Monday, April 27, 2009

trying new things

I took a bit of a break from yoga because I got really busy, but it wasn't a stressful kind of busy. I jumped back in by trying the most advanced DVD that I have, and I'm certainly feeling it. It was challenging, but the pace was too quick.

I'm not feeling the bite of the economy right at this moment. I'm thankful for the respite.

Monday, April 13, 2009

heel levitation

My flexibility and patience have increased tremendously since I started yoga. My stress has been lowered. So why won't my heels do the same?

My heels suffer from "I'm-not touching-the-floor-itis" whenever I go into downward dog. It's not uncomfortable for me to hold the pose, but the modified one-legged downward dog gets pretty tiring after a couple of repetitions.

A little Googling revealed that I'm not the only one with this issue, but apparently there are some people whose heels never touch the ground. Is that true? I hope my heels are Earthbound someday.

Friday, April 10, 2009

before bed


I ordered Hemalaya Behl's Yoga for Urban Living after reading a recommendation I found online. I really like that it focuses a little more on the poses and their names. It also has smaller and longer workouts appropriate for morning, longer mid-day session and nighttime.

Oh, do I ever love the pre-bed yoga session -- it's called Evening Bath. The savasana involves a blanket. A BLANKET! I can't wait to try the rest.

Monday, April 6, 2009

money can't buy it

I'm not the only one connecting yoga and the economy! Sarah over at the Yoga Today Blog has an excellent video to loosen your hips and your mind:

guided by voices

I recently put in an order through SwapADVD for a new-to-me yoga DVD. I'm still loving Better Sex Through Yoga, but it's clear that I'm not going to be ready for the advanced DVD for at least another month. I need something different sometimes, and I'm not always in the mood for Molly Fox.

So tonight, I decided to try Lunar Flow yoga from Yoga Downloads. Tina from Carrots 'N' Cake always speaks highly of this practice, but I avoided it because I figured it was a video. It's a little tough to rearrange my computer monitor to watch videos, but I decided tonight was the night and proceeded to move some things around on my desk.

What a surprise! These 20-minute free downloads actually are mp3s, which is great. I had been wondering how I'd do my yoga when I travel to India in July (I know what you're thinking, but I'm going for a wedding and I don't think the trip will include yoga).

Being able to focus on a voice rather than a screen made a difference in how well I concentrate in each pose. I felt like my breathing was better as well. The only issue was knowing what pose to be in. My yoga DVDs and one Bikram class haven't given me the opportunity to know many poses by their names. I figured out plow pose, but you should have seen what I did for dead bug pose. It wasn't what you're seeing at left, nope nope.



Thursday, April 2, 2009

deep breath

Now that I've done my yoga for the evening, I feel a little bit better.

We had layoffs at my company on Monday, and more layoffs at another branch were announced today. The air in my office gets really toxic and predictable when layoffs are announced. "I can't believe they laid him off! He's the best whatchamadoodler here! Our company is going down the drain! I bet we're next!"

I can't live peacefully with all of that negativity floating above my section of cubicles. I was relieved to watch the Dow jump over 8,000 today on its way up, even if it ended the day slightly lower than that. Although economists are conservative, I see that as a good sign that things are on the mend.

However, that won't help the unemployment rate, which will be the last to go as our economy heals. It means that I am not safe from layoffs, and that I have been living on the edge for most of my time at my current company.

These days, it is only safe to breathe peacefully when I'm alone in my car and during yoga.

too hot, then too cold

I spent last weekend in Buffalo visiting my boyfriend. While there, he introduced me to Bikram, the style of yoga that he has been doing since February.

Hoo boy. I couldn't do most of the standing postures because I was sure I was going to pass out. We didn't have as much time to adjust to the heat as we should have, so that may have had something to do with it. I was just fine once we moved to the floor. We'll see if I attempt it again.

I came home to a hectic workday on Monday, but I haven't really done yoga since. Why? I didn't turn my heat back on. The apartment has been at 59 degrees, which is just bearable enough to watch TV in and sleep in, but I haven't gotten much else done. I had hoped that spring temperatures would reduce my need for my heating system, but I guess it's not warm enough yet.

I just turned on my central air, however, and I expect to be dropping down for more triangle poses shortly.