To Swim or Not To Swim

Did Qigong at work on Friday. It was my second time doing a session with an instructor and I felt relaxed afterward. Didn't come home for lunch because of the Qigong and realized how lucky I am to work close to home. The day felt extraordinarily long without my usual trip home...

Didn't feel like I had an ounce of energy today but I also didn't want to sit around the house all day so I went swimming after not having gone for two weeks. Saw the retired math teacher, Dale, who responded with a W.C. Fields quote after I responded to his inquiry about how I was doing. He then went on to tell me a joke about two camels who ate a comedian -- he tasted funny, said one camel. 

Asked the lifeguard if she'd seen my Fitbit. She looked in the safe and on the message/cork board which has tons of earrings and whatnot but there was no sign of my Fitbit. She went on to tell me how she'd changed her Apple watch band to a magnetic one because the original band was ill-fitting and the watch had slipped off her wrist several times. The lifeguard also told me how she'd cracked the screen several times. 

Oh well, I like my new Fitbit and hope to have it for several years as the Inspire feels more secure on my arm.

People Of A Certain Type

Noticed a Qigong workshop being offered at a studio; it sounded interesting but I wondered if I really needed to go to every workshop that sparks my interest -- especially in the middle of a Saturday from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and on Easter Eve no less. 

I also get shy about going to unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people -- by myself. Deep down, though, I know that people who are seeking these type of workshops are people of a certain type. 

What sealed the deal is when the owner of the studio in question followed me, out of the blue, on my yoga Instagram account. For me, that was a sign that I should go.

When I looked at my visit history, I was surprised that the one and only time that I'd been to the studio was in Dec. of 2014 for a Winter Solstice celebration; it reminded me of something that Sharon Salzberg said in her recent talk with George Mumford about when she signs up for something on a website and scrolls down to her birth year -- she is gobsmacked that she needs to keep scrolling to get to the year like How did this age happen?

At any rate, the workshop was called Eliminating Worry with Spleen Qigong. About midway through participant introductions the facilitator, Valerie, said I haven't heard anybody mention worry. 

Worry is like a given, though, right?

Our first item on the agenda was a standing meditation and, I kid you not, Valerie starting talking about how if you were in China and went to the doctor, they'd prescribe bitter herbs and Qigong then she went on to say that we eat too much sugar and I felt like she was talking directly to me because I am out of control right now. 

You'll hear a lot of healers talk about stuck energy. My lower back has been talking to me for about three weeks now and after today's workshop, it felt better. Stuck energy?

Favorite line from the workshop:

"They're all energy systems and they (Yoga, Qigong, Reiki, Tai Chi) work."

Imperfect Patch

As I headed in the direction of the riverfront yesterday, I kind of meditated about being able to lift my bicycle out of the basement, getting into my car unassisted, seeing the downtown tourists etc...

Two of Many Volunteers

When I hit the trail saw individuals picking up debris and I was really touched when I saw the under 10 crowd helping out...

Fast forward to this morning...blah. Didn't feel like going to 9:00 a.m. yoga and wasn't sure about 11 but pushed myself in hopes that I would be able to shake off my blue mood.

Gloria did a restorative class and I smiled when we said Namaste. I've always liked the way Gloria does her three Namaste salute after the initial class-ending one.

After yoga went to the grocery store and was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by live music. The singer had a dancing hulu girl in a beverage holder and that also made me smile. The first words that I heard were These are the days of miracle...

First Singer That I've Seen In This Store

As I made Red Quinoa Zucchini Burgers I did Qigong in between and I can see why some yoga teachers like to mix in Qigong with yoga. It was definitely hard to stay in the blah zone while doing swimming dragon.

Before practice started Gloria read a passage from one of Sarah Ban Breathnac's books that talked about perfectionism and how Amish quilters deliberately leave an imperfect patch.

Long Enough

Because of yummy weather yesterday, I felt compelled to go to an outdoor yoga class.

There ended up being a sub who's into Qigong and we did this exercise that I've done before but wouldn't think to do on my own. We started by extending our right arms. With an open palm, we patted the inside of our arms then the outside and we moved on from there and ended up with the sacrum.

Before we got to the Qigong part, we stayed on our backs long enough for me to get enchanted by the blue of the sky, the arteries of the trees and the birds flying by.

After yoga I scampered off to Zumba -- kind of a backwards way to do things but that's the way the classes fell.

Slept beautifully and feel like it was the yoga with a side of Qigong that was instrumental or maybe it was everything.

Need to find a shorter version of this exercise...

Lovely Day

Rolled out of bed, gathered fruit, made a smoothie, attached bike rack to car, applied sun screen, maneuvered through all manner of downtown detours and placed my mat under the Arch at 9:05.

The teacher, Holly, was into a lot of things including Qigong and I really liked this movement where you kind of let your hands hang while you lift your arms then you separate your arms, bring them back together etc.

At the end of yoga practice, we made a huge circle and did om after om after om. My attention span is at about a one om count.

Chitchatted with Alison, April and Rosie then Alison and I made a quick right turn then left and hit the Riverfront Trail. Well, not before this guy in a yellow jersey noticed that Alison's rear tire was under inflated. He pulled his floor pump out of the car and put air in Alison's tire. Yeah, I'm not that hardcore. My floor pump is in the basement and I have no idea where the compact pump is at.

Yeah, that would be my finger.

Really like this picture of Rosie -- for some reason.

Bikers

Bird

Oh yeah, the 'Fugee has finally gotten into yoga.

The 'Fugee did her exercises while we watched Modern Family last night and, for some reason, this particular exercise made me laugh over and over. I'm going to blame it on a very challenging day at work. 

*P.S. 'Fugee, Rosie says that she misses you...

Lessons I Learned from Rock Climbers

Lesson One
Didn't feel particularly like climbing yesterday but one of my buddies wanted to go. I wasn't overly sore from Monday's kettlebell beat down but still didn't know if I would have the wherewithal to pull myself up the wall.

As I'm getting ready to tie in and climb a route, I notice this woman a couple of routes over and her foot is slipping off the arête but it's because she had a boot on her foot!

It was inspiring to see her climb. I even asked if I could take a picture and it didn't matter that I was without my camera. I borrowed my climbing partner's phone in my shameless pursuit of documentation...

One of These Shoes Is Not Like The Other

Lesson Two
I tried out a new route and had to hoist all of my fabulousness over an arête. The guys who had just finished with the route watched my progress.

David, my climbing partner, told me that I wasn't using my legs and, yes, I will try to muscle my way up a route instead of using my legs.

I got stuck right at the arête and asked David to lower me. Russ, one of the watchers told me: You were right there; your hand was inches away. It was like you didn't even want to to reach it. I've done that too -- told myself I can't do it.

So, I got myself back up on the route and over the arête; it was not pretty at all but I got myself further up the wall than I had anticipated.


Lesson Three

I talked to another one of my climbing partners who said that it would be at least another month before he is able to climb because of a lingering back issue.

I asked him if he had tried any complementary therapies. Chris told me that walking has helped and is actually considered a form of Chigung. So, yes, he said; I suppose I am doing complementary therapy.