yoga beans

http://www.yogabeans.com/

great website with action figures demonstrating yoga poses. see, yoga can be manly. 'tis not a gay thing my friends.

new blog: all things yoga

since i have become a yoga groupie, along with jac, i figure i should dedicate a whole separate blog to yoga. once i am able to master the more challenging poses, like the head stand, balancing on my arms in various poses, and maintaining my balance, i'm thinking about actually taking a certificate training course. and for sure i will be going on the next yoga retreat, preferably somewhere sunny.

of course, it always helps to have the hottie yoga instructor watching your every move, helping you focus more on getting that pose down. definitely, don't want him to think i'm a wuss. and for the record cutie yoga instructor, putting your hand anywhere near my butt while i'm trying to balance is not helping me. you should wear a bag over your head for class, you're just too damn hot. ever notice how there are no guys in your class? of course that's not why i go. you're just the added bonus.

Why Yoga Rocks

i can't remember what my life was like before yoga.

it's my day off today, and i should still be in bed catching up on sleep. but it won't be like that today. i just finished some meditation poses and breathing exercises. i'm dressed in my comfy yoga pants and getting ready for my c2 yoga class. i'm not a morning person at all, but when i have something or someone good to look forward to, waking up early doesn't seem like such a chore. that's exactly how i feel about yoga. it's the only part of the day that is truly mine.

yoga's really helped with what can be an extremely stressful job. it's helped with migraines. it's helped with neck and shoulder stress, it's helped my posture, it's given me better coordination, it's firmed up my body and beginning the transformation of making it rock solid. i'm starting to feel the formation of muscles in places that i never knew were possible. and best of all, yoga has made me more mindful of all the things that truly matter.

i don't believe in doing things half-assed either. my personal philosophy has been to live with deliberation and passion or don't even try it. granted, i've never been petite. i've been blessed (or cursed) with height from my father's side. i can be quite clumsy. i always find a way to trip or drop something. but yoga makes it all ok.

through dancer's pose, the warrior sequences, arm balancing postures, and engaging my core, i've slowly started the process of reclaiming that body i was so proud of in my early 20's. i used to have flat abs and the beginner markings of a six pack, my arms and legs were firm and toned, and my energy level was through the roof. but i guess that was easy to have when i was working out twice a day for about a year and following a very healthy diet. and when i say diet, i mean i never deprived myself of things, i was just eating all the right things.

i still lament the loss of that person. where did she go? i never asked her to leave.

sure i could blame it on law school, depression after failing the bar three times, the devastating end of a relationship i had invested so much in, the death of a close relative, or the happenings of getting older. but the truth is. i never fully understood the principles of following a healthy and balanced lifestyle. i thought i could still indulge in summer barbecues. i thought i could drink in excess whatever i wanted and be ok. i thought i could skip a workout if i just doubled up on the next one. i thought tending to the needs of my boyfriend at the time were more important than taking care of myself. and of course, it's easy to fall into the comfort zone when you're in a relationship, so that you don't think it's that important anymore to work out. after all, isn't it more fun to go to dinner together? i said i was young and fit, but i never said i was young and smart.

before long, after living a lifestyle of such extremes, the abs started to soften, the muscles shriveled away, and the pounds clung on for dear life. because i was so focused with law school, my internship, passing the bar, pleasing, and pleasing the guy, i managed to waste away all my past efforts and became a "jelly belly." people would say i was fluffy but still cute. but trust me, there's nothing cute about a girl looking like winnie the pooh.

so fast forward to present day. i'm approaching this in a different way now and yoga has taught me just what i need to do to reclaim those rock hard abs and glutes. but aside from the physical benefits, yoga is teaching me about the mental strength needed to live a healthy lifestyle. summer is slowly approaching and i'm determined to have that solid core and muscle tone, but this time it's for me and me alone. skip that guy who demands perfection of me, and yet does not possess those very same attributes he tries to impose on me. skip that guy who made me feel i needed to starve myself to look good for him. skip that guy who wants plains instead of curves. yoga isn't about going to the beach and showing off my "t and a." and it's definitely not about impressing that shallow guy who only wants the skinny beautiful girl. i guess this especially matters a lot to me, because i've always been accepting of everyone as they are. i guess it's also different for men and women. i don't mind a stocky guy. but stocky in girls is a no-no.

