Day 215

I'm back!

I enjoyed my windfall Ashtanga holiday very much and kept busy during most of it. A few highlights:

Auntie Flo: Kicked. My. Ass. It's been a very long time since I was THAT miserable during my cycle. I spent much of two days in bed, huddled in a fetal position. Not fun.

Internet fast: I tried to stay off the computer, particularly the Internet, as much as possible over the past week. I had mixed success with this. If anything, it made me realise how much I use my computer in my day to day life (apparently, I can't survive without Google, the 'net is my conduit to the public library and I love email WAY too much) and how much I rely upon the WWW for distraction and entertainment (particularly RSS feeds). Good food for thought. I have some ideas about positive changes I can make in this area of my life. Stay tuned!

Sleeping in: Loved it! Every morning, no alarm clock, no compelling reason to get up early. And I didn't feel the least bit guilty about it, either. In fact, I was pretty lazy overall during the week, falling behind on things I really shouldn't have let slide. I honestly don't know where the time went some days. Come to think of it, isn't it time for my afternoon nap?! ;-) Seriously, I anticipate some big-time problems getting back into my early-morning routine. Or any routine.

Reading: Not as much as I would have liked, but I did crack open some amazing books. My goal is to read two books a week this year and so far, I'm falling behind. I'd like to structure some reading time back into my life.

Yoga: Yes, yoga. Even though I left the Primary Series well enough alone for five days, I did do some yoga. On Thursday night, I visited my teacher H and enjoyed an hour-and-a-half of Intermediate level Hatha Yoga. She gave me a great adjustment in Parsvakonasana and taught two second series poses to keep me entertained, but otherwise it was pretty typical Hatha. The next day, my side body was sore - probably due to the intense Parivritta Janu Sirsasana series she taught. Owie. Teacher M is out of town so I'll catch his class another time.

Restorative Yoga: On Moon Day and Saturday, I did some Restorative Yoga. Teacher H has a Restorative Yoga CD, which I purchased on Thursday. On Friday, I stopped by Sebastian's place and picked up a new yoga bolster (Yay! This is a great addition to my whole let's-try-to-enjoy-Savasana project as well as for the restorative practice). I broke the bolster in on Friday. To be honest, I had trouble getting into the restorative vibe and bailed after 35 minutes. But on Saturday, I took a long hot bath before I got on the mat and THIS made a huge difference. I found that I genuinely enjoyed the quieter practice. It's something new to look forward to on my days off from Ashtanga and I think I'll really benefit from it.

Ice skating: We said a sad goodbye to Mr. Zamboni Guy earlier in the week - his contract didn't allow him to work past Tuesday. I brought a batch of my Fabulous Butter Cookies and we held an impromptu party in the rink office, with rink monitors Skinny Guy and Pigtail Girl in attendance. I spent a lot of time at the rink over the weekend and on Sunday, I skated for over three hours. Because it was the last day of the season, most of the usual suspects showed up, including Newbie and his wife, Mrs. Newbie (both have become fantastic skaters over the course of the season), Slick (the amazing skater), Mr. Oblivious (who skates around randomly, running into people. I suspect he does this on purpose), Montreal Fan and his wife, Mrs. Montreal Fan, Ordinary Joe and Figure Skating Guy (who has been coming to the rink for as long as I can remember - this is going back about 9 years). FSG and I were the last to leave, finally taking off our skates in the mid-afternoon. We shook hands and shooks our heads in disbelief that the season has already passed (seems like it just started!). I'll see him next November. Until then, I'll be rollerbading and...

Walking: I pulled out my walking shoes! Another season of hoofing it around my neighbourhood has officially started! In the warmer months (read: no ice), I walk for an hour daily. Last season, I managed to get a walk in every single day and I intend to do the same this year. Today, the dog and I walked up to the big park. I can't believe how much snow is still on the ground. Usually it's cleared by now. The weather has been gorgeous these past few days and it can only get warmer, right?

I had a difficult time motivating myself to get on the mat today, in part because I was exhausted and I seem to be fighting a bit of a cold too. But I decided to 'just do it' and did. I had a surprisingly good, strong practice. My legs were a little tired, but my arms felt fine. I expected that I would be stiff after a five-day break, but my body felt very open. I'm wondering if the restorative yoga I practised contributed to this. I felt particularly open in the hips and hamstrings.

Overall, I found that I missed my yoga practice in much time same way I might miss an old lover who I'm nostalgic for but no longer attached to: I missed the *idea* of doing yoga, but I was also really digging that 'extra few feet in my bed', to quote the old Cowboy Junkies song.

I'll fall in love again - just wait! Waking up with my alarm would be a good start, though!