Hatha

I did a Hatha Yoga practice this morning for an hour. I followed the Gentle Hatha Yoga #3 sequence with Jackie, from YogaDownload.

I did not like this sequence at all. I'm not a fan of sequencing that focuses exclusively on one side for several postures, then switches to the other side. It leaves me feeling unbalanced. There was definitely not enough pose/counterpose in this class and more than once, I felt like I needed to add counterposes of my own, or just come into Downward Facing Dog for a spell.

Interestingly, I looked back on the 20 minute and 30 minute versions of this sequence, which I tried last year, and I didn't like those either. For the same reason!

The rest of the day was full of fun. A much beloved and excellent vegan restaurant is shutting its doors after this weekend. My vegan buddy G messaged me and we made last minute plans for a late lunch.

Nothing is funnier than two vegans despairing over a menu that has too many options. We're not used to options! I finally decided on a yam/eggplant sandwich with sage hummus. It was awesome. G got the scrambled Tempeh. We shared a pumpkin spice waffle with banana-coconut compote for dessert.

Then I headed off to a party for a friend visiting from Vancouver. It was the best possible Ashtangi social schedule: I was home by 7:30 at night. Ha, ha!

I took my weekly State-of-the-Backbend photo on Wednesday. My middle is pouffy from LH, but the backbend isn't bad. I'm still focusing on breathing. I walk my hands, but never past the 'edge' where I'm not able to breath deeply and freely.

One thing I struggle with in backbends is keeping my breath duration long. Once I get into a pattern of quick and shallow breathing, I'm almost never able to get back to a better quality breath. So I've been using a metronome to give myself a point of reference. 4 beats inhale, 4 beats exhale. I know right away if my in-breath become shallow and too fast. It's not a new idea, but it's been really valuable to me for keeping my breath even in Urdhva Dhanurasana.

I was looking at past backbend photos and, though the changes are subtle, it's coming along slowly and slowly is just fine with me.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Vinyasa

I'm glad I practised yesterday, even though it was almost a Moon Day. I'm also glad I practised today, the 'real' Moon Day. I didn't do Astanga, just an easygoing Vinyasa class.

Bad Lady Lite? ;-)

I did a YogaDownload class, 'Heart Opening Flow' with Jackie. After months of silent Astanga self-practice, it felt weird doing YogaDownload again. I was struck by how awkward some of the cues were, but I appreciated being led through a unique sequence, with a teacher to keep things moving along (or not - some of the holds felt interminable to me).

The sequence was a continuous flow of standing poses with no inversions. But there were backbends, glorious backbends! And what a difference a couple of months of Intermediate Series practice makes! I was totally rocking the backbends. I've done this class before and found the backbends challenging in the past. Not today. Today, I found them fun and satisfying.

Yay!

It was just an hour - enough to get me warmed up and stretched out before heading off to teach my class. And when I came home, Aunt Flo was waiting for me. Drat. It may be Wednesday before I'm back to my Astanga practice. That's lousy timing. :-(

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I shot a State-of-the-Backbend photo earlier this week. In my backbending, I've been focusing on alignment and not carrying tension into the posture. I've been walking my hands in, but only to a point where my breathing is still deep and free flowing. As soon as I feel tense or constricted, I bail out (and try again).

If D managed to convey just one concept to me vividly, it's this: No breath, no Prana. If I'm holding tension in my body, I'm blocking the flow of energy in the pose and there's no benefit. If I'm not breathing deeply in a pose or the breath feels 'blocked', I need to figure out why.

In this photo, I emphasized proper alignment of my feet and especially my shoulders. Then I only walked my hands in a bit. I wanted to find my 'edge' but still be able to breath deeply.





What surprises me about this photo is how deep the backbend is given that I'm not engaging in any heroics or trying to walk my hands a huge distance. In past SOTB photos I've walked my hands in until I was gasping for breath. In those photos, the backbends look great but I'm DYING to get out of them because they feel *awful*.

Maybe it's just me, but I think I *look* more relaxed here than in past photos (and damn, it looks like my feet are turned out again. How does this happen?! Grrr.)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Hatha

I didn’t get around to doing my yoga practice until the afternoon. YogaDownload announced a new class, Gentle Hatha #4 and since I’m a big fan of this series, I downloaded all four time formats immediately. I did the 30 minute version. It wasn’t bad, but I prefer some of Jackie’s other classes. I also found the music intrusive (this isn’t always the case - occasionally, Yoga Download is able to strike the right balance and the music enhances the practice).

