Long-term relationship with yoga

I have recently had one or two really terrible yoga practices. Mostly related to practicing the same things too often AND pushing myself too hard. Who would ever guess I'm a perfectionist?

Anyway, after one particularly humbling class where my hips cramped up after 20 minutes and I then cried for the rest of the class (I'm certain it was one of my finer moments), I had a bit of a revelation once I recovered from my embarrassment.

Here it is, in a nutshell: "Yoga is a long-term relationship, and just like in any committed relationship, sometimes you're going to have really bad days."

Can't believe it took me five years to realize that!

The Horizon

Work has been intensely stressful and non-stop for several weeks. With a major event looming ahead next weekend, I have found myself unbalanced, filled with anxiety, and suffering from stomach ailments. It has been so extreme that I found myself unable to do my favorite Western-style exercise yesterday, which is riding on my stationary bicycle.

Today, I realized that the only thing that would possibly help was - you guessed it - yoga. And I was right. I had an hour to myself this morning, so pulled my mat out to the porch, and listened to the birds and felt lovely spring breezes on my skin while I practiced. It was a fairly basic routine, but one which I knew I could accomplish without too much frustration, and it was absolutely the right thing to do.

These past few weeks I have come to realize just how precious yoga has become to me. What a wonderful addition my practice has been to my life! I feel blessed to have found this kind of peace.

Namaste.

Rules of thumb

I have decided I will occasionally post "rules" here, probably random things that I decide are important. And I can do that if I want, because this is my blog. (Ah, the POWER!!!)

Today's rule is: "Never say it can't get any worse." I'm not going to go on about Murphy's Law or tempting fates or knocking on wood. For whatever reason, declaring to the universe that there is no way it can get any worse is just too juicy of a dare for said universe to resist.

Alexander Valley Merlot 2006

Alexander Valley Merlot 2006 (Alexander & Fitch Winery) is a wine that I would like to like. The label sounded so promising, but I should have been more wary that it only told the story of how the winery was founded and said nothing about the actual wine in the bottle. This is certainly not the worst wine I've ever had, but if I opened a bottle of white that was this poor quality, I'd put a bunch of ice in the glass to dull the taste. This wine is just too astringent - nice berry notes and bold flavors, but I expected the acidity to dissipate as I let it breathe and that just didn't happen. Disappointing. I give it "2 glasses" and I didn't even ask my husband to taste it, because that would just launch a gripe session focusing on this being the reason that a lot of people can't stand to drink red wine...

Trentatre Rosso Salento

We picked up a bottle of this wine at Trader Joe's over the weekend. When I first opened the bottle, it seemed a bit too fruity and bright for my husband, but our tastes are different and he prefers a much more mellow red. I enjoyed it: the forward berry, clean and bright finish, the way it made my taste buds kind of perk up, though it was a bit too acidic for me. However, by the second night, this bottle had taken on a richness and depth that was far superior, so I guess it needed to breathe. I think it would be great with a spicy marinara sauce, but since I didn't try it that way, I can't be sure! I'll give it "3 glasses." Good but not the best.

HRM Rex Goliath Merlot

Holy smokes this wine is delicious!!!! (See following crummy picture - taken with my phone because our camera is on the fritz.)

I was so taken aback by the pleasure of drinking this wine from the first sip that I am having trouble describing it. The label on the back says "big, fruit-forward flavors" and I certainly agree with that. But even more than that, this wine has a buttery feel on the tongue, has a smooth but crisp finish, definitely calls to mind flavors of berries and it was great with chocolate. Oh, AND it was still terrific on the 3rd night ater I opened it. This wine is worth a lot more than the $10 that it is retailing for!!!

I can't recommend this one enough - I give it a rating of "whole bottle" with no reservations at all. I can't wait to drink it again.

Spring! Spring! Spring!

Ah, Spring!!! She has arrived in full force here in Ohio, and we are ever so grateful. I can't remember an early warm spring like this, at least not in recent enough memory, and oh it is such a treat. My back porch is proving to be a spectacular spot for yoga. We live in a quiet neighborhood with a big yard, and since ours is a 3-season porch with indoor/outdoor carpet, it's nearly perfect for yoga. If only my husband weren't washing the car right in front of me every time I spread out my yoga mat...

