I think I'm gonna be sick.
There's a site for Girls in Yoga Pants now? I find this partially horrific and partially funny.
What will they think of next?
[UPDATE:] To even this out, someone on Twitter sent me a link for Men Doing Yoga. Hahaha!
[UPDATE 2:] I also just got another link for men and yoga in my inbox. Why, HELLOOOOOOOOOO! Yoga Dudes. It's probably also not fair of me to much prefer/ be less horrified with the yoga dudes links than with the yoga girls in pants link. I think it's coz the yoga girls are all cam-whoring as opposed to the dudes shots which are pretty artfully done. Y'know...? (or does this sound like I'm rationalizing now...?) HAHAHA!
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Showing posts with label yoga - blechhh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yoga - blechhh. Show all posts
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Drop It! (like it's hawwwwt)
Sharath makes me drop to my knees. HAHAHAHA! That just sounds so wrong.
But it's happened TWICE now. Actually, three times. Basically, after 3 weeks of being here, I've figured that my practice for this trip is completely about my backbends. Yup, I practice the full Primary series for up to about an hour in order to get to the fucking blasted asana known as Urdvha Dhanurasana.
It's not just about the backbend. I'm talking about standing up from a backbend from the floor. My focus in all of this week's self-practice has been to stand up from the last Urdvha Dhanurasana from the floor again. Because I'd been so out of practice before arriving in Mysore, I'd initially just been doing a regular set of 3 backbends before going into dropbacks. 3 weeks ago, that was enough to completely wipe me out. It felt pretty much like starting from scratch again!
3 weeks later, it feels like more strength and opening is taking place in the spine somewhere. And only in the last week have I felt ready to push myself a little bit more. So I've been doing 1 set of 3 UD's, coming down and resting for a bit, then going up to another set of 2 or 3 more UD's, walking my hands in closer every time, before attempting to stand back up from it once I feel like the back is open enough. It's starting to feel like I'm creating a bit of space between each vertabra (or at least this is what I'm telling myself to imagine as I'm in the backbend). Since the start of this week, I've been trying to haul myself up to standing after the last backbend.
Maybe this is the problem. "Do or don't Do. There is no TRY."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Sorry for quoting Star Wars. But I should just get out of my head and DO it. Not TRY. Everyone I've spoken to about my issue is perplexed since I can dropback and stand back up from it, so what's the problem with doing it from the floor? (Yes, here in Mysore, there is lots of time for deconstructing-asana talk). They think it's all in my head. But I think my back just isn't warmed up or open enough to do it from the floor just like that. I'm pretty sure that if I'd also done all the 2nd series backbends before getting to Urdvha Dhanurasana, I wouldn't be having this problem.
Anyways, when I attempted this initially, my body had ZERO recollection of having ever done this before. This was a little scary and disconcerting. But by yesterday's practice, I was hauling myself up onto my knees. OK, still not fully standing yet, but at least it's a start. I just need to ground my legs completely. And get my hands even closer to my feet coz my centre of gravity's just too far away at the moment.
ANYWAYS... Sorry to get all boringly mechanical about my backbend process. So then I get to dropbacks. I've been doing OK with them, dropping back and standing back up again.
Except... some time at the start of this week, Sharath decides to walk right up to my mat for assisted dropbacks (or Tiryang Mukha Uttanasana as I'm told it should be called, not Chakrabandasana) just as I'm about to do my last dropback. I told him "One more". He says "OK". And now I'm all nervous and sweaty that he's stood RIGHT THERE. I dropback OK, but when I'm coming back up again, I fall right to my knees (!!!!!! ?!?!?????) and he shakes his head and goes "Oh no no no..."
Sad panda.
I told him "Scared of YOU!" ...and he laughs.
Guess what happened yesterday? ...The same EXACT thing happened. He came close by on the last dropback, and again he made me so nervous, I collapsed in a heap at the top of my mat when standing back up again. This time, I laughed out loud and so did he. WTF is my problem?! I was so annoyed I wanted to do it one more time, but again I was afraid to open my mouth to say it.
I'm not sure if I'm imagining this or if he's catching onto my fear of him. In the last led class, he was right by my mat for Ubhaya Padangusthasana. So we're all in Halasana, catching our toes and about to roll up to it, and he says something like "Catch your toes. Straight legs up." ...All I hear is "Straight legs up" and what do I proceed to do?
Because he's standing right in front of my mat as I'm rolling up, I completely freak out, bend my knees and crash to the floor. He lets out a grunt of disapproval. A GRUNT!!!
ARGHHHHHHHH!!! (I don't usually have a problem with this pose, which made it even doubly sucky for me). UGHHHHH.
In this morning's led class, Sharath just so happened to be in front of my mat AGAIN when we got to Ubhaya Padangusthasana. Hmmmm... Fancy that. Good thing I didn't notice it until I was already rolling up and looking up to the ceiling, so I didn't flake out and drop it yet again. P.H.E.W.! (But he did try to make me get my feet closer together when I was already up in Setu Bandhasana and I almost tipped over to the side, causing more laughs!)
I'm not sure where I was going with this post again. I was gonna finally write that post on COWS (with lots more pictures), but look what happened. I guess I just had to get that boring practice observation off my chest. JUST DO IT ALREADY, DAMMIT!! STAND UP FROM THE FLOOR!!!
I'll leave you now with something a little less depressing than my frustrating state of backbends... FOOOOOOOOOD SHOTS!!
Here's something "new" I've discovered at Nalpak. It's called "Shavige Bath", but pronounced "Shao Gay Bhat". It's rice vermicelli noodles fried with lentils, green chilli and curry leaves and they only serve it for breakfast on some days. It's kinda sorta similar (not really) to a "fried bee hoon" dish we have in Singapore. It came with a Raita of some sort but I swopped it for coconut chutney instead. Yum!