Perhaps I’ll enjoy the longer versions more. Or maybe I was just in a dour mood (always a possibility, during my Lady’s). It felt good to get on the mat though, and weird to be practising so late in the day. I’ve become very accustomed to early-morning practices.

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This weekend, I’m attending workshops with local teachers (next weekend, I’ll get a break, but I’m doing a couple more the following weekend).

This afternoon, it was a Kirtan/Chanting workshop with the leader of a Kirtan band. I’ve been studying yoga philosophy, chanting, and Shruti Box with her for a couple of years. I find that I don’t integrate chanting into my classes nearly enough. I was hoping that this instruction in Kirtan (call and response chanting) would help me develop confidence to teach chanting to my students.

The workshop was actually very comprehensive. Not only did it cover the ins and outs of call-and-response - we explored the musicality of Kirtan: pacing, volume, improvisation and audience dynamics. Even with a background in music, I found this incredibly complex. At the end of the workshop, we split into groups and prepared variations on the original chant which we then ‘taught’ to the other group through a Kirtan.

It wasn’t easy! I actually messed up our chant and, of course, my ‘audience’ got it wrong along with me, so I corrected myself and they followed along with my correction! When my group finished, I exclaimed: “That’s harder than teaching a yoga class!” And it is! When you screw up, everyone else screws up right along with you. Our instructor was acting as the percussionist and she and I totally got our wires crossed with the pacing too (I wanted to speed things up, she pulled back).

It gave me deeper appreciation for Kirtans and the musicians who offer them. It was difficult enough to lead my small ‘band’ and read the audience’s response. I can’t imagine what this would be like with a percussionist, keyboardist, guitarist, etc. AND a huge live audience of people, many of whom have never attended a ‘call and response’ performance. Eek!

For the curious, here's a YouTube clip of a Shruti Box. This one looks very similar to my MKS:



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Sometime on Friday, I kind of ‘let go’ of any expectations around my birthday. Due to the Big Life Change, I had put off planning anything and it was too hard to pull anything together at the last minute.

So on Friday, I worked my regular shift at the soup kitchen and brought cupcakes for everyone (they were a hit!). I met up with a good friend for dessert, but I was too tired to go dancing.

This evening after the workshop, I headed out to meet a few friends for dinner, thinking I might see one or two of my favourite people and that would be fine. Imagine my delight when pretty much everyone I wanted to see was there! It was deeply moving to connect with so many old friends and embrace a community of people I had lost touch with over the past year. I had a fabulous vegetarian meal, got free dessert (and you know how I love my dessert!) and I danced for hours afterwards with my buddies.

Best. Birthday. EVER!!!!

Hatha

Yesterday was a spectacularly BAD day with Murphy’s Law moments throughout. Since I was already grumpy, I decided to spend the evening doing tax preparation. Misery loves company and my taxes were lonely! At least I got something done!

Then I slept in and THAT was great!

I had just enough time to do a 45 minute Hatha practice this morning. I’ve tried all of the Hatha offerings from YogaDownload (there are not many) so I repeated one: Gentle Hatha Flow #2, 45 minutes with Jackie. I was curious to know why I had given this particular class a rating of ‘4’ and the 30 minute version of the same class a rating of ‘5’.

The answer: I didn’t like the additional postures that were added to make the longer recording. I gave the 60 minute version a ‘3’ so I guess it was all downhill with the added poses. I may stick with the shorter versions of this class.

I took a State-of-the-Backbend photo after practice on Thursday this week, just before my Lady’s hit. I was pleased to see some progress! I can definitely see an opening in the shoulders. The big change I made to my practice this week was to walk my hands in and push UP in my Urdhva Dhanurasana. It seems to be working!



It’s know hard to see the difference in my backbends from photo to photo so I did an experiment. Using my MacBook as a ‘lightbox’, I traced over the backbend photo from mid-January and compared it to this most recent one. The purple lines are January, the red lines are February:


I see a huge difference in the shoulders. It’s more difficult to see if there’s any change in the back - I’m not sure if I traced that part accurately. I feel like my backend is 'moving', though. I feel a deeper stretch in my upper torso.

Vinyasa

I’m having the BEST day! All fun, all day! When I’m Queen of the World, all Valentines Day holidays will fall on a Sunday, on a Moon Day.

