Not a yoga face

This was me today.

Well, okay, this basset hound is actually asleep. I was not asleep.

This represents my grimace of effort.

Possibly I should have gone to gentle class rather than hatha.

I listened to my body, though; I backed off when I felt strain. I did not grunt like a lunker at the gym.

If you were in front of me, though, you might have seen my teeth

Intensely Pretzelly Poses

Firstly, yes. That is a homemade gluten free pretzel.

No, it didn't taste good. :P

Still, it illustrates today's hatha I class, in which I said at least twice, "You want me to do what?"

Let me tell you, when Zelinda says, "Today we're going to do revolved 'insert pose name here'." Run.

Don't think about it. Just run.

It wasn't even that they were necessarily hard (although they kind of were), but they were intensely pretzelly. I had that situation where I had to look at my hands to figure out which one was the right one (it's the one that doesn't form the L).  I'm fairly sure at some point in the revolved half-moon upside down gorilla eating ice cream while playing a ukele pose I lost one of my feet.

:D

Oh, I will be traveling 'til Sunday, so I'll be yoging (spellcheck still wants that to be yoking) from the road.

Learn from me, y'all. If Zelinda says revolved, prepare for ice cream eating monkey pretzels.

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Hatha I

Teacher: Zelinda

The best thing about a good yoga teacher

We've had such a wonderful experience doing the 40 day challenge. It introduced us to a whole new batch of teachers, and Shawn and I have realized how lucky we've always been to have Zelinda, and how great it is to try new things with new teachers, too.

The best thing about having a great yoga teacher (as opposed to doing yoga alone or with a video) is that they can really tailor the class to the students' needs. Zelinda often says she watches us move for a a few breaths before she decides what to do for the class.

Today, I was sore. Stiff. Not really awake. We did a lot of work in the neck and shoulders and chest, and by the time I went to the chiropractor today, my neck would actually move in both directions. It's only moved one way since Monday last.

Sometimes you can't really articulate what you need. A great teacher like Zelinda or Angela or Stacey can really pinpoint what it is that your body is doing from the outside, which helps you figure it out from the inside.

That's kind of awesome.

Lorna

Happy Monday, Y'all.

Man, today I struggled with practice. Everything in my body feels so wrong and tight and tender. :P Balancing was a challenge, downward dog on the wall came close to hurting, and the neck stretches felt intense.

*grins*

You know what the neatest part was? I took ye olde body to the chiropractor and knew to tell him that my left side was heavier during savasana than the right. That my neck hurt right there. That my muscle pain was worse, but the inflammation was better, after my practice.

There's something about yoga that has helped me own my body, let me hear what it's telling me.

I am beginning to have faith that someday yoga will help me love my body, too.

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Gentle

Teacher: Zelinda

 

Yoga as a bandage

I've been feeling creaky and sore and emotional. I was so glad to get back to yoga today, and to have Angela tell us to be kind to ourselves.

It was so interesting to see what hurt that I didn't even know about, and to stretch out things and find that it helped in some places a lot. This is the first time I've done yoga on doctor's orders, and it was really helpful to get in touch with my body, which has really felt out of control the last few days.

I am sorry we missed the party tonight. The challenge has been so instrumental in getting to know both teachers and students at the studio, and I really appreciate that sense of community!

XXOO

Lorna

Class 27 of the 40 Day Challenge, or I'm so feeling like I suck. :P

Yeah, I know. I did my best and yeah, I know, I didn't ask to get rear-ended, but still...

So, a little weepy and bummed today (not necessarily about yoga, mostly about insurance companies and last minute runs across town in vicious traffic to sign papers). We didn't get home in time for the celebration party and, honestly, I'm not feeling celebratory.

I'm bummed.

That said, I'd try the challenge again and Lorna and I have a yoga schedule set up (we're discussing practice on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, pilates on Wednesday and hopefully catching some hard cardio on Thursday, leaving us Sunday off). I learned that I do love my yoga practice. I learned that yoga on the road is hard. I learned that Zelinda and Angela and Michelle and my classmates are absolutely an integral part of my life.

I learned that we need a post-Tuesday class breakfast date (I suggest the Cafe Java, but I'm easy, the 620 Cafe is close and the people there rock).

I learned that I swell up like a frog if I take too many days off yoga.

So, there it is.

I didn't finish the challenge. I came close. I am going to continue my blog and my practice. I don't regret a second.

Well, maybe the wreck.

***

Oh! Practice!

So, Angela said something today. "Check in with your face."

Man, talk about hard-core triggery weirdness for me! You see, I have this disease called trigeminal neuralgia, which is the most painful disease you can have an not die. (Don't worry; it's totally under control.)

