What a great workout today. I was a little nervous when I saw that Yin Yoga was no longer a part of the program for the next few weeks. I really enjoyed that practice, but the flexibility workout seems to combine the best elements of Yin with a much more dynamic practice.
Funnily but I suppose unsurprisingly enough, the strength and flexibility workouts meet their stereotypes with the former being dude dominated and the latter being lady loaded. *insert crass joke about flexible ladies*...va va voom!
But srsly folks. It was athletically challenging and yet so rewarding. Really a fun workout. The one pose I couldn't begin to do was the yogic squat with bind. I'm not sure that's the name, but in any event, I'm pretty sure my body doesn't bend like that.
My hamstrings are still so tight, but hopefully through this workout they can get better.
It was a great start to the morning. Too bad the rest of the day sucked. I can't wait to do it again.
Showing posts with label yinyoga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yinyoga. Show all posts
Monday, February 10, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Days 33-34 - Be Gentle
Yesterday was the first day of eating vegan. Probably ever. As I write this I am staring at my bowl of roasted red pepper hommous and thinking that veganism actually is not that terrible. I have had more energy, felt lighter and more refreshed. But I've also felt more hungry. I think I tend to get fuller faster over fewer calories but then my body gives a backlash so I end up eating more frequently.
Yesterday I made a cauliflower and chick pea curry. Proud of myself because I did it with no recipe and it was actually pretty tasty. Today I made a spicy bok choy with pad thai noodles. Tomorrow I'm thinking of doing something with tofu.
Today's yoga practice was the first time doing gentle yoga. Not really my cup of tea. Much prefer the yin yoga (which is tomorrow's practice). I couldn't focus well, but I'm sure it didn't help that I was freezing, exhausted and running late. Work has become insane again and I'm trying to motivate, but it is very hard without the supplements to delude me into a happier mindset.
I better get to bed and do a little meditation - starting to feel hazy and today was extremely stressful. Glad to be ending it in a good mood. Tomorrow I have back to back meetings all day, but I still have my Yin Yoga practice so I know I will be fine.
Yesterday I made a cauliflower and chick pea curry. Proud of myself because I did it with no recipe and it was actually pretty tasty. Today I made a spicy bok choy with pad thai noodles. Tomorrow I'm thinking of doing something with tofu.
Today's yoga practice was the first time doing gentle yoga. Not really my cup of tea. Much prefer the yin yoga (which is tomorrow's practice). I couldn't focus well, but I'm sure it didn't help that I was freezing, exhausted and running late. Work has become insane again and I'm trying to motivate, but it is very hard without the supplements to delude me into a happier mindset.
I better get to bed and do a little meditation - starting to feel hazy and today was extremely stressful. Glad to be ending it in a good mood. Tomorrow I have back to back meetings all day, but I still have my Yin Yoga practice so I know I will be fine.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Days 18 & 19 - Double Your Money
2 posts for the price of one. Doesn't get better than that? Reason being - not much exciting to report. After a day where I was too sick to get out of bed I did manage to bring myself to the mat for Yin Yoga yesterday. It was just what the Dr. ordered and I honestly started feeling better afterwards. But just being able to walk around again and get out of bed seemed like a miracle. Also the mystery neck crook had returned and didn't seem to want to go away anytime soon.
Well the decision point came - do we give up our beloved dog of 4 years or do we try somehow to keep her despite our overly hectic schedules? Our mother-in-law had been taking care of her for the few months leading up to this, but suffered a broken elbow after slipping on the ice when our dog tugged on her. The irony is I had just been saying to my mother-in-law the day before that we should consider finding the dog another home because it would be a better life for the dog. Better than receiving two short walks each day and being left alone all day. Better than being seen as a burden and a chore. She should be somewhere she can run off lead and be with a family that loves her. That is in the dog's best interest. It is also in our best interest because we can relieve ourselves of the commitment.
But after spending a weekend with her a few things happened:
As I wrote this she came into the living room and just jumped into my lap and laid down. She's a great dog and indeed a "Goo Gir".
So with a clear conscience I awoke this morning and commenced the detox workout. Partially due to the illness, this was easily the hardest workout I've faced yet and I was sweating buckets, but I made it through and at the time of writing this, I realize I haven't had medicine in nearly 8 hours and I feel great - except for that neck crank.
