin peeled.
I walked out of class--soaked in sweat head to toe--thinking a lot about skin. It's a crazy organ. And I'm not talking about the way it looks (or starts to look when you hit 41). The fact that it completely wraps the body and doesn't let anything slip out (unless it supposed to) is amazing. Excluding traumatic accidents or certain medical abnormalities, this intricate network of constantly reproducing cells is sturdy enough to hold in bone, muscle, and organs; while delicate enough to allow the passing back and forth of gases, water, and really expensive restorative face lotions! In the female body, it stretches--though sometimes rebelling--to accommodate an abdomen swelling with potential new life. Hats off to my sweet friend Mandy* who was in class today five months pregnant!
And then there's the whole issue of physical sensation--touch--from the pleasure of caresses, butterfly kisses, backrubs, nibbles, reassuring clasps, to the pain of burns, face smacks, nose punches, stabs (I'll stop there). We've all experienced pleasure and pain through our skin.
After about 15 minutes in a crowded studio heated to nearly 100 degrees, I become very aware of my skin. In a traditional workout, I sweat from a few key areas. I won't mention them--it's not attractive. But in this class every single pore I own pours forth. Then it continues for the next 90 minutes. That's a lot of sweat pouring forth! For some poses, the sweat is a challenge, which requires additional strength and focus to overcome. For instance: A sweaty right hand trying to hold onto a sweaty right foot as the torso leans forward and the right leg is raised into the air from behind. Try it--first with no sweat, and then with sweat. See!
But, overall, the sweat helps me feel like water myself--fluid, languid, snaking, flowing, and ebbing. Kind of like Zan, the Wonder Twin with the water powers! "Wonder Twin Powers activate, form of a water sprite!" Sorry Heather T., you won't know what that means.
At the end of class today, while relaxing in savasana--corpse pose--water was replaced by air. As I reclined on my back, my body temperature slowly decreasing, Rached opened a small window high on the wall next to me. Although the outside temperature was in the mid-80s, the air streaming in felt refreshing compared to what was going on in the studio. I mostly felt the sensation on my torso and pelvic area. I could sense the cool air slipping across my body, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from (though my brain knew it was entering through the window). For a few moments, it felt as if the cool air was rising out of me, through my skin, spreading across my limbs, and then rising and exiting through the window. That's a good way to feel.
I like the fact that I am a body of water!
"Wonder Twin Powers activate, form of a 32 oz. cherry Slurpee!" He, he, he....
*Mandy, by the way, is an amazing massage therapist who is preparing to open her own space in downtown Escondido. If you want more information, let me know....
One of my questions was, "Would you shave off the top layer of your skin and roll around in a sandbox for $100,000?" (Gives you an idea of the types of questions asked.)
F#*@ no! Jonathan thought I would.
I have a high pain threshold, but the thought of having my 5'9" worth of surface area fully stripped (even one dermal layer) sounded horrific--and potentially scar inducing.
So, what does this have to do with Day One? No, yoga is not like having your skin peeled.
I walked out of class--soaked in sweat head to toe--thinking a lot about skin. It's a crazy organ. And I'm not talking about the way it looks (or starts to look when you hit 41). The fact that it completely wraps the body and doesn't let anything slip out (unless it supposed to) is amazing. Excluding traumatic accidents or certain medical abnormalities, this intricate network of constantly reproducing cells is sturdy enough to hold in bone, muscle, and organs; while delicate enough to allow the passing back and forth of gases, water, and really expensive restorative face lotions! In the female body, it stretches--though sometimes rebelling--to accommodate an abdomen swelling with potential new life. Hats off to my sweet friend Mandy* who was in class today five months pregnant!
And then there's the whole issue of physical sensation--touch--from the pleasure of caresses, butterfly kisses, backrubs, nibbles, reassuring clasps, to the pain of burns, face smacks, nose punches, stabs (I'll stop there). We've all experienced pleasure and pain through our skin.
After about 15 minutes in a crowded studio heated to nearly 100 degrees, I become very aware of my skin. In a traditional workout, I sweat from a few key areas. I won't mention them--it's not attractive. But in this class every single pore I own pours forth. Then it continues for the next 90 minutes. That's a lot of sweat pouring forth! For some poses, the sweat is a challenge, which requires additional strength and focus to overcome. For instance: A sweaty right hand trying to hold onto a sweaty right foot as the torso leans forward and the right leg is raised into the air from behind. Try it--first with no sweat, and then with sweat. See!
But, overall, the sweat helps me feel like water myself--fluid, languid, snaking, flowing, and ebbing. Kind of like Zan, the Wonder Twin with the water powers! "Wonder Twin Powers activate, form of a water sprite!" Sorry Heather T., you won't know what that means.
At the end of class today, while relaxing in savasana--corpse pose--water was replaced by air. As I reclined on my back, my body temperature slowly decreasing, Rached opened a small window high on the wall next to me. Although the outside temperature was in the mid-80s, the air streaming in felt refreshing compared to what was going on in the studio. I mostly felt the sensation on my torso and pelvic area. I could sense the cool air slipping across my body, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from (though my brain knew it was entering through the window). For a few moments, it felt as if the cool air was rising out of me, through my skin, spreading across my limbs, and then rising and exiting through the window. That's a good way to feel.
I like the fact that I am a body of water!
"Wonder Twin Powers activate, form of a 32 oz. cherry Slurpee!" He, he, he....
*Mandy, by the way, is an amazing massage therapist who is preparing to open her own space in downtown Escondido. If you want more information, let me know....
Sunday, July 26, 2009
The Day before Day One
When I told a friend--an exremely disciplined and enlightened man--about my upcoming 40 yoga days, he claimed he'd rather endure daily enemas for the same period of time. Eh, so it's not everyone's idea of a good time. Maybe I'll feel the same way after a few sessions, especially if this heat wave continues.
Here are the guidelines for the "40 Day Revolution," as stipulated by my teacher:
1. Clear time for practice in the studio each day (Oops, I'll be in Big Bear the final weekend of the challenge. I can do two days of practice in the fresh mountain air).
2. Eat an organic vegetarian diet (lentils, lentils, lentils).
3. Hydrate.
4. Minimize or eliminate television and news (I can give up the TV, but maybe not my Sunday New York Times. And, dang it, Season 3 of Weeds arrives in three days).
5. When you want to quit--don't! It's not an option.
6. Include gentle yoga as needed.
7. Practice at home on days you cannot come to class.
The guidelines don't mention wine and martinis.......hmmmmm.....
So, let the cleansing begin......
Here are the guidelines for the "40 Day Revolution," as stipulated by my teacher:
1. Clear time for practice in the studio each day (Oops, I'll be in Big Bear the final weekend of the challenge. I can do two days of practice in the fresh mountain air).
2. Eat an organic vegetarian diet (lentils, lentils, lentils).
3. Hydrate.
4. Minimize or eliminate television and news (I can give up the TV, but maybe not my Sunday New York Times. And, dang it, Season 3 of Weeds arrives in three days).
5. When you want to quit--don't! It's not an option.
6. Include gentle yoga as needed.
7. Practice at home on days you cannot come to class.
The guidelines don't mention wine and martinis.......hmmmmm.....
So, let the cleansing begin......
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Vacation First...
Before heating up my life for 40 days, I'm going to head north for awhile in search of chilled Alaskan air and bald eagles. I love bald eagles. I hope to start the challenge the last week of July. Namaste!
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