Ridiculous and other random thoughts

Yoga last night was just ridiculous. I think Chuck was in a good mood and felt like making us sweat. We asked for hip openers and upper back/shoulder work. He read that as “exhaust us.”

The entire practice was strenuous, but two things really stood out for me: I tried to look up the names of the poses but I can’t find them. The first was this hideous crunch type thing. You basically have your entire weight on your sits bones, but your upper and lower body is opened outward/upward. Your legs are curled around each other, and the arms are curled around each other. For the dynamic part of the exercise, you inhale your shoulders to the floor without touching the floor, and you lower your legs to the floor without touching the floor. Then on the exhale, you close the gap from arms to legs by crunching them together. Ridiculous. It made my 250 crunches at home seem like a breeze. You know how when you overexert your muscles doing something (be it climbing, lifting, running…riding for me) your muscles twitch a lot? Well my abdominals were twitching. I think we only did a total of 20 “crunches” and it was totally a full body experience. My abdomen is actually very sore today.

The other pose, which had some dynamic movements but ended up as a static pose, was really quite cool. It was a transition from the knee bent over the shoulder while the other is straight out on the floor. With both hands at the hips on the floor, you lift the leg that’s on the floor, begin to bend the elbows and start to shift your chest toward the arms so that ultimately, you’re learning on the bent arms but have your curled legs out to the left of the body and off the floor. I only barley managed to get the weight shifted correctly and I got the legs out, but I couldn’t hold the pose in any real way. In any case, it’s quite cool and a pose I look forward to for fun.

Chuck plays some pretty awesome beats throughout the practice and I have to say some of it is really mesmerizing, other times it’s very sexy and other times still the beats are sort of absorbing. I’m always impressed with how the noise of the gym (the auto belay whirring, the dudes whistling and yelling when they send some crazy stupid problem, the little kids running around) fades away when I’m in yoga. I’m getting better at maintaining my focus throughout the practice and only during shavasana am I having real trouble in keeping myself centered. I’ve found that setting an intention for my practice helps a lot and the very notion of breathing for my intent is so helpful. But during shavasana it just gets complicated…I suppose that’s normal. Shavasana is when you’re supposed to bring mind and body back together, but the way my thoughts come smashing back into my head really annoys me! The languid thoughts sort of dissipate and I’m almost immediately filled with thoughts about work and life and what I’m doing for dinner and how are my nieces and nephew and what did that guy mean when he said “x,” and how am I going to buy that bike I liked and crap I really wish I could be running.

Speaking of running, I’ve sort of lost my little purpose in life (the marathon) and that frustrates me to no end. I am considering taking yoga classes at the studio where Chuck teaches – it’s supposed to be a ridiculously nice studio that has gotten really high ratings. Running had sort of become a way of life for me. (I get into relationships quickly, and running was no exception). Maybe I can get into a relationship with yoga while I wait for my foot to be done doing its thing. This is the studio. It’s more expensive than I’d like…but maybe I should give up the budget line item I have for Thursday Happy Hours and dining out for lunch and do something that is certainly better for me AND will strengthen my core a lot more…once I start running again it’s going to be very challenging to get back to where I was and I should probably help myself as much as I can?

Swimming hasn’t really happened, unfortunately. Swimming was easier when I lived at home and I get just go to the sports center and do my laps. Walking a couple miles or driving through boring old Lakes of the Meadow (where my family is) was no big deal. Now, I have to deal with a gym membership and fight traffic to get to the pool. Course I wouldn’t trade my life now for being back in Miami…although the ocean calls me pretty often.

Wardrobe: I got new full length Prana yoga pants which are super comfy and I could see myself using them for other stuff. I also got a good Under Armor shirt (which is great because it’s more fitted and quick dry), a sweet pair of running shorts with a butt zip pocket, and this Brooks running jacket (puddle color, haha) for when the weather starts to cool off. I’m starting to accept the fact that if I’m going to be running through the winter and trying to even go for the half marathon, I’ll be buying tights and looking silly. I used to run in wind breaker type pants, but it’s so uncomfortable and lends itself to leg chafing. No one likes that. I don’t like running in tights, but what are you going to do? I always envied my North East friends who thought it was totally legitimate to run in shorts when it was 20 degrees outside in Troy (you know who you are). Freaks.

I can’t wait for ski season (yes, I know we don’t get snow in VA Jenn!). I’m hoping for a fun filled trip to Snowshoe…and potentially up to Mount Snow…but we’ll see. Thing I most miss about college: riding for cheap ($13 a lesson, ha!) through the RPI Student Union, and cheap season passes to Okemo/Stratton. And skiing 2/3 times a week…riding 3/4 times a week. How fun.

I’d be much more suited to skiing these days…now that I actually get up when it’s still morning.