Recent Posts
It had only been 4 years since I last skied, but it seemed like a lifetime ago. I last went skiing with my family in New Mexico in 2009. It was beautiful snow and weather and we had a fun day. Since then I have had so many issues walking that I was sure I would never ski again. I had a couple of bad falls and then I had something happen that made walking difficult. It seems to be a corn allergy that gives me MS like symptoms if I eat it. Last year we started taking our children to Ellicottville, NY to see our friends. Our friends bought a cottage there and their daughter is close to our boys’ age. They all run around the hills in the snow, watch movies, and play hard. They have a great time together. We were there a couple of times last year–the boys and my husband snowboarded and skied two days over the winter. Each time I would stay behind and carry the boots back to the car and wish I could ski, too. I vowed to ski again. I set a goal to ski one time this winter. We made plans for 2 weekends with our friends in 2013. I found a program at Holiday Valley that is an adaptive ski program. It is called the Lounsbury Adaptive Ski Program. A way for people with “challenges” to ski. It is a 2 hour lesson and it includes lift ticket and rentals for $40. A person like me would be paired with an instructor and helped to ski. I contacted them and was so excited that I could book with them. I told them about my challenges with walking and they said, “we have sliders if you need them.” There seemed to be no excuse for me. But I was tired in January and didn’t get the session booked. I felt too busy and tired and decided to wait. I think my trepidation got...
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How did it end? I thought I would go to class today and I would stay in Shavasana but the instructor was so good, I ended up doing most of the class. Strangely, today, at the studio, I didn’t know any of the staff. All along the way, they have cheered me on and told me I am doing a great job. Today, there wasn’t anyone to say they were excited that I finished the challenge. I notice my attachment to this and realize this is a personal journey. It is my journey and it is up to me to attach any celebration to it. I realize I am feeling very happy that I did this challenge. What’s different since the 21 day challenge? I feel stronger and more peaceful than I did before I started. I am now able to be still for long periods of time and I am learning to still my mind. I love the physicality of yoga along with the slow movements. It feels so peaceful and powerful. I love the stretches. I am starting to feel like my body is stronger. I am finding muscles in new places–back, shoulders, forearms, thighs. I feel like my core is stronger than it has been in a long time. I no longer think about my back being weak as I lie on my mat. I feel strong and completely comfortable lying on the floor for an hour. I hardly feel the heat now. I feel the physical exertion as my heart rate goes up and I feel the sweat on my body but the heat feels so good now, at least most of the time. I find myself looking forward to it. In February, I started working with a personal trainer–Suzanne Conroy at Workfit. She was fantastic. When I started working with her, I could barely walk a kilometer. I could have never done this yoga challenge. With her help, I have improved to the point that I can do...
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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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