This
last week I started my home yoga challenge. If you've followed me on
here or facebook or know me personally, you're probably aware that I've
been struggling with getting back to my yoga routine for well over a
year. Then my friend said something to me the other day that clicked, "I
don't know, your body responds to yoga... Maybe that's why you're
having such a rough time." Maybe she was right. I've tried the gym, I've
tried changing my diet, I've tried a bazillion vitamins a day... but my
body is not having it. Stress is at such a constant rate my hormones
and immune system are having a full-on battle with me.
On
June 10th we added a new member to the family, Gertie. She's now an 8
month old miniature pit bull who recently recovered from her first ACL
surgery (it didn't take, she will be getting a second surgery when she
is full grown—we're guessing end of October). To take advantage of a
mostly-working leg we started going on walks in the morning. My morning
routine is to die for:
- wake up to two kitten faces telling me to feed them
- instead of jumping out of bed I read a few pages from a book
- feed kittens + get ready for a walk
- let Gertie out her crate (we're still transitioning with the cats +
her—Mariah no longer comes downstairs anymore, so I'm feeling guilty
about one pet at all times) and we have some morning cuddles. It's the
best, Gertie runs to the couch and waits for me to hold her like a baby
and rub her belly. She nuzzles into my chest and I melt over her
sweetness... Then she starts chewing on whatever is closest... she's
still a puppy.
- so we deflect and go for our walk
- when we get back she plops on the couch for a morning nap + I go do my yoga in the basement (gated off from all pets)
- shower
- I make a french press of decaf coffee and some sort of breakfast to start the work day by going through emails
Pretty great, right? So I brought up Gertie because, as a puppy,
she needs routine to feel safe in her environment. Hmm. I seem to like
routine too. Sure, take me on an adventure, but some parts of the
routine still remain so I feel like I'm home (in myself, not physically
in a building). Her need for routine prompted my awareness of needing a
routine too. This week we're adding yoga back into that routine!
I've
always been challenged by a home practice. Doing the same video over
and over immediately turns me off. I like when I go to a studio the
class is different every. single. time. I also like the instructor
prompting us to do poses in a particular way and correcting us so we
don't hurt ourselves. Doing a home practice without a video leaves me to
discipline myself... and I suck at that! 15 minutes in I think I've
done a full hour. When I look at the clock I'm defeated and give up.
Then I discovered
DoYogaWithMe.com — to be completely honest, it's been bookmarked on my computer for probably six months now. But I'm glad I held on to it.
DoYogaWithMe.com is a free, constantly expanding resource of
online yoga videos created by a passionate group of experienced
instructors. Our yoga videos include classes, poses, breathing
techniques and anatomy videos. Every one of our hundreds of HD videos can be viewed in its entirety
without payment. You don’t even have to sign up. The site is supported
by donations, by sales of DVDs, downloads, programs, and advertising.
So here's my first week with
DoYogaWithMe.com!
Day One
I immediately love that I can narrow the search down by difficulty,
class length, style, and/or teacher. I went for 40-60 minutes at an
intermediate level. I had a lot of energy on my walk this morning, so I
thought I should ride that wave. One of the classes was called
In the Moment, and I liked it's description:
As with all of Tracey's yoga classes, this one is full of her playful energy and unique flow sequences.
What
made me think I should attempt a flow class on my first day of home
practice is beyond me, but I already started the video and wanted to
follow through with the class so I could fully make a decision on it.
The reason I don't like flow classes isn't because they're
challenging... or I should say isn't because I'm scared to raise my
heart rate and sweat out some toxins. I actually love to do that. I
don't like flow because I really enjoy sitting in a pose—activating my
muscles and finding the calm in all that effort is incredibly rewarding.
Also, in flow classes I feel parts of my body respond with pain because
I (personally) need the time to find the pose. I don't just naturally
fall into them. Clearly, this was not the class for me. Not today, at
least.
What I did learn during this class was great
though—if I didn't feel safe going from pose to pose, fine. But my ass
was staying on that mat and finishing an hour of yoga. So I did my own
poses in areas I didn't like. I would NEVER do this in a studio, way too
disrespectful to the instructor (short of me going into child's pose
because I'm pooped), but I enjoyed my little rebellion in the comfort of
my own home.
