Whew! Wednesday!

I'm on evening shift this week, which is a struggle food-wise for me. Last night I had really good intentions of having a pot of herbal tea when I got home from work. Really, I did. Then there was the pineapple I didn't eat at dinner. Hmmm...I haven't had any fruit today, so I should eat that. Then the crackers and cheese came out. Have I mentioned that I've yet to find a cheese I don't like?

Yeah...but all of those are excuses and if I learned anything from my trip to Maui two years ago, it was that Excuses Begone! I had a really great conversation with my SIL this morning about it. And then I went for a run.

It was hard! Not impossible, but I struggled. Could be the lack of proper fuel this morning. Could be?! I'm sure it was the lack of proper fuel in the tank! Lessons learned:
1. Eat breakfast.
2. Run earlier so it's not so hot!

46.39 min
6.03 km
471 cal

I'll take it! Marathon training is as much about mental toughness training as the physical training. I know this. So my 16K trail run on Saturday is for honing my mental toughness. And then I'm going bowling (read: drinking and making a fool of myself attempting to bowl)!

On the yoga front: still trying to figure out insurance. Oy. Home practice: not daily anymore but still there!

Happy Weekend!

Oh thank goodness the weekend has arrived! Not because I have a lot planned, but because I get SIX, yes six, count 'em, six days off!! And all in a row too. =)

So what have I been up to? Well, working and not a lot of sleeping. That makes for a somewhat cranky H-woman. Thank goodness I'm still going strong on my daily yoga/meditation practice. Granted, the last two days consisted of supta baddha konasana and deep belly breathing. Who cares, it's slowing down and focusing on the breath that counts!

Thursday after work I had a brutal run. It was hot, I was tired and slightly dehydrated and the humidity was killing me. But I got out the door which was all I really wanted to do. And 20 minutes running is better than 20 minutes sitting on the couch thinking about running. I walked down and got the sparkly bits in my hair taken care of and had a great glass of wine and catch up with my hair dresser.

Yesterday I went to the best Lebanese restaurant in town, Aida's. I'm so lucky, 'cause it's just down the street! S & L and I had a great visit and then we headed for ice cream. Along the way we picked up S's SIL and nephews who were in town for a brief visit. Our lemon sorbet was NOT what we were looking for. S & I actually threw most of ours away. It just tasted like fake lemon. Ewwww.

I hit the sack early--9 p.m. And slept and slept and slept! It was glorious! Nerm let me sleep till 7:30, but we laid in bed till almost 9. Le sigh.

After a cuppa chai and a nectarine, I headed out for a run. 4.61 km, 35 minutes and 368 calories later, I'm feeling great. My running speed is good and my body seems pretty happy. I've been making a concentrated effort to actually do the physio exercises more than once a week! It makes a difference--who knew? Never mind, don't answer that!

I'm going to a BBQ tonight with my yoga peeps. Tomorrow is a long run, teaching yoga at 6 and that's IT! Next week I've got first aid in the afternoons, a wedding shower on Monday, my mom and nephew are arriving on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning and then it'll be back to work on Friday. Yikes, why does it go so quickly?!

Anyway, if I'm teaching a yoga class tomorrow, I should probably go plan one! Have a great weekend!

Holiday Monday

Good morning!

I’m seeing how far I can take the daily yoga challenge on my own. Journaling has been going great guns since July 17, so let’s see how I do.

Last night I did a Kundalini practice from myyogaonline.com. It was short and I thought my arms would fall off (they’re held over head with your hands in shiva mudra (also known as uttarabodhi mudra) for the entire practice! Uttarabodhi mudra is known as the mudra of the highest enlightenment or gesture of perfection.

Today I’m having a yoga play date with Sonya and then maybe heading to see Sex and the City 2. Other than that, there’s not much scheduled besides some knitting. The baby blanket isn’t going to knit itself!

Update: Yoga play date was good—got my yogic butt kicked again! Got caught in a crazy rain storm on the way home. Stopped in at Community and picked up some tempeh (never tried it before) and chia seeds. Headed over to Safeway when the sky opened up. Caught a cab home, fed the guinea pigs (their humans went away for the weekend), talked to their humans (they got home earlier than I thought they would be), and made the most AMAZING pizza for dinner!

One WW pita, topped with sauce, onion, spinach, zuke, ‘shrooms, turkey bite, orange pepper and Kraft Italiano cheese blend. I bought olives but forgot to put them on. Ooops! With or without, I want another one! I had totally forgot that I used to make pita pizzas when I first joined WW. Mmmmmm….catching up on Corrie (the knitting has been put away) and then heading to bed.

*Sigh*

I heart yoga brain. I heart meditation brain too. =)

Lynn's 7-day Yoga Challenge wraps up today. It's been a wonderful way to keep myself accountable (the stickers on the calendar, a la Shirls, also help). And I like that no two practices were the same.

Did you check out my guest post?


Tonight I chose a guided meditation followed by some gentle twisting, forward bends and garland pose (squat, aka malasana). It was just what I needed after a long day at work!

