Showing posts with label yoga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yoga. Show all posts
Day 220: Eka Pada Sirsasana
On Day 220, I went to onlYoga to do a cr-cr-cr-crazy yoga class, in which I ended up doing this awesome pose, Eka Pada Sirsasana:
I would show you in my own picture, but I barfed this morning and therefore have no interest in photographing myself and I certainly don't want to use my abdominals in any conceivable fashion. Blog be damned.
Day 190: A Yoga-ing We Go...
Holy Moly Batman, am I behind or what??
The answer to that question is obviously yes, I am unbelievably behind on this blog, although believe you me, I am doing New Things up to my eyeballs. So many New Things I can't even blog about them all.
This little post is about to turn into a life update, because that's what I do. Okay, so, where to start. Ummm...yes, Thursday is where I left off. Right now, I'm diving DEEP into the Atlanta Yoga Scene thing, and I am on a month-long yoga studio binge. There are about 50 studios that I know of, and I've made it my mission to visit half of them within the next 4-6 weeks. I feel like I've gotta get out and meet the people I'm talking about all the time and to take my own medicine--trying new styles, new teachers, new classes, workshops and more. I've gotten a lot of offers for free classes all around town (this little thing is paying for itself in free classes!) and am having a ball visiting them all.
But with that comes BUSY BUSY BUSY.
I've got a boyfriend, a new puppy, a 9-5 job, Atlanta Yoga Scene stuff (website-ing, classes, calling people, oy my!), calling the insurance people (got in a teeny tiny, un-noticeable fender bender (New Thing number oh-why-are-we-counting is that I damaged the first car I ever bought by myself)) and my sanity to keep juggling, and, I'm afraid, this past week's blogging has taken a back seat.
But the New Things have not!!
On Day 190 (sweet baby Jesus, I've got 175 days left!): I went to Oni Fitness in Vinings for a free Candlelight yoga class.
I didn't necessarily love it and I wouldn't have it on my schedule if I had a yoga studio, but the Oni people were very generous in letting me come to check it out.
Funny story came from that though--I realized that explaining AYS is REALLY hard to do for people who aren't immediately familiar with blogging. I talked to this one woman, and our conversation went like this:
Me: Hi I'm Leah, I run a webiste called Atlanta Yoga Scene that's got all the teachers, classes and events going on in Atlanta, it's pretty cool.
Girl: Oh wow, so you're an editor?
Me: No, I write the content.
Girl: Wow, so you wrote Oni's website?
Me: No, it's my own website, I put it together and it's a blog for what's going on in yoga in Atlanta.
Girl: *quizzical look* What do you write about?
Me: Things happening in Atlanta yoga, you know, events, classes I like, teachers doing cool things, studios opening, that kind of stuff...
Girl: Oh *another quizzical look* why?
Me: Because I thought people might use it and like it and maybe one day, if it ever becomes profitable, I could do it full time.
Girl: Ah, I get it, you teach yoga in Atlanta!!
Me: *face palm* I...tell...people...what's...going...on...in...yoga...in...Atlanta...andthenIwriteaboutit!!
*fume a little*
*recognize I'm fuming*
*deep cleansing, yogic breaths*
I don't think she joined my Facebook group.
It's time to clean up the pitch a little...
The answer to that question is obviously yes, I am unbelievably behind on this blog, although believe you me, I am doing New Things up to my eyeballs. So many New Things I can't even blog about them all.
This little post is about to turn into a life update, because that's what I do. Okay, so, where to start. Ummm...yes, Thursday is where I left off. Right now, I'm diving DEEP into the Atlanta Yoga Scene thing, and I am on a month-long yoga studio binge. There are about 50 studios that I know of, and I've made it my mission to visit half of them within the next 4-6 weeks. I feel like I've gotta get out and meet the people I'm talking about all the time and to take my own medicine--trying new styles, new teachers, new classes, workshops and more. I've gotten a lot of offers for free classes all around town (this little thing is paying for itself in free classes!) and am having a ball visiting them all.
But with that comes BUSY BUSY BUSY.
I've got a boyfriend, a new puppy, a 9-5 job, Atlanta Yoga Scene stuff (website-ing, classes, calling people, oy my!), calling the insurance people (got in a teeny tiny, un-noticeable fender bender (New Thing number oh-why-are-we-counting is that I damaged the first car I ever bought by myself)) and my sanity to keep juggling, and, I'm afraid, this past week's blogging has taken a back seat.