This morning, I went there looking for the same thing, but it was a different special that was on. Something called "Bisibele Bath" (the dude pronounced it so quickly with his heavy accent I had no idea what he was saying and had to look it up on the menu. Like "shao gay bhat", it's pronounced nothing like how it is written). This is the weirdest thing to have for breakfast. It's almost like baby food... a savoury rice porridge with er... I think it's tumeric and tomato and it's also spicy and looks like vomit. I don't think I'll be ordering this again any time soon. Those crunchy bits to sprinkle on top were delicious though.
Yesterday, we went to RRR for yet more Thali. At this place, they lay out banana leaves as your plates and come round and scoop up whatever dishes they've got onto your leaf-plate. You can keep asking them for more. They kept bringing more even though we didn't ask for anymore. We were rolling ourselves home by the end of lunch.
-----
But it's happened TWICE now. Actually, three times. Basically, after 3 weeks of being here, I've figured that my practice for this trip is completely about my backbends. Yup, I practice the full Primary series for up to about an hour in order to get to the fucking blasted asana known as Urdvha Dhanurasana.
It's not just about the backbend. I'm talking about standing up from a backbend from the floor. My focus in all of this week's self-practice has been to stand up from the last Urdvha Dhanurasana from the floor again. Because I'd been so out of practice before arriving in Mysore, I'd initially just been doing a regular set of 3 backbends before going into dropbacks. 3 weeks ago, that was enough to completely wipe me out. It felt pretty much like starting from scratch again!
3 weeks later, it feels like more strength and opening is taking place in the spine somewhere. And only in the last week have I felt ready to push myself a little bit more. So I've been doing 1 set of 3 UD's, coming down and resting for a bit, then going up to another set of 2 or 3 more UD's, walking my hands in closer every time, before attempting to stand back up from it once I feel like the back is open enough. It's starting to feel like I'm creating a bit of space between each vertabra (or at least this is what I'm telling myself to imagine as I'm in the backbend). Since the start of this week, I've been trying to haul myself up to standing after the last backbend.
Maybe this is the problem. "Do or don't Do. There is no TRY."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Sorry for quoting Star Wars. But I should just get out of my head and DO it. Not TRY. Everyone I've spoken to about my issue is perplexed since I can dropback and stand back up from it, so what's the problem with doing it from the floor? (Yes, here in Mysore, there is lots of time for deconstructing-asana talk). They think it's all in my head. But I think my back just isn't warmed up or open enough to do it from the floor just like that. I'm pretty sure that if I'd also done all the 2nd series backbends before getting to Urdvha Dhanurasana, I wouldn't be having this problem.
Anyways, when I attempted this initially, my body had ZERO recollection of having ever done this before. This was a little scary and disconcerting. But by yesterday's practice, I was hauling myself up onto my knees. OK, still not fully standing yet, but at least it's a start. I just need to ground my legs completely. And get my hands even closer to my feet coz my centre of gravity's just too far away at the moment.
ANYWAYS... Sorry to get all boringly mechanical about my backbend process. So then I get to dropbacks. I've been doing OK with them, dropping back and standing back up again.
Except... some time at the start of this week, Sharath decides to walk right up to my mat for assisted dropbacks (or Tiryang Mukha Uttanasana as I'm told it should be called, not Chakrabandasana) just as I'm about to do my last dropback. I told him "One more". He says "OK". And now I'm all nervous and sweaty that he's stood RIGHT THERE. I dropback OK, but when I'm coming back up again, I fall right to my knees (!!!!!! ?!?!?????) and he shakes his head and goes "Oh no no no..."
Sad panda.
I told him "Scared of YOU!" ...and he laughs.
Guess what happened yesterday? ...The same EXACT thing happened. He came close by on the last dropback, and again he made me so nervous, I collapsed in a heap at the top of my mat when standing back up again. This time, I laughed out loud and so did he. WTF is my problem?! I was so annoyed I wanted to do it one more time, but again I was afraid to open my mouth to say it.
I'm not sure if I'm imagining this or if he's catching onto my fear of him. In the last led class, he was right by my mat for Ubhaya Padangusthasana. So we're all in Halasana, catching our toes and about to roll up to it, and he says something like "Catch your toes. Straight legs up." ...All I hear is "Straight legs up" and what do I proceed to do?
Because he's standing right in front of my mat as I'm rolling up, I completely freak out, bend my knees and crash to the floor. He lets out a grunt of disapproval. A GRUNT!!!
ARGHHHHHHHH!!! (I don't usually have a problem with this pose, which made it even doubly sucky for me). UGHHHHH.
In this morning's led class, Sharath just so happened to be in front of my mat AGAIN when we got to Ubhaya Padangusthasana. Hmmmm... Fancy that. Good thing I didn't notice it until I was already rolling up and looking up to the ceiling, so I didn't flake out and drop it yet again. P.H.E.W.! (But he did try to make me get my feet closer together when I was already up in Setu Bandhasana and I almost tipped over to the side, causing more laughs!)
I'm not sure where I was going with this post again. I was gonna finally write that post on COWS (with lots more pictures), but look what happened. I guess I just had to get that boring practice observation off my chest. JUST DO IT ALREADY, DAMMIT!! STAND UP FROM THE FLOOR!!!
I'll leave you now with something a little less depressing than my frustrating state of backbends... FOOOOOOOOOD SHOTS!!
Here's something "new" I've discovered at Nalpak. It's called "Shavige Bath", but pronounced "Shao Gay Bhat". It's rice vermicelli noodles fried with lentils, green chilli and curry leaves and they only serve it for breakfast on some days. It's kinda sorta similar (not really) to a "fried bee hoon" dish we have in Singapore. It came with a Raita of some sort but I swopped it for coconut chutney instead. Yum!
This morning, I went there looking for the same thing, but it was a different special that was on. Something called "Bisibele Bath" (the dude pronounced it so quickly with his heavy accent I had no idea what he was saying and had to look it up on the menu. Like "shao gay bhat", it's pronounced nothing like how it is written). This is the weirdest thing to have for breakfast. It's almost like baby food... a savoury rice porridge with er... I think it's tumeric and tomato and it's also spicy and looks like vomit. I don't think I'll be ordering this again any time soon. Those crunchy bits to sprinkle on top were delicious though.