Day Two
Learning from day one, I decided maybe it's best to pick out my class
the night before. I know it doesn't allow for the moment to decide what
my body needs, but it does give me the time to read more about the class
and the instructor. While I was in Tampa visiting my mom this past
year, I tried out a
Kundalini class—I
really enjoyed it and was excited to see there are a few videos on
DYWM. I'm trying to do an hour of yoga each morning—so I went for
Kundalini Yoga to Recharge and Master Your Domain. Maybe this weekend I'll try one of the longer classes offered. They're all beginner, so that's nice too.
Kundalini
challenges me on so many levels, I think that is why I enjoy it so
much. Physically it's asking me to work, mentally is asking me to work
while doing weirdo breathing exercises, and egotistically it's asking me
to stop calling it weirdo breathing exercises. This class also offered
up more of what I'm use to—opening breathwork to center the mind and
body, some meditation and some Oms... or Kundalini's version of Om-like
stuff (think more in singing short mantras). If ever you felt
uncomfortable singing in a class, you have no excuses now... belt that
mutha' out!
Why I
am so surprised over and over again by Kundalini? Although I feel silly
doing fire breath while trying to do leg lifts... The breath work really
does warm up the core and loosen up the muscles. I find myself going
deeper into poses when I do a Kundalini warm up more than any other
class (short of maybe a Yin Yoga class).
Join Dawn on a serene, west coast beach as she calmly guides you through
an invigorating practice that is sure to leave you feeling totally
recharged and empowered.
Yesterday I didn't
bother setting up an account for myself, but today I did because I
learned you can bookmark classes you like. This class is bookmarked!
Day Three Today I'm going to a studio class—Tuesdays from 10:30a-11:30a Hayli teaches yoga at the
McKinley Fitness Center.
She just got back from India, so I'm excited to be back in a classroom
with her (and at a dinner table with my friend and camping with my
friend and giggling with her and her family again and... Can you tell I
missed her?).
Outside of seeing my friend though, it
will be good to be back in a classroom setting. I don't know what this
mental road block is with me and yoga, but I'm open to learning and
hopefully staying aware enough without over thinking the whole thing.
CORRECTION:
Her class is actually 10-11am... just like it's always been... just
like it says in my calendar every week... Sigh. Even further proof that
routine is a good thing, it keeps you organized. Oh well, I will report
back in an hour with the next video I try.
Gravity and Grace: Ron's unique style and wonderful guidance help you rediscover your body
and relate to yoga in a new way. Have fun with this one, as you play
with balance, flow and the breath.
Ron introduced
himself as, "a yoga instructor, a dance artist, and dance maker." After
working in the performing arts, terms like "<insert craft> maker"
bother me. It comes off pretentious when actually most of those people
using the term really are talented, but lose their credibility with me
by the schmooziness they just created. It's not fair. I know that.
People can call themselves whatever the hell they want. So I kept with
the video.
We jumped right in—there was a warm up, but
no mental centering. Breath work through the whole class though. He used
a sail as a metaphor throughout, and I really did enjoy it. Acting as a
sail in different directions helped open me up in new ways. At the same
time, the class was challenging enough to make me sweat while not being
so challenging I went off and did my own thing. He offered up
variations for those less experienced here and there, but what he really
did well was offer up variations for those more advanced (which was
cool—I can't do it, but I always find it fun to watch).
I bookmarked it for future practices!
Today
I also set up my yoga room—claiming the space officially for me to get
on my mat. Gathering all my yoga stuff from around the house, I had no
idea what I had from over the years (I still need to put my exercise
ball and headstand table in there—if only the ceilings were high enough
to get my yoga swing in there too). Now it really is an exciting space
for me to go back to over and over again.
Day Four Today I am SO grateful for my first meeting with Laura, the owner of
Studio Helix. They were a sponsor for this year's
That's What She Said
show, who is one of my clients. Part of the sponsorship was a trade for
training, and the girls at TWSS shared that trade with me.
Sitting down and talking with someone who
finally
takes all the pieces of my puzzle (that I KNEW were connected but no
one truly could put together) and makes sense of it is not only a relief
but an incredible learning experience. Laura took what I said, agreed,
and then explained in detail why—from hormonal imbalance to nutrition to
stress levels to bone alignment and back again. Then she laid it out
for me on how we were going to fix it. She was honest, straight forward,
and oh so knowledgeable. I left feeling heard, validated, and
empowered. I can not recommend her enough... and I haven't even had my
first active training session with her.