I did spent 20 years with it out of control, though, and mine was completely left-side face focused. No one touched my face for 20 years. I didn't sleep on it. I didn't put make up on it. I NEVER scratched it.

I tried really hard to not think about it.

Today, when Angela said that, I freaked a little -- now part of that is the car accident. Things are sore that shouldn't be sore and today the chiro said one leg was two full inches shorter than the other (just from Tuesday when we saw him last) -- but part of it was just old facial baggage, which is like having eye bags, but... less genetic.

;-)

Also, in checking in with my face, I discovered I smile a lot when I'm yoging. (Did y'all know spell check tries to make that yoking?)

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Gentle

Teacher: Angela

 

Hoping to be back to class tomorrow

Shawn and I went to the chiropractor today to get adjusted. He suggested a bunch of stretches, most of which we do in gentle class. No pilates. Doctor's orders. I wish I could say I wasn't sore enough to follow that directive, but man, my muscles and joints HURT.

It bums me out that we had to lose the thread of the challenge in the last week. Still, I credit yoga with me being as able as I am to cope with the force of the car that hit us. My body is way stronger than it was even a month ago.

Night y'all

Lorna

Practice 26 of the 40 Day Challenge

So, I didn't make it into class.

This morning we dropped Larry off at the airport for his amazing move to Shanghai and, the entire drive to the airport I knew we were going to have an accident. I was so careful, y'all. I did everything right.

I got Larry onto the plane, I handed the keys over to Lorna and I took a deep breath. Sometimes those little feelings aren't real, sometimes I misread them. Yay.

About 1/2 mile from the airport we were rear ended.

As in we were stopped at a red light, the driver fell asleep and hit us going about 45 mph the car is totaled rear ended. As we sat there amongst the air bags, Lorna says the first thing I said was, "I knew we were going to have an accident."

We did the ER thing, have the muscle relaxants, the antiinflammatories, the chiropractor appointment.

I did the panicked idiot falling apart like a fool thing.

Then I went and meditated for an hour. Not sleeping, but letting myself relax and process and absorb all of it. Everything. Loss. Fear. Pain. Gratefulness. Luck. Joy. Tension. Release.

So, I know I didn't go into class, but I practiced. I listened to what my soul needed and what my body needed.

:D

Namaste, y'all.

S.

I had this terrible urge today

there I was in Hatha I, watching Zelinda warm up. She was in a headstand, doing a full split, and I looked at Shawn and said, "What would happen if I tickled her foot?"

I have these urges often. I whack Shawn with a yoga block often. I tip over and laugh a lot. So, the real question is, is Zelinda ticklish?

In other news, I can still put my head on a block in a wide legged forward fold. This is a source of constant yay.

Class 25! Woo

Class 25 of the 40 Day Challenge, or Dancer's Pose

Dancer's Pose.

It should look like this:

Not this:

This:

Not this:

Zelinda:

Shawn:

:D

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Hatha I

Teacher: Zelinda

Love your body

class 24

Angela's theme for the week is loving our bodies.

It was hard to do this am because I have terrible laryngitis and a bad, dry cough. I had a terrible time not coughing, especially during final relaxation. The tickle got really intense when everyone got quiet and still, and I was worried I might explode.

I tried hard to love my body today, but it was tough not to feel like it was a traitor, just a little.

Still, when Angela told us to think about our feet and all of the wonderful places they've carried us, I thought about Venice, and how it's a walking city like no other, and how I've tromped over the Rialto bridge maybe 20 times, just to get to the amazing market on the other side. Y'all should go.

Lorna

Class 24 of the 40 Day Challenge, or My Joints are Frozen

So, Thursday afternoon I ate wheat.

I am allergic to wheat in that horrifying, swollen, please give me morphine sort of way and this morning? I felt rusted shut.

I would get into a pose and then Angela would say, "Now, let's move into this next incredibly easy, peaceful, gentle pose," and my body would scream at me.

Every pose.

It happens. I know it does. My joints will hurt for two or three more days. My stomach is swollen about 10 inches bigger than Thursday morning. It bites.

Still, I went to practice. I did my thing. In savasana, I chased a little white dot of light.

It's the last week of the challenge next week -- for those of you following along, this blog is a source of endless joy and I fully intend to record my post-yoga/pilates/possibly zumba thoughts from here on out. :D

Now, I have to decide whether to go to 8 am class tomorrow for gentle or hatha I at 915...

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Gentle

Teacher: Angela

Winner!

Our water bottle and strap winner is Becca! our random number generator said so. Just let us know when you're coming to class next (after today, which is our day off) and we'll bring it to the studio!