I spent a lot of time in the garden this weekend, prepping the beds for both flowers and vegetables. This weather is a temptress - I fear a lot of people will put their flowers and veggies in too early; since we are still about 7 weeks away from the last frost date for our area, that would be a big mistake!!! I will resist!! Except, I am going to go ahead and sow cilantro and basil outside. I'll start some on the porch too, just in case the weather zaps the ones outdoors. But that's all, I swear, I won't put in anything else outdoors yet.

Unless I just can't resist, that is. I have a feeling there will be lots more to report on this garden saga this year.

Anticipating Sunshine

After such a gray winter, we are all looking forward to today's predicted high temperature of 66 degrees! With sunshine! I'll say it again: with sunshine!!!! I'm thinking that if it's warm outside this evening, I might skip my usual workout and do sun salutations for a while out on the back porch. Sort of my own personal offering to Mother Nature, for this gift of spring.

And then, of course, I will have a glass of scrumptious cabernet sauvignon to cap off my night. Perhaps we'll even drag out the fire bowl for the backyard? Aaaaah. Sounds magical!

Wild Rush

My newest friend is Racquel, a yoga teacher, who stayed with us last weekend. She brought us a bottle of Wild Rush 2009, South Africa, Chenin Blanc. My husband is not much interested in white wines, but this was not a bottle of wine that had anything to do with him. This wine was feminine and friendly - and I don't mean overly sweet! It was a gracious, drinkable wine, with notes of butter and citrus, dry but not too dry. Definitely suitable for giving to someone who you do not know very well but have reason to believe will become a friend.

Overall, I give this wine a rating of 3.5 glasses. And I did enjoy finishing the bottle after it had been open for 24 hours, and it held up quite nicely in our fridge!

Covey wowed me (or, Universe, I'm Listening...)

One of my favorite new books/philosophies on interpersonal relationship and business management is "The Speed of Trust" by Stephen M.R. Covey (of FranklinCovey and CoveyLink). So I wrote to him several days ago to tell him how much I appreciate his book and his research on the subject of trust. And today, HE WROTE BACK TO ME!!!! I won't stalk him or seek his counsel or presume him to be my new best friend, but I am seriously impressed.

The universe has overwhelmed me with greatness over the past few days: first the weekend with Rebecca Lerner (and Vicky Elwell and Racquel Graham, I must add) and now a personal email from Stephen M.R. Covey! Makes me wonder what else is in store for me? I'M LISTENING, UNIVERSE, with all of my senses and a heart open to hearing the message. What is it you want me to hear?!?

As the CoveyLink people would say, "Keep making waves."

First weekend workshop with Rebecca

(Update and note: having just re-read this post, I think it's a bit technical, and possibly I'm using the wrong names for some of the poses, so apologies in advance if you're just a casual reader - or if you know WAY more about yoga than me and I've gotten something wrong!)

Having just completed my very first complete weekend workshop with Rebecca Lerner, I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I managed to keep up with most of the class, which is saying quite a lot, considering the curriculum and who some of the students were...

I feel somewhat overwhelmed by the amount of information I tried to take in this weekend, and I am mentally as well as physically exhausted. I did learn that I am ready to begin pranyama studies (as if I have time to add something else to my busy schedule - ha!) and I think I honestly need the pranyama. Racquel (who also stayed at our house this weekend) tells me there is a wonderful guided pranyama sequence on CD, by John Schumacher, and I will investigate picking up a copy.

About the only things I can remember right now are: "posing and then reposing" to correct and readjust asanas; giving your own body directional touches to train various parts to move in the right direction for particular asanas; two particular adjustments - using hands to physically "pull" the armpits forward so they don't get stuck in the triceps and using thumbs to sort of "push" the flesh of the buttocks down. I'm not yet quite ready to try to incorporate a discussion of "opening the mouth of the anal sphincter" though I suspect it should be a vital part of my practice...