But the New Things have not!!
On Day 190 (sweet baby Jesus, I've got 175 days left!): I went to Oni Fitness in Vinings for a free Candlelight yoga class.
I didn't necessarily love it and I wouldn't have it on my schedule if I had a yoga studio, but the Oni people were very generous in letting me come to check it out.
Funny story came from that though--I realized that explaining AYS is REALLY hard to do for people who aren't immediately familiar with blogging. I talked to this one woman, and our conversation went like this:
Me: Hi I'm Leah, I run a webiste called Atlanta Yoga Scene that's got all the teachers, classes and events going on in Atlanta, it's pretty cool.
Girl: Oh wow, so you're an editor?
Me: No, I write the content.
Girl: Wow, so you wrote Oni's website?
Me: No, it's my own website, I put it together and it's a blog for what's going on in yoga in Atlanta.
Girl: *quizzical look* What do you write about?
Me: Things happening in Atlanta yoga, you know, events, classes I like, teachers doing cool things, studios opening, that kind of stuff...
Girl: Oh *another quizzical look* why?
Me: Because I thought people might use it and like it and maybe one day, if it ever becomes profitable, I could do it full time.
Girl: Ah, I get it, you teach yoga in Atlanta!!
Me: *face palm* I...tell...people...what's...going...on...in...yoga...in...Atlanta...andthenIwriteaboutit!!
*fume a little*
*recognize I'm fuming*
*deep cleansing, yogic breaths*
I don't think she joined my Facebook group.
It's time to clean up the pitch a little...
Day 132: I'm Officially Official!!
Can you believe this didn't already exist?
I started a Twitter account and created a Facebook page a month ago (that already has 117 "likes"!) and within a month I've gotten a lot of really good response. When I first launched the page on Facebook a week ago, I got a swarm of emails saying "put my yoga studio up," "add my name as a teacher," and my favorite "come to my class!"
Well today, I got my very first FREE YOGA CLASS as a result of starting AYS!! I went to Ember Hot Yoga, which is a stunning new studio up in Woodstock. And I'm in love with it almost exclusively because it's my first free class (although, admittedly, I have a couple more coming up soon).
My little business is legit, and people want to work with me! And give me free stuff!!
I feel awesome.
Day 107: Metal Yoga
No one would question that that's a strange combination.
However, they didn't create this type of yoga with no one in mind.
Let me recount a story.
As I pulled up into the parking lot, I targeted the building in which I would be taking class (the Young Blood Gallery), and saw outside something I had never seen before--a girl smoking and carrying a yoga bag. Now, I'm sure that happens all the time in New York, but I didn't think that would happen so blatantly, outside a yoga studio. It's just a little odd. Why she didn't smoke outside her apartment before leaving, I'll never know, but it was a smidgen weird.
I got inside, and placed my mat down randomly in the middle of the floor. Not too long later, a dog comes up to me, lies down at my feet, and starts peeing. On the floor. Not even in a peeing position. Buh-zar.
The people who attend metal yoga are urban twenty-somethings. They girls have shorter hair than most, the guys have longer hair than most, they all have tattoos or piercings, and an edgy style, but they're nice, genuine people who don't feel the need to put up a front. I love that.
Class started, and as much as I want to comment on the "metal" part of the music, I really barely noticed it at all. There was a particularly screamo-y song that caught my attention, but everything else just faded into the background. Then I was thinking about my "normal" yoga classes. I don't even really notice the music there either. There is one teacher I go to frequently who has absurdly wonderful taste in music, which I notice, but otherwise, if I don't know the words to a song or immediately love it so much I can't take my ears off, I couldn't care less what's going on. That must be an indication that I'm good at letting go of my surroundings.
If playing metal helps you enjoy yoga, by all means, go for it. I can see how tonight's ladies related well to a teacher who shared the same lifestyle and music tastes they did. Who wouldn't?
So did metal yoga improve my practice? Not exactly. But I did learn some things about myself. I can zen-out in my yoga practice no matter what the environment. I can interact with yogis of all lifestyles. And I can get past anything, even a dog almost peeing on me, and enjoy the present.
