Dreams Are Made of This...

Dreamed that I was covered in blood -- from head to toe. One wound was gaping which made blood drip from my fingers.

The 'Fugee and I watched Selma so there was no need to go to Dream Moods although I did... 

Could have stayed in the house today. Another weekend without bicycling because of the rain. Zumba wasn't particularly calling my name but it was more appealing than figuring out what to do on my own.

Because of a minor procedure, the regular Saturday Zumba teacher has not been there in about two months. Sub number three, Grace, was in the house. I was briefly confused when I saw Shannon, a.k.a. the yelper, who's subbed before.

After class I joked with Shannon that she didn't yelp nearly as much as a student and she told me that she got in a couple of yelps but it didn't seem right to do a lot of yelping since someone else was teaching.

It was kind of cool to have Grace leading and Shannon as her right-hand woman because, at one point, Grace went to adjust the sound system and I just followed Shannon's lead because she, of course, knew the routine.

Back to Selma...

As I watched the movie, thought about something Oprah Winfrey said a long time ago: Your ticket has already been bought and paid for...

Two Straps Left

I was about to finish my climbing outing when a leg strap snapped loose on my harness. My belay partner, Will, noticed immediately. Told him that I would down climb but he alerted a staff member who came to the same conclusion -- that down climbing would be the best option. Still, the staffer starting prepping the auto belay...

When I got down, the same staffer asked if I had double backed my strap. I was pretty sure that I had since the other straps were double backed.

I immediately thought about the weight that I had gained. Felt like I had broken a chair but, really, nothing was broken and the strap wasn't frayed. I do like to wear my leg straps a bit loose so I'll have to tighten them up more from now on.

My heart didn't even start pumping fast. Knew that I had two straps left and that I had to get to the ground. I'm pretty sure that my hours on a yoga mat contributed to my calm descent.

Rained Out

It pretty much rained all day long. Yeah, I know -- April showers.

I did a modest amount of uncluttering in the paper department. Came across two expired credit cards that I never activated and unpleasant work emails. Not sure why I printed those to begin with. Felt good to get rid that stuff. Can't imagine the energetic weight.

Also got around to washing clothes and sweeping the fish tank. Finished reading the Aha! April issue of Psychology Today. I've been thinking about Tania Luna, the suprisologist, for a while now. It was one of the first articles that I read days ago in that issue. There was also an interesting article, The New Survivors, about people with cancer.

Liked how Susan Gubar talked about gravy days and  there was a part of Ellen Stovall's story that was "funny" to me. Stovall went to a therapist to help with anxiety after a diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The therapist gave her a dog-training clicker and instructions to click it whenever she found herself ruminating about what might go wrong, then force herself to do something else, such as baking or taking a walk.(Pg 82)

I bet a lot of us need clickers...

Lost myself in the Viva el Capitalismo! issue of Newsweek. There's a psychology professor, Sandra Soca Lozano, featured in the story and she makes $30 a month and won't leave Cuba because she's an only child. When she goes out to dinner with Abigail Jones, the journalist, and others at a fancy restaurant, she realizes "...Working in my field (education) will never allow me to go by myself to places like that. I will always have to wait to be invited by someone else."

Reading Lozano's comments just made me realize (again) how so many of my days are gravy days.

In that same Newsweek, I enjoyed an article about yarn bombing. Would have loved to seen Steve Duneier's project up close and personal. I'm smitten with Duneier's new year commitment of having "Giving" and "Learning" resolutions...

Rewiring The Noodle

When Alison and I went to the Cinco de Mayo yoga event, told her that the camera had stopped working on my iPod with the shattered glass. Alison said that my iPod looked like roadkill.

Shattered glass, broken camera, malfunctioning home button and crashing apps -- it was time to let go of my refurbished iPod that I got in 2011.

When I opened my new iPod, I was shocked to see that Alison and I had purchased our devices in mid-March. Talk about delayed gratification. Can't believe that I waited so long to open it. The new bells and whistles gave me a little insight to why people stand in line when Apple products are released.

I'm missing a lot of music thanks to the virus that hit my computer so I'll have to break out the CDs and import music again. Maybe I can outsource this task?

My replacement Fitbit arrived. I christened it at Zumba yesterday and had, roughly, 6,000 steps from Shawny's beat down of a class. I asked Shawny what did she do before class. Take a nap, she responded. I need to try that next time...

This morning's pre-work reading was from the April issue of Psychology Today. I took note of the Is Your Smartphone Making You Dumb? article:

Because your phone doesn't even have to be in your hand to decrease your cognitive abilities, perhaps it's best to keep it hidden during tasks that demand your attention. 

