Back to It

So, moving has been tough on the yoga practice. 

We're 1/2 hour farther away, we're committing more and more time to writing (which means we don't leave the house on Wednesdays and Fridays). L's dad is ill with cancer and and and and...

So, stress.

Why is it that the things that make you need yoga are the things that make you miss yoga?

We did make it in today -- yay -- and now we're hoping to get in a Thursday and Sunday class, as well. We'll see how that goes. 

It was a good class -- I am starting a couch to 5K thing, and man, my legs needed the stretching. My shoulder isn't the world's biggest yoga fan. I keep hoping it'll loosen up, but so far, no dice.

Still, back to it. 

Today's focus was 'stretch' and I did.

Now I have to get back to work.

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Hatha I

Teacher: Angela

Curvy yoga

So, curvy yoga on Saturday was a blast.

I loved the advice about belly positioning, and the acknowledgement of the fact that child's pose often makes us bigger folks feel like we're a million years old instead of a baby...

Unlike Shawn, I went looking for pictures and I found some. What's disturbing about that, though, is you have to search for "fat" yoga. Now, y'all, there's no way I would call the above lady fat. Curvy, sure. Not tiny. She's normal. Yet you have to search "fat" to find her.

Viva the revolution, baby. Let's start it here! Curvy yoga, petite yoga, strapping tall yoga. Like Zelinda says, yoga for every Body!

Why I Have Another Image of a Rolled Up Mat

So.

Curvy yoga -- OMG, the joy.

Laughter, stretching, acknowledgment of the horrors of boob suffocation and forward folds after moving your apron out of the way.

Y'all -- if you're plus sized? Go.

Just go.

Jenifer was dear and funny, the class was warm and welcoming and had curves in all the right places.

Now, the mat picture.

Why do I have the mat picture?

Because when you look for curvy yoga pictures on stock photography sites? You get nothing.

NOTHING.

So, starting next week? Fat girls doing yoga, damn it. Pictures of me and Lorna in all our glory, experiencing our own personal yogic joy. If you are interested in letting me shoot a few images of you doing your practice and you're plus sized, please let me know. We shouldn't have to hide.

So there. Ha.

;-)

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Curvy Yoga

Teacher: Jenifer

Y'all, meet Red Mat :D

 

So, I bought a new mat.

It was more than I wanted to spend, but I love yoga and it hurts when my bones are on the floor and...

Well, anyway, I bought Red Mat 2 weeks ago. Last week I got sick --first with sinus stuff, then with tummy stuff, then with sinus stuff again.

My new mat got its first workout today.

Wow.

Wow, y'all.

I sat, I didn't have to use my blanket for my heels. It was a little stickier than I'm used to and it's *heavy* compared to Yellow Mat. I told her (Red Mat) that heavy was okay, because I need a little more padding than you'd think. We did savasana together. We forward folded. 

We are saving our first downward dog together for another time.

Still, Red Mat and I are going to be friends. 

Yellow Mat is going to live in the laundry room for at-home practice (there's carpet here).

*nods*

I have new mat joy.

Also, my nose isn't running right now, even though I can't smell anything.

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Gentle

Teacher: Zelinda

A week of yoga

Hey, y'all!

I think Shawn mentioned it's been crazy hereabouts, and once I get out of the habit of blogging, well, off I go...

After nearly two months I went back to yoga last week. Two classes with Zelinda and one with Angela. We've done one with Angela this week, as well, though we missed Monday thanks to the holiday.

I had thought about blogging about muscle memory, as my body, while stiff, remembered everything just fine.

Instead, I'll blog about yesterday. I set my intention as "acceptance". I have a lot in my life right now I just have to accept, whether it suits me or not. I may not love it, but there it is. A lot of it is family related, and y'all know how that is. You can love 'em, not change 'em.

So, I thought that was suitably vague as well as specific. Clear as mud?

Yeah, for me, too. I have had the worst couple of days accepting things, from my strengths to my limitations, to the laws of physics... Hey, you try doing a spinning, Jazzercise style catch of a buttered piece of English muffin.

So, what can I do? I can think of the mudra Angela had us do yesterday.

That one is for wisdom. While I might not like accepting all of this stuff, I can learn from it.

So, there. Ha.

Looking forward to my next lesson,

Lorna

Dude, did I hit a deer?

So, here's your warning. If talking about menstruation wigs you out, this is not the blog post for you, okay? Go read Lorna's post. She's not going to kvetch. Okay, cool. 

Today was going to be hard no matter what -- I was exhausted, I am sunburned, seven o'clock was early to get up. 

I'm on the rag. Yay.

Today was a super-duper crampy, grumpy, I should have stayed in bed or at least bought bigger yoga pants sort of day. Also, I was bleeding like a stuck pig. *So* pleasant. We're sitting there, grounding, setting our intention for the practice (more on this later), and I started thinking, oh. Dude. Did I hit a deer?

Then we did a hip-opener and... 

Trust me. 

It wasn't a deer.

It might have been an elk. Or a moose. A giant, hemophiliac moose. A giant, hemophiliac moose with a crack addiction and a temper and his hoof in the center of my belly.

That moose.

Then we leaned back. O.o

It's so awkward, too, yeah? Twisting and moving and thinking, please. Please let me get through shavasana without having a catastrophic accident wherein I will have to lay on my belly in the backseat so that we don't stain the new cream colored seats in the car. (Note to self -- extra set of clothes and a huge fluffy OLD towel in the back.)

I can admit it, I tend to avoid yoga that time of the month. It's just too much to face, but I only have so many days free this week and I needed a stretch and...

Well, let's just say that when your intention for the class is "Please don't let me look like I committed murder when we're done," you'd better wear a black t-shirt with your yoga pants. ;-)

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Hatha I

Teacher: Angela

Thursday was Reggae Day

When you practice with Angela, you get music.

I love music with my yoga, even if I dance a little.

A lot.

Whathaveyou.

I boogied all through the practice. During the downward dog, during forward folds, during lunges.

Oh, man. We lunged. A lot. It reminded me that *maybe* taking two months off yoga is bad.

;-)

We also did this stretch to the back of the leg and, man, my right leg was doing the earthquake thing.

Not the left, just the right.

Bounce bounce bounce. Buzz buzz buzz.

Lorna and I have signed up for the Retreat in September and there are a bunch of new classes coming to the Yoga Room in June (I'm really looking forward to Curvy Yoga with Jenifer). 

Worked all day Friday and Saturday (and part of the morning today) on the house, so I'm sore. 

I'm trying to decide whether it would feel better or worse to try stretching.

O.o

Right. Taking time off yoga is bad. ;-)

Namaste, y'all.

S.

 

Class info:

Location: The Yoga Room

Class type: Hatha I

Teacher: Angela