After Day 28 of Yoga

Nov 25, 13 After Day 28 of Yoga

Posted by in Fitness

I have been doing yoga now for 28 days straight.  I started with a 21 day challenge and then signed up for a 30 day challenge that was starting near the end of my 21 days.   I just completed day 28 and thought I would give you an update about what is happening with me now. First and foremost, I have lost 7 pounds.  While the first part of the challenge was about tolerating the heat, now I can focus on diet, and I can make it through most of the physical parts of the yoga practice.  I have added in the Fast Metabolism Diet  and it is a great fit with the 30 day challenge. I am starting to feel muscles all over my body.  It is exciting to see muscles growing.  I am feeling peaceful toward my family and more in control of my life in spite of the huge time commitment of the challenge.  I am feeling more gentle with my family–more connected with Mel.  I have noticed that I am craving more time with the boys.   Getting up early to do yoga and my rush into the kitchen just in time to do lunches keeps me from morning snuggles in bed and getting them up and dressed.  Doing some afternoon classes might be a good idea but those times continually get sucked up by something else.  The early morning class is the one reason this is successful.  Nothing gets in the way of a 6:30 class.  I love that! I am now able to do most of the poses.  I feel strong and vibrant as I move from pose to pose and I am better and better able to participate in each one.  I hear the voices of the teachers from the previous days of classes in my head as I stretch into each pose trying to get each angle right, to stretch my body to make the best possible pose. I feel like it is happening.  I...

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Dear Diary, It’s Hard to Come Home…

Aug 25, 13 Dear Diary, It’s Hard to Come Home…

Posted by in Dear Diary, Travel

4 countries 6 currencies 38 days 4 backpacks 3 rental cars 1 car loaned by friends 2 ferries old friends new friends 2 amusement parks 3 medieval villages 1 mountain climb to a chateau daily scrapbooks fresh baked bread old cheese, salami, french wine, Danish snaps, Danish beer, bubbles, 4 swimming pools, 2 hot springs, 2 beaches, and a whole lot of sunshine… It has been a week since we returned from our 5 week trip to Iceland, France, Denmark, and Sweden.  I have had a hard time reintegrating  back into my life.  I have had difficulty writing.  Not because I don’t have anything to say but because I have been on some kind of sensory overload for several weeks now and I have had a hard time forming a thought of my own.  I have been awash in varied and intense emotions. I have had my fill of beautiful places and interesting visual stimulation.  I have had my fill of re-connection and connection with people I have known, and people I have gotten to meet in the last month.  I am physically spent.  I can feel the physical exhaustion hanging on even though I have taken it easy this week and haven’t tried to do too much. I am sated by the time on vacation with my family and have been enjoying some time alone this week.  Being in close quarters with my family was so warm and we have shared a real sense of connection that was sweet and special.  Now we are all disconnecting just a bit so we can go on with our individual lives. People want to hear about our trip and I am not ready to talk about it much yet.  It is like a new lover, something to savor that is greater than words.  If I talk about it, I tie it down, I accidentally commit to giving it a meaning instead of letting my feelings exist on their own in a land without words.  I want...

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