We have a big family excursion to Stratford Chef School today to experience my daughter’s first Stratford Chef School lunch. I have prepped everyone that we will leave very shortly after my return from yoga. It feels like I am taking a lot of time for me with yoga. I am not used to having so many activities just for me. It feels good and like I am prioritizing my health. Going first thing in the morning means not having to disrupt anyone else’s day. Also, it is hard to find distractions and conflicts at 6:30 am on weekdays or 8:00 am on weekends. I am feeling successful at setting my practice for the early mornings and sticking to it. I am usually up at 5 or 6 anyway so it really is a great time for me. I enjoy my workout. I am getting bendier. There are many of the poses I am better at but I am still struggling somewhat with Child’s Pose. It is hard for me to sit back on my knees. I do notice that when I am tired and am pushing myself, it hurts more to be on my knees. When I am rested and “fresh”–usually from an hour of Shavasana the previous day, my knees hurt less and I can do more on my knees. I take my towel “donut” every day and use it if I go down on one knee. It works. I am also starting to try to push back and sit further back in child’s pose, stretching out my knee. I have a sense I will eventually be able to sit back on my knees again. It will be a long, slow process, I imagine. Like what you are reading? Sign up for a free membership (Tire Kicker’s Membership) to the Crucible Bookii and be notified about new posts. Want to read all the content on the site and support this project? Sign up here for founding membership ($9.95 per...
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I want to take a moment to thank the teachers at Moksha who have given so much to me in the last 19 days. They have been welcoming, helpful, kind and encouraging in a way that I have never experienced before. They have been a powerful and sweet force in this challenge. They are helping me change my life. I notice some of the teachers go above and beyond in every class. They are using every minute to correct a pose, push us forward, call us forth. I love this kind of rigor and their words stay with me class after class. How to align my body in a pose. How one body part needs to be over another body part. Can I see my toes? I particularly appreciate Erin. She is creative and uses some variations that make her class a little harder physically. But even though I am completely stretched and pushed to my limits, her classes work for me as a beginner. She pushes just a little extra and as I write this morning, I am so appreciative of her happy style. She makes yoga fun! Having a teacher who will ask me to stretch a little more, improve a pose, and talk to everyone about how the pose can be improved, really ups the game for us all. Like what you are reading? Sign up for a free membership (Tire Kicker’s Membership) to the Crucible Bookii and be notified about new posts. Want to read all the content on the site and support this project? Sign up here for founding membership ($9.95 per...
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My parents arrived yesterday and it’s Halloween. Feels good to set aside some time for myself on such a busy day, even when we have house-guests. I get up early and leave the house and arrive at a 6:30 am Moksha class. As we go through the class, I am deeply engaged by most of the poses. The balancing poses continue to be a challenge for me. I am not as balanced as I wish I was. My balance seems particularly bad today and I nearly get frustrated before I catch myself and try to let my bad balance be okay in my own mind. I am getting used to the poses and have some definite favorites, but I am still learning their names. I have learned Tadasana–Mountain pose. When I just looked up Tadasana on Wikipedia, I saw some of the yoga politics–how to do the posture and how there are different variations. I have been blissfully innocent to the politics of the different kinds of yoga in my cocoon at Moksha Yoga. I am finding myself very curious about learning more about the practice and how to improve while maintaining the innocence of not making decisions–simply staying grounded in the practice. I want to learn more and I want the teachers to appear–each taking me further in my practice. Like what you are reading? Sign up for a free membership (Tire Kicker’s Membership) to the Crucible Bookii and be notified about new posts. Want to read all the content on the site and support this project? Sign up here for founding membership ($9.95 per...
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I am excited to be at yoga this morning and I am not at all called to lie in Shavasana. I have to say that I feel some relief in feeling “ready to go.” I think I have a secret fear that I am really lazy and I can tell myself I want to do yoga and then just lie on the mat every day. I get that I need to rest when I am tired but I find myself counting “real” workouts in my head. I am happy to log another “real” workout today and am totally aware of the un-yoga-ness of my thoughts. I love that my body is stronger and the poses are going better and better. My balance is better today and I notice I am getting better and some days are just better than...
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I got to yoga this morning and I feel torn. I want the peace and rest of spending some time in Shavasana and I also want a work-out. I really like the teacher that is here and so I start the first downward dog and my wrist feel sore. That seems to answer my question. My body needs to rest and recover from yesterday’s workout. So I breath and rest in Shavasana and feel blissfully rested and refreshed by the end of class. I am now looking forward to yoga tomorrow. What a fantastic way to start the day. When I lie in Shavasana for the whole class, I feel deeply and fabulously rested by the end. This is so peaceful, I wish I could do this and all the yoga poses every day. I think this is fantastic in my head but I have yet to try back to back yoga classes. This idea of 2 classes in a row startles me since 2 and a half weeks ago I could barely make it through a class. When I started, the idea of “meditating” seemed horrible. Sitting still for a long time seemed so unpleasant. Shavasana is different for me. It is deeply restful and a way to deeply care for my body and my...
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My body is changing. I am noticing that my skin is clearing. I have had a little blemish under my eye for a while. It came to the surface and went away. I have always been a little stinky–especially if I drink coffee. My body odor has gone away. I didn’t wear deodorant yesterday and by the evening, there was no smell at all. Today, our class was full of a bunch of McMaster University women’s rugby players. Guess they decided to try yoga. The class was packed full of youth and vigor. It was kind of fun. I made it through most of the class today. Also, I decided to sign up for another 30 day yoga challenge. So, this challenge will be followed by another 30 days. They overlap a little, so it will actually be 48 days total. Should be interesting. I can only imagine how different my body will be after 48 days of yoga....
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