Well the decision point came - do we give up our beloved dog of 4 years or do we try somehow to keep her despite our overly hectic schedules? Our mother-in-law had been taking care of her for the few months leading up to this, but suffered a broken elbow after slipping on the ice when our dog tugged on her. The irony is I had just been saying to my mother-in-law the day before that we should consider finding the dog another home because it would be a better life for the dog. Better than receiving two short walks each day and being left alone all day. Better than being seen as a burden and a chore. She should be somewhere she can run off lead and be with a family that loves her. That is in the dog's best interest. It is also in our best interest because we can relieve ourselves of the commitment.
But after spending a weekend with her a few things happened:
- I saw how loving an animal she is. She came to curl up with me just like old times, keeping me warm when I was shivering from my illness, laying down outside of my son's room while he slept, and otherwise just being by our side.
- I realized how much my son loves her already. He chases her around saying "Goo Gir" (good girl) and patting her. He would feed her kibble by kibble. The smile on his face is just priceless. What an amazing opportunity it is for him to grow up with the love of animals - something my parents never gave to me or my siblings and something we had to develop (and only some of us did).
- I came to understand that all her "bad behaviors" were really not hers at all, but rather the byproduct of bad ownership on our part. I was saddened to see everyone else willing to discard her just because she was inconvenient, but all the memories of all the times she had been there for us in the last four years came flooding to me.
As I wrote this she came into the living room and just jumped into my lap and laid down. She's a great dog and indeed a "Goo Gir".
So with a clear conscience I awoke this morning and commenced the detox workout. Partially due to the illness, this was easily the hardest workout I've faced yet and I was sweating buckets, but I made it through and at the time of writing this, I realize I haven't had medicine in nearly 8 hours and I feel great - except for that neck crank.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Day 11 - Ancient Chinese Secret
Who would have thunk it? Today I woke up with the crook in my neck again. Maybe a little better, but on the whole still painful to move around. Honestly was so tired this morning that I'm not sure if I took some tylenol, but to be honest it hasn't been that helpful. Then get this - after my yin yoga practice today, the pain is mostly gone. I don't really understand it, but maybe there is something to this healing art of getting into connective tissue / fascia of the joint that Travis keeps harping on about. I'm not 100% better, but I can now turn my neck most of the way to the left and the right before it starts hurting.
Well that's pretty awesome. I'm also a little sore in the core again, which is doubly awesome because it makes me feel like I'm making progress. I was a little disappointed I wasn't getting sore anymore (guess I'm somewhat masochistic). I was able to get into all the poses a little better today, in part because of increased flexibility (one hopes) and in part because I bought a new ceramic space heater for the living room. The space heater works really really well until it trips the circuit in the room. After this happens twice I decide that third time might be the charm, but only if I use it on low heat. This works. :) Not as nice and toasty, but better than freezing my buns off.
I'm definitely less focused than last week and I realize why (no not Mila Kunis lookalike's low cut top) - my reduced supplement dosage. For years I have used NoXplode not only for its strength and energy enhancing purposes (the primary purpose of the product), but also for its feel good and mental focus functions. This is why the stuff gets so addictive. You feel great, though like any drug that feeling wears off over time and you need increased dosages. You also have great mental focus and intellectual capability. It is actually a form of cheating, but in our competitive world it is hard to keep up without it. Occasionally I still kick myself for not taking my supplements the day of my LSAT. I actually performed about 5 points lower than my testing average as a result. Still not sure why I made the call not to take it, but maybe it was for the best for reasons beyond the scope of this post.
Anyway, that is a very helpful realization because it allows me to be more patient with myself in this transition phase. This is made more poignant by Travis' discussion of the lifespan of professional athletes. Won't give it away, but it really helps put things into perspective. If I want to live a long and happy life, without the anxiety and tension of stimulants, without the aches and pains of using chemical means to push myself harder than I should (mentally and physically), then I need to accept that my performance may not be at its peak level and that's ok. Artificial high performance may benefit my company, my friends, my family or even me in the short run, but in the long run it does damage and can limit the time I have on this Earth with my son and nothing in this limited lifetime is more important than that.