Our next appointment is where she'll do
myofascial release
which sounds like painful massage, to be quite honest. But it will open
up all the spots that have locked down over the years—that she
connected back to my foot surgery probably 10 years ago (which caused
calf tension to knee pain to bad hip alignment to a sacrum injury a few
years ago all the way up to bad shoulder alignment and even how I'm
holding my head... I'm a hot mess). For nutritional evaluation I will
see someone else on her team where they'll look closer at my blood work
and decide if I need thyroid treatment of any kind (when I told Laura I
had this done a couple times and they always say I am fine—the look on
her face was a priceless, "Do you know how many times women have come in
and said that to me?" Yes, I can only assume based on the multiple
conversations I've had with my friends).
Day Five
Sooooooo, I'm not sure if I ate something funny (nothing odd in my food
the last 24 hrs, that I know of) or if the few sensitive spots Laura
tested yesterday sent my body into a frenzy (it does make me a little
more aware of what could happen after the fascia massage I have scheduled next week with her).
I went to bed in my winter coat last night I was so cold. Woke up
sweating out a fever like crazy. No other symptoms and I didn't even
feel sick when I got out of bed. Just tired from fighting with a fever
all night. Insane. I really do think it was detoxing of some sort.
Needless to say, I didn't do my normal morning routine... or afternoon
routine... or evening routine.
Day Six So today I want my yoga to be more restorative. Between my battle with the fever yesterday and knowing
how much work I have ahead of me (while Laura validated all my
concerns she also validated that my body is not healthy and that's hard to
hear, no matter how much you already know it is true), I want to
nurture myself with some loving restorative:
Restoring Equilibrium with
David Procyshyn is perfect for seniors, beginners and tight students, this class moves
slowly and deliberately through a gentle, delicious sequence of poses.
Beginning and ending with a deep relaxation, David guides you through
this flow effortlessly, with attention to the breath and body alignment.
You will feel calm, balanced and at ease once you finish this class!
The
thing with most restorative classes I've taken is they make great use
of pretty much every yoga prop you can imagine. As lovely as this is,
you may have to figure out some other options for your home practice. I
happen to have a bolster, but rolled up blankets or yoga mats work great
too. Don't have a yoga strap? Grab some rope from the garage or see if
you have any extra long belts around. Don't have yoga blocks? Get a few
heavy books. Don't let props keep you from trying a restorative practice
at home, just be sure you prepare for it before going straight to your
mat.
David's class was really nice... loooooong,
relaxing opening followed by some great hip and shoulder openers. I
actually would have preferred to stay in those poses longer. And when I
wanted to, I did. David also had nice tips/cues for grounding and
stretching. He ended with an equally long savasana.
I would have bookmarked this one, but DYWM wasn't letting me login, no idea why.
Day Seven
I was going to try another Kundalini class this weekend, but I wanted a
variety of instructors for this week in reviews. So today I'm going
with another favorite style (mentioned in my kundalini review above), Yin Yoga.
Yin Yoga: Sinking into Stillness » Join Anastasia for this hour-long class that spends five delicious
minutes with every pose. Breathe deeply, relax your body and take the
time to sink into the opening within each asana.
It will calm you down immensely and leave you feeling grounded and
centered in your body.
I was really happy with
this video, and it was definitely highlight in my week of DYWM.
Anastasia was able to guide us through poses that latest 5 minutes
long—somehow knowing just when my mind wandered and bringing me back.
She offered a lot of options with the props (this is similar to the
restorative class above in being prepared to have prop options). I used
every tip because I really wanted to be comfortable while stretching
long in a pose.
It was one part challenging to stay in
the moment, recognizing where I needed to let go of tension and one part
indulgence in being able to just stretch in one pose for five minutes.
No rushing, just melting. Absolutely glorious.
What a
beautiful start to a week of creating better habits. Walking every
morning with Gertie has been a refreshing way to start my day while also
allowing us to bond and work on some training along the way. And
getting yoga back into my life has been beautiful on so many levels...
an hour that is completely devoted to me, an hour to work on my
breathing, an hour to destress and slow down, an hour to tune in to my
mind and body and see where I need work and celebrate where I've
improved. I'm truly grateful.
Namaste.
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