Magic peanut

(is anyone else singing, "Spear and magic helmet!"?) No? Just me?

So, class 23 found us back at pilates. (waves at Michelle)

I brought a little inflatable ball shaped like a peanut. I hoped it would help me do roll ups.

Not so much. I still flail like an overturned turtle. Still, it helped me do other things, where I needed support for my head or lower back. And I managed rockers, which I have tried in the past and failed miserably at.

There was one move for which the magic peanut was no help. Squat. Put your palms on the floor. Turn your knees to one side. Try to stick your leg out.

Fall over and laugh hysterically.

Boom.

Maybe the magic peanut would have cushioned me when I toppled. I'll have to ponder that usage...

Class 23 of the 40 Day Challenge, or I Lied when I said Zelinda Broke my Butt

So, today in pilates (pre-class starting, of course), we were joking about how Zelinda broke our butts in Tuesday's Hatha class.

I believe Michelle took this as a challenge, because I can tell you, definitively, that my butt was only cracked when pilates started. Now it is busted.

Broke.

In serious trouble.

O.o

(I swear, y'all, that is some hard work in that class. I don't doubt for a second that I'm putting out the effort.)

Now for a goofy, broken-butt related story.

When I was wee, I was even more literal than I am now, believe it or not. One day I was at my pappy's house and I fell on my backside, hard. My pappy swooped in, scooped me up and patted my butt, then stopped still.

Then he blinked, grabbed my hand, and put it on my tush.

"Shawn Anne," he said, oh so seriously. "You've broken your butt. There's a crack going straight down the middle."

I think I probably stopped screaming about two and a half weeks later.

My mother still winces when someone tells that story. I'm 90% sure that she still has part of the headache that caused, 38 years later...

;-)

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Pilates

Teacher: Michelle

I am the warrior

Okay, so not really me. Not at all.

Y'all know when a hatha class warms up with a warrior series it's going to be tough on my neck and shoulders. I'm not sure what it is that's so hard for me there, but it's really tough to get my neck and shoulders to relax when I do a warrior series.

Still, it was good this morning. I am downward dogging like a fool these days thanks to my happy grippy yoga towel. Being able to do one without slipping has taught me how to do one without slipping, if that makes any sense. It's amazing. Hips up and back, head down. Boom.

Warrior? Still not so much.

Class 22 of the 40 Day Challenge, or Balance in All Things

I love Tuesday morning Hatha I.

It's the perfect balance of community, laughter, hard work, and joy. It's a little loud, a little tilty, a lot bendy and just one of my favorite classes of the week. *grins* So, we're a little louder than some...

Possibly there was a suggestion of yoga and wine group today. Personally, I'm *so* in.

Today, I discovered that my left hip is REALLY sore. Also, my thighs screamed a little in the chair pose.

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Hatha I

Teacher: Zelinda

Tick Tock - Heart openers

Day 21 saw us back at the Yoga Room, which was hooray! It's not easy to keep going on the road, though I'm so proud of me and Shawn for doing it.

Today we did a lot of work opening the chest and the heart, which really worked into the intent I had decided on last night (what, sometimes I dream about yoga). My theme for today was compassion. I have some personal reasons I won't go into to cultivate this, but what I found today was compassion for myself, which is just as important, I think. I still have a lot to get done, but I feel better about doing it.

That's not bad for an hour of yoga.

Class 21 of the 40 Day Challenge, or It's Good to Be Home

First things, no. The picture has nothing to do with anything. It just makes me smile.

Secondly, HOME! I'm home and it was so nice to see everyone this morning and have my yoga back. Travel practice is going to be a challenge, maybe my biggest yoga challenge, but it's glorious to come home and be back at the Yoga Room.

Thirdly, we did heart-openers today and usually those are a huge, huge challenge for me. Today? Nope. I felt good, strong, and given that it was cold and damp and my shoulder hates that type of weather, it surprised me. :D

Now, let's all look at the basset picture and have a grin.

See? You just can't be unhappy in the face of a dog in a hat.

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Gentle

Teacher: Zelinda

Day 20 for Lorna

Hey y'all!

I did day 20 on Friday with Shawn, but I wanted to talk about yesterday.

I did yoga in a plane! When I got really sore, I did modified cat/cow, I pulled my knees up to do a forward fold of sorts, and I did neck and shoulder rolls. It was fab. I was a lot more relaxed and happy than usual.

I also did a little yoga breathing when I was trying to drown out the man shouting right behind me. That saved his life.