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. Which is a good thing, considering it was my Christmas present! And a big shout out to Racquel, who was a delightful houseguest and very tolerant of our children and our informal lifestyle.

Namaste!

PS I will definitely post soon about the important role wine played in my survival of the weekend!

UPDATE: It's Monday morning, and I remembered a few other things as I was driving to work. "Open door" vs. "closed door" poses - refers to hips, shoulders, chest; the strength in paryankasana (sp?) (head balance variation that's on the elbows, with head off the floor and hands pressing a block) comes from keeping the shoulder blades deeply into the back and moving towards the buttocks; sarvangasana II (headstand with forearms and hands flat on the floor) is a dynamite pose; and somersaulting into viparita kirani (legs up the wall) is delightfully fun!

Painting and yoga

As it turns out, my painting project had everything to do with yoga. That is to say, the stamina required for many yoga poses was required throughout the completion of the project. As I suffered through a mighty sore hand (applying three coats of paint within 36 hours can have that effect), shoulders and even buttocks. And then faced a shortage of paint, having purchased an insufficient quantity to finish the room.

A word on deciding what quantity of paint to buy: it was a decidedly, monstrously rookie mistake to not buy enough paint to finish the room!!!! After all these years of painting, having painted so much I simply can't calculate the number of rooms I've painted, I should have known better. And yet, there I was, faced with a wall that I could not finish because I did NOT BUY ENOUGH PAINT. Grrrr.

But I digress. So, I dug down deep and drew on my reserves of patience and perseverance (gleaned from my yoga practice, thank you very much!) as well as my years of painting experience. And I was actually able to finish the room after all, though I could not use a roller to finish it, and ended up painting it with a paintbrush to stretch my supply of paint.

In the end, I was so efficient with my brush technique and remaining paint, I had some left over that I can save for touchups! Thank you yoga and life experience!

Decidedly NOT yoga!

Am about to embark on painting the guestroom, in anticipation of (gasp!) having a guest next weekend, a yoga teacher who will be staying with us during the Rebecca Lerner workshop.

This painting is not nearly as ominous as it must sound! In fact, I used to be a scenic painter for theater, so I have no way of calculating how many square feet of wall to which I have applied paint over the years. The main difference is that now, on my own walls, I use really high quality paint and apply it with really high quality rollers. And I take my time and pay attention to every last detail. Which is most decidedly NOT how most of scenic painting is done (at least not for a theatrical production that runs for only 3 days before you tear down the set!).

Nevertheless, I will be glad to have this project done. I plan to stick my MP3 player's earbuds in my ears and listen to music, or, at the very least, PRETEND I am listening to music so that everyone will leave me alone to get this done!

As I said, this is not yoga, but since it's in support of my yoga habit, I think it's fair game to post about it here!

Fear

My yoga teacher read something about fear to us as we were preparing to sink into savasana (corpose pose) in class on Monday night. Basically, the reading said that you cannot conquer fear - rather you must understand it, embrace it, and work with it as a partner in your endeavors.

Taking this idea a bit further, I have found that my own fears are something to be understood one tiny piece at a time. This is becoming easier for me as I age, I suppose largely because I don't expect such immediate results out of anything. I have simply learned that's not the way it works, that most things that can be accomplished are done in small increments. Perhaps, even, that they are BEST accomplished one little piece at a time.

In my own yoga practice, I have been at various times afraid of headstand, full arm balance, and shoulderstand. One thing that became clear to me early on was that I was afraid of being upside down, of having my buttocks up over my head. This understanding made it dramatically easier to approach inversions in general, and now, they are one of the strongest parts of my practice.

That could be all the wisdom I have in me today. Enjoy! And leave me comments about your own journeys through fear. Namaste.

Twist and Cry

Yoga class last night was focused on twists - mostly standing twists (which are also backbends to a degree) and basic twists to work on fundamental alignment. Which can make for a very difficult, or at least a demanding, practice.

80% of the way through the class, we took a break from the twists to practice full-arm balance, headstand and shoulderstand. Of course, these are also very fundamental and demanding in their own way!