I had an hour for my practice this morning, so I did a YogaDownload audio vinyasa class, one of the good ones that I was saving for a special occasion. OMG, it was *awesome*. Loved it!

I did Power Vinyasa Flow #3, 60 minutes with Jackie. From the get-go, the class had clear, logical flow sequences that kept moving and moving and moving. There was lots of fun stuff thrown in to keep things interestesting too: Ardha Chandrasana, Paravritta Ardha Chandrasana, Svarga Dvidasana (bird of paradise pose) and even a headstand. There was a shoulderstand at the end, but no counterpose to it - that’s my only gripe (But a minor one: I quickly did Matsyasana before moving into Savasana and it was fine).

Other fun for Valentines Day:
- Banana Pancakes! And our favourite guy was working the counter so we got an update on his educational adventures (he went back to school recently)
- Free museum passes, a perk from our public library! I finally got to see the exhibit of lotus shoes. Whoa, freaky!
- Biscotti. With frosting on it.
- Chocolate covered butter brickle
- Mini Cupcakes: tiny, bite-sized indulgence
- One of my favourite all-time movies, on DVD: Beverly Hills Cop. I haven’t seen it since I was a teenager. Damn, that’s a fine film!
- And coming soon: Thai food at my favourite neighbourhood Thai restaurant. Red Thai Curry? Yes, please!

As you can see, I’m having a good day.

There were a few interesting hits in my stats this week. I particularly loved that last one. Cookies! Somebody out there knows me pretty well!

This week...The Internet Asks (interesting search strings from my access stats)

astanga motivation low:
The old Nike advertising slogan, ‘Just Do It, applies here. Low motivation? Just do it. Do the Surya Namaskara A’s, do the B’s, do the standing poses, do all the seated up to Navasana and if you’re still struggling at that point, maybe it’s time to call a ‘half Primary’ and do the finishing poses. Don’t beat yourself up, but also remember: some of the best practices start with low motivation.

practicing ashtanga during menstruation:
Eek! I don’t want to become the posterchild for this. So, just to set the record straight: In my experience (which is exactly twice: when I opted to do daily Astanga for World Yoga Practice Month), intense yoga practices like Astanga are not healthy during menstruation. Inversions are not a great idea either. I’ve had some good results with gentle yoga around the time of my Lady’s Holiday. Bobby Clennell’s book is a good resource for this.

reluctant ashtangi cookies:
Yes, please!

The famous Death by Chocolate Cookies that rule my Saturdays!

Vinyasa

Yes, of course, it's Sting. And here I thought I was being all clever and mysterious!

Seriously! *I* wouldn't have known that was Sting if somebody didn't point it out. But then, I live in a pop culture vacuum. You see? This is what I get for not watching television or reading Perez Hilton. ;-D

In the comments on that post, Claudia was all heartbroken because she didn't get to see Sting in a loincloth. Since we're a full-service weblog here at the Reluctant Ashtangi, here is Sting-in-a-loincloth, embedded for your viewing pleasure:



I'm wondering if that's *really* a loincloth though. It looks more like extra fancy tidy-whities to me. Anyways, this clip was shot in 1993 and every single pose in it is a 'rock star pose' Sting's looking good! Believe me, none of you want to see me doing Astanga in *my* underwear.

The Gregor Maehle Intermediate Series book finally made it to Canada. Last night, I was snug and warm in my tiny apartment, hunkered down with a good book and a cup of hot tea when I realised that The Book was in the stores. So, of course, I packed up and headed out into the cold, to my local bookstore.

In Canada, Maehle's book is SO new, it wasn't even out on the floor yet (I had to ask an employee find it in the store room). I feel like the last 'Ashtangi in the Ashtangaverse' to read this thing. I'm only a few pages in, but so far, it's good. I like Maehle for his clarity. He takes complex topics and makes them succinct. This is a value-added when the topic is Yoga Philosophy.

I guess I was serious when I said that I could do that Power Vinyasa Flow #3 all week. Today, I was pressed for time in the morning, so I tried the 20 minute version of this class. It's just as awesome as the 30 minute version because they left all the fun stuff in there. The 20 minute version is free, so you can download and try it if you like. Just be sure to download the PDF as a visual guide because some of the poses are obscure.

