Breaking news! It's snowing! In Canada!

In fact, it's snowing pretty much *everywhere*. Except Hawaii. And Belize. We're having a storm!

Since I live in a Happy Little Yoga Bubble and rarely partake of mainstream media or news sources, this information came to me a bit late. I was teaching a kid's yoga class last night when one of the six-year-olds blithely informed me that a 'big storm was coming' and that 'school was cancelled'. I thought she was joking until I Iooked at the forecast.

The first snowfall hit overnight. It was enough to close ALL the schools, but not enough to keep me and 11 other people from attending Peanut's 9:30 class at Hot Central. And it wasn't enough to deter any of my noon students. I taught a fiery vinyasa practice to a full room!

But all of my evening classes were cancelled, which means I had a rare and wonderful 'snow day.' I spent the day curled up in the window seat watching the second snowfall cover the city with a white blanket. Then Princess Fur and I played in the park.


Princess Fur is not a fan of her winter gear. She averts her eyes and refuses to look at me as I put her boots on, then she stays rooted in one place, barely moving a muscle, abject misery written all over her face. Until the elevator comes and I force her to 'come'.


She's fine once we get outside. In fact, she loves the snow! She was a November puppy, so this is what the world is *supposed* to look like in her eyes.

Snow removal is a bit funny in our city. There are strict laws that govern the shoveling of sidewalks. Home owners are required to shovel the walks in front of their property - strict fines are levied if they don't comply. But the actually *streets* in our neighbourhoods are sometimes not cleared for days, as the city plows focus on the main roads.


And of course, the park ice rink is cleared right away, hand-shoveled by eager little ice hockey enthusiasts who are home from school! (I've done it, back when I used to volunteer for the rink - it's a heavy task!).

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Practice Report

Today, I took a class at Hot Central. Surprise! Midweek Bikram Yoga!

Last week, I went to the Friday community class and that was great, but I keenly missed Peanut's Wednesday morning class. Wednesday were always my favourite day!

I was mulling over various options for class passes when the universe firmly intervened. I was offered a discount on classes which brought the price into an affordable range and then that *exact* dollar amount magically dropped into my account. When the universe speaks *so* clearly, I must listen. I'm set for hot classes through the fall. I can even occasionally attend Almond's Monday morning class.

For the foreseeable future, the weekly plan is: 4 days of Astanga, 2 days of Bikram, 1 day of Yin (on Sunday, which is now firmly my *day off*; no classes and very light practice).

Ironically, I was feeling somewhat 'off' this morning; a bit low energy. The room wasn't too hot, but for some reason I was dizzy and queasy - a first for me. But I just carried on as usual and it was fine.

I warmed up with my usual hip openers and six Urdhva Dhanurasana, then stood on my head until class started. The standing poses were tough, but I was fine for the seated. Peanut is very generous with feedback and he pushes us without being an asshole about it. I learned a few new things about standing-head-to-knee today and with his encouragement, I touched my knee to my shoulder for the first time in Pavan Muktasana. Honestly, I never thought I would do that!

It was fun to see some of my Bikram 'shalamates' again. After 30 days of morning classes, I had started to know a few people. I chatted with the guy who always sets up his mat to my right. A local teacher also comes to these morning classes regularly. We rarely talk, but it's nice to see her around and to know there's a fellow Ashtangi in the room.

It felt comfy falling back into the easy routine I followed in January, even if only for a day. Tomorrow, it's back to Astanga.

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