mishap

I was supposed to do Core Synergistics yesterday, but this program is all wacky and I got confused and did Yoga instead. Yoga is TODAY! so I will switch it up and do Core Synergistics today even though I hate it. I did get to my 10:30 yoga class yesterday morning though, which was a delight because I love my yoga instructor, Jill, and there's something about being in a yoga studio practicing with other people. Not to get too hippy dippy or nuthin, but the energy channeled through a room of people working towards a higher concentration is always powerful. Whether you're in a library, lifting weights, playing music, or practicing yoga - when there is a group of people who are focused on something collectively, one can really feel it. With a yoga studio, that energy is often directed towards something positive and beyond the self (at the start of a practice, the typical yoga instructor will ask the yogis to dedicate their practice towards something, whether it is someone who is in need of some good energy, or a situation that needs to be resolved, or even oneself since we can also overlook our own needs) and it's a very positive experience overall.

Jill also works evenings at a different yoga studio that also has massage therapy, and she gave me her email to attend this event they are holding which is integrated yoga and massage which sounds incredible and intense. It's $25 but sounds pretty worth it. If anyone reading this lives in Pittsburgh and would like to attend, drop me a line and I'll hook you up with the necessary information.

Anyway, the focus of yesterday's yoga class was hip openers and arm balances, because the marathon is today and a lot of my classmates are running in it. Hips are very important for runners, power walkers, hockey players, roller derby skaters, cyclists, office workers, and just about everyone else who utilizes their legs and hips. My goal in yoga currently (you know, so I can eventually win yoga) is arm balances. I straight up cannot do them. I can almost do Crow Pose, but in a way that would never make it onto Downward Dog Magazine's cover - and really, if we can't get onto the cover of Downward Dog Magazine, are we even really practicing yoga? (this is a joke, also, I don't think that magazine exists, it's a Tony Horton joke). I guess, that said, what my real goal is in yoga is to be less competitive with yoga, less competitive with myself, less eager to push myself to the outer limits of comfort just so after class Jill says, "hey you are really strong!" or at the very least I feel like I've finished an aerobic workout.

Today I may be going on a 40 mile bike ride with E. Who knows what that will do for my Core Synergistics workout. Recovery Week is hard! Where is the balance? Where are the goals? The structure? Everything is all flimflam right now and I hope that in 2 days when I start phase 2 (damn does Day 1 of Phase 2 look hard!) I will be better at organizing and keeping track of my workouts. Though I can't deny it's been pretty nice being able to just relax all week and do what I want.