Yesterday, we went to RRR for yet more Thali. At this place, they lay out banana leaves as your plates and come round and scoop up whatever dishes they've got onto your leaf-plate. You can keep asking them for more. They kept bringing more even though we didn't ask for anymore. We were rolling ourselves home by the end of lunch.
-----
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Practice Peeves
1. People with flaky mats
Every mat that isn't from the Manduka Pro series should be BANNED and OUTLAWED as far as I'm concerned (their eKo series is crap; mine flaked after 6 months. So just get the Manduka Pro or Pro-Lite). It is INCONSIDERATE to keep practicing on your flaky mat, so CHUCK IT! Spare a thought for your neighbours (not all of us are Pratyahara Queens and other people's flaky mat bits stuck on your sweaty limbs is just plain GROSS).
2. People with extra-long length mats
If you're gonna get a Manduka Pro, DON'T bring the extra-long length one to Mysore. I was guilty of practicing on one of these while in Sydney. BUT!!!! The difference is... There was space in my Sydney shala. However, there is NO wiggle room in the Mysore shala. This causes great distress to your neighbours in front and behind you as they're trying to be polite by not touching your mat/ invading your space... BUT!!! You leave them no choice but to be rude and plonk their feet on your mat in seated postures.
3. Practising next to the shala door
- The draft.
- All eyes on you of the people queuing to get in.
- The constant traffic of people entering and leaving.
4. Heavy breathers
Enough said.
Like I said, not everyone is a Pratyahara Queen.
I'm running on a few hours' sleep, can you tell? I fall asleep fine, but seem to wake up at 2am most nights then lay in bed till my alarm rings for practice at 5.35am (for 6.30 slot). My time-slot got moved up half-hour earlier from tomorrow onwards. Less sleep beckons.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
-----
Every mat that isn't from the Manduka Pro series should be BANNED and OUTLAWED as far as I'm concerned (their eKo series is crap; mine flaked after 6 months. So just get the Manduka Pro or Pro-Lite). It is INCONSIDERATE to keep practicing on your flaky mat, so CHUCK IT! Spare a thought for your neighbours (not all of us are Pratyahara Queens and other people's flaky mat bits stuck on your sweaty limbs is just plain GROSS).
2. People with extra-long length mats
If you're gonna get a Manduka Pro, DON'T bring the extra-long length one to Mysore. I was guilty of practicing on one of these while in Sydney. BUT!!!! The difference is... There was space in my Sydney shala. However, there is NO wiggle room in the Mysore shala. This causes great distress to your neighbours in front and behind you as they're trying to be polite by not touching your mat/ invading your space... BUT!!! You leave them no choice but to be rude and plonk their feet on your mat in seated postures.
3. Practising next to the shala door
- The draft.
- All eyes on you of the people queuing to get in.
- The constant traffic of people entering and leaving.
4. Heavy breathers
Enough said.
Like I said, not everyone is a Pratyahara Queen.
I'm running on a few hours' sleep, can you tell? I fall asleep fine, but seem to wake up at 2am most nights then lay in bed till my alarm rings for practice at 5.35am (for 6.30 slot). My time-slot got moved up half-hour earlier from tomorrow onwards. Less sleep beckons.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
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Tuesday, October 5, 2010
It's ALL Practice!
I have been told by my Yoga-Practice-Angel, aka Fran, to stop obsessing about all the other million and one things in my life and get back to obsessing about Ashtanga (see her comment from previous post.)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Thanks, Fran! Sometimes we all just need a good kick up the butts. Right? Consider this butt kicked. :)
It's been said many times before that any kind of injury teaches us humility on our mats. It's so true in this case. My busted foot is by no means a yoga injury, but trying to keep up some kind of asana practice has been INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT.
Even getting through any of the seated poses has been awkward. Any time my left foot is moved beyond a certain angle, the muscle where my arch is hurts to high heaven. Easy poses like Janu Sirsasana A become incredibly painful on the foot. Like... SERIOUSLY?! So I end up doing more poses on the right side than on the left... And then end up feeling lopsided and thinking "This can't be good for me." Right?
I feel like a fish out of water without being able to do my regular practice. It's a good reminder to just BLOODY JOYFULLY SURRENDER to where my body is at right now. I feel like such a cop-out, especially after recently getting back into the swing of practice again in London and thinking "I'm NEVER gonna stop practicing again!"
Moral of the story: NEVER say NEVER.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I can still hear my Physio tut-tutting me about not resting my foot enough. I thought finally getting a bike and being mobile again would take some pressure off this foot. As it turns out, I realize now I stop and push off on the bike with my left foot. So any time I come to a stop, the foot goes BAM! on the road and I feel a shock up my arch. Oh shit. (I tried doing it in reverse, pushing off and stopping with the right foot. BUT. My body just doesn't get it. Have you ever tried putting on a shirt the other way around - putting in the arm you DON'T usually put in first? It's a total mindfuck and even after the shirt is on, something feels off-kilter.)
The Universe is obviously making me rethink my situation and circumstances... And the more I think about it, the more it feels like maybe it's making me think about the attachment to practice. I fully believe attachment to practice is GOOD. Sharath said so too during his conference in Sydney. (Sorry, I hate to use the "Sharath said so" phrase too, but look at me using it!!)
A few times in the past week, when the asana practice has become either too physically laboured on the foot or just too much of a mental distraction (I find myself thinking "when will this bloody foot get better?!" then lose focus on breath/ bandhas/ drishti)... I've just stopped completely and moved into a Pranayama practice. Just a simple 10 minute exercise of sitting with only the Ujjayi breath for 10 counts on the inhale and exhale, then moving into Kumbhakas (breath retention) after the inhales/exhales... has made such a BIG difference to my frame of mind.
Maybe it's the Ujjayi breath, but it seems to be able to recharge me much more than my asana practice has in the past couple of weeks. So... it's not quite Pattabhi Jois' Ashtanga Yoga, but I'm practicing a different limb of ashtanga yoga - not the asanas, but the pranayamas. Who cares?! It makes a difference to how I feel, so I'll take what I can get.
