Building Heat

Just in case I hadn't whined enough about the weather here - I wanted to take this opportunity to complain that on Saturday May 28th we are apparently going to have a high of 39 degrees with rain/snow. Blech. I hate winter weather... especially when it's practically summer! It's getting sooo old.

I guess I'll be hiding in my house with hot tea for a little while longer. I'll be meditating and trying to do a little restorative yoga over the weekend. Adam is on a baking kick, so there will also be plenty of pie to keep us warm.

Yoga Tip: Long holds of headstands build heat. By long holds I mean around 5 minutes or more. Depending on your level of practice. You can save time by doing a long headstand instead of 6 sun salutations near the beginning of a practice.

Other benefits of Salamba Sirsasana (Supported Headstand) via Yoga Journal:

Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression

Stimulates the pituitary and pineal glands

Strengthens the arms, legs, and spine 

Strengthens the lungs

Tones the abdominal organs

Improves digestion

Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause

Therapeutic for asthma, infertility, insomnia, and sinusitis

Practicing Awareness

Of all the times I've been injured or had to jump-start a neglected practice - this one has to be the most intelligent so far. I think so anyway. I mentioned Monday that I had a weird back thing going on that was bad enough for me to rest 100% for 2 days. This means I really did nothing. I spent most of those days lying in bed. I didn't even do laundry which is bugging me because I always do laundry on Mondays. I watched a lot of TV on the laptop and read magazines. I even spent some time just lying there staring at the ceiling and "feeling" what was going on in my body. I've been really good about paying attention to my body this week. I'm proud of myself.

I went on a walk yesterday figuring that wasn't too strenuous and I meditated when I got home. It's been a very educational little break. By this morning (Wednesday*) I was feeling less like my shoulder/back was trying to stab itself off of me. I only felt a little stiff and slightly sore, but a little hesitant to practice. I've mentioned before that my morning practice consists of a couple sun salutations, headstands, handstands, and forearm stands. I first had to talk myself into sun salutations. Slow quiet sun salutations. Every breath, every tiny movement and placement of bones, every pull or push - I listened.

Softening into my practice isn't my forte' but I made it through the whole thing without pain. That's all I did and I'm determined to take it slow. For all I know, this injury could have come about from a series of bad habits and careless moments. I'm practicing awareness and creating a safer practice.

I know of lots of yogis that have made a comeback from far more serious injuries than me... I just have to be patient and kind to myself.

* - these posts are almost always written at least a day early.
Also - There would be pics but my internet is acting stupid, so that didn't work out.

Dreamers and Doers

"The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do."

 - Sarah Ban Breathnach

His Chin is floating, not resting. It's just hard to tell here.

Reading from the Inside Out

I'm on Day 2 of full and total rest. Luckily I have some reading to catch up on. I have my new Yoga Journal, and I always have Light on Yoga sitting on the table being disappointed in me. Maybe I'll get around to starting that book for like the 5th time if I run out of mags and movies.

Recently I finished a great book. I actually started it in January, so it's funny that I just finished it. It's only 138 pages long. I swear I'm literate. The book in question? Christina Sell's "Yoga from the Inside Out: Making Peace with Your Body Through Yoga". 

I'll be honest. At first when I got this book (Christmas) I flipped through it and went - oh this book is for people with problems... That's not me. Eventually though, I got off my high horse and read the damn book. You don't have to actively be "at war with the body" to get a lot of amazingly beautiful insight from this book. It's entirely possible that reading this book contributed to me resting my body right now instead of pushing through the pain (because yes I'm kind of a fitness junkie that pushes too much).

As I read it, I marked pages with notes to talk about it here. Eventually it just became a farce and I had to admit that it was the whole book. If you've ever had a problem with your body, or struggled to treat it well, or want to better understand how yoga can change your life, or want to hear how the back body represents the Universal, or wonder what it really means to have a healthy body image... READ THIS BOOK. That is all.

I'm not being paid and no one asked me to review this book. I just bought it, read it, and recommended it.

Resting 100 Percent

I woke up yesterday morning with an evil back pain of doom. What's up with that? I don't really know. I didn't even do anything on Saturday, so I've been kinda confused about it. I don't appear to have actively hurt myself, but the pain is definitely there for some reason. I spent most of Sunday just kinda feeling crappy, but otherwise going about my business. I did my morning weekend practice which is just a few sun salutations and meditation. Nothing strenuous. Then later I did some plyometrics (because I do that on weekends) with a 1 mile warm up walk and a 1 mile cool down walk. At that point I actually felt great. All the jumping and pushups and whatnot made me feel amazing. My back didn't even hurt! I can't imagine how plyos could've possibly made my back feel better, so I'm gonna call it a fluke. So I continued going about my day. Went to the park, watched squirrels, cuddled the dog. You know, the usual.

Hours later I sat down and had this outrageous pain start shooting through my back/shoulder. It comes and goes, but mostly it's there... and it sucks. Some research suggests that depending on what the hell is wrong I should either rest completely for up to 3 days, or I should go on as usual. I usually go by the rule that if it hurts when you're not doing anything - you should rest it completely for a while. Since this pain is definitely there all the time I've decided to give it total complete rest for 2 days and then pick back up with my yoga.

In the meantime, I'm realizing that I'm somewhere between dedicated and addicted to my yoga. I want to do yoga All The Time. Discomfort? Do yoga! Tired? Do yoga! Feel stiff? Do yoga! Now that I'm not allowing myself to do yoga - it's like I'm going stir crazy. I find myself plotting and trying to figure out ways I can sneak in some yoga anyway. I'm not giving in. I promise. I'm going to rest...but this is really hard.

John Friend says to give 100% all the time. When you're working - give 100% and when you're resting - rest 100%, so that's what I'm doing. I am committed to doing what's right for my body - even if the right thing is Nothing.

Doggy Photo Source: Apparently everywhere. That dog gets around.

Granola and Sunshine

I found this recipe for Homemade Granola over at I'm Organic - whose fabulous wonderful infinitely useful tote bags I own. They aren't paying me to say that, I just thought I'd throw that in there... because it's true. And I'm all about spreading the truth.

Anyway... I haven't actually tried this recipe yet. It looks really good though and I've wanted to make my own granola for a while. It's especially helpful for having a lot of wiggle room in the recipe. When you're allergic to nuts (like me) you have a much harder time finding recipes and pre-made items that you can eat.

If you try the recipe - let me know how it goes. I'm off to frolic in the sun while it's out. That's right. I said frolic.

Within the Heart

"The little space within the heart is as great as the vast universe. The heavens and the earth are there, and the sun and the moon and the stars. Fire and lightning and winds are there, and all that now is and all that is not." - The Upanishads

Don't know who this is or where it came from. I just know it's Bad Ass.