Day 74: How Lululemon Pants Changed My Whole Outlook on Life
One of the stipulations, naturally, was that I needed to wear some of the store's gear. While their stuff is some of the cutest I've seen, it's also the priciest, making cheap ol' me nervous. I've never even tried on a single piece of their clothing, despite the fact that I know it has the best reputation, because I didn't want to get hooked. Further, I've talked about lulu's clothes in this blog before, saying something to the effect of "It won't help me get into a handstand any more gracefully than my Target clothes."
Today was the day of reckoning--to see if these clothes, as cute as they are, would really affect my practice.
I came in at the appropriate time and was sent to the pants section with one of the sales associates, who helped me select a pair of athletic leggings. I went to the dressing room to put them on, and I can say without a doubt,
They.
Changed.
My.
Life.
Did they affect my practice? Yes, in a huge way.
While performing my demo, I had this whole revelation that if these pants made me feel so much better about myself and my yoga practice, that maybe I need to invest in better quality things throughout my whole life. What a difference a little quality might make!
The demo was a lot of fun and I got a lot of great feedback from people about my practice, making me a little more sure that I want to learn how to teach yoga one day in the future. So yes, now I want to invest in more quality and change my career path, thanks to Lululemon pants.
If you are a runner, dancer, yogi, or fitness junkie, you should definitely try them out. ASAP. Oh, and read their mantras, too. They're totally inspiring.
Who am I? And why do I like this new girl so much??
Day 54: Buddhist Mishaps and Meditation
My dear readers, on Day 54, I found myself at the Deprung Loesling Monastery for an intro to meditation class--a meditation 101, if you will.
I wanted to go to this not entirely for the project, but because I've gotten a lot of mixed messages about meditation through studying yoga with various teachers and through talking about meditation with my grandfather, who has a Christian with a dash of Buddhist stance on spirituality.
I thought that going to a Buddhist organization might help shed some light on the subject. I planned my trip for the first Sunday of the month, when the Monastery gives a free intro to meditation class. I read that the intro class started at 11:00 AM, but upon checking the website's calendar in the morning, I saw that meditation started at 10:00 AM. Day 54 was also daylight savings time, so I was triply messed up on where I was supposed to be and when.
When I arrived at the monastery, I found my way up to the meditation room, which was simply stunning, with a carved woodwork shrine holding three golden buddhas, rich tapestries on the walls, pictures of the Dalai Lama, a section for sitting on the ground with perfectly shaped booty-pillows. There was the faint, spicy smell of incense in the air and a natural warmth that follows.
There weren't many people there at 10:00 AM, but I got myself Meditation and Recitation guide and sat myself in the back, waiting for what may come.
The Tibetan monk came in with all of his gold and red garb, and everyone stood up and bowed at the waist waiting for him to take his seat at the Buddhist version of a pulpit. We sat down, and to my utmost horror, I couldn't understand a single word he said from beginning to end! I was stuck in a class for an hour without any context of what was going on. Everyone had their eyes closed, and I followed suit but could barely understand a word a minute out of him.
After fifteen minutes or so sans comprehension, I thought I might open my eyes to do some old-fashioned lip reading. It was then that I noticed the monk fluttering his eyes a little and swaying. I was pretty sure that he was looking at me, the only person in the room NOT doing what she should be. Total embarrassment...surely this was not the intro class.
We went through a variety of recited prayers in English, which reminded me remarkably of the Christian church. It was, in essence, a Karma-cleansing, so there was a lot of confessing that you were not Buddha-like and asking for a remedy, and dedicating yourself to a new day, etc. Sound familiar?
Then we launched into an other mantra, of which all the words were not even close to English. Even when written in English characters, I couldn't pronounce the words and I am an educated woman. I derived no meaning whatsoever out of them and felt so far out of my element. The only line I understood went HA HA HA HA HO!
Check, now I know where we are once every three minutes. Whew.
The monk repeated this mantra a couple of times, first slow, then really fast, then infinitely fast, meditating on it for a good fifteen minutes.
I was defeated at the end of this guided meditation. First attempt--total bust.
Then I walked outside to see a whole group of uncomfortable looking people taking off their shoes and realized that I had, in fact, taken the wrong class.
Perhaps there was a chance for meditation redemption.