I still can't stop that niggling sobbing (no, WAILING) in the back of my mind... MY DROPBACKS!! MY STANDING UP FROM DROPBACKS!!! I just got those back and I'm back to "square one" AGAIN?!? Holyfuckingshitthissucks.
Sorry, bad lady. I'm only human.
The GOOD NEWS is... Today, I emailed KPJAYI coz I still hadn't heard back from them about my application. I sent them a scan of my application form and they replied the same day and said OK, I'm in. (Er... why do they make you snail-mail the application then?!)
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!
I've booked my flight already. ON IT!
Now sorting out this vedic studies visa thingamajig. I'm still in the midst of figuring it out, since I'm not a Dutch local here and things get a little more complicated. I actually have to make a train ride out to The Hague where the Embassy is to personally make the application. Another adventure.
Once I've figured it out, I will definitely post step-by-step info on what YOU need to do to get your ass to Mysore. Everyone seems to be a bit confused by this new yoga student/ vedic studies visa regulation now. So when I know what to do, SO WILL YOU! :)
OK... So now starts the next mild panic of "getting my practice back to where it was" before I get to Mysore. It's been 8 months and I'm still stuck at Laghuvajrasana (moving countries and turning my life upside down might figure into that but I can't see past that now.) Holyfuckingshitthissucks. I am convinced I will be stopped at Supta Kurmasana coz I've completely lost that bind. Then the other voice in my head keeps saying "SO WHAT EVEN IF YOU GET STOPPED AT... AT... NAVASANA?!? SO WHAT?!?!??????"
Trying to joyfully surrender to this process and stop playing mind games with myself. Holyfuckingshitthissucks.
I apologize for all the swearing today.
*End of today's yoga obsession*
On to my next obsession: Finding the perfect wicker basket for the bicycle.
Here's your reminder of what it looks like:
This?
(I'm leaning towards this. But maintaining the all-white look will be a bee-atch!)
Or this?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Thanks, Fran! Sometimes we all just need a good kick up the butts. Right? Consider this butt kicked. :)
It's been said many times before that any kind of injury teaches us humility on our mats. It's so true in this case. My busted foot is by no means a yoga injury, but trying to keep up some kind of asana practice has been INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT.
Even getting through any of the seated poses has been awkward. Any time my left foot is moved beyond a certain angle, the muscle where my arch is hurts to high heaven. Easy poses like Janu Sirsasana A become incredibly painful on the foot. Like... SERIOUSLY?! So I end up doing more poses on the right side than on the left... And then end up feeling lopsided and thinking "This can't be good for me." Right?
I feel like a fish out of water without being able to do my regular practice. It's a good reminder to just BLOODY JOYFULLY SURRENDER to where my body is at right now. I feel like such a cop-out, especially after recently getting back into the swing of practice again in London and thinking "I'm NEVER gonna stop practicing again!"
Moral of the story: NEVER say NEVER.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I can still hear my Physio tut-tutting me about not resting my foot enough. I thought finally getting a bike and being mobile again would take some pressure off this foot. As it turns out, I realize now I stop and push off on the bike with my left foot. So any time I come to a stop, the foot goes BAM! on the road and I feel a shock up my arch. Oh shit. (I tried doing it in reverse, pushing off and stopping with the right foot. BUT. My body just doesn't get it. Have you ever tried putting on a shirt the other way around - putting in the arm you DON'T usually put in first? It's a total mindfuck and even after the shirt is on, something feels off-kilter.)
The Universe is obviously making me rethink my situation and circumstances... And the more I think about it, the more it feels like maybe it's making me think about the attachment to practice. I fully believe attachment to practice is GOOD. Sharath said so too during his conference in Sydney. (Sorry, I hate to use the "Sharath said so" phrase too, but look at me using it!!)
A few times in the past week, when the asana practice has become either too physically laboured on the foot or just too much of a mental distraction (I find myself thinking "when will this bloody foot get better?!" then lose focus on breath/ bandhas/ drishti)... I've just stopped completely and moved into a Pranayama practice. Just a simple 10 minute exercise of sitting with only the Ujjayi breath for 10 counts on the inhale and exhale, then moving into Kumbhakas (breath retention) after the inhales/exhales... has made such a BIG difference to my frame of mind.
Maybe it's the Ujjayi breath, but it seems to be able to recharge me much more than my asana practice has in the past couple of weeks. So... it's not quite Pattabhi Jois' Ashtanga Yoga, but I'm practicing a different limb of ashtanga yoga - not the asanas, but the pranayamas. Who cares?! It makes a difference to how I feel, so I'll take what I can get.
I still can't stop that niggling sobbing (no, WAILING) in the back of my mind... MY DROPBACKS!! MY STANDING UP FROM DROPBACKS!!! I just got those back and I'm back to "square one" AGAIN?!? Holyfuckingshitthissucks.
Sorry, bad lady. I'm only human.
The GOOD NEWS is... Today, I emailed KPJAYI coz I still hadn't heard back from them about my application. I sent them a scan of my application form and they replied the same day and said OK, I'm in. (Er... why do they make you snail-mail the application then?!)
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!
I've booked my flight already. ON IT!
Now sorting out this vedic studies visa thingamajig. I'm still in the midst of figuring it out, since I'm not a Dutch local here and things get a little more complicated. I actually have to make a train ride out to The Hague where the Embassy is to personally make the application. Another adventure.
Once I've figured it out, I will definitely post step-by-step info on what YOU need to do to get your ass to Mysore. Everyone seems to be a bit confused by this new yoga student/ vedic studies visa regulation now. So when I know what to do, SO WILL YOU! :)
OK... So now starts the next mild panic of "getting my practice back to where it was" before I get to Mysore. It's been 8 months and I'm still stuck at Laghuvajrasana (moving countries and turning my life upside down might figure into that but I can't see past that now.) Holyfuckingshitthissucks. I am convinced I will be stopped at Supta Kurmasana coz I've completely lost that bind. Then the other voice in my head keeps saying "SO WHAT EVEN IF YOU GET STOPPED AT... AT... NAVASANA?!? SO WHAT?!?!??????"
