9 posts tagged “yoga”

One RSS folder I don't skip is one with links to sites that inspire me: the Happiness Project, Lifehacker, Jen Lemen. I also love a good self-discovery book or two I've discovered this year, like The Artist's Way and Eat Pray Love. These things keep me going in what I can only describe as constant vigilance for a positive attitude.

So here's my smattering of tips I learned from these sources (and many others) in 2007.

You can never go wrong with a thank-you note. Late, brief, or silly, it all matters.

Email: decide when you get an email if it needs you to act on it. If it does, flag/star it and leave it open until you answer it.

Cooking: when using an ingredient that you love that tends to go bad (ginger is a big culprit for me) chop it, wrap it like salt-water taffy, and freeze it for later use. Use oil first on your salad, then an acid. Salt generously. Cultured butter is king.

Don't use plastic bags. Your lemons are not going to somehow mate with the bell peppers in your grocery bag if they aren't in their little individual, wasteful plastic bags. Nor will you ever use that mountain of plastic grocery bags in your cabinet (unless you have a dog, then you get a pass.) What you will use? That cabinet.

Yoga: plant all four corners of your feet. Think about how your spine is aligned even when not in class. Breathe out all the time, consciously, even if people look at you funny.

Stop complaining. Seriously! No one wants to hear it unless you -really- have a grievance that they can fix, and are hopefully getting paid to. Even then, "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar".  This often means asking for help, which can be way scary. Do it anyway.

Don't say mean things about other people. unless those people are Britney Spears. (even then, it's not good for you. but it is fun.)

Treat the people you love well. Treat yourself like a person you also love.

Jill Scott = still awesome.

Radiohead = still awesome.

Working from home: you don't have to dress like you're going on a client meeting, but at least dress in a way where you won't be embarassed to go outside, see a neighbor, or take a video chat. 

Shop locally.

Talk to old people and shop owners and bus drivers and anyone who looks like they could use a kind word. They might think you're nuts, but it's worth it.

Advice is worth what you pay for it. Including this post.

"Don't worry so much about having a flat tummy. Buddha had a belly, and he was enlightened. It's healthy to have a strong core and a soft belly to protect it."

(heard in my very favorite yoga class, from the teacher/studio owner.

To be fair, this same teacher has been known in other classes to make my abs scream and beg for mercy.)

I love, love love the Nike Sport Kit so far. I totally ran an extra half mile today just to hear Lance Armstrong say "Congratulations, that was your longest workout yet!"

Alex and I also went hiking for two days in Acadia National Park, where all calories expended by climbing up the "Ladder Trail" were then quickly consumed in the form of lobster, beer, and fried clams.

I have been slacking on my yoga classes since my schedule is in a sort of upheaval at the moment and the classes I want to go to don't seem to fit in quite as well into chaos as I'd like. I do still go about 3 times a week, but finding a balance has been tough. Truth is, when its hot out, I can't bear the added heat of a studio (on the third floor, above a pizza place). I'm thinking about spending a little more time at Dana's old studio - a little pricier, but temperature-regulated.

I'm a sissy. :)

It's warm out! I only had to wear one pair of pants to walk to the studio. 

Doing yoga in a hotel room will allow you to know things about the floor you possibly didn't want to. But, also, where the shoes your forgetful self was about to leave behind are.

Yesterday there was a special 2 1/2 hour Forrest yoga session with the owner of the studio. When we launched into the vinyasas (aka "let's all sweat until it looks like its raining in here") she put on the theme from "Flashdance". Awesome +1.

It was longer than I'm used to going, and more intense: lots of the core work Forrest is known for. Now, I can't pick my arms up. And my abs feel like...well, like I did situps for a couple of hours. Like running long distance, but with my stomach. Oof.

I love love love a 4-day weekend.

I had a post kicking around in my head about how my self-induced ankle injury causes me to fall over onto tables and into walls because I'm too stubborn to use crutches. Also a post about how yoga at home instead of in the shala is great, really. I'm learning how to do poses that I can do, instead of trying to look like the best one in the class, because, hello, I'm the only one trying to remember Sanskrit and turn into a pretzel in this house. It's hard to compete with myself. Though one more week and I'll probably find a way.

I also want to post about the sour cream rolls I'm making for Thanksgiving with The Indie Kids, but I haven't any yeast, so that's right out. Can't make 'em yet. And who knew you needed corn syrup for so many things? I dislike corn syrup in general, but apparently it's a must for pecan pie. Boo!

Instead, I want to know where I can buy a Wii in Boston. Where? Where are you? There is a hard-working man in this house who needs one for Christmas-come-early.

In summary: 4 day weekends revolving around food = awesome.

So I know you've been just dying to know how yoga is going. Tonight I remembered what it was like to be a yoga n00b. Practicing with a substitute instructor who wanted to go for broke with some new poses, the two girls next to me had never been to yoga, from what I could tell, an no idea what they were in for. By the end of class, they were muttering things like "I can't do this shit" and "whaaaatthefuck". Yes. Exactly how I felt a few months ago. Should have said something encouraging to them after class but the sweat running into my eyes was distracting me.

My shoulders and neck are still so tight as to actually alarm the instructors occasionally. They come over and try to adjust me, and say things like "Ginevra, you're doing something...weird with your neck."

Take GI Joe from yogabeans as an example. He also has a hard time with "external rotation" which is supposed to make your shoulder blades relax a bit and "broaden".

Also, if you've been to a class or two and want to get some more pilates-type yoga on, I've been trying out some yoga videos on Netflix, and I can tell you this one is halfway decent. Surprisingly, I dislike the 84 remixes of the same Blue Six song they put on the soundtrack.

I've found a suitable class now for every day of the week. I've started reading a few yoga bloggers, only one of whom is sarcastic. I keep finding the yoga "lifestyle" doesn't suit my personality that much - the necessity to be a hippie is not my forte. Music affects me too deeply to not notice when a teacher puts on something "calming" like Damien Rice for the 20 minutes before class that it affects my practice. (Is there anything sadder than a sad Irishman singing about breakups?)

Forrest yoga has been my favorite so far. A good balance between hanging out in the poses and working the heck out of the abs. I didn't even know I _had_ abs.

An odd thing: the teachers always refer to body parts like they're people. "Belly goes in." "Left leg goes out."