All in all, yoga is a great habit to have

Day 20 of the 40 Day Challenge or I'm Ready to Get Back to the Yoga Room

Tomorrow we're flying home.

Monday, I get to go back to the Yoga Room.

Yay.

Today's practice was focused on my sore bones from a day of snowmobiling. I feel better -- less shaky, less stiff. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel good, feel strong.

I'm ready to get home, y'all. It's been great, but it's time to zoom.

Namaste, y'all.

S.

Some random airport hotel, Grand Junction, CO

:D

Day 19

I did some good work on my neck and shoulders tonight

I also did my shavsana to tonight and meant it. I've been skimping and it shows

Still a day int the hot springs and a night of yoga makes a happy Lorna

Night y'all

Practice 19 of the 40 Day Challenge, or Can You Do Yoga to Nirvana?

Well, it *is* Nirvana...

;-)

Namaste, y'all.

S.

The Hot Springs Lodge, Glenwood Springs Colorado

Me and Lorna and Our Travel Yoga Mats

Wine and yoga

Day 18 included a third of a bottle of mead, a snow shower and warrior 3

That was the only balancing pose I could do without tipping over. We walked about 6 mles today and my ankle is pooped

What I'm proudest of, though,is that even after wine and tired and snow we did yoga! Tonight it wore me out more, but I did it!

Shawn did the half moon as well as the plow

Me not so much

Night y'all

L

Practice 18 of the 40 Day Challenge, or PLOW POSE!

*dances*

I did the plow pose!

Okay, so my feet didn't touch the floor and I thought I was going to drown in my boobs, but still.

Plow pose!

Also, it was wicked cool to do yoga with Lorna sort of organically. We just did our own thing and it worked great.

Also, did I mention the plow pose?

And me?

And doing it?

Yeah?

Rock on.

Namaste, y'all.

S.

Hot Springs Lodge

Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Me and Lorna and our travel mats. :D

Class 17 or the weirdness of self-led yoga

We're on the road. We miss home. I miss my dog. Aspen is stunning.

Yoga on the road is odd. My body feels way better. My brain is going, "did I hold that long enough." "did I do that in the right sequence?"

I have a deep-seated need to know I can do things right

Like Angela ans zelinda both say though, there is no right or wrong in yoga

Just me

So I feel pretty good. We kept up the habit!

Lorna

Class 17 of the 40 Day Challenge, or Yoga on the Road

So, we're on the road.

We're in Glenwood Springs, Colorado looking around and goofing off and doing yoga.

Lorna and I decided this was going to be our greatest challenge, because we travel a lot. (And by a lot, I mean we're out of town about 30% of the time. O.o)

So, we pulled out the travel yoga mats (lighter for air travel) and we yoged.

We decided to start from standing and work our way to the floor, because it was bedtime. We did some forward folds, some balancing, then we downward dogged. We catted. We cowed. We seated forward folded and we twisted. I did the happy baby pose and the cow faced one.

I feel better. I feel like I can go to sleep smiling.

I also miss the Yoga Room, but we're going to figure this out, me and Lorna, how to practice on the road.

:D

Namaste, y'all

S.

Hot Springs Lodge

Glenwood, CO

Self-Practice led by Lorna :D

Day 16 was a little early

I have no real content today. Class was lovely, but I sleepwalked through it.

This? Not me this morning:



This was me:



Not me:



Me:



Well, you get the picture, right?

All three of the dogs thought it was too early for yoga, too

Class 16 of the 40 Day Challenge, or I May Rethink Eight AM

7 a.m. is an obscene time to be awake.

Now, don't judge. I'm a 2 a.m. to bed person. From 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. is prime writing time. I wake up at 8:15 most mornings for yoga, but 7?

Ack.

I didn't wake up until my third cup of coffee after gentle practice. I'm pretty sure I was dreaming about tap dancing rhinos doing a music video for Big Country...

I'm fixin' to head to Colorado, where I'll be blogging about our travel practice.

Prepare for hilarity. ;-)

After I nap.

 

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Gentle

Teacher: Zelinda

releasing toxins

Day 15 of yoga challenge was all about the loads we carry.

Okay, so it was also about classic jazz and blues like Feelin' Good, Long Time Comin' and Fever. There might have been dancing. I drew the line at singing along, not wanting to disturb anyone. Shawn hummed and tapped her toes in the forward folds.

But!

When Angela said it wasn't how heavy the load is but how we carry it, I set my intention today to get rid of all the barriers to my health I've been carrying.

Today I was really feeling the upper respiratory goo I've been dealing with. I decided to breathe it out, metaphorically. (Don't worry, I'm not contagious)

I tell you what, y'all. As I worked through the poses, I could feel the heaviness in my chest and lungs working itself out, and I felt like I was really pushing out the bad and letting the good push in.