Vinyasa

Tonight was the Big Festive Holiday Supper for the soup kitchen programme I volunteer with. We fed upwards of 650 guests and gave out small gifts too. It was hectic, but very fun. I wore a festive ribbon on my apron, with a garnish of holly, red turtleneck and a little silver jingle bell. I was holiday themed!

I only volunteer on Wednesday nights when my schedule slows, but the crew of Wednesday regulars totally remembered me and I was touched by the enthusiastic greeting I received from my fellow volunteers.

I'll be at the soup kitchen for almost all the meals over the next few weeks, including the Wednesday supper and the Thursday morning breakfast in addition to my regular Fridays. This is something I do every year when my schedule slows down and I really enjoy it. It keeps me busy.

I honoured the Moon Day today and didn't do an Astanga practice. Instead, I tried a YogaDownload class, Power Vinyasa Flow #3, 30 minutes, with Jackie.

Goodness, I enjoyed this! This particular class is brand new to me, but it was SO good (Jackie is really growing on me). The sequence was snappy, fun and challenging. It made me want to drop everything else for the next week and just work on mastering these transitions (lots of balancing).

Happily, I've only done the 30 minute version so far, so I can look forward to trying the 20, 45 and 60 minute versions of this one.

I was impressed with the preparatory variation for Vasisthasana - I'll be using that for my own classes. I also loved moving from a bound squat into Bird of Paradise, Svarga Dvidasana. Svarga certainly isn't my 'rock star pose' - I can't straighten my lifted leg completely. But it's fun!

And it appears the REAL rock stars can't straighten their legs in the pose either, so I don't feel *too* bad about it.

;-D

Anyone want to take a guess? I found this on the Internet.

Behold those deltoids!

Hatha

The whirlwind week is ending in a whirlwind day! I feel like I've been spinning in circles since I woke. I arrived home very late last night and went to sleep very late (a combination of a post-class energy spike and a new-gadget energy spike; take a guess!).

I slept in this morning.

I did a shorter meditation session because I'll be attending the meditation group tonight.

Then I did a short, 26-minute Hatha Yoga sequence, Gentle Hatha Flow #2 with Jackie. It felt good to *move*, to flow into something more active and energetic. Lately, I've noticed something interesting about my practice, though: after these couple days of restorative yoga, I feel very comfortable settling into stillness in my poses and moving in a slow, measured way between them. I feel graceful, like a dancer.

I know a few of you are still waiting in suspense for the end of my 'story'.

I finally figured out where that Kindle came from and it really *was* for me. I was a bit worried about this, actually. Wouldn’t it have been a bummer to find out that it was all a Big Mistake and I had to send it back? I was so excited about it!

My mother, a diligent holiday-planner and deeply aware of the deficiencies of our Canada Post mail system (particularly when it comes to packages from the States), decided to order early to avoid disappointment. She figured there would be plenty of time to warn me that the package was on its way. After all, the order had to processed, the package sent, passed through customs and delivered.

It just never dawned on her that the Kindle would arrive on my doorstep less than 24 hours after she placed the order!

Apparently, the United Parcel Service has the *Mad Skillz*

But why did she send it SO early? This is so cute: My mother knows that my schedule lightens up around the holidays. She figured that during my 'down time', I would be able to set the Kindle up and figure it out. A whole MONTH!

Ha, ha!!!! I had that puppy set up within 10 minutes of opening the box! Within 15 minutes, I had bought my first book (Eknath Easwaran's translation of the Bhagavad Gita, of course!)

By the that afternoon, I made my first accidental purchase. Riding along in the streetcar, I accidentally bumped the 'buy' button as I was browsing Georg Feuerstein's 'The Yoga Tradition'. Thank goodness my 'accident' was a book I actually want! In fact, this is the kind of book the Kindle was made for: The print edition of 'Yoga Tradition' is the size of a coffee table book and weighs a tonne. I would never drag it around the city with me. Thus, I've never managed to get around to re-reading it, even though I wanted to.

So, for now, my yoga-philosophy-dork appetite is sated.

Then today, I discovered the universe of FREE Kindle books, which was kind of a relief. For all that I love the technical, geeky goodness of this thing, the hard truth is, I get most of my books from the library. And my library's e-book system doesn't yet support Kindle. But many older books are freely distributed, mostly through initiatives like Project Gutenberg.

I have a feeling that that Kindle will be able to do something my high school English teacher was never able to accomplish: get me pumped up about reading the classics. I'm in the midst of 'The Secret Garden' right now and having a great time!