yoga is all about balance. balancing the demands of a stressful job. balancing the needs of the self with those of others. balancing the need for vice and excess. yoga is all about slowing things down and taking a deep breath. yoga is about making healthy decisions at work, in relationships, in your diet, and taking care of your spiritual needs.

yoga is helping me reshape my priorities and learn to weed out all the unnecessary bs from my life. granted i have a long way to go in my practice. there are still a lot of poses i need to work on, and i'm still a few bowls of jelly away from toned and firm, but i'm in this for the long haul. this summer will be a good one. but for different reasons this time. it's going to be a summer of balance and calm.

so, in a nutshell. that's why yoga rocks.

namaste.

things to be grateful for...

..family ...friends ...hugs ...yoga pants ...thai food ...heat ...movies ...laughter ...the little patch of skin under puppy paws ...ice cream ...oatmeal ...cheese ...soft fluffy pillows ...music ...carmex ...kisses ...apple juice ...mexican hot chocolate ...scarves ...books ...outdoor markets ...macintosh apples ...rain ...croissants ...seafood ...and everything else that puts a smile on your face.

JNANA YOGA

Here are some links to learning more about Jnana Yoga, one of the branches of yoga. Jnana yoga involves a practice of higher consciousness.

http://www.jnanayoga.org/

http://www.yogaworld.org/jnana.htm

http://www.hinduwebsite.com/gnana.asp

http://www.yoga.com/ydc/enlighten/enlighten_document.asp?ID=117&section=9&cat=141

Yoga LifeStyle: The Eight Limbs of Yoga

http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/yoga-and-health/yoga-lifestyle.asp

great article to read when you just can't bring yourself to do your work. and if you're interested in knowing more about yoga.

turning mistakes into gold

yesterday, after a very long day, i needed to decompress and gave a call to the only person who could make it all better -- my best friend. it's become routine now that every time we need to "process" thoughts or figure out a problem, we give each other a call. most of the time, when i call her, i'm not expecting for her to give me the magic words to make it all better, but rather, seeking her encouragement to help me get over the bump. yesterday was no different.

the day before, i was feeling rather melancholy (there's a word i don't use often.) i had gone to my daily yoga session and went through the sequence of poses to the tunes of coldplay's "Viva La Vida" and eddie vedder's "Rise." two songs that kind of always leave a knot in my throat, cause i'm a lyrics girl. my instructor tuned in to vedder's advice of "turning mistakes into gold." as i'm laying there on my mat, working on my bridge pose, focusing on my breathing, i contemplated vedder's lyrics. suddenly, the sensation to let it all out overcame me, and so i transitioned to child's pose to regroup. i finished the class and lay there quietly, in the silence of the room, focusing on my breathing. it helped.

so there's three things i've always strived to be... perfect, happy, and a writer. still working on the first one. the second one comes and goes. the third is the impetus for this blog.

getting back to my original point, that night i called my friend, my best friend and i talked about the changes we've both been through since our friendship began, the mistakes we've made along the way, and the things that prevent us from being where we want to be. we wondered if we were living the life we always envisioned for ourselves.

despite all our highs and lows, we always seem to find a way to look at things and chuckle - trying not to take ourselves too seriously. and i always manage to entertain her with tales of my many mishaps - which have become more frequent and devastating. yet, we still have hope that things do work out and can only get better. so the one thing she's always said i should do is write about them. write about them before they grow stale in my brain. write about them to learn from them, and write about them to become that writer i've always wanted to be.

so that is what i am doing now. i figured i can't ever be perfect, though i may try in vain. happiness will come and go, but being a writer, finally taking the time to sort through all my thoughts, is something that is quite feasible. so, i'm taking vedder's advice and turning my mistakes into gold.