Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year!


I wish you all lots of happiness, tons of love, plenty of luck, and yoga, yoga, yoga in your life!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Is there Spring on the horizon?

Most miserable practice today. Even the fact that Aliya subbed did not help. My nose was stuffed, which made breathing problematic. I felt like a whale in SK, could not hold a bind. Got a cramp in right QL in UD. Felt exhausted by the end of the practice. Sarah and Rayna said that this is because of the cold weather, but I think it is the unfortunate combination of being fat, lazy and old.

Crazy thing with that watermain break! I do not envy people trapped in the cars and the rescuers in the cold water. I pray everybody is OK soon.


We have another lunch out at work today. How one is supposed to lose weight, I am asking you? Ughhhhh....

Monday, December 22, 2008

Sunchokes do not go well with yoga

Because of the high glycemic index, I banished potatoes from my house completely, which caused much anguish on my husband's part. Russian cuisine generally consists of three combinations: meat and potatoes; meat and dough; and meat and rice. Which makes potatoes a very large component. So I tried sunchokes yesterday, because some people claim they are a very good substitute. I fried them Russian-style, and they do look a lot like potatoes. Not so much in taste, but it was not bad either. I have discovered the downside of this substitution this morning, though. I woke up so gassy that the question of going to Mysore was not even considered for the fear of being banished from the place forever. After a short google research, I discovered that sunchokes have a high levels of inulin, which makes them particularly attractive to diabetics. But is causes bloating (temporarily, they claim), which makes them incompatible with yoga. I had to settle for a home practice, which wasn't bad if one does not take into account that the cats were traumatized occasionally....

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

The stress of the holiday season.

Too many dinner parties, shopping is not done yet, projects at work needed to be done before Christmas. Boxes are still unpacked. It is so nice without that extra-stuff though. I actually considered just dumping them into the trash. But then I remembered all my yoga books and relented.
My son is visiting for a week. Feels good to have the family together again. We watched the "Dark knight" together yesterday on DVD.
Skipped practice yesterday due to the ladies holiday, but had a good practice today. Has anybody noticed that the body becomes extra-flexible during this time? I have to be careful and hold back a little to avoid an injury.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Still in the saddle.

Day four of my uninterrupted practice week. Yesterday I was very prudent, had a long Epsom salt bath and went to bed early. Today's practice was surprisingly good. Probably not so surprising - it is raining outside, the air is not so scratchingly dry, it is much easier to breathe. Had a really, really deep backbending assist and wondered if the back pain would return. So far so good, though.
I slipped in my decision not to indulge in electronic purchases and bought myself a netbook Aspire one. The cutest laptop I have ever owned. The reason to buy it was that remembering my bad experience on the interview at Howard (they did not have a computer available for my presentation) I decided it would be prudent to have a mobile laptop to carry around for my lectures. It does sound legitimate, right? I will go with it. :)
Need to go and work now. Have a great day!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Practice after a break is a bitch.

Three days in a row of practice after a long break. This morning I seriously entertained the idea of stopping at navasana and doing finishing. I thought I would collapse right there. But then the moment passed, and I finished my practice just fine. Felt great afterward. Need to remember this for the future.
I am trying to decide if my lower back pain (three weeks back) really comes from the standing up from UD or from deep assisted backbends. Two days I avoided both, just doing three UDs from the floor. Today I submitted myself to David's assistance in the backbends. He lifts my midsection very high and my hands are very close to the heels when he helps me. So far I feel nothing in the back. It seems the standing up is the culprit. Back to home-crim lagu vajrasana dips, strengthening the front of the body. Hopefully I will get my stand-ups back, without pinching in the lower back this time.
Oh, and my pasasana is back. Yay! Extra pounds are still with me, though.
Happy Tuesday!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Nearly done with renovations.

My apartment looks so much better! Granted we did not yet bring boxes upon boxes of our stuff from the storage, but still. Walls, blinds, and floor are clean and shiny, some of the furniture are gone, and there lots of empty space. It feels like I can breathe easier.
My son found a job in NYC, which is fantastic in this job market. If I come to visit him, I might be able to see all my virtual NY friends. How cool is that? He just needs to graduate first.
On the other hand, I had only two (!) days of Mysore practice this week. So far it is the record of the lowest attendance in my Ashtanga history. In spite of substantial physical activity moving heavy objects, I managed to gain 4 pounds. I am feeling very heavy and ungraceful. Pasasana is gone. Can barely bind Marichi D. Time to start a new life, me thinks.
Happy Saturday!

 

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