We then finished the class with Marichyasana III (forgive the spelling!), which is a very deep seated twist with a clasp; it is difficult and requires a good warmup of the shoulders, side waist, chest, hips, and legs, all of which we had achieved by that point. I was able to complete the clasp on both sides, which was a very rewarding experience, though I felt quite short of breath from the way the pose stretched and positioned my chest. Obviously, I need to perform this pose a great deal more so that I can find comfort in the discomfort.

But to get to the point of this post: we set up for a supported savasana (corpse pose), and before we had been in the pose for a minute, I was quietly sobbing hard! I was actually shaking on my mat and blankets and had to work quite hard to control my emotions.

I would like to believe that this is the effect that deep twists combined with gentle backbends can have on a yogi, rather than making some sort of comment about what an emotional twit I am, and so I will go on believing that "it's not me -it's the yoga!"

Namaste.

Frosting Emergency

My dad called yesterday morning (while I was at yoga class, thank you very much!) and asked that I call him back as soon as possible because he had a "frosting emergency." Several hours later, my husband gave me the message, and we laughed for a minute about what it could possibly be - honestly, who has a frosting emergency?

Turns out what my dad had actually said was that he had an "ice-ing" emergency. Ice, as in I-C-E, as in: when one has a muscle injury, when should you ice it and when should you apply heat? Well, by the time we got done laughing about the message I had received, I learned that my sister was able to help him and so the situation was taken care of.

And we ALL agreed that, gee, we could really go for a piece of cake! With frosting, naturally. :)

Concannon Vineyard 2007 Merlot

Concannon Vineyard 2007 Merlot is a delicious wine - lots of berry and cherry, bright but smooth at the same time. Not quite substantial enough to stand up to pairing it with dark chocolate (which is always a test of the very best reds, I think!!!), but nevertheless very nice on its own and it makes me think it would be good with a hearty French bread and probably brie, as well. Yum - now I'm hungry! In any case, I'll give it rating of 4 glasses. My husband was sick this week so while he enjoyed the small glass he sampled, I'm afraid any rating he'd give it would be informed by the decongestants, so I won't add his rating here. We'll certainly buy another bottle soon, though, so he can give his opinion. I know, it's hard work, but somebody has to do it...

An afternoon of shopping

What a lovely afternoon spent shopping with a dear friend! We didn't do anything fancy - Kohl's and Target and the Ben Franklin (for snake food, i.e., frozen mice!) but it was very relaxing. Plus, we ate lunch at a local Mexican joint that is quite wonderful. How can you go wrong with that combo: great friend, great food, and some new clothes and jewelry for both of us. That's MY kind of spa day!

Two days with Mamma & Pop-Pop

Aaaaah. Have just returned from two (all-too-short) days with my younger son (who is 2 1/2) and my parents, better known around here as Mamma & Pop-Pop. Not luxurious by any means, but relaxing and enjoyable nonetheless. I even got the opportunity to watch the recent "Masterpiece Theatre" version of Jane Austen's "Persuasion," which is a lovely film if you like that sort of thing. And my dad and I really do like that sort of thing! (I was also able to fit in a visit to Sephora with my sister - wonderful and indulgent and badly needed!!!!)

I was also able to fit in a basic but satisfying hour of yoga. I was careful to work in lots of chest openers and backbends because everybody around here has been sick with various respiratory stuff lately (one of the reasons I haven't posted in a few days).

As I said, "Aaaaah." Lovely to have a couple of days with the family, oh, and of course, to have this entire week OFF from work!!!!! Yahoo.

Aaaaah.

Sun Salutations

I have realized that one of the (many!) weaknesses in my yoga practice is my lack of incorporating Sun Salutations. Surprisingly, there's a lot of discussion about Sun Salutations and how they do/do not fit into an Iyengar-style Yoga practice, but not many comprehensible descriptions of what comprises said Sun Salutation. I found a couple of videos, but still, they were meant to be demonstrations of a principle or style rather than a guide on which poses to sequence.

So I shall continue seeking, perhaps look for printed reference material instead, and perhaps write about it here when I find a decent answer.

Two Vines Columbia Crest

Three weeks of 2 kids trading 1 cold bug back and forth equals 1 grumpy mommy!

