So last night, I unrolled the yoga mat that has been giving me the stink eye from the corner of the room all month, popped in the long Power Yoga DVD, and settled in to 75 minutes with my boy Rodney Yee. A few observations: I am stronger than I thought I was. Even stronger than I remember being. Poses that usually give me a hard time, especially just starting out again— plank to pushup to upward dog, warrior 3, half moon pose, and even the basic downward dog and warriors 1 and 2 have been known to be a challenge when I've been coming in cold, years previous— were surprisingly easy, and I could move through each one, and hold each one, smoothly and with calm breath. What I did notice though is that my flexibility has significantly lessened. Other poses I'd taken for granted, such as twisted half lotus, camel, and wheel, were painful and sometimes unachievable the way my body once did them with such ease. And maybe it's just getting older, but the pains in my right side have moved to my left. My guess is it's because I've been subconsciously nursing that side, fearful to cause myself more pain. It's interesting that I felt the strange pressures not only in my butt and hip, but also in my elbow. One of my big bike crashes did leave me with grapefruit sized elbows when I landed straight on the unsuspecting joints upon hitting the pavement, but it was years ago and usually they're only sore when I lean on them (reading in bed is forever an upside-down hobby from here on out). I feel great today, and realize that in order to make myself more flexible, I need to stretch more. I can't run up the Cathedral of Learning six times without first warming up and stretching before and afterwards. Hell, at 32 (and a half) with as many bike, skateboard, rollerblade, hockey, moshing and other crashes and bashes I've had, I shouldn't make it out of my bedroom without doing at least a sun salutation.
Meanwhile, I've been giddy with excitement over my upcoming monthlong retreat in Johnson, Vermont at the Vermont Studio Center. On the wellness end of things, there is a meditation building, daily morning yoga, and the ability to sign up for a month-long or 10-day membership to the Johnson College gym, which has a pool as well as all other gym amenities. Being Vermont, however, there will also be the opportunity to go skiing (downhill and cross country) snowboarding, and snowshoeing, though I will probably stick to the flatlands due to the cost of lift tickets, etc. The food is catered with as much local provisions as possible, and there are vegetarian meals about half the time. I'm a little concerned about this, and will be bringing along my Vega Protein and Greens, and am considering buying some About Time Ve, which is the vegan/gluten free/soy free protein of a local nutrition company. A couple years ago, they sponsored E's cycling team, but the team fell through and with it went our supply.
I know it's early, but in the interest of being proactive and mindful, I'm going to start my list of resolutions for 2015 now. Hopefully I make it to the New Year before giving up.
- daily yoga
- eat only when I'm hungry, but eat whenever I'm hungry
- be mindful in my interactions with people I love, and even more mindful of my interactions with people I distrust or dislike
- be fearless in my writing
- be daring in my submissions of writing to journals
- remember to get fresh air every day; wearing layers and keeping moving makes a world of difference
- remember that the reason I steer away from certain foods is because it makes me feel bad (physically or emotionally), and measure whether I want to feel bad for the sake of something that is easy or tastes good
- love myself and embrace my foibles and follies, because they are part of the human experience
- find pleasure in things that are uncomfortable; if no pleasure can be found, change the thing
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