I stayed at the Tibetan monastery another hour for the real intro to meditation class which was so much more up my alley. The same monk led this intro class, but admitted that he wasn't a great English speaker. To my pleasant surprise, this time around, I could understand him completely. He went through some of the tenets of Buddhism, with clarity and humor, as well as why we meditate and how to do it. With about 20 minutes left in class, he let us take the reins and do our first Shamatha meditation where you just try to clear your mind, focus your eyes lightly on a point (NOW I understand why the monk's eyes were fluttering!) and relax into nothingness.
I was able to do it for about five minutes before I caught myself thinking "OOH! I'm doing it!", "Oh man, what's for lunch, I've been here two hours and I am HONGRY," and other thoughts that the monk referred to as 'monkey mind'.
After getting to the meditation class I was supposed to be in, it was a wonderful experience, and I am so happy I went. I even took the opportunity to put my new meditation skills to work in my yoga class later in the day.
Ever want to meditate? Call me up!
I wanted to go to this not entirely for the project, but because I've gotten a lot of mixed messages about meditation through studying yoga with various teachers and through talking about meditation with my grandfather, who has a Christian with a dash of Buddhist stance on spirituality.
I thought that going to a Buddhist organization might help shed some light on the subject. I planned my trip for the first Sunday of the month, when the Monastery gives a free intro to meditation class. I read that the intro class started at 11:00 AM, but upon checking the website's calendar in the morning, I saw that meditation started at 10:00 AM. Day 54 was also daylight savings time, so I was triply messed up on where I was supposed to be and when.
When I arrived at the monastery, I found my way up to the meditation room, which was simply stunning, with a carved woodwork shrine holding three golden buddhas, rich tapestries on the walls, pictures of the Dalai Lama, a section for sitting on the ground with perfectly shaped booty-pillows. There was the faint, spicy smell of incense in the air and a natural warmth that follows.
There weren't many people there at 10:00 AM, but I got myself Meditation and Recitation guide and sat myself in the back, waiting for what may come.
The Tibetan monk came in with all of his gold and red garb, and everyone stood up and bowed at the waist waiting for him to take his seat at the Buddhist version of a pulpit. We sat down, and to my utmost horror, I couldn't understand a single word he said from beginning to end! I was stuck in a class for an hour without any context of what was going on. Everyone had their eyes closed, and I followed suit but could barely understand a word a minute out of him.
After fifteen minutes or so sans comprehension, I thought I might open my eyes to do some old-fashioned lip reading. It was then that I noticed the monk fluttering his eyes a little and swaying. I was pretty sure that he was looking at me, the only person in the room NOT doing what she should be. Total embarrassment...surely this was not the intro class.
We went through a variety of recited prayers in English, which reminded me remarkably of the Christian church. It was, in essence, a Karma-cleansing, so there was a lot of confessing that you were not Buddha-like and asking for a remedy, and dedicating yourself to a new day, etc. Sound familiar?
Then we launched into an other mantra, of which all the words were not even close to English. Even when written in English characters, I couldn't pronounce the words and I am an educated woman. I derived no meaning whatsoever out of them and felt so far out of my element. The only line I understood went HA HA HA HA HO!
Check, now I know where we are once every three minutes. Whew.
The monk repeated this mantra a couple of times, first slow, then really fast, then infinitely fast, meditating on it for a good fifteen minutes.
I was defeated at the end of this guided meditation. First attempt--total bust.
Then I walked outside to see a whole group of uncomfortable looking people taking off their shoes and realized that I had, in fact, taken the wrong class.
Perhaps there was a chance for meditation redemption.
I stayed at the Tibetan monastery another hour for the real intro to meditation class which was so much more up my alley. The same monk led this intro class, but admitted that he wasn't a great English speaker. To my pleasant surprise, this time around, I could understand him completely. He went through some of the tenets of Buddhism, with clarity and humor, as well as why we meditate and how to do it. With about 20 minutes left in class, he let us take the reins and do our first Shamatha meditation where you just try to clear your mind, focus your eyes lightly on a point (NOW I understand why the monk's eyes were fluttering!) and relax into nothingness.
I was able to do it for about five minutes before I caught myself thinking "OOH! I'm doing it!", "Oh man, what's for lunch, I've been here two hours and I am HONGRY," and other thoughts that the monk referred to as 'monkey mind'.