Trying to joyfully surrender to this process and stop playing mind games with myself. Holyfuckingshitthissucks.
I apologize for all the swearing today.
*End of today's yoga obsession*
On to my next obsession: Finding the perfect wicker basket for the bicycle.
Here's your reminder of what it looks like:
This?
(I'm leaning towards this. But maintaining the all-white look will be a bee-atch!)
Or this?
Monday, March 29, 2010
Bookworm Weekend
This weekend was the first weekend since being here that I've actually had a chilled weekend. I was going to go on a day tour of the Dutch countryside, but then I figured "NO. I need to rest." (in today's horrible word-combo world, that would be "chillax")
So I went to the book store and picked up 3 books:
Michael Pollan's "In defense of food"
Jonah Lehrer's "How we decide"
Elizabeth Gilbert's "Committed"
Michael Pollan is my hero. What can I say... his "The Omnivore's Dilemma", discovered through reading Sharon Gannon's Yoga & Vegetarianism made me re-think the way I eat. So of course I have to read his follow-up book.
Jonah Lehrer is someone I just discovered over the weekend - Karen had linked to an article he had written on insomnia, and during one of my insomniac bouts I dug around for more info on the dude and thought this looked like a good read. HA.
And yeah... well y'know, "Committed" is Gilbert's follow-up book to "Eat Pray Love". HAHAHA! I like my chick-lit. Shut up!
I finished "Committed" in a day. Er... I have to say I didn't enjoy it as much as the first book. I found myself rolling my eyes a lot and going "blahblahblah... it's getting a bit self-absorbed now". But well, that's what a memoir is, innit? What she did get me interested in though, is an author she referenced a lot - Stephanie Coontz. I'd like to check out her book "Marriage, a history". Yeah, a book on... er, the history of marriage.
Gilbert herself mentioned some historical bits that were pretty eye-opening... and the institution of marriage today really didn't start out the way it did (the Church initially opposed marriage?!)
I figured if this insomnia continues, at least I'll have some books to read in the middle of the night. See, I'm learning to "joyfully surrender" to insomnia. HAHAHA. :)
On Saturday, I decided I needed to practice some yoga. Sure it was a Saturday and an official "no practice" day, but I'd skipped a few days before that coz of long days at work. It was probably one of the hardest ever practice sessions I've had. I had every intention of finishing up to Laghuvajrasana, but I kept wanting to jump off the mat.
I didn't start the practice wanting to jump off, but the more I got into it, the heavier I felt, and the less connected to my physical body I felt. Because I had such a hard time gelling the practice, everything in my mind said "BLECHHHHHHHH! STOP! STOP! STOP!" ...but I soldiered on. At the end of Setu Bandhasana I thought "F&£^ this shit, I've had enough".
Well... Not a proud moment (swearing on the mat?!) But... at least I finished Primary, I suppose?
Yesterday, after a whole day of procrastinating, I decided to get back on the mat in the late afternoon. I think I was afraid of having the same hard time I'd had on the mat the day before, so was trying to make excuses not to do it. So much of this practice is a mindgame, innit? ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S SELF-PRACTICE!!!
I'm glad I did it. I kinda breezed through it and felt a lot lighter and stronger than the day before. And seriously, I think Laghuvajrasana is really starting to become mine. Well, at least the pose is starting to feel less like a mission, and more like a huge expansion. YAY! (I'm even squeezing those thighs together as I'm going down and sure, they're still burning, but it seems a lot more manageable now)
So... here's the next obvious question: if you're practising on your own, how do you know when you're ready to move onto the next pose? (I feel like I'm opening Pandora's Box here..) Heh.
Since I'm a fan of Elizabeth Gilbert, thought I'd leave off with the trailer of "Eat Pray Love", coming in August. (Julia Roberts plays her? ...and Javier Bardem plays Felipe?! WTF?!)
So I went to the book store and picked up 3 books:
Michael Pollan's "In defense of food"
Jonah Lehrer's "How we decide"
Elizabeth Gilbert's "Committed"
Michael Pollan is my hero. What can I say... his "The Omnivore's Dilemma", discovered through reading Sharon Gannon's Yoga & Vegetarianism made me re-think the way I eat. So of course I have to read his follow-up book.
Jonah Lehrer is someone I just discovered over the weekend - Karen had linked to an article he had written on insomnia, and during one of my insomniac bouts I dug around for more info on the dude and thought this looked like a good read. HA.
And yeah... well y'know, "Committed" is Gilbert's follow-up book to "Eat Pray Love". HAHAHA! I like my chick-lit. Shut up!
I finished "Committed" in a day. Er... I have to say I didn't enjoy it as much as the first book. I found myself rolling my eyes a lot and going "blahblahblah... it's getting a bit self-absorbed now". But well, that's what a memoir is, innit? What she did get me interested in though, is an author she referenced a lot - Stephanie Coontz. I'd like to check out her book "Marriage, a history". Yeah, a book on... er, the history of marriage.
Gilbert herself mentioned some historical bits that were pretty eye-opening... and the institution of marriage today really didn't start out the way it did (the Church initially opposed marriage?!)
I figured if this insomnia continues, at least I'll have some books to read in the middle of the night. See, I'm learning to "joyfully surrender" to insomnia. HAHAHA. :)
On Saturday, I decided I needed to practice some yoga. Sure it was a Saturday and an official "no practice" day, but I'd skipped a few days before that coz of long days at work. It was probably one of the hardest ever practice sessions I've had. I had every intention of finishing up to Laghuvajrasana, but I kept wanting to jump off the mat.
I didn't start the practice wanting to jump off, but the more I got into it, the heavier I felt, and the less connected to my physical body I felt. Because I had such a hard time gelling the practice, everything in my mind said "BLECHHHHHHHH! STOP! STOP! STOP!" ...but I soldiered on. At the end of Setu Bandhasana I thought "F&£^ this shit, I've had enough".
