Let It Go On Its Way

Looked at Gloria and we started laughing -- a hold over from yesterday's laughter yoga class.

It was my first time going to laughter yoga and, with anything new, I had my reservations but I went. 

Before I entered the studio, I was captivated by the staircase. I love passageways and corridors.

The Way to Flex Fitness

What to say about laughter yoga? So funny. It was both what I expected and what I did not. One of the most powerful parts of laughter yoga was the laughing meditation -- think savasana but with peals of laughter. 

We were all lying down with our heads in the same direction. Gloria was next to me and just about caused my demise. Her intense laughter, soon joined by the intense laughter of others, made me absolutely lose it. I slapped my leg, stomped my foot, took my glasses off and said Oh my God a few times...

Emma, our laughter yoga leader, is really good. She guided us, beautifully, at the end of practice: If a thought comes, acknowledge it and let it go on its way...

Gloria had me chuckling again right before practice. She read funny quotes about mothers. She also had me laughing when she said that she didn't like her mother until she was around 40 since they had their differences and she also "confessed" to not being a perfect mother but said that she did the best that she could which reminds me of one of Oprah's favorite Maya Angelou quotes: when you know better, you do better. 

We started off in downward facing dog. Gloria said that we should feel warmth and I instantly felt the heat which was kind of nice since it was such a chilly morning. 

Get hot happy Gloria said as we folded over then she encouraged us to make a healthy forward fold by bending at the hips instead of bending at the back. 

I don't fold too much but I often think of what Madonna said: the more you do yoga -- the more your body opens up.

The View Leaving Flex Fitness

Bending Pages or A Few of My Favorite Things

What do Downward-Facing Death and Wild have in common? I never wanted them to end.

Downward-Facing Death (DFD) is a Kindle serial and I knew that I wanted to buy it from the moment that I saw it advertised. It's a yoga mystery written by Neal Pollack. How could I go wrong? I had already read Pollack's Stretch: The Unlikely Making of a Yoga Dude and enjoyed it. Pollack is really good and he's funny. It was pretty cool, too, to get an email from Amazon letting me know when the next episode of the novel was available.

DFD is about a charismatic guru who is found all contorted and dead in a yoga studio. Loved this whodunit tale. And here's wisdom from Slim, a friend of the detective Matt Bolster:

"They try to warn us when we start practicing," Slim said. "Don't get attached. Don't trust your gurus. But then, before you know it, you're following your meditation teacher up to Mendocino and he's asking you to monitor his pot farm for three months while he goes on a silent retreat in Thailand..."

I tweeted at Pollack that I wanted more Matt Bolster and Lora Powell, a meditation teacher in the book and he tweeted back coming soon! Sweet...

I am usually a huge page bender but not so with Wild. I just went along for the ride and had an urge to go on some trail and hike...

I often click on recommendations that Netflix gives me and so that's how I ended up watching Kumare about a man, Vikram Gandhi, from New Jersey who pretends to be a guru. I felt discomfort as I watched Gandhi's charade and I would like to think that I would speak to him after it was all over with but I don't know...

I was so moved by Raw Faith, an amazing documentary about Marilyn Sewell.





On a final note, totally dug My 2-Year-Old Judges Books By Their Cover by Robert Bruce.

Okay, that was a preacher's final note. I also liked a recent Neal Pollack article featured in Yoga Journal -- When Your Teachers Leave.

What are you diggin' these days?

The Pacesetters

Barb -- Pumping Out The Rows

I looked at the whiteboard then looked away because I hoped that the workout was for a private client of Marisa's.

We warmed up with jumping jacks, mountain climbers, butt kickers and plank jacks and I assured Marisa that I was all warmed up.

The workout was not for a private client but for our group. Our mission, should we manage not to pass out, was to do:

50 Burpees
50 Push-Ups
25 Squat/Presses, Right Arm
25 Squat/Presses, Left
25 Rows, R & L
50 Knee Hug Sit-Ups
Plank (50 Seconds)
50 Jumping Jacks
10 Dive Bomber Push-Ups
10 Side Plank Hip Dip/Raises, R & L

Before and after this series we did simple kettlebell swings. For burpees, I ended up modifying and doing inchworms. Erin and Julia set the pace and we pretty much went to the next exercise when they finished. When I reached 25 knee hug sit-ups, Marisa looked my way as I was forming a word then asked Were you just getting ready to say fourteen?

Unfurl Your Brows or The Gospel According to Madonna

Madonna

The more you do yoga, the more your body opens up...

The body has trade-offs for everything...

Yoga is all about releasing energy...because it gets blocked.

I loathe hot yoga.

Madonna to me after I told her what I originally used my yoga towel for...