After getting to the meditation class I was supposed to be in, it was a wonderful experience, and I am so happy I went. I even took the opportunity to put my new meditation skills to work in my yoga class later in the day.
Ever want to meditate? Call me up!
Day 45: Dining with Strangers: A How-to Guide
On Day 45 of doing "New Things" I ended up being invited out to eat at the Blue Grotto with eight strangers from the yoga studio I frequent. I learned eight essential tips to make your dining-with-strangers experience a positive one that makes them think you are SUPER interesting and ultimately incorporate you into the group.
Before Booze:
1. Have an iPhone
When attending a gathering of new people who all know each other but don't know you, it's very important to have an iPhone. Everyone in my group had one and was showing off fun features. I was quite markedly out of this conversation, being that I have a two-or-more year old LG Envy. If I had that iPhone though, I would've really fit in on making a better first impressions. "What's that application to make your face fatter? I love that one!" "You can't miss that bling bling round-em-up game!!"
A critical reason for needing an iPhone, is that you can't discuss an iPhone without looking at your iPhone, and those who do not possess an iPhone cannot look at it, making you the only person not looking at your toy and waiting desperately for libations to arrive.
2. Make your Job Sound VERY exciting
Now, I enjoy my job for the fact that I get to write most every day and that I get to do personally interesting research on occasion, but this does not a conversation make. In a new group of people, you must describe your work as nothing short of FAB-yeuw-lousssss. Describe it in such a way that makes them want to know more, embellish it's importance to their respective future, and render your captive audience slightly jealous of the "greener grass" on your pasture.
3. Ask out-of-the-ordinary questions
Like, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you like pate?" "Oh! You're a vegetarian, um...how 'bout grapes??" "On any ordinary day, how often do you think of going to the moon?"
Bypass anything like "How often do you come to this restaurant?" "Do you think I'm a total weirdo for coming out with you?" and such. This makes you sound boring and insecure.
During Booze:
4. Libations
After you've broken the ice by talking about the newest feature on your iPhone and successfully filled up the longer-than-normal-especially-when-you're-not-drunk time between sitting down with your new compadres and waiting for your libation, it's finally time to drink.
It's important to select a drink that does not stand out. For example, do not order a martini at a Mexican restaurant, despite its power to mainline 'cool' into your persona. You look like a jerk. In all Mexican restaurant occasions, order margaritas. My perennial favorite for non-Mexican restaurants is the house red. You look totally un-pretentious but sophisticated-ish.
Select the libations that demonstrate to your future biffles (best friends for life!) that you are exciting. Red wine makes me chatty and confident and somehow exciting. It's how I became cool during my acts of shameless self-promotion in Ohio.
And drink quickly. Ramp up your BAC as soon as possible to integrate yourself into the group.
This leads to the fifth tip.
5. Reveal Personal Information
My new friends were revealing rather personal information about themselves, which I was both happy with and scared of. I enjoy that they felt comfortable enough to bring sensitive things up, but slightly scared that I would inadvertently blurt out this information in later yoga classes.
I realized, however, that it is important in bonding with your dining buddies that you reveal equally or MORE personal info. It makes you seem approachable, interesting, and able to relate. I'm kinda sarcastic about this, but not really. Thinking it was the red wine that inspired me to try to relate to strangers.
My God, they were totally judging me, weren't they.
6. Shamelessly promote your blog
I can't help it.
After the Booze has Worn Off:
7. Plan to meet up again, even if you don't mean it.
This group meets every Friday after yoga and I had a pretty good evening, so planning to meet up was genuine. But for you, it's not good etiquette to say, "I was so terrified by this encounter and couldn't relate to you at all despite the fact I brought an iPhone for the occasion." You still must say that you had a wonderful time and that you would lurve to meet again.
8. LEAVE QUICKLY. You are less interesting than when not inebriated and will likely regret what you said earlier in the conversation, or make awkward apologies to get them to say something favorable about you, or jabber about the weather or your car or other nonsense if you linger.
...And now you know!
P.S. My dinner partners seemed to like me, and I liked them. We had great conversation and I even got a hug from the yoga teacher on the way out. We may be on the way from strangers to friends if I go out with them again. In any case, however, I apparently need to get an iPhone.