Well... Not a proud moment (swearing on the mat?!) But... at least I finished Primary, I suppose?
Yesterday, after a whole day of procrastinating, I decided to get back on the mat in the late afternoon. I think I was afraid of having the same hard time I'd had on the mat the day before, so was trying to make excuses not to do it. So much of this practice is a mindgame, innit? ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S SELF-PRACTICE!!!
I'm glad I did it. I kinda breezed through it and felt a lot lighter and stronger than the day before. And seriously, I think Laghuvajrasana is really starting to become mine. Well, at least the pose is starting to feel less like a mission, and more like a huge expansion. YAY! (I'm even squeezing those thighs together as I'm going down and sure, they're still burning, but it seems a lot more manageable now)
So... here's the next obvious question: if you're practising on your own, how do you know when you're ready to move onto the next pose? (I feel like I'm opening Pandora's Box here..) Heh.
Since I'm a fan of Elizabeth Gilbert, thought I'd leave off with the trailer of "Eat Pray Love", coming in August. (Julia Roberts plays her? ...and Javier Bardem plays Felipe?! WTF?!)
Friday, February 26, 2010
I'm a Zero. Hank's a Hero
It seemed like a good idea at the time to turn up to a yoga class while running on 2.5hrs of sleep.
Yeah, after writing last night's jetlagged blog post, I was up ALL NIGHT and didn't go back to bed. By the time 6am rolled around, I figured "Well since I still ain't getting no sleep, I might as well go to yoga since Mysore starts in half an hour". Right?
Good thing I warned James I wasn't running on much sleep. And even though it's the coolest time of day to practice in a non-airconditioned studio in Singapore, I was dripping buckets already halfway into the FIRST sun salutation. I was purposely slowing everything down, being mindful of each breath and step I took since injuries tend to happen when you're tired, right?
By the time I got to Uttkatasana, James came round and asked "Are you OK?" I was DRIPPING like I've never, ever in my life on my yoga mat before. Y'know that scene from Airplane the movie where the dude's trying to land the plane and there's mad water gushing down his face? Like mad pouring down his face coz there were plastic tubes like a tap badly hidden in his hairline. That was me today (minus the plastic tubes of water, just real good old-fashioned sweat). But I honestly felt fine. Just a wee bit hot, and a little bit slow in my pace, but everything felt fine. Really.
By the time I got to Kukkutasana, James came round and said "OK, that's enough for you today. You're not the right colour anymore. Stop here and do only 3 backbends and stay longer in Karna Pidasana."
... ... ...
In my head I was like "What?! But NOOOOOOOOOOOO! I won't get to be in a shala for a while! Don't stop me NOW! I can do this!! I'm not tired!"
And it was a really HUGE, BIIIIIIIIIIIG effort to stop myself and joyfully surrender to the state that my practice is currently in at the moment.
Just surrender.
No attachment. No disappointment. No beating myself up. No wanting to get back to my Intermediate poses. No irritation. No annoyance.
I can't say I was very successful at achieving this. Look at the way I've even phrased that last sentence. There's nothing to "achieve" here... so what am I on about?!
I felt like I went from HERO to ZERO in the past couple of weeks where my practice is concerned. So again, I have to remind myself this is all part of the process. What Hero and what Zero am I so hung up about?
Just take a deep breath, Jaime. SIGH. I think the past few weeks are starting to sneak up on me now. Different timezones, different weather seasons, different living environments. ARRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
In other news, I've got more Hank updates to share. Here's our little Hero who's growing (OMG! Those Gremlin ears are really coming through now!)
Apparently he went thrashing through the garden for about an hour, then came into the house with a completely yellow face, full of pollen. It took Kelly another hour of cleaning and wiping him down to get most of the yellow stuff off, and this is what still remains. Hank KO'd for quite a while after his garden romp. Too cute!
Yeah, after writing last night's jetlagged blog post, I was up ALL NIGHT and didn't go back to bed. By the time 6am rolled around, I figured "Well since I still ain't getting no sleep, I might as well go to yoga since Mysore starts in half an hour". Right?
Good thing I warned James I wasn't running on much sleep. And even though it's the coolest time of day to practice in a non-airconditioned studio in Singapore, I was dripping buckets already halfway into the FIRST sun salutation. I was purposely slowing everything down, being mindful of each breath and step I took since injuries tend to happen when you're tired, right?
By the time I got to Uttkatasana, James came round and asked "Are you OK?" I was DRIPPING like I've never, ever in my life on my yoga mat before. Y'know that scene from Airplane the movie where the dude's trying to land the plane and there's mad water gushing down his face? Like mad pouring down his face coz there were plastic tubes like a tap badly hidden in his hairline. That was me today (minus the plastic tubes of water, just real good old-fashioned sweat). But I honestly felt fine. Just a wee bit hot, and a little bit slow in my pace, but everything felt fine. Really.
By the time I got to Kukkutasana, James came round and said "OK, that's enough for you today. You're not the right colour anymore. Stop here and do only 3 backbends and stay longer in Karna Pidasana."
... ... ...
In my head I was like "What?! But NOOOOOOOOOOOO! I won't get to be in a shala for a while! Don't stop me NOW! I can do this!! I'm not tired!"
And it was a really HUGE, BIIIIIIIIIIIG effort to stop myself and joyfully surrender to the state that my practice is currently in at the moment.
Just surrender.
No attachment. No disappointment. No beating myself up. No wanting to get back to my Intermediate poses. No irritation. No annoyance.
I can't say I was very successful at achieving this. Look at the way I've even phrased that last sentence. There's nothing to "achieve" here... so what am I on about?!
I felt like I went from HERO to ZERO in the past couple of weeks where my practice is concerned. So again, I have to remind myself this is all part of the process. What Hero and what Zero am I so hung up about?
Just take a deep breath, Jaime. SIGH. I think the past few weeks are starting to sneak up on me now. Different timezones, different weather seasons, different living environments. ARRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
In other news, I've got more Hank updates to share. Here's our little Hero who's growing (OMG! Those Gremlin ears are really coming through now!)