It was kind of awesome, even if I did feel like I needed a nap after practice.

Now if I could just get my sinuses to get on board...

The dancing part was really cool.

Class 15 of the 40 Day Challenge, or How Yoga Helps in Real Life Crisis When Added to Wine

I have to tell y'all. I have discovered a real life use for yoga.

Yesterday I'm having folks for supper. Lorna and I are making gluten free vegetarian lasagna. These are not gluten free people.

We cook, we clean, we pull the lasagna out after they get here and?

The noodles are like concrete -- hard and shattery, a little dangerous, crackly and absolutely not edible.

It's 239042739 degrees in my house, I have guests, I have 3 anxious dogs. Lorna looks at me, I look at her. She grabs the gluten free fusili out of the pantry and I grab the stock pot and start filling it with water. I pull each tiny shard of uncooked noodle from the pan (leaving the goo), she opens a glass of wine. We start water boiling while everyone else chats in the front room.

We pour two glasses of wine, put the fusili in the water, and Lorna says, "Breathe."

We breathe, arms going up. We forward fold in the kitchen. We breathe.

We drink a glass of wine.

We make baked pasta.

See? Yoga with real-life uses. We didn't panic. We coped. We breathed. We cooked.

Also, today in class? Something amazing happened. We did the tree pose and Angela's talking about putting our hands in a mudra. Now, two little backstory bits of info: 1. I always do the middle finger mudra because I am the queen of NEEDS PATIENCE and 2. today I was looking for Ease as my Point of Practice. Something made me put my thumb and third finger together (vitality). As soon as I did, the entire studio flooded with white light, so bright I couldn't see.

Okay, I thought. Maybe I've just had a stroke, maybe I've cut off the blood supply to my brain. Possibly my glasses are foggy.

We release the pose. I'm no longer White Light Woman (so, brain is getting blood. Go brain.)

We do the other side.

Boom.

White light of amazing joy.

Dude!

Now, there may be a scientific answer. I'm pro-science. Right now I'm happy with mystical yoga joy experience. Joy is always cooler than science.

So, ease? Not so much, but joy? Like whoa.

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Gentle

Teacher: Angela

Don't worry Michelle

Two weeks in a row we've missed our Wednesday pilates class. We will miss it again next week, as we'll be out of town

So, I thought I would reassure Michelle that we don't hate her. In fact, despite pilates being like death, I like it. It challenges me. However, that also means that when I have a head cold and Shawn is having female problems (ie: this week) or Shawn has a head cold and I am having female problems (last week), it's not a class I can take on.

So, today was gentle at 5pm with Angela. Today was about adaptability. I? Adapted to a throbbing head. Vicious, stabbing, oh my god I'm going to die throbbing.

At one point, my sinuses let go, and I was drowning.

Joy.

I did feel better, more energetic, after class, so I am grateful that I went.

Still, it's important to both of us to let Michelle know we got nothin' but love...

Class 14 of the 40 Day Challenge, or Someone Let Me Out of This Cocoon!

I woke up this morning with the words "Let It Be" in my head.

I tried to hold onto that all day. I had a book release early, I have a trip next week, I have cramps. Lorna has a cold.

Just let it be.

I missed pilates (because, you know, it could have been catastrophic in that did you hit a deer sort of way), but we managed a gentle class and I was going to let it be.

There I was. Letting it be.

Angela says that the practice's focus it going to be adaptation.

NOT my strong suit.

I am the OCD Queen. I am the girl of planning and scheduling and deadlines. I have had an unscheduled cold, book release, and and and...

So, I tried.

Flowing. Easy. Gentle.

What are we going to make for supper, Shawn? My brain says. And we have to clean and plan a supper for vegetarians tomorrow and you don't know what the temperatures going to be and don't forget to promo that book and you have another deadline coming and did you set up the DVR? I bet you forgot.

I'm going, what? WHAT? I've been frigging ZEN ALL BLASTED DAY LETTING IT BE AND I'M IN YOGA STRETCHING WITH THE PEACEFUL MUSIC AND THE SOFT LIGHTS AND WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE??????

About then I noticed my shoulder blades were possibly cradling the back of my head...

So. Okay. Adaptation is obviously something that triggers me.

Good to know.

:D

Also, I went to Sprouts and bought frozen gluten free Chinese food for supper. I'm making vegetarian gluten free lasagna tomorrow. I have tweeted and facebooked and blogged about my new title. I did set up the DVR.

Now, I'm going to take a walk.

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Gentle

Teacher: Angela