Before Booze:
1. Have an iPhone
When attending a gathering of new people who all know each other but don't know you, it's very important to have an iPhone. Everyone in my group had one and was showing off fun features. I was quite markedly out of this conversation, being that I have a two-or-more year old LG Envy. If I had that iPhone though, I would've really fit in on making a better first impressions. "What's that application to make your face fatter? I love that one!" "You can't miss that bling bling round-em-up game!!"
A critical reason for needing an iPhone, is that you can't discuss an iPhone without looking at your iPhone, and those who do not possess an iPhone cannot look at it, making you the only person not looking at your toy and waiting desperately for libations to arrive.
2. Make your Job Sound VERY exciting
Now, I enjoy my job for the fact that I get to write most every day and that I get to do personally interesting research on occasion, but this does not a conversation make. In a new group of people, you must describe your work as nothing short of FAB-yeuw-lousssss. Describe it in such a way that makes them want to know more, embellish it's importance to their respective future, and render your captive audience slightly jealous of the "greener grass" on your pasture.
3. Ask out-of-the-ordinary questions
Like, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you like pate?" "Oh! You're a vegetarian, um...how 'bout grapes??" "On any ordinary day, how often do you think of going to the moon?"
Bypass anything like "How often do you come to this restaurant?" "Do you think I'm a total weirdo for coming out with you?" and such. This makes you sound boring and insecure.
During Booze:
4. Libations
After you've broken the ice by talking about the newest feature on your iPhone and successfully filled up the longer-than-normal-especially-when-you're-not-drunk time between sitting down with your new compadres and waiting for your libation, it's finally time to drink.
It's important to select a drink that does not stand out. For example, do not order a martini at a Mexican restaurant, despite its power to mainline 'cool' into your persona. You look like a jerk. In all Mexican restaurant occasions, order margaritas. My perennial favorite for non-Mexican restaurants is the house red. You look totally un-pretentious but sophisticated-ish.
Select the libations that demonstrate to your future biffles (best friends for life!) that you are exciting. Red wine makes me chatty and confident and somehow exciting. It's how I became cool during my acts of shameless self-promotion in Ohio.
And drink quickly. Ramp up your BAC as soon as possible to integrate yourself into the group.
This leads to the fifth tip.
5. Reveal Personal Information
My new friends were revealing rather personal information about themselves, which I was both happy with and scared of. I enjoy that they felt comfortable enough to bring sensitive things up, but slightly scared that I would inadvertently blurt out this information in later yoga classes.
I realized, however, that it is important in bonding with your dining buddies that you reveal equally or MORE personal info. It makes you seem approachable, interesting, and able to relate. I'm kinda sarcastic about this, but not really. Thinking it was the red wine that inspired me to try to relate to strangers.
My God, they were totally judging me, weren't they.
6. Shamelessly promote your blog
I can't help it.
After the Booze has Worn Off:
7. Plan to meet up again, even if you don't mean it.
This group meets every Friday after yoga and I had a pretty good evening, so planning to meet up was genuine. But for you, it's not good etiquette to say, "I was so terrified by this encounter and couldn't relate to you at all despite the fact I brought an iPhone for the occasion." You still must say that you had a wonderful time and that you would lurve to meet again.
8. LEAVE QUICKLY. You are less interesting than when not inebriated and will likely regret what you said earlier in the conversation, or make awkward apologies to get them to say something favorable about you, or jabber about the weather or your car or other nonsense if you linger.
...And now you know!
P.S. My dinner partners seemed to like me, and I liked them. We had great conversation and I even got a hug from the yoga teacher on the way out. We may be on the way from strangers to friends if I go out with them again. In any case, however, I apparently need to get an iPhone.
Day 34: Standing on my Hands
January 2010, I set my one and only New Year's Resolution to get into a yoga handstand all by myself. You'll also notice this was on my list of goals that I wrote in this blog. I have been working on getting into a handstand since starting yoga in 2008, fully believing that I would never be able to do it. My mind likes to believe that the wall is going to move away from me at any moment and leave me dead and flopped over on my back--or something similarly irrational.
I've gotten much, much closer to a yoga handstand recently, simply by doing it a couple times a week for the past two years now. I was so dangerously close on Thursday that I knew that the next time I practiced, I would arrive upright on my hands. On Sunday, the teacher didn't do yoga handstands in class; and while I was a little disappointed, I already had a blog post, so I didn't have to fight between two wonderful accomplishments.