Apparently he went thrashing through the garden for about an hour, then came into the house with a completely yellow face, full of pollen. It took Kelly another hour of cleaning and wiping him down to get most of the yellow stuff off, and this is what still remains. Hank KO'd for quite a while after his garden romp. Too cute!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Plus Plus Plus = Minus
Saturday + Ladies day + Moon day = 3 rest days in a row = Today's practice was SHIT.
So stiff today. My right knee, the one with the torn ACL was hurting in all forms of the standing & seated lotuses.
Maybe I had too much sugar yesterday (someone once said sugar makes you stiff). Umm... I'll believe any kind of yogic superstition. Not that that really counts as a superstition.
I had 11 days of glorious practice in a row! My body got over that achey and stiff phase! Now it feels like I've gotta go back and do it all over again. (I'm beginning to see why Grimmly's so hardcore dedicated to his practice now).
It just feels like all that hard work has been reversed so quickly. UGH. (Yes yes, non-attachment can kiss my asana today).
So stiff today. My right knee, the one with the torn ACL was hurting in all forms of the standing & seated lotuses.
Maybe I had too much sugar yesterday (someone once said sugar makes you stiff). Umm... I'll believe any kind of yogic superstition. Not that that really counts as a superstition.
I had 11 days of glorious practice in a row! My body got over that achey and stiff phase! Now it feels like I've gotta go back and do it all over again. (I'm beginning to see why Grimmly's so hardcore dedicated to his practice now).
It just feels like all that hard work has been reversed so quickly. UGH. (Yes yes, non-attachment can kiss my asana today).
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sharath in Sydney: Week 1, Day 3
If I had one word to describe how I felt today, I wouldn't know which one of these 2 to choose between: SORE. TIRED.
I have a pretty regular practice, I'm at the shala at least 4 times a week, though I try to make it 5 - 6 times. Sometimes life "gets in the way" of my yoga practice (LOL!) so the requisite, traditional 6 times a week of mysore style practice isn't possible (does doing a few sun salutes or meditating count as "practice" when I can't make it to the shala?) I've done my fair share of 3 days' practice in a row before... so why did my quads feel like steel deadweights as of last night? And my triceps too.
He makes you work hard, this Sharath! No cheating!
A hot shower before I left and a little warming up before we started this morning seemed to help. The thighs weren't burning as much today as they were last night. Most of my energy was focussed on ME today, so a little less to report on Sharath.
1. Dinner
Yup, By the second count (DWE: EXHALE!) into the first forward bend, I could feel last night's dinner in my belly. And was thinking "great, today will be interesting". In case you were wondering, I'd cooked me some miso soba noodles with leftover tofu + veggie scramble thrown into it. I got the sense I was still digesting that choy sum. Yuck.
Which made me think of the discussion most yogis eventually have at some point: what & how much to eat the night before you practice? ...so that you get enough sustenance through the first few hours (since you don't eat before practice), but also so you don't start groaning like me in the forward bends and twists.
2. Stronger or trying harder?
Even though my body's a little winded, today I thought I'd try a little harder and hold every chaturanga instead of cheating by placing the chin on the floor or the upper body on the floor. Earlier in the week I thought "pace yourself", which in my book meant not flooring the chaturangas.
He makes sure everyone holds in every chaturanga. You hear "Don't Hurry" a lot when we get to this pose. If anyone has moved ahead to Up-Dog, he makes them go back down again (which means the rest of us are STILL holding in chaturanga). Now you understand why I've been cheating? :p
Anyway, today with the little pact I made with myself, I surprised myself by holding about 95% of all the chaturangas and realized my arms and core strength are probably a little stronger than I give them credit for. Yay for me. I wonder if I've already grown stronger, or am I just trying a little harder?
3. Uthpluthi
By his 6th count, I had to come down, rested on the 7th count, then went back up again. Sharath walked by my mat around the 8th count, stood right in front of my mat, facing me - all I could see were his feet. IN FRONT OF MY MAT! Then he counts "NINE"... I'm still holding (I don't think he saw that I'd come down earlier. Hehe.) and then he gives a little cheeky, conspiratorial "ohhhh..." (as in "ohhh... so you think you can hold so long, do you?") I don't know if he was referring to me coz I was staring down at a piece of fluff on my mat towel, concentrating on "HOLD! STAY UP TIL 10! HE'S IN FRONT OF YOU!"... and then he goes and calls out "Nine... and a half..."
Dammit! He made me (and everyone else) laugh and I had to come down. I was too shy to look up to see if he was making fun of me. What? Me, Star-struck?! Noooooo.
4. Sirsasana
Dunno if this is better or worse than yesterday. Had to come down by his 4th L-O-N-G count, but then went back up again and held for another of his 4 counts. All the while thinking of the advice/ comments I've been given by the cybershala. There's a lot of ego and fear involved in this pose for me. And that's all I'll comment on for now. (Still processing, not ready to talk about it!)
5. Closing Chant
Too winded to even complete the first "Om". had to stop halfway and catch my breath!
But... being the yoga-dork I am, I looked up the closing chant on the KPJAYI site yesterday and was reciting it. Yes, extremely dorky. But it worked coz today I wasn't straining to figure out what the heck he was saying and was able to focus a little more inward as the words were a little more familiar and rolling off my tongue a little easier (how many times can I use the word "little" in a sentence?)
Oh, this goes for the Sanskrit numbers too. Looked it up yesterday, and the practice went a little smoother (in my head) coz I knew the counts and wasn't distracted by silly thoughts like "Huh? Is that a number or is that something else he's saying?"
That's all for today!
PS. There'll be a conference with him at 6pm this Friday at the new Yoga Moves shala, 40 Hall Road in Bondi Beach. Yay!
By the way, a friend of mine had asked if she could take pictures on the first day, but Sharath didn't give permission. So I haven't dared to bring my camera in. These are shots from outside the building waaaaaay before most people have showed up.
