Too much candy makes you sick

Wow, am I ever tired of the never-ending, when-will-it-die discussion of Scant Yoga Clothing. Just when I thought it was finally over for good, it popped up again in the blogosphere this week, just like an annoying relative who doesn't know when to leave.

Hey, Short Shorts! You've outstayed your welcome. Now scurry along and don't let the door smack you on your exposed buttcheeks.

I swear, I'm going to buy a pair of those miniscule shorts, then wear them the next time I go to Shala North and scare all my friends. Trust me, I'm NOT a person who should be wearing tiny shorts. My yoga shorts resemble granny-panties for good reason: I'm no longer twenty years old!

(although, I have to admit - the gentlemen pictured above are TOTALLY pulling it off!)

A few words about my practice...

I've been maintaining a 5-day practice schedule of Astanga. This week, I did my full practice (Primary, first 8 Intermediate poses) on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and went to a Bikram class on Wednesday. Tonight, I went to an evening Vinyasa class too, so I'm bone-exhausted.

I had a funny moment in the class tonight. All week, I've been teaching Galavasana in my classes, carefully chopping the pose into managable 'phases' so the beginning students won't feel too overwhelmed and I've also demo'ed the full pose for my students.

It's interesting the way this posture has popped up over the course of the week. I ran across a magazine article about the pose, then a friend who's fairly new to yoga wrote a FB status about learning the pose. Between hearing about it, reading about it, doing it and teaching it, by the end of the week, I was feeling pretty Galavasana'ed out.

As I headed to class this evening, I was thinking what a privilege it was to go to a class taught by a colleague and experience yoga as a student: "This is awesome! 90 whole minutes of 'me time' and fun vinaysa!" And almost as an afterthought: "I won't have to do Galavasana! Yay!"

Guess what the arm balance was tonight? Yup! What are the odds? This week, the universe was giving me more Galavasana than I could handle. I was so tired, I could barely manage it tonight! I totally tanked. My Bandhas said 'uncle'.

I'm SO glad I have the weekend off. Tomorrow, I'll practice Primary. With the Moon Day on Saturday and my regular rest day on Sunday, I'll have a two-day vacation from Astanga, though I may do a bit of vinyasa yoga.

Or I may not. Maybe I'll just sleep in! ;-)

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An Unfortunate Choice

I learned an important life lesson this week: When blogging about seasonal malaise, NEVER mention yoga clothing.

Especially shorts. Because, as small as they may be, they GROW. Substantially. Virally. GeezohmightyGawd!

Seriously, 'starting an Blogosphere Shitstorm' was NOT an item on my to-do list this week. I'm busy, people. Busy! Being depressed!

Just for the record, there are many, many things that make me sad right now. Losing work makes me sad. Financial stress makes me sad. Visits to the dentist make me sad (and broke). Potentially cancerous tumours in gentle little gray dogs make me sad. And (a tad selfish, but all the same) gaining a thick layer of fat around my middle because I've been eating myself into oblivon makes me sad.

But items of clothing? Not so much.








There's a promise I'm not likely to keep. *snort*

*sigh*

I feel like I'm sleep walking through life these days and I could go on and on about how glum I'm feeling, but I'm trying to keep it positive today. So.

Here are a few things that make me happy:

- Urdhva Dhanurasana: I know! It's crazy, isn't it? But I'm just SO happy that I can DO backbends, without pain. And I'm still walking my hands in. I walk in until my shoulder tweaks and then I stop. But it's AWESOME!

Over the weekend, I even did a dropback! It was late afternoon and I was feeling very open and figured I would hang back. I was so close, I just...dropped. It made me giddy-happy!

- Books: Since I don't do drugs or bungee jump, reading is my escape from reality. I've been devouring a book (or two!) a week since the new year. I just finished the Hunger Games series and it was *amazing*.

I'm currently trying to get into the Stieg Larsson books, but I'm stuck in the first chapter of the first book, trying to get interested. Is anyone out there a fan? Tell me it will get better, please?! I purchased the first two books on my Kindle, on good recommendation.

- Meditation: I fell off the daily-meditation-wagon for two weeks and couldn't seem to make time for it anymore - except on Wednesdays before Bikram class. I was doing it then because it was so automatic. So I made some space in my regular morning routine for meditation, right before I practice Astanga. If it's easy and kind of not-optional, I'll just do it! (like my yoga practice).

I've said this before, but meditation seems to be an all-purpose remedy for me - for Seasonal Affective Disorder, for healthy eating, for enhancing productivity. I feel better overall when I'm meditating.

- 750words.com: I used to write 'morning pages', a free-association journaling method, in a paper journal every morning before I did my practice. I don't know why I stopped, but when I did, it seemed too difficult to reimplement.

I stumbled across 750words through Kath's blog and I'm *loving* it. I've always been a sucker for statistics and analysis (especially if someone else is doing the number-crunching for me). This website tells me how fast I'm writing, which words I use the most and gives me little 'stickers' for acheiving goals. There's a monthly challenge and if you know me (2-year-yoga-streak, hello?), you know I'll be *totally* doing it next month!

- And finally, this makes me happy:


(via YoginiStar)

How could it not? :-)

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This post is not about Tiny Yoga Shorts

Occam's Razor: One should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything

Translation: The simple explanation is often correct.

Allow me to set the scene:
It's mid-March in Canada. The weather is pure misery with no sign of spring on the horizon. A series of difficult and unfortunate events have transpired, leaving the Reluctant Ashtangi feeling glum and defeated. So she makes it all better by eating an ENTIRE 1kg Cadbury chocolate bar all by herself (in under three weeks!), thereby gaining 10 pounds and saying buh-bye to her bind in Supta Kurmasana. Now, she sits by the window, watching a series of endless, despair-inducing snow storms rage through the city. She weeps.

Translation: Sometimes, life sucks.

There are several different explanations for her odd behaviour. Let's review them:

Option #1: Late winter depression and cabin fever has finally set in.
Option #2: The public perception of Astanga is at risk of being sullied by Bad Reality Television.
Option #3: Tiny Yoga Shorts.

Applying Occam's Razor, please choose the appropriate explanation and provide a concise analysis. Bonus points for creative mentions of human genitalia and the proper Driste. Automatic 'A' if you know how to wrap a dhoti.

Extra credit question: Does the internet have a sense of humour? Are you sure? VERY sure?

Answers will be graded on clarity and originality.


By a pug.


P.S. I practised today! :-)

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