The Fat Yogi

Yoga was depressing today.  I'm the fattest yogi in the room.  I need to lose weight.  I hope that this money comes through soon.  I want to join weight watchers right after Christmas.  I need a kick in the behind from something.

Yoga and Mirrors

I've mentioned before my need to lose weight.  Although I am quite aware of this, it still was somewhat discouraging to see myself at my yoga class today. 

The renovation of our yoga room included the addition of mirrors. 

Mirrors!  Yikes!

I look pregnant.  No joking. 

It didn't help that today I wore my biggest oldest sloppy t-shirt which ended up being too loose to be comfortable for yoga.  I kept needing to pull it down.  Annoying. 

Yes, there is a benefit to the mirrors.  I can see my form better.  And (although I look crappy in weight, my form is not bad) yes, that is good in the long run. 

However, right here and now in the short run, I am seeing my fat body in the mirrors and I do not like what I see.    It's not that I never look in mirrors at home.  However, at home, I am not standing in warrior one pose looking at my big ol' pudgy belly. 

I hope to start a weight loss plan after the holidays.   In the meanwhile, I'll continue to exercise. 

And I'll do my best to keep my eyes off the mirrors. 

Christmas Traditions: The Annual Ornament

Do you have many Christmas traditions?

It's my most favorite time of the year because of the rich traditions celebrated by my friends and family. 

One fun tradition is the annual ornament for each of my children.  I actually started doing this when I was merely an aunt.  My nieces and nephew were able to benefit from this fabulous idea and the fact that I was not yet a mom.

When my own children started to arrive, I was thrilled at the prospect of continuing the tradition with them. 

My five children have the following themes for ornaments:  #1 is planes, #2 is trains, #3 is rocking horses, #4 is birds, and #5 is Santas.

Some years I will buy them an additional ornament if they are particularly interested in something like a superhero or a Disney princess. 

A couple years ago, I changed the tradition just a bit by starting to give them their ornaments on St. Nicholas Day. 

The past two Christmas seasons have been tough due to the loss of my oldest child.  One thing I will always do though is buy his annual airplane.  He'll always be a part of our traditions.

Can You Do a Headstand?

I've been doing yoga for around 3.5 months now.  Previously I have written about the progress I have made since my beginning.  

Today we did headstands. 

In the beginning, I wouldn't even attempt a headstand.

The funny thing is that I was quite athletic in my youth doing things like cartwheels, front flips, back bends, backward walkovers, and the like.  Now when I see that stuff, i wonder how I never did such things!

However, I must say that I am getting more brave.  I will now do a tripod which is a beginner version of a headstand.  And I will do a head/hand stand against the wall. 

I am getting there. 

Considering that I used to do stuff like this all the time, I'm confident that I will eventually be able to do a handstand completely unassisted. 

The question is when?

When Irish Cream is Actually Wine...

As the cold December evening put me in the mood for a warm and comforting adult beverage, I decided to check the internet to see if there were any new ideas that involved Irish Cream and/or coffee. 

About a week ago, I was at my local Trader Joe's searching for Bailey's Irish Cream.  I inquired with the friendly employee who informed me that they did not, in fact, sell Bailey's.  He directed me to a small section with two other Irish creams.  I grabbed a cheap one that I hadn't hear of called O' Mara's Irish Country Cream. 

I was surprised when reading a blog comparing Bailey's and O' Mara's that O' Mara's is actually a dessert wine!!  Sure enough, when I pulled out the bottle, there it was in black and white. 

The good news is that it tastes great in my coffee whether it is wine or not!

The Question on Everyone's Mind: Will You Do Yoga Today?

Wednesdays are my hardest, longest day. 

It is probably the day of the week that yoga is most needed. 

Yet I cannot seem to muster up the energy come Wednesday afternoon or evening. 

I have two choices:  1)  I could do it on my own at home in the afternoon.  2)  I could head back out into the cold to the 6:30pm class where an instructor would push me and make me enjoy it.