Now, to run a bath in my claw foot tub and read a bit before bed. Tomorrow's marathon training has me doing a long, slow distance of 8K.

Namaste.
The divine in me sees and acknowledges the divine in you.

TGIF!

Except I have to work tomorrow. Boo. But that's how I got last weekend off to go to Folk Fest. C'est la vie.

After I post this and shut off the computer, I'm winding down for the night! My yoga practice tonight will consist of:

Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclined cobbler's pose) with the Gayatri Mantra playing in the background.

Have you ever heard the Gayatri Mantra? It is one of the most auspicious mantras. Translated, it is:

Earth, Atmosphere, Heavens.
We meditate on the sacred light of the radiant source.
Let that inspire our thoughts.

My favourite version is by Deva Premal. It's absolutely beautiful.

And now, since my oh, so healthy snack (ripple chips and onion chip dip washed down with Rock Creek Cider) is complete, I need to roll out my mat!

Yoga Challenge Day 5

Today I did some yoga after my run before I left for work. I did the Summer Seasonal Vinyasa Flow by Melina Meza on myyogaonline.com.

It was meh. I didn't really like how she cued the class, I found it hard to follow along and the sequencing didn't really flow for me.

But I felt pretty good when it was done, so it did it's job. =) And I was almost late for work because I was luxuriating in my yoga brain.

I guess I'd better go write the guest post that I promised Lynn!

Yoga Challenge Day 4

After work tonight, I booted up the ol' computer (literally, she's on her last legs and why, oh why, didn't I buy a Mac?!) and logged in to myyogaonline.com

This is my favourite place online for yoga! Why, you ask? Well, lemme tell ya.

1. It's Canadian! That's right, it's based out of and run by folks in Vancouver.

2. Variety. You can choose by yoga style, length of practice, or teacher. If you only have 5 minutes and need a guided meditation, you can get it here. Or, if you've got an hour and want to really push yourself with a vigorous practice, well, that's here too. Whichever way you slice it, it's win-win.

3. Affordable! For less than one drop in class at a local studio, I can have a month of yoga, when I want and what I want! Even better, when they turned one last month, I won the Facebook contest for a year of free yoga! =P

So what did I do tonight? A yin practice for summer by Melina Meza. I love that she designed the practice from an Ayurvedic (yoga medicine, basically) perspective. Yin is a slower practice that focuses on getting into the connective tissue by holding the pose for a longer period of time (the poses usually aren't referred to by their Sanskrit name to prevent you from comparing your practice to your yang practice). Breath is really important in yin yoga--as the connective tissue starts to loosen, the feelings can be incredibly intense. Using your breath to breathe into those spots and release the tension is the key. Have you tried yin yoga before? You should!

It was a great way to wind down at the end of the day.

And with that, I'm going to call it one. 'Night!

Chandra Namaskar

I don't enjoy working evening shift. Unfortunately, this is my week. I came home and did a few rounds of chandra namaskar (moon salutations):



followed by headstand, camel, simple twist, and savasana.

It wasn't a very long practice, but a practice nonetheless. Chandra namaskar is a beautiful evening practice. Surya namaskar (sun salutations) are very yang or masculine. Chandra namaskar honours the feminine. It cools the nervous system and is an excellent practice for menstruation, pregnancy and menopause. The sequence emulates the moon--dropping into darkness before rising up again and radiating with brilliance. And I've never been a big fan of surya namaskar, but while practicing chandra namaskar I'm filled with peace and gracefulness.

Oh, and mom dropped me when I asked her to spot me in headstand. Note to self: get a better spotter! ;-)

Yoga Play Date

Today is day #2 of Lynn's Yoga Challenge.

My friend and fellow teacher Sonya came over to play!

We warmed up with a few rounds of Surya Namaskar (sun salutations). Then we played upside down for a bit:

Headstand (Look mom, no hands!)


This is actually from a few months ago. Today's headstand was free form, in the middle of the room. I just needed a spotter!

Then we played around a bit with pincha mayurasana and handstand. Photos from Yoga Journal.



We did some quad and shoulder warm ups and then brought out the big guns: Urdhva danurasana and Ustrasana




All of our backbends were counter balanced with forward bends, some twists and a lovely savasana.

Then we went outside and played with our hula hoops!

Le Sigh

Folk Fest is over for another year. *sigh*

My friend, M., was in town writing an exam on Friday and decided not to head home. We had a coffee Saturday morning and when she dropped me off at the park, I said, "We should get you a ticket." Easier said than done when it's sold out, but I'm not just another pretty face, people! Yay!! Folked the rest of the weekend and now am literally exhausted. There was lots of sun and I ran into oodles of people I know, which is great fun. And really, who doesn't love sharing some good tunes and good food with good friends?

My yoga today happened in the park. Every year there's yoga first thing Saturday and Sunday mornings. Also happens that my friend, Amy, teaches it! And C. & H. helped out this year. I've never made it down to the park early enough...until today!! We had a lovely practice in the sun that was mostly hip openers and twists to counteract all the sitting we'd been doing all weekend.

And now I must fall, exhausted, into bed for some much needed R & R!