Today, however, it was game time. I was determined, excited, sure that the teacher would include them in class, and most critically, I didn't have a blog post lined up, giving me extra pressure to step up to the task. I walked into class trying not to hype myself up, as I am prone to doing, and didn't want to wear my arms out with sun salutations so I took it a little easy. But my efforts were lost, because the class just wasn't pacing itself towards handstands.
After this sad realization, the remainder of the yoga class was shot and my meditative mind was anything but. I spent the rest of class thinking up "new things" that I could do cheaply at home and on limited time. It was the ultimate defeat to my personal accomplishments and to the blog.
When I got back to the apartment I saw my last hope-a beautiful open wall--perfect for executing handstands. After almost giving up again, I had a flash of brilliance, and I produced a perfect handstand ALL BY MYSELF.
I've gotten much, much closer to a yoga handstand recently, simply by doing it a couple times a week for the past two years now. I was so dangerously close on Thursday that I knew that the next time I practiced, I would arrive upright on my hands. On Sunday, the teacher didn't do yoga handstands in class; and while I was a little disappointed, I already had a blog post, so I didn't have to fight between two wonderful accomplishments.
Today, however, it was game time. I was determined, excited, sure that the teacher would include them in class, and most critically, I didn't have a blog post lined up, giving me extra pressure to step up to the task. I walked into class trying not to hype myself up, as I am prone to doing, and didn't want to wear my arms out with sun salutations so I took it a little easy. But my efforts were lost, because the class just wasn't pacing itself towards handstands.
After this sad realization, the remainder of the yoga class was shot and my meditative mind was anything but. I spent the rest of class thinking up "new things" that I could do cheaply at home and on limited time. It was the ultimate defeat to my personal accomplishments and to the blog.
When I got back to the apartment I saw my last hope-a beautiful open wall--perfect for executing handstands. After almost giving up again, I had a flash of brilliance, and I produced a perfect handstand ALL BY MYSELF.
 |
| Literally my first handstand I did by myself ever. Thank goodness Mark was there with my camera!! |
Goal-ie
I'm a frequent visitor to the Lululemon blog. For those of you uninitiated, Lululemon is a yoga/running/dance/athletic clothing store whose impact goes beyond clothing. They make a point to serve the communities where their stores are located and have very positive, inspirational corporate values. While I can't afford a stitch of their clothing (and don't believe that their $98 racer back top will get me into a handstand any more gracefully than my Target top), I really do think that many of their mantras have a lot of value (examples: "Dance, Sing Floss and Travel!", "Mediocre is as close to the bottom as it is to the top, and will give you a lousy life.").
On one particular blog recently I read about a lady writing down and achieving her dreams in New York. It just so happens that I have been meaning to do this for a long time. I wrote down my 1, 5 and 10 year goals. I came up with about six for each category and hope that these will inspire me to achieve these and add more.
2. Join a volunteer organization (and stick with it)
3. Run a half marathon
4. Do a yoga handstand
5. Do something new every day and blog about it
6. Practice writing in an effort towards writing the book I will publish within 10 years
2. Do a road trip through the American West
3. Run a marathon
4. Become a certified yoga teacher
5. Find my career passion
6. Make over $70,000 a year
2. Be proficient in French
3. Write a book and have it published
4. Be actively involved in yoga or another physical activity
5. Climb a mountain
6. Start a family
On one particular blog recently I read about a lady writing down and achieving her dreams in New York. It just so happens that I have been meaning to do this for a long time. I wrote down my 1, 5 and 10 year goals. I came up with about six for each category and hope that these will inspire me to achieve these and add more.
One Year
1. Travel Internationally2. Join a volunteer organization (and stick with it)
3. Run a half marathon
4. Do a yoga handstand
5. Do something new every day and blog about it
6. Practice writing in an effort towards writing the book I will publish within 10 years
Five Years
1. Move away from Atlanta2. Do a road trip through the American West
3. Run a marathon
4. Become a certified yoga teacher
5. Find my career passion
6. Make over $70,000 a year
Ten Years
1. Spend a year abroad2. Be proficient in French
3. Write a book and have it published
4. Be actively involved in yoga or another physical activity
5. Climb a mountain
6. Start a family
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