Oh and the third choice is to be lazy. 

The weather is cold and dreary today.  Again, it has been a long one. 

I'm just not feeling it. 

I hope to someday be at the point that I want to do it at home no matter what. 

I'm not there yet. 

Is there hope for me?

Just Dance is Good Stuff!

 

 I have this hatred for most videogames.  I feel like it turns my kids into brainless zombies.  They become lazy.  And they will sit and play until I make them stop even if it means for 8 hours. 

 

 

 

Just Dance is different. 

For the past three days, four of my children have been playing Just Dance a lot.  At times they are all playing.  At other times, maybe 2 will be playing.    The fun thing is that they can all play together.

It's silly and it is good exercise!  They come upstairs sweating!

It is much better than other videogames. 

Do You Hold a Grudge?

I was thinking today about holding grudges.  I'll admit that sometimes I do.   It's never for anything minor, only the major infractions.    In fact, I can only think of two particular people with whom I still hold grudges. 

One was a college roommate who was stealing from me.  The theft itself was bothersome, but there was more about the way she treated me when she knew I was onto her. Her attitude was one of condescension and snottiness. Oh and then I remember once a year or so after college I was waitressing.  She came into the restaurant and I had to serve her.  And she didn't tip me!  Oh I was beside myself.  First she steals from me, then that?    I just can't get over all of that.  I definitely feel a grudge toward her.

The other is more complicated.  It's family related.   And it's ridiculous.  I'm not going to air that grievance in public, but I must say that this person was totally in the wrong, immature, and mean.  And I can't help it.  I have a grudge.  The bad thing is I will be forced to spend time with this person again soon.  I'm not sure how I will handle that.  I haven't seen him since it transpired over a year ago.

I don't hold grudges for small things.  Life is life and no one is perfect.  Friends will sometimes say the wrong things.  People make mistakes.  We all make bad choices sometimes.  And even on the big things, if someone apologizes, I will forgive them.  That's the thing with the two big things I wrote about above.  I have never and will never receive apologies from them.  If they apologized, I would let it go. 

Do you hold grudges?

Do You Exercise When Feeling Icky?

The morning brought with it a headache and a case of the "icks" today. 

If you ask me why I don't feel good, I can't quite explain it.  It's just a bit of ickiness and blahs.  (The headache left after my morning coffee, water, and Ibuprofen.)

I had planned an afternoon visit to the gym for some cardio and weight training, but the icks prevailed. 

Would I have felt better had I exercised?  Most likely. 

Instead I have allowed myself to be icky and blah and ugh all day. 

Do you force yourself to exercise when you don't feel your best?

I'm Having a Love Affair with Yoga

Don't tell my husband, but I am having a love affair with YOGA.  Yes, it's reached that point.

 I find myself preferring yoga to all other activities. 

When I realized my moms' night out this week will conflict with my Friday night yoga class, I was beyond despair! 

When I realized that the children's Christmas program would conflict with the following Friday night yoga class, I wanted to scream and shout at the top of my lungs.

 When another dear friend sent a message about getting together with multiple friends the first Friday in January, again, my thoughts turned to YOGA.

Is it wrong to be obsessed with my dear flexible, zen-creating friend?Will all my friends start avoiding me because they know that I am being a harlot with yoga?

 

Will my children find out?

 

What will they say?

 

 

Progress

As I wrote last night, I am having a love affair with yoga.  Perhaps I am merely in the honeymoon phase.  Perhaps the passion cannot last.  Perhaps. 

Or perhaps I have found something with which I will have a lifelong relationship.

I hope that is the case. 

As I make progress, I do find myself loving it more. 

For example, last night's class was an excellent, challenging class from one of my favorite instructors.  One of the final poses of the evening was crow pose.  Although crow isn't terribly difficult, initially, I found it tough.  Maybe my arms weren't strong enough to hold my chubby body.  Now I can do it.   I also can shift my body to where I am on my head.  When I first began yoga, the feeling of any pressure on my head was disturbing and uncomfortable. 