I, at least, try to honor this idea during yoga. I don't have a smart phone and I don't really have a smart device when I carry it around unless I'm near a wifi signal but still...

I really like the tips for How To Coax An Aha! from the same issue of Psychology Today.

According to Roland Griffiths, meditation is a good way to ready the mind. However, he concedes that "It's not easy, and it can be really frustrating initially because the mind mutinies..." Yes it does.

Other tips include breaking a sweat and hitting the road.

Re: hitting the road, the author says: When we travel, we put ourselves in a position of receptivity to novelty: new ideas, new rituals, new perspectives. Thus do we make new associations, rewire our noodles, and effectively become different people.

The Body Starts Telling On You

A new coworker thanked me for my attitude. This person is a bit of a schmoozer but as someone I know once said It doesn't hurt for people to "pretend" to be civilized.

Talked to the new coworker about yoga and she said that it's good that I go because if you don't do things for your body  it starts telling on you.

I wanted to go swimming and to Yoga Buzz's Cinco de Mayo celebration. As soon as the coworker said that about the body, I decided to do yoga. Swimming is relaxing but I'm trying to mix things up a bit and not get stuck on doing the same things on the same day just because that's the way I've done them before.

When Alison expressed interest in going to the Cinco de Mayo(ga), that just sweetened the pot.

It was a really nice yoga session with food and drinks afterward. I kept thinking that it felt like Friday but a good feeling shouldn't be reserved for one day...

Here's a picture of our time in savasana. Not sure who snapped the picture.

What a beautiful night for yoga at @TowerGrovePark! #STL pic.twitter.com/k3sbiXF6vq

— Yoga Buzz (@YogaBuzzSTL) May 6, 2015

One Pedal At A Time

Turkey That Crossed The Tracks (Photo Credit: Alison)

Just getting around to drinking the coffee that I made this morning since Alison and I got together for a bike ride earlier than expected.

We stopped at the visitor center at mile three to say hi to the bike guide who then gave me the business about not wearing a helmet. He went on tell me that his daughter had been in an accident and her helmet split in two. He told this story in amusing fashion but he was serious and even told Alison to refuse to ride with me unless I had on a helmet.

We went out to mile eight then turned around. It was so windy on the way back. We kept telling ourselves to keep pedaling.

At some point after we left, Alison and I spotted a car in the intersection, a bike and a man curled into a C position. I knew, without a doubt, that Alison was getting out. I put my emergency flashers on and got out as well. The guy kept saying that he was okay, wanted to get up so that he didn't stall traffic and he also looked back to make sure his equipment a.k.a. bike was okay. The cyclist had scrapes on the front and back of his head and the driver's windshield was shattered in the corner.

Not sure what happened but the driver seemed nice and he seemed sober. There was also a lot of traffic downtown because of the Cardinals' game. After the police and ambulance arrived, we wished them well and headed back to our cars...

Saw that I had multiple messages when I got home. My nephew, who just got back from overseas, was making a pit stop on the way to his next assignment so I grabbed a few peanuts and headed to Illinois.

Came back home and took a rare nap. Feeling a little bit more human again but not a lot.

Photo  Courtesy of Alison, Riverfront Trail

So Cool Down or Month-End Review, April

Feel like I'm not pushing myself hard enough and didn't really feel like doing a month-end review but felt that it was important to document my efforts so that I could see that I have been consistently active despite the story that my mind is trying to tell me.

Went to Zumba tonight and Shawny made me laugh when she said It's the cooldown so cool down. Shawny gave us that caveat because the cooldown song was rather catchy...

10 Minute Solution: Fitness Ball Workouts
*Upper Body, 1 x

10 Minute Solution: KnockOut Body!
*Kickbox Cross Train, 2 x's
*Knockout Body Blast, 2 x's

Bicycling, 3 x's

Climbing, 3 x's

Dance It Off & firm up!
*Rock It!, 5 x's

Just Walk: Mix + Match Walk Blasters
*Short + Sweaty, 2 x's
*Steady and Brisk, 2 x's

Just Walk: Walk To The Hits, Party Songs
*Mile 1, 1 x
*Mile 2, 1 x
*Mile 3, 1 x

Personal Training With Jackie: Power Circuit Training
*Upper Body Workout, 1 x

Stretch Max
*Stability Ball, 2 x's

Swimming, 4 x's

Walking, 20 x's

Weight Watchers Tone & Burn
*Tone, 1 x

Yard Work (a.k.a mowing the lawn + picking up sticks), 1 x

Yoga, 10 x's

Zumba, 4 x's