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.

Day 23 - Electrify that spine

I swear that Travis Eliot might have been the Rock in a former career.  He has so many catchy catch phrases like "Electrify that spine" and "See you on the mat" all of which sound like WWE catch phrases.  He truly is the people's Yogi.

My focus has been remarkably strange.  I no longer perve so much - even Lauren Eckstrom in brown yoga pants can't catch my glare when I'm on, but little things (like an errant $75 credit card charge) can drain 10-15 minutes of my workout on and off.  Really frustrating.  But I am getting better at pushing it out of my mind and coming back to my breath.

The cardio portion of the workout was actually pretty easy today.  Sadly because of my back condition I couldn't do certain moves like plow ("Darn!") and so of course I used that as an opportunity to perv on Lauren and the equally hot Patti who is super hot in that Brazilian muscular chick way (though I have no idea if she actually is Brazilian).  Of course she is not quite as hot as the uber beautiful Victoria Gracie from the Georges St. Pierre Rushfit series.

Image courtesy of http://cosasdenacho.siguealconejoblanco.com/marvel/las-ironettes/

Which I think is a site that pervs on the ladies from Iron Man 2

Yes I said Gracie.  In other words she could probably triangle choke you out in a few seconds and if not, her brothers/uncles would be sure to kick your a$$!  It was a hard day when I decided to quit the program due to shoulder and wrist pain, mainly because I wouldn't be able to see her beaming on a daily basis.

Anyway - the good news according to the doc and my X-rays is that nothing is broken or slipped in my scapula.  The bad news is that it is unclear what is causing the pain.  Doc suspects it is "muscular", but it could take a few weeks of physical therapy to improve...which I take to mean more yoga.  I'll just be careful when I electrify my spine...

Day 12 - Get those toxins out

Wowza - today's detox workout was probably the hardest one I've faced so far, but also one of the most satisfying.  I had some of the best focus I've had yet.  I think the following contributed:

• Sleeping in and working out when the boy took his nap in the afternoon;
• A warmer living room; and
• Finding my breath.

This was perfect - especially b/c I did something very unnatural yesterday and zapped all my back hair. Yes, actually my 5th session of laser hair removal.  So painful and all for vanity, but yoga breathing helped sooooo much to avoid the pain.  Ironically the place I go to for hair removal also operates a yoga studio and I met the Yin Yoga teacher.  Go figure - maybe I will try it after I am done with the 108, but I still wonder if there is a contradiction in places that have that kind of focus on aesthetics also being a yoga studio.  Then again, I noticed while doing hardcore today that Travis Eliot's body is virtually hairless, yet he definitely has a healthy amount of stubble on his face.  Guessing that body is not naturally that (antonym of hirsute?)

Anyway - my few distraction thoughts today: Brazilian looking lady is named Patti (Patty?).  She is also hot.  One dude has a shitty blue tiger tattoo on his shoulder that reminds me of my best friend Bibo's shitty tiger tattoo.  That Lauren Eckstrom really is pretty hot.

Same thoughts as usual I guess, the key is that the frequency was much less.  I focused for most of the workout.  Still suffering on meditation though.

I also have a dilemma.  I'm traveling next week and thought was to do yoga in my hotel room by just bringing my DVDs, but after reaching out to a colleague to see if there was a good space she suggested a yoga class on the company campus.  I really want to check it out, but it is the same day as my cardio day so I don't think I could handle both workouts!

Day 9 - Neck Crack

Man that crook in my neck hasn't gotten any better yet.  Trying to figure out which pose or poses is doing it to me.  I don't have any problem while in the workouts, but something seems to be creating an issue.  Guess its a tylenol day.

Today's cardio workout was lot of fun.  I wore heavy sweats and a sweater so that I could survive the freezer that is my living room.  Good plan.  Definitely broke a sweat today.  I try and do a pushup between each sun salutation, but I started to fail towards the end and my upward dogs became cobras for sure.

I finally got around to watching the introduction.  Leggy brunette is Lauren Eckstrom.  You can find her here.  A suitably hot name for a suitably hot lady. 

 

Courtesy of http://laureneckstromyoga.com/?page_id=4

Have I mentioned that I love Yoga?

Apparently she is a yoga instructor in Santa Monica and teaches retreats with Travis (I've secretly been wondering if they are an item).  She lost like 6 lbs or something doing the program. (N.B. it was actually 16 but srsly folks? I fluctuate 10 in a day).

We meet a few other people.  I was totally going to raz on the guy I like to call sweaty Marky Mark in a future session.  Then we find out he was addicted to Aderol and Anti-depressants and yoga gave him his life back.  Now I just feel like an a$$h*le (which I am, but I don't need YOU to remind me).

Obv last night's meditation was a failure so won't go into it.