Vinyasa

I played a late ice hockey game last night. I didn’t have any spectacular moments in this game, but it was very fast and rough. We played the undefeated team (Or, I should say, the formerly undefeated team, since we defeated them *grin*).

Their players were like TANKS. I tangled with one of them behind the net and I heard a teammate yell: “Just hold her there“ Like this one might do less damage tangled in my legs than in front of the net. I was a doorstop! I made a really terrific pass that almost, ALMOST went in the net (but didn’t').

Final score: We won, 4-1. But the entire time, it felt like we were LOSING because the other team was so aggressive and we were working so hard.

I was SO tired. Evening mediation was a sleepy affair and I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Morning meditation was also a sleepy affair. I was actually drifting off as I sat. I managed to rally in the second 10 minutes of the session, but I was falling asleep again toward the end. Argh.

Practice was very, very sluggish. I did Morning Flow #1, 30 minutes with Dawnelle. YogaDownload did a good job of paring the longer sequence down to 30 minutes. There was only one awkward splice - between the two sides of Flipped Dog (which transitioned so quickly, I was totally thrown off). This sequence has many backbends, which woke me up a bit.

Still feeling tired (and now with a headache), I walked the dog, finished up the last few things I absolutely *needed* to get done and I laid down for a nap. Good move! I slept for over an hour-and-a-half and felt much better for it.

The lesson from this morning: I need to be more careful to get adequate sleep. I really do need a full 8 hours every night. With adding an evening meditation practice and sticking to an early schedule, I've been skimping on sleep. My body just sent me a memo. Now I know!

In other news, I received an exciting package in the mail this morning. My new portable Zafu arrived! (No, I didn't get a Prapatti, though I've sent an inquiry to that company asking for information. More on this soon). I'm going to try the Mobile Meditator out during my evening meditation tonight.

Hatha

The power came back in the afternoon yesterday, but the hot water was out until early evening. I finally toughed it out and took a sponge bath (brrr!), then ran my errands. It wasn't a bad day at all - it just unfolded differently than I thought it would.

I rode public transit to the Big Box Pet Store in the north-east end of the city. I almost never shop there but they carry those big wire dog crates. Princess Fur is fully crate-trained, almost to a fault: she howls like her heart is broken if I *don't* crate her when I leave.

She's had the same breed-appropriate travel crate for years but it seems so small. I know all she does is sleep when I'm away, but I wanted her to have more elbow room. I tried out her new 'Doggie Condo' (it was incredibly simple to construct, took mere seconds - Ikea, eat your heart out!). I can crawl into it and close the door (okay, in Balasana, but *still*) so I think it's big enough!

The rest of the day was dedicated to 'lazy'. I took a blissful nap in the afternoon, then knitted rows on my green sock. It's beginning to look like something substantial now and that's very exciting!

I'm discovering that I'm more of a 'process knitter' than an 'end product knitter'. I enjoy the repetitive flow of knitting; the meditative aspect. The fact that something useful emerges in the end is great, but it's the journey that makes me happy. I think I may become one of those psycho-sock-knitters. Now that I have the hang of it, I'm loving socks.

This morning, I eased back into my morning routine, slightly modified to account for the fact that we're *still* on Daylight Savings Time and it's very dark in the mornings. I'm envious of the Brits and Europeans who already 'fell back' this past weekend. It was too dark to go for a walk, so I practised yoga after my meditation, ate breakfast, then walked. My morning felt churned up, but it worked out okay. In fact, this may be my new schedule going into winter.

For my yoga practice, I followed Gentle Hatha Flow #2, 60 minutes with Jackie. The 60 minute version of this practice feels more 'complete' than the 45 minute one - I think I prefer it. I almost did a Yin practice this morning, but I'm glad I did something more active. I'll be back to vinyasa style tomorrow.

I chuckled with sympathy when I heard Jackie make one of my own infamous cueing errors. Going from Downward Dog to Forward Bend, the cue should convey stepping the left foot to join the right at the front of the mat. She said: “Step your left foot back to join your right” Oops! Step back to step forward? (sounds like my life some of the time! ha, ha).

I still remember blurting out this silly cue during my first year of teaching. The chaos that resulted left a deep impression on me.

Words really do matter.

Vinyasa

I'm having a genuine 'yoga slump' right now. For a week, I've been excited about this weekend. My girlfriend is away and I had this vision of long, lazy yoga practices. None of that has come to pass (I've been doing my practice each day, but reluctantly), but I'm doing a lot of thinking, re-evaluating.