This is directly outside the hall, at around 5.30am.
And this is the same place after practice, about 7.45am. Gorgeous innit (yup, that's the Harbour Bridge in the distance).
We're right next to a park by the yacht club. :)
I have a pretty regular practice, I'm at the shala at least 4 times a week, though I try to make it 5 - 6 times. Sometimes life "gets in the way" of my yoga practice (LOL!) so the requisite, traditional 6 times a week of mysore style practice isn't possible (does doing a few sun salutes or meditating count as "practice" when I can't make it to the shala?) I've done my fair share of 3 days' practice in a row before... so why did my quads feel like steel deadweights as of last night? And my triceps too.
He makes you work hard, this Sharath! No cheating!
A hot shower before I left and a little warming up before we started this morning seemed to help. The thighs weren't burning as much today as they were last night. Most of my energy was focussed on ME today, so a little less to report on Sharath.
1. Dinner
Yup, By the second count (DWE: EXHALE!) into the first forward bend, I could feel last night's dinner in my belly. And was thinking "great, today will be interesting". In case you were wondering, I'd cooked me some miso soba noodles with leftover tofu + veggie scramble thrown into it. I got the sense I was still digesting that choy sum. Yuck.
Which made me think of the discussion most yogis eventually have at some point: what & how much to eat the night before you practice? ...so that you get enough sustenance through the first few hours (since you don't eat before practice), but also so you don't start groaning like me in the forward bends and twists.
2. Stronger or trying harder?
Even though my body's a little winded, today I thought I'd try a little harder and hold every chaturanga instead of cheating by placing the chin on the floor or the upper body on the floor. Earlier in the week I thought "pace yourself", which in my book meant not flooring the chaturangas.
He makes sure everyone holds in every chaturanga. You hear "Don't Hurry" a lot when we get to this pose. If anyone has moved ahead to Up-Dog, he makes them go back down again (which means the rest of us are STILL holding in chaturanga). Now you understand why I've been cheating? :p
Anyway, today with the little pact I made with myself, I surprised myself by holding about 95% of all the chaturangas and realized my arms and core strength are probably a little stronger than I give them credit for. Yay for me. I wonder if I've already grown stronger, or am I just trying a little harder?
3. Uthpluthi
By his 6th count, I had to come down, rested on the 7th count, then went back up again. Sharath walked by my mat around the 8th count, stood right in front of my mat, facing me - all I could see were his feet. IN FRONT OF MY MAT! Then he counts "NINE"... I'm still holding (I don't think he saw that I'd come down earlier. Hehe.) and then he gives a little cheeky, conspiratorial "ohhhh..." (as in "ohhh... so you think you can hold so long, do you?") I don't know if he was referring to me coz I was staring down at a piece of fluff on my mat towel, concentrating on "HOLD! STAY UP TIL 10! HE'S IN FRONT OF YOU!"... and then he goes and calls out "Nine... and a half..."
Dammit! He made me (and everyone else) laugh and I had to come down. I was too shy to look up to see if he was making fun of me. What? Me, Star-struck?! Noooooo.
4. Sirsasana
Dunno if this is better or worse than yesterday. Had to come down by his 4th L-O-N-G count, but then went back up again and held for another of his 4 counts. All the while thinking of the advice/ comments I've been given by the cybershala. There's a lot of ego and fear involved in this pose for me. And that's all I'll comment on for now. (Still processing, not ready to talk about it!)
5. Closing Chant
Too winded to even complete the first "Om". had to stop halfway and catch my breath!
But... being the yoga-dork I am, I looked up the closing chant on the KPJAYI site yesterday and was reciting it. Yes, extremely dorky. But it worked coz today I wasn't straining to figure out what the heck he was saying and was able to focus a little more inward as the words were a little more familiar and rolling off my tongue a little easier (how many times can I use the word "little" in a sentence?)
Oh, this goes for the Sanskrit numbers too. Looked it up yesterday, and the practice went a little smoother (in my head) coz I knew the counts and wasn't distracted by silly thoughts like "Huh? Is that a number or is that something else he's saying?"
That's all for today!
PS. There'll be a conference with him at 6pm this Friday at the new Yoga Moves shala, 40 Hall Road in Bondi Beach. Yay!
By the way, a friend of mine had asked if she could take pictures on the first day, but Sharath didn't give permission. So I haven't dared to bring my camera in. These are shots from outside the building waaaaaay before most people have showed up.
This is directly outside the hall, at around 5.30am.
And this is the same place after practice, about 7.45am. Gorgeous innit (yup, that's the Harbour Bridge in the distance).
We're right next to a park by the yacht club. :)
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
The Aftermath of Matric Ball
The day after the Office Matric Ball Christmas Party, I had 2 huge blisters on the ball of both feet. I don't usually wear heels and my feet were complaining.
To top it all off, while in a yoga class and moving into Warrior 1, I completely busted and ripped up one blister as I twisted my foot to turn the back heel in. O-U-C-H. It was so sore and raw that I couldn't walk properly; and I couldn't even drive properly... I had to press down on the clutch on the outer edge of the foot.
Needless to say, I couldn't practice any yoga either coz I was just hopping around on the mat in pain. It's been too many days now and time to finally get back into it!
In case you want to see it, here's a super small thumbnail sized picture of the ripped blister. In case you DIDN'T want to see it, that's why it's attached as a super small thumbnail sized picture. Be warned - it's gross.
To top it all off, while in a yoga class and moving into Warrior 1, I completely busted and ripped up one blister as I twisted my foot to turn the back heel in. O-U-C-H. It was so sore and raw that I couldn't walk properly; and I couldn't even drive properly... I had to press down on the clutch on the outer edge of the foot.
Needless to say, I couldn't practice any yoga either coz I was just hopping around on the mat in pain. It's been too many days now and time to finally get back into it!
In case you want to see it, here's a super small thumbnail sized picture of the ripped blister. In case you DIDN'T want to see it, that's why it's attached as a super small thumbnail sized picture. Be warned - it's gross.
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