My First Yin Yoga Class AND Yoga Teacher Training

Life...sometimes it doesn't cooperate with what we have planned.  So I haven't been here in a while.  Sometimes post ideas pop into my head but when I'm sitting at a computer I lack the energy or motivation to write.

This past week I went to my first ever Yin class.  I had no idea what it was and...WOW! Instant love-hate. I could tell right away that it was going to be super challenging for me to be still for several minutes with nothing but my thoughts (I can sit still for hours while reading a book but not if I'm not "doing" anything).

If you don't know what Yin yoga is, basically you put yourself into a pose and then hold it for several minutes.  There's no movement, no flow, just holding.  The benefits were clear pretty quickly but it was a real struggle. It's definitely something I need to work into regular practice.

This weekend I spent in yoga teacher training.  It was a great, supportive, group of yogis and that's a connection and community that I've not found here yet.  It felt really good although I will admit that I'm not great with the "fluff" parts of teaching yet.  What's "fluff?"  Things like, "Opening your chest allows you to let in positivity."  I'm an engineer and my brain sees things in very logical ways.  I get the physical aspects of poses and my cueing tends to be very instructional and less emotional.

I've already signed up for the next course in a couple months.  I look forward to adding to my knowledge, expanding my practice and making more connections.

Self Care

At this point, we all know that self care is important...whether we practice it like we should or not.

Self care might be getting to a yoga class or meeting a friend for coffee or getting a massage.  It could be going for a hike, soaking in a bath while someone else watches the kids or a glass of wine. 

Meet yourself where you are right now.

This is something I tell the class when I teach yoga.  This isn't necessarily where you want to be or where you thought you were going to be.  You might show up to class feeling like you're ready to tackle all the difficult poses but then find yourself spending the entire class in child's pose.  Great.  It is very important to understand what you need and give yourself permission to do that.  I'm not saying you shouldn't challenge yourself or push through a funk.  Of course, sometimes you get to the gym feeling tired and lethargic only to leave feeling energized because you dug deep and found your mojo.

I went to Greece for a few days while waiting for the dog's CT results.  I wondered if going away when I didn't know if or how sick he was was a good idea.  It was.  I needed a break.

Right now...I'm sitting on the couch with a pizza.  Don't judge me for eating a whole pizza.  Italian pizzas are smaller than American pizzas.  But even if they weren't, you still shouldn't judge.  Last Saturday I learned that my dog has 3 kinds of cancer.  Despite that news, I managed to eat well and take care of myself.  Well, I did spend one night not really sleeping because I was so upset.  But other than that I managed to get through the week and yesterday went to the vet and picked up his new medications.

He now has 5:

• One he has to have before meals to coat his stomach so that the other meds don't upset it. Which means I have to remember to give it to him when I first wake up so that I can feed him before I leave for work.  Same when I get home.  Otherwise he gets fed late.  It has to be squirted into his mouth.  He hates it and fights against it.  I obviously don't want to stress him but I also want to make sure he gets what he needs.  It stresses me.
• One he gets every morning.
• One he gets every other morning.
• One he gets every afternoon.
• One he gets every other evening.
• I have to salt his food so that he drinks more water to flush one of the meds out of his bladder because it can cause bleeding. 
• I have to make sure he gets out to pee more frequently.  I had to hire someone to come during the day and take him out while I'm at work.
• Two are toxic and I'm not supposed to touch them.
• One is dangerous to kids and pregnant women.  I live in a 2-unit house.  The owners live upstairs and their grandkids are here quite often.  So I've taken the dog out of the yard a half-dozen times to pee today so that there's no chance one of the kids might come into contact with his urine (say they're running around in sandals...it can be absorbed through their skin). The owner is being awesome and fencing off part of the yard for the dog (the entire property is already fenced) so that he has room to pee but the grandkids won't be at risk.

I have to make a chart to remember what day it is and what I'm supposed to give him when.  It's overwhelming. 

He doesn't seem at all bothered by any of it; which is good.  Hopefully he continues to feel good and comfortable.

So I'm eating a pizza.  I'm not beating myself up or feeling guilty.  I'm accepting where I am right now and right now, I need yummy food that doesn't take any of my effort.  I'm mentally exhausted and emotionally drained.  Tomorrow I'll make meals for the week that don't involve pizza.   Tonight, though, I'm caring for myself in the way I need.

What's your go-to self care?

A Little Chat

I did REALLY well giving up sugar for 6 weeks.  Insanely surprisingly well!!  I've never had such an easy time and I wish I knew what made it so easy this time.  I even lost weight and that almost never happens.  I got a little off track with a month-long visit from the family and some other things (dog had to have emergency surgery last week and that affected the whole week's schedule and routine) but this week I really thought I could get back on track.

I was passing by a friend's office the other day (I'm doing some work in the building where she works) and her door was open so I stuck my head in to say hello.  She greeted me by holding up her green smoothie.  I said I was also drinking smoothies this week because it's really dang hot and the idea of cooking or eating something hot is too much.  She mentioned better eating and I said I had done really well for 6 weeks.  Anyway, just that little 5-minute chat was enough to help me power through some stress and exhaustion (hello unexpected )11 hour work day without grabbing some junk to eat. 

Sometimes it doesn't take much to get or keep yourself on plan.  I mean, let's face it, sometimes  you need an ocean between you and the stuff you want to stay away from.  But sometimes just a very small thing can be all you need to keep your motivation up.  YAY for small victories!

Today is International Day of Yoga.  The plan was to attend an event downtown but it starts at 1930 and ends at 2030 and I'm usually crawling into bed about that time.  So as much as I want to go, I think I do some mental yoga as I attempt to wrap my brain around my Italian lesson :)  Happy International Day of Yoga!

30-Day Yoga Challenge with Angie Eats Peace

Right after I posted about getting back to my yoga practice, Angie over at Angie Eats Peace posted that she was doing a 30-day yoga challenge.  While I wasn't ready to commit to doing an hour of yoga for 30 straight days I was willing to challenge myself to doing some form of yoga or stretching every day.  I managed 27 of the 30 days. 

One day I decided it was more important to take the dog (she's very old) through her stretching/joint manipulation, one day I was simply super exhausted and one day I had had such a bad day at work that I went to bed early without doing several things I really should have. 

A few times I did nothing more than lay with my feet up on the wall while I gave the dog her pre-bedtime attention.  I won't say that this challenge changed my view of yoga. I already know how beneficial it is.  I also won't say that it made drastic differences in how I felt physically.  But I will say that I know the nightly stretches (on days when I didn't go to yoga class) were good for me and I plan to keep doing them.

My biggest challenge...every. single. time.

My downward facing dog was more downward facing A dog!!

Thanks to Angie for the prompt. I'm glad I did it.

Finding My Way Back to My Mat

About 2 years ago I started seeking treatment for low back pain.  I won't go into all the different things I've tried but at some point along the way I stopped going to yoga because so many different movements hurt so much.

Well, here I am without much success treating the pain and finding articles like this one about treating lower pack pain and decided to see if yoga could help rather than hurt.  I've only been a few times (I don't get free classes here and what is available does not work very well with my work schedule).  Obviously, there's no instantaneous relief but even if my back isn't feeling better I'm feeling better.  I had forgotten how much of an impact yoga has. 

I'll be really super beyond happy if it helps my back (because nothing else has) but even if it doesn't I'm glad to be back on my mat. 

Have you found any alternative ways to treat back pain? How has yoga helped you?