Here's a thought: I spend way too much time on the computer. Yesterday, I cast a critical eye to my RSS feeds and purged, purged, purged. I whittled my list down to a manageable size and I'm going to keep it that way. My goal is to spend no more than a half-hour daily reading feeds. Don't get me wrong - I love reading blogs, but the Internet was beginning to swallow my life.

Since returning to daily meditation, I've started examining other areas of my spiritual practice. I've been dedicating time before bed to reading spiritual writings (right now, I'm re-reading Easwaran's translation of the Upanishads). This has been amazing actually. I want to re-read the Gita next (I usually read the Gita once a year anyway).

A part of my spiritual practice is serving others. My teaching gives me opportunities to put others first, but I still found this area lacking.

To be honest, I've really missed doing my volunteer work. Some of my long-time readers will remember that I used to volunteer regularly at a soup kitchen downtown. My schedule shifted in the spring and it was no longer possible for me to go to the Thursday morning breakfast programme. But a new meal was added on Friday evenings and that's one of my nights off! Happily, some of my favourite people from the Wednesday dinner are working at this one!

I volunteered at the dinner last night. It was so much fun to go back and see old friends. I love this programme because we make no demands of our guests. They don't have to sing songs or listen to sermons to get their meal (and the food is *amazing*). They truly are our 'guests' - we treat each person who comes in as if they were a visitor in our home.

It was fabulous and I'm definitely going to make time for this each week from now on.

Finally, I've been searching for a spiritual community to be a part of. For a while, I was going to Quaker Meetings. The Friends are very welcoming to all comers and since the Meetings are essentially a one-hour meditation, it was working for me. I'm not sure why I stopped going. I guess since Sunday is my only day off, I was feeling over-scheduled.

I signed up for a mailing list for followers of the meditation method I use, but never heard back. This was a disappointment. The thing I like about Easwaran's 8-point programme is that it's comprehensive - it's not *just* about meditation.

Last night, I attended a local women's meditation group that meets monthly. It was an interesting experience (which I will probably deconstruct in hilarious detail in my private blog). Suffice to say, many things surprised me. The fact that we were meditating in chairs surprised me (I didn't - I sat on the floor, but most people were in chairs). The fact that the leader of this group questioned my meditation practice surprised me (Specifically, she questioned the method I use to meditate).

I was polite, but in the back of my mind, I was all 'Dude, seriously?'

I mean, c'mon...we're sitting silently with our eyes closed for 30 minutes. Does it REALLY matter what method I use to still my mind?

To be fair, she may have just been trying to make sure that I understood meditation and felt comfortable. But I got a strong 'do-it-my-way' vibe which automatically triggered my 'fuck-you' reflex.

So, that was that. I'll probably go to the November session, just to feel it out a bit more.

Today's yoga practice came after a period of earnest procrastination that involved doing dishes, sweeping the floor and cleaning up my desk. Finally, I settled down on my mat to do 5 Surya Namaskara A's and then a YogaDownload practice, Heart Opening Flow #1, 20 min, with Jackie (this is another one of the *free* classes; yes, this means you can download free of charge).

I've done longer versions of this one, so I already knew that I liked it. I skipped Ustrasana, though. Backbends are not my friend this week.

Maybe there will be some Astanga tomorrow. Maybe.

Hatha

I'm drinking hot chai to revive myself. I've felt exhausted all morning. I felt sleepy during my asana practice and I was falling asleep during my meditation session. And yes, I'm getting plenty of sleep. I might be fighting off the edge of a teeny-tiny cold though. I've been taking ColdFX and using the neti pot twice a day to fight it off. My throat was scratchy yesterday, but fine today. Now I just have a sniffle.

Need to wake up. I have a long day ahead and four classes to teach!

I did something weird to my back and I'm going to blame it on hockey - I took a hard fall halfway through the second period (tripping, but the ref didn't call it). I'm pretty sure it's just muscular because I was fine on Tuesday (muscular aches usually show up 48 hours after the exertion). By late yesterday, I was very sore.

Lattisimus dorsi, maybe? My lower torso feels achy when I twist. I took an easy Hatha practice today, starting with 10 Surya Namaskar Classic and moving on to Gentle Hatha Flow #1, 20 minutes with Jackie.