So for today's post, I will stop being grumpy for a few minutes and talk about a delicious wine, actually all of them we've tried so far, from the Two Vines Columbia Crest line (click on title of post above to go to their website). To the best of my recollection, we've had the merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and chardonnay, and each from two different years. We have enjoyed them immensely! Pepperwood Grove is still our favorite, but this one is close.

My hubby and I both give these a rating of somewhere between 4 glasses and whole bottle!

(I promise I will talk about some wines we've had that are duds, too, but for tonight that's just too depressing...now I'm off to go wipe another runny nose. Sigh.)

Bleary Mondays

Honestly, by the time the end of the day rolls around on Monday, I'm so tired I can barely concentrate hard enough to drive home... perhaps I could work a few energizing standing backbends into my end of the day routine at work?

Anyhow, by the time I get home with the kids, I'm pretty much on autopilot until I get to leave for my 7 pm yoga class. Don't have dinner planned out for tonight? Well, then we're having grilled cheese. Somebody's throwing a tantrum? Oh goody, somebody gets a timeout! (One of these days I'd love it if somebody would put ME in timeout!) What's that pile of clean laundry doing on the bed and will someone please remind me how to fold laundry because I'm pretty sure I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW TO DO ANY OF THIS ON A MONDAY.

Aaaah. Mondays. I don't hate them, I just can't seem to get past how hard the transition back to the work week seems to be EVERY SINGLE WEEK.

Book Store Humor

This one's for my friend Cinda (OK, for all the bookworms in my life, but especially Cinda):

"If you are looking for a book and you just can't find it anywhere in the book store, you are obviously in the..."

Cheers!

Less-than-good decision

Last night we took our 2 boys to dinner after work and school and visiting Daddy's new workplace and dropping the car off at the shop AND after the 2-year-old was just recovering from a bad cold/fever that lasted 2 solid days. (Any parent reading this can see any number of warning signs here that we were, admittedly, idiotic to ignore...)

Anyhow, it could have been much worse - for example, nobody vomited or wiped boogers on a hapless waitress or flung their refried beans at the chandeliers or exhibited symptoms of wild demonic possession - but we ended up taking turns holding said 2-year-old while he alternately cried and napped and whined about his runny nose. I fully admit this was our fault for dragging him to the restaurant when we clearly knew better! And I will give our 7-year-old credit for being an angel, even when he asked to taste the HOT SAUCE and instantly regretted it.

Nonetheless, no matter how desperate we are for a night out in the future, I will recommend seriously against taking tired post-sick kids to an honest-to-goodness restaurant. Lesson learned! Until the next time, I'm sure, when we'll undoubtedly make such a dumb decision again!

Pepperwood Grove

Our current favorite wine is Pepperwood Grove, either the merlot or cabernet sauvignon. We have had both the 2006 and 2008, and they are delicious! On this one, my hubby and I agree. We give this a "whole bottle" rating.

Rebecca Lerner in March

Rebecca Lerner will be in Cleveland for a weekend-long yoga retreat in March. Will be held at the Yoga Loft in the Village (click on the title of this post or click here to go to Vicky Elwell's website and check out the "events" page for more details). I can't wait!

Day #2

Day number two of working from home to take care of kids. Yesterday was a snow day; today the little one is sick with a bad cold. So I'm going a wee bit stir crazy. Nonetheless, I'm managing to get a LOT of work done remotely... it's amazing how much I can get done without the office distractions. Even a sick child isn't as distracting as the office. Now that's funny!

Stressful times like these call for either wine or yoga: so I'm looking forward to a glass of wine tonight with my friend Lori!

Yoga Sutras

My copy of B.K.S. Iyengar's "Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali" arrived in the mail yesterday. I can't wait to delve into it!

Perhaps while I'm drinking a glass of wine? :)

An unconventional approach...

So, I know that many, many practitioners of yoga believe you should not eat any meat and should not consume any alcohol.

Me? I consider yoga and wine to be great hobbies! And I eat meat!

Controversial? Maybe, and often...

Unconventional? Actually, yes, and I wouldn't have it any other way.