Loosen up that synovial fluid...

One of Madonna's favorite fluids...

I tell people that I can't wait until the next day because I'll be even more beautiful then. If I don't say it, who will?

We need to move our bodies...,

(As we moved a leg back and forth while it was suspended from a strap on the yoga wall)

You all look gorgeous... Madonna to the class as we were in Warrior I

We all have our reasons that we are drawn to yoga...

You can put your legs up on the wall at home...You can breathe, can't you? Re: the importance of having a home practice.

Don't get uneven on me...

Let go...unfurl your brows... At the start of savasana

The first time that I experienced restorative yoga was with Madonna and it was amazing. Haven't been able to go a Madonna led class in a while but I still remember the lessons and the laughter. Thanks Madonna...

Lesson

I thought about taking Gloria an apple or dark chocolate on Sunday then nixed the idea.

Gave myself a talk about drinking too much of the Kool-Aid and drinking too much of the yoga mix.

I told myself to stop being goofy and to stop with the corniness...

As I walked into class, Gloria told me that she had something for me – a book about swimming. 

And her quote that morning was from a Tibetan Buddhist – You only have this moment…

Didn't realize that it was Teacher Appreciation Week until I saw this tweet:

Today is National Teacher’s Day. Who is the instructor that introduced you to #yoga?
— Yoga Six (@Yoga_Six) May 6, 2013

I should have totally followed my first mind on Sunday. In fact, I'm still in touch with one of my high school teachers. I should drop her a line and let her know that I still appreciate her.

Finishing

Texted Marisa to let her know that I would not be attending kettlebell class on Wednesday and would see her Saturday.

Marisa: (Princess) Tiffany has xyz and Liz has and Meghan...you might be the only one.

Me: I don't want you to give up Saturday for me. I'll catch you Wednesday.

Marisa: Come to class! It's what I do!

Me: A silent damn...

I never want one-on-one kettlebell practice with Marisa who is first-class but...

I barely get myself together in time and remind myself that I am not a morning person and that's okay. When I get to Marisa's, Julia is there. I don't remember her but she used to swing at the place that closed, feels like a badass when she practices kettlebell and has lost 60 pounds.

We start off doing jumping jacks then we pick up our kettlebell for 10 two-hand swings. We do mountain climbers then get up and do 10 right hand swings then 10 burpees with a push-up and a tuck jump and that just saps my energy but I move on to:

10 Swings, R
10 Swings, L
10 Rows, R
10 Rows, L
20 ATB (Around the Body) with a catch and lunge

At some point, we go back to single arm swings for one minute -- way too long if you ask me. We also get in 10 bottom up presses and 20 squats.

We do planks from the TRX and I'm still not sure how Marisa gets in and out, when she demonstrates, with no assistance. Also don't know how people work out quietly. I am noisy and I sometimes protest too much but I don't care because it gets me through the workout.

We check out the battle ropes for a minute -- doubles -- 10 x's; singles -- 10 x's; outs -- 10 x's.

We do core work with a medicine ball. Then we do a straight arm plank, right side and left side planks, a forearm plank and, to end the workout, we squat while holding the medicine ball out. I drop my ball before time is up and Marisa tells me to finish it out and I do.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Woke up early, wondered why the TV wasn't responding to the remote and why my iPod wasn't updating. I finally connected the dots -- no electricity. The only noise in the house came from my iPod alarm, a chime signaling that my daily yoga quote had arrived and the unconscious flipping of switches that produced nothing.

I feel like I'm always learning lessons and the lack of electricity was definitely a lesson in preparing ahead of time. Luckily, I usually get clothes that don't require a lot of maintenance. But what to eat? I went to an independent coffee shop and got a breakfast sammie and coffee then headed to work. Still missed my oatmeal with banana and mango...

Hit the climbing gym yesterday and when I spotted Cindy, I felt the corners of my mouth lift and the smile spread. I was happy to see her. Didn't know that she was coming and she probably didn't think that I was coming either since I had emailed our group that I didn't know if I would swing my kettlebell or swing from ropes...

I was belaying when Cindy got ready to leave and, being the good belayer that I am, I slightly turned to kiss her and instead of cheeks, we ended up lip to lip and now I have that I Kissed A Girl...Katy Perry song in my head. Tim* -- no disrespect intended.

Went to yoga and Jen had the line of the night during corpse pose: Allow yourself the mental and physical gift of letting go. She also said pertinent things about corpse pose vs. savasana and the act of renewal that comes every time you step on the mat.

As I drove home I realized, again, how much I adore earth salutations. I really need to take time to do them at home. The electricity finally came on around 9 p.m. and, coolest of all, my fish pulled through...


*Cindy's fiancee