This is a nice, easy-going practice and was exactly what I needed today. With the sun salutations, I practiced for 30 minutes (and warmed up a bit). I like the way Jackie keeps the body moving in this flow without introducing too much effort. Lots of hamstring work. This is one of the free classes on the site.

Vinyasa

This morning, I did the Heart Opening Flow #1 with Jackie (YogaDownload). I liked this sequence better this time than I did the last time I tried it (45 minute version). I wonder if part of it is just becoming accustomed to the style of the flows and the various poses used on YogaDownload (I find that there is definitely a consistency in transitions and the poses even between instructors).

I had a pretty good Thanksgiving. Yesterday was the 'non-traditional' celebration. I met up with the girlfriend for supper at our favourite sushi place. Afterward, we were browsing a bookstore a few doors down when the power went off. The corner café had candles out when we arrived for dessert. I had a big slice of Chocolate Explosion cake. First time I've had my favourite cake in months and it wasn't as good as I remembered. Hm. Maybe my tastes are changing? It was too sweet...

Real Thanksgiving was on Saturday night and it was marvelous, with great food, fun with friends, lots of knitting (yes, I had to be 'that girl', the one who brings her knitting to the party) and Wii.

I've played around with Wii once before and I've even played the drum set in Rock Band. But I had never tried Wii Yoga. I have to admit, I was really curious. My friend J set it up for me. It had been so long since he used Wii Fit, he had to reinitialize the platform. When he started the programme, it chided him gently: “It's been 118 days since you logged in.” It also noted that he weighed more than he had the last time he logged on. FAIL! Ha, ha!

Wii Yoga? It's stupid. It's all about balancing on a platform so that the little dot stays in the yellow circle. In order to do this, it's necessary to do the posture *wrong*. After I tried Vriksasana (Tree Pose) and rated a big fat Zero (Yoga Amateur!), J shooed me off the platform and demonstrated. He could keep the dot in the circle, but his body was contorted like Astavakra. Geez! What a waste of time.

Wii Yoga is coming out soon and Yoga Dork reviews it here. I won't be buying it.

The other games were better. The platform thingie is fun for other stuff. And I totally rock at Wii bowling. Especially when I do it sitting on the couch and don't bother to put down my knitting. This is when I had my best luck with the game. I'm an awesome couch knitting bowler! I beat everyone except J!

Vinyasa

Today has been non-stop since I woke up at 6:30 a.m.

I'm on a bit of a 'to-do-list' kick right now. Laundry was on my list. I managed to finish two loads while I was doing other things. I took the dog for a walk as the clothes washed, I practised yoga as the clothes dried.

On my way home from teaching a noon class, I stopped and bought groceries. On the bright side, if I can finish these chores now, I'll be able to be a complete vegetable on Sunday, my one day off.

There was a surprise waiting for me in the laundry room. We're moving into a brand new era with my run-down 40-year-old apartment building. Recently, the management replaced the washers and dryers with brand new models! And they work!

The elevators are being modernized too and there's going to be a sauna and exercise room in the basement. The superintendent told me that the sauna opens in a month. I love saunas! Maybe the exercise room will have space for yoga too!

Imagine this: Sauna first, yoga afterward. I'll be like Gumby!

I'm eagerly watching this all unfold. After years of crappy slum-lord-style management and no amenities to speak of, it's pretty exciting to finally have a few perks (and elevators that run properly!).

I did 45 minutes of flow yoga this morning, following the Heart Opening Flow #1 sequence with Jackie. The last time I tried this sequence (the 60 minute version), I didn't like it very much. I guess I've adjusted to Jackie's teaching style because I didn't find her cueing quite as 'over the top' as I did last time.

There was one moment though, when she was talking about stretching the deltoids, and using a syrupy 'Yoga Teacher Voice', when I rolled my eyes. Hard core anatomical descriptions and Yoga Teacher Voice just don't mix well.

I'm off to teach still more classes. One down, three to go. I'll be rolling in around 8 p.m. tonight, exhausted.

I need to meditate before I leave. Yikes, and the dog needs to go out. And are those dishes in the sink? Better get a move on...

Hatha

Last night, I was out until the wee hours celebrating a friend's birthday, then I hoofed it around town on the annual city-wide arts festival. I finally rolled into bed at 1:30 a.m., but I didn't manage to sleep in past 7:30. I tried unsuccessfully to nap. Usually when I'm nap-resistant, it's best to just get on with my day, so that's what I did.