Well that's pretty awesome. I'm also a little sore in the core again, which is doubly awesome because it makes me feel like I'm making progress. I was a little disappointed I wasn't getting sore anymore (guess I'm somewhat masochistic). I was able to get into all the poses a little better today, in part because of increased flexibility (one hopes) and in part because I bought a new ceramic space heater for the living room. The space heater works really really well until it trips the circuit in the room. After this happens twice I decide that third time might be the charm, but only if I use it on low heat. This works. :) Not as nice and toasty, but better than freezing my buns off.
I'm definitely less focused than last week and I realize why (no not Mila Kunis lookalike's low cut top) - my reduced supplement dosage. For years I have used NoXplode not only for its strength and energy enhancing purposes (the primary purpose of the product), but also for its feel good and mental focus functions. This is why the stuff gets so addictive. You feel great, though like any drug that feeling wears off over time and you need increased dosages. You also have great mental focus and intellectual capability. It is actually a form of cheating, but in our competitive world it is hard to keep up without it. Occasionally I still kick myself for not taking my supplements the day of my LSAT. I actually performed about 5 points lower than my testing average as a result. Still not sure why I made the call not to take it, but maybe it was for the best for reasons beyond the scope of this post.
Anyway, that is a very helpful realization because it allows me to be more patient with myself in this transition phase. This is made more poignant by Travis' discussion of the lifespan of professional athletes. Won't give it away, but it really helps put things into perspective. If I want to live a long and happy life, without the anxiety and tension of stimulants, without the aches and pains of using chemical means to push myself harder than I should (mentally and physically), then I need to accept that my performance may not be at its peak level and that's ok. Artificial high performance may benefit my company, my friends, my family or even me in the short run, but in the long run it does damage and can limit the time I have on this Earth with my son and nothing in this limited lifetime is more important than that.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Day 4 - Yin Yoga
Let's start with last night's meditation. 10 minutes of profound thoughts about how much I really don't want to go back to work. Not much of a meditation, but was still nice to lay on the ground for 10 minutes.
Today's practice - Yin Yoga. Wikipedia describes Yin Yoga as "a slow-paced style of yoga with postures or asanas that are held for comparatively long periods of time."
Finally, a chance to take it easy. I'll take this Yin with a side of Yang please. I also notice that the cast of characters seems slightly shaken up. Tattoo scar chest seems to have been replaced by a guy that looks like a mildly bearded Otaku who left the computer to try and get in shape...just like me! Cool, I can do this. Cute Asian girl has also been replaced with cute South East Asian girl. One of the brunettes looks like a much prettier Mila Kunis, but is wearing a conspicuously low cut tank top. I like Yin Yoga.
First pose of the day is
Finally, a chance to take it easy. I'll take this Yin with a side of Yang please. I also notice that the cast of characters seems slightly shaken up. Tattoo scar chest seems to have been replaced by a guy that looks like a mildly bearded Otaku who left the computer to try and get in shape...just like me! Cool, I can do this. Cute Asian girl has also been replaced with cute South East Asian girl. One of the brunettes looks like a much prettier Mila Kunis, but is wearing a conspicuously low cut tank top. I like Yin Yoga.
First pose of the day is
- courtesy of www.fitknitchick.com @ here
What the funk? My body doesn't bend like that. Travis says "we're going to hold this for 3 minutes". Seriously?
Turns out each pose is held for 3-5 minutes to allow you to really work into the poses and release all the fascia or something like that in your connective tissue. I'm just thinking "ow". Apparently this will make me feel rejuvenated, but right now I just feel "ow".
Then the truth comes out. "Some of you might be thinking this is the hardest practice". Well to be honest, I don't think it is harder or easier. It is harder in some ways, but easier athletically. Some poses are really difficult, but others feel really good. Nevertheless, I find it remarkable how each of the poses manages to work into and release some area where I've had a pre-existing injury. Of course I'm careful not to overdue it so as not to hurt those places. Travis mentions that this practice is designed to help heal those injuries. Huh, just what the doctor ordered. Still I'm amazed how much of my weaknesses this practice targets and it overall feels really good..."like a good massage" to quote Bryan Kest. My injuries are a large part of the reason why I fell back into yoga, but that is another story for another time.
I never enjoyed slow paced yoga before, but I would highly recommend Yin Yoga to anyone looking for a change of pace and a chance to work on some problem spots.
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