My flexibility is slowly improving, though I still have a long way to go.  I cannot get over how difficult it is for me to reach with my arms behind my back.  I often wonder if it is truly lack of flexibility or if it is that my arms are short. 

I'm happy with my progress. 

photo credit:  pixabay

That's How I Know I Love Yoga...

Fridays tend to be long, long days.  They can seem even longer if I have a bad sleep the night before like I did last night. 

I awoke around 4am because the cat pushed open my door.  (I love that cat, but grrrrr)

Then I never returned to sleep.

Needless to say, I have been so sleepy all day. 

Additionally, I have been extra sad today. 

The easiest thing in the world would be to come home and sit on my bottom while drinking wine and watching movies.  Oh how tempting that was today when I was tired and it was rainy, cold, and dreary!

Yet I craved my Friday night yoga class.   I pushed myself through my tiredness and went.  And yes, not only did I do it, I loved doing it! 

If I were simply planning to go to the gym and workout on the elliptical and the weights, I would have been too tired to go. 

Yoga is different.

When I think of how much I love doing it compared to other workouts, I am amazed at the difference.

My Favorite Yoga Instructor

Her name is Amy B. and she teaches at the YMCA.  She only teaches one yoga class at that location.

 OH HOW I WISH SHE TAUGHT MORE!  I LOVE HER!  (ok, so I don't "love her" love her, I just think she is a fabulous instructor.)  My first ever yoga class was with her and I am so glad for that. 

 Her classes always offer something different.  She works different areas each week and no matter what, I feel like I have experienced a workout. 

She also offers something in the spirituality of it, the mental benefits.  She offers words of inspiration.   Something about her almost always brings me to tears by the end of the class.  That may not sound like a good thing, but it is!  They are tears of release!

 

Today's class focused on the hips.  It felt good;  it felt tough at times;  it felt relaxing as well. 

 

Yesterday I was suffering from intense anxiety.  My start with her today was a much needed thing.

 

If only I could attend her classes every single day!

I Could Use a Little Zen Today

One of these days soon, I plan to photograph my daughter in some yoga poses to use with my posts.  I keep planning to do so, but not following through.  Life is busy.  In the meanwhile, my personal photos of trees and lovely beach scenes work fine.

Today has been such a rotten day.  I have felt such anxiety due to all sorts of things.  I need some zen.  I need some yoga. 

The busy, busy schedule of Wednesday never allows for Yoga.  Today is even more busy than usual as I have to take my daughter to dance class. 

The good thing is that tomorrow I get to go to my favorite yoga class.  I love this instructor and I want to suggest to her that she make some instructional videos and put them on youtube.  I'd love to be able to benefit from her teachings on the days I cannot make it to her class.  Due to vehicle issues, I haven't been to her class for 4 weeks!  That's terrible!  I miss it!

I three instructors that I see regularly, but she is my favorite.

Do you have a favorite instructor?

Sunrise Yoga? I Don't Get It!

Perhaps it is because I am simply NOT a morning person.  I'm just not.  I would rather sleep. 

In fact, tomorrow I have plans to go to an 8:00am yoga class and I am not thrilled about it. 

I'm thrilled about the yoga, just not the time. 

Again, I would rather sleep.

So when I hear about these yoga studios that offer sunrise yoga, I find it completely unappealing.  For one thing, early in the morning, my body feels extra tight and off-balance.  The early morning classes seem so much more difficult for me to keep the poses or even reach the poses. 

There is way more "ouch" to morning yoga. 

I wonder if the morning yoga might be a better way to start your day if you suffer from anxiety (which I do).  Perhaps the spiritual and mental benefits outweigh the negatives from the stiff morning muscles.

I could see doing sunset yoga.  That sounds nice. 

Much nicer because it does not require me to set my alarm clock.