I picked up my guitar first thing, because I haven't practised in a couple of days and I knew I would skip again if I waited until later on in the day. I'm back to regular lessons again (my next is tomorrow). I took the dog for a walk before the daily rainstorm rolled in. It's been a wet and cold October so far!

For my asana practice, I did an easy hour of Hatha. The 60 minute Gentle Hatha #2 with Jackie is a pretty laid back sequence, though parts of it were vigourous enough that I felt some internal heat. I was savouring the long holds today. This was exactly what I needed.

But by far the best part of my morning was meditation. I'm glad I stuck with this goal during the first couple of difficult weeks. Now that I've settled into a routine and I feel comfortable with the technique I'm using, I'm loving it. It's not easy, but it's not painful anymore.

Hatha

I don't want to go to ice hockey. I never *want* to go. Once I get there and I'm skating, I'm fine and I have a great time, but there's always the dread factor.

Tonight, I play the late game. This means it will be dark and cold and it's pouring out. Maybe I'm getting too old for this. Best Hockey Friend and I were discussing it on the bench last week. She's pushing 50, thinking this might be her last year. If she doesn't sign up again, I don't know if I will. I almost didn't bother to sign up for this season, but she talked me into it.

This is my 11th year in the league.

I did a 45 minute hatha practice this morning, Gentle Hatha #1 with Jackie. It's the last day of my Lady's so tomorrow will be back to Astanga. I'm missing my inversions.

Hatha

And the holiday continues. This morning, I practised to Gentle Hatha Yoga #2 with Jackie, 30 minutes. Soothing, relaxing, lovely and it occurred to me as I practised: there isn't a single Chaturanga in this entire thing. It's all about stepping gently back and forward, no jumps, no stress, no standing poses. Holiday indeed!

Today was CPR day, all day. Argh. I'm required by one of my clients to carry an up-to-date CPR card. They've been so lax about it that I never bothered to keep it up after the initial course (boring, 8 hours, in the boondocks suburbs; at the time I thought “I'm never doing THAT again”). Well, they're cracking down. I have to have it before Wednesday.

It's expensive, but I decided that I would rather pay an extra 20 bucks and do the course downtown rather than travel to deepest darkest suburbia. I located a company that offers the course, signed up, showed up this morning and discovered that the owner is an acquaintance (we once worked at the same community centre). Long story short: all employees of that community centre receive free CPR training from her company by default. Since I still teach there, she handed me a cash refund during the break. Cha-ching!

It felt like Christmas, a gift from Santa Claus that goes directly into my 'pay the rent' fund. Well, I *did* buy myself lunch.

The course was boring. I remembered almost everything from 5 years ago. I sat there knitting my hat and blithely offering answers when she questioned the class on the material. I was the only yoga teacher there and the only grown-up. The class took place at a culinary college and they were all 19-year-old chef students.

The best part of the afternoon was the first aid training, especially bandaging knife wounds. The whole class just perked right up. Relevant material! I guess they've seen their share of cuts and amputated fingers.

Hatha

Well, *that* was wonderful! I just finished a Hatha style class from YogaDownload. I decided to try Gentle Hatha Yoga #1 with Jackie, 30 minute version. It was exactly what the doctor ordered for the lethargic Lady's Holiday mood I'm in today.

There wasn't a single standing pose (aside from Uttanasana) or inversion in the entire sequence. Most of it was low to the mat, Adho Mukha Svanasana and low lunges, some Eka Pada Raj Kapotanasana (Pigeon), which I love, lots of twists, all very gentle.

The instructor, Jackie, has a soothing voice and it's easy on the ears. These are Hatha classes so they're 'talkier' than the flow classes, but the information is relevant and alignment-oriented (no one is telling you to 'explore the energy of your chakras').

The only thing I would have added was a Paschimottanasana right after the Baddha Konasana. I checked the cheat sheet for the 45 minute version class and voilá! There it was! I don't know what's going on with my hamstrings today, but they're wide open. In Paschimottanasana, I was able to fold forward and rest my face between my shins. Nice! I love open hamstring days.

The other versions look excellent. Poses are added on at the end of the sequence in the longer versions (rather than subtracting them from the middle to create shorter versions; I'm discovering that this may be preferable, as it avoids gaps and inconsistencies). I downloaded all of them and also downloaded all versions of Gentle Hatha #2. This is my homework for the Lady's Hols.