Since it’s Sunday and I forgot to include the videos yesterday, I thought I’d do a special post on puppy yoga. After all what makes people smile more than puppies?!?! Nothing! Usually Anakin isn’t in the room while I practice, but I forgot to close the door. From now on, I’ll try to post a weekly video of Anakin and I’s puppy yoga practice.
Here’s our videos of our headstand practice from yesterday. Enjoy and namaste!
Priorities – everybody has them, but we’re not always effective in prioritizing our lives or sticking to those priorities. At the beginning of every new year, people around the world set resolutions and intentions for the forthcoming year. Consequently, in January that gym is absolutely full. Not to worry fellow gym rats, in the coming months the crowd will thin out.
The beautiful thing about priorities, when executed right, is that they help keep us on track while living a fulfilling life. For example, when you make fitness a priority, your more likely to carve at time (even if it is at 5:30 am) for our workout. This year I’ve committed to getting stronger. In order to make that happen, I have to accept that the 5:30 am workouts are here to stay. With my work schedule and the boys hockey schedule, the early morning workouts are key to meeting my goals.
I went to spin this morning, which was fabulous. Of course, it was miserable getting out of bed at 5:00 am, but it was well worth the short term misery. Since I’ve worked out early morning the last two days, I’ve noticed my mornings at work are much smoother and I’m much happier. Moreover, I’m more mentally alert. The only drawback is by early afternoon I desperately need coffee or I’ll fall asleep.
Post work, I headed over to Burn for aerial yoga with Monica. Honestly, its a bit more complicated since I have to wear sneakers all the time. I have to confess that I did take them off for the inversion part of the practice. Aside from that I had to worry about my sneakers getting caught up on the mat or the hammock. Like the other classes I’ve taken this week, I had to modify to accommodate my legs. Confession time: it is super hard to take a decent selfie upside down, but I sure had fun trying!
Despite the sneaker and tendon issues, aerial yoga was a complete blast. We had a great crew tonight and shared lots of laughs. Truly, I love the way the inversions feel in aerial yoga. Its truly like a weight has been lifted off your back and shoulders. Each week in class, I can feel myself getting stronger and stronger, which is awesome. When I first started aerial yoga, I struggled to do a pike. Now I can do ten pikes without struggling. There’s nothing better than seeing yourself progress in your practice from week to week. Its a great feeling!
Tonight’s song performed by Linkin Park is “Castle of Glass.”
Come fly with me, no seriously, you’ve gotta try aerial yoga at least once. Now that I’ve have several classes under my belt, I’m starting to feel much more comfortable in the silk. After an rousing hockey game last night and kick arse circuit burn class this morning, aerial yoga with Monica was the perfect way to decompress mentally and physically. Additionally, the communal atmosphere of the class is awesome. Everyone is supportive, eager to try new things and happy to cheer others on.
I know you’re wondering, what’s so awesome about aerial yoga. So let me tell you. First, aerial yoga is great for your back. While you’re in the inversions, your spine is able to decompress and there’s minimal strain on your back. If you’ve got back problems, an aerial yoga practice may provide relief.
Since the silk supports you in the inversions, you’re able to get into inversions, like handstands, and hold them much longer. Consequently, you build not only strength, but also muscle memory for the poses. This will translate into your mat practice. Moreover, there are parts of the aerial practice that are nearly identical to TRX. You’re able to use your own weight as resistance to build strength and flexibility.
Thankfully, I was able to decompress both my mind and my spine this morning otherwise I would have lost my mine at the mall. The Hubby and I are way behind the eight ball when it comes to Christmas shopping. Although to be fair, the boys just posted their Christmas wishlists on the fridge yesterday. Consequently, I headed to Kohl’s to find a present, but left empty handed. I could not believe how picked over the shelves were. Since Kohl’s didn’t have what I needed, we headed to Macy’s and Dick’s.
What should have been a five minute ride took nearly 20 in the snowbird laden mall traffic. Ugh, Christmas shopping is bad enough, but throw in winter traffic and it is insufferable. We ran in to Dick’s first, but again came out empty handed. Afterwards we made our way to Macy’s, were we finally found what we needed to buy. Unfortunately, we spent more time trying to exit the mall parking lot than we spent in Kohl’s. Road rules and traffic regulations are not strong suits of Florida drivers.
Later the Mayor and I went to Target, so he could by his brothers some presents. Fortunately, Target was better stocked and well staffed. We were able to get our groceries, the presents and check out in less than an hour. This was amazing especially considering we made a detour to Starbucks as we shopped.
Tomorrow we’ll finish out last minute shopping after aerial yoga and then head to my brother’s tomorrow evening. Of course, we’ll have to wrap all the presents and start preparing the dishes for Christmas brunch. My family looks forward to Christmas brunch as its usually the only time I make caramel rolls. You may recall that for hurricane Irma I made an exception. Unfortunately, we were house bound so we couldn’t work off the calories. Consequently, Jake and I are already planning a long run Christmas Day to counteract the thousands of calories and carbs we’ll consume at brunch.
Tonight’s song performed by the Chairman of the Board Frank Sinatra is “Come Fly With Me.” This song is one of my absolute favorites. Enjoy!
I’m in serious need of a caffeine drip for tomorrow after the craziness of today’s hockey schedule. The Mayor’s team was at the rink by 7:30 am for their 8:30 game. My hubby, who is a saint, took the Mayor for warm-ups, so I could sleep in. 7:30 am isn’t really my idea of sleeping in, but it was far better than the alternative. The Mayor’s squad got the win, which started off our day of 4 hockey games perfectly.
Post-game I headed to Burn Fitness, an awesome locally owned fitness studio, for my first aerial yoga experience. Admittedly, I was a bit concerned about the inversions and the potential for nausea, so I skipped my early morning coffee and breakfast. Pre-class I had a GU gel for energy that wouldn’t upset my stomach during class. I have to say I was a bit relieved to hear that the other newcomers to aerial yoga were just as nervous as me.
Once in the studio, we picked our swings that were best matched to our height and then setup our yoga mats under them. We took to our swings to start working our core and open our shoulders. The core work in aerial yoga is quite similar to working on the TRX, so it is intense and efficient. Surprisingly, the inversions didn’t bother my stomach and didn’t make me dizzy. I quickly learned that if I was swinging too much while upside down, I could put my hand down to stop the swinging motion. The warrior poses and half moons poses felt incredible in the swing. I could feel myself getting more elastic as the class progressed. Unequivocally, the best part of class was the shavasana in the swing that quickly became cocoon-like. It was absolutely heavenly.
After yoga, I was finally able to enjoy my morning Dunkin and some solid food. I made myself some Gardein Schezuan Beef and broccoli ,which was super tasty. No sooner had I finished my lunch, when we had to head back to the rink for the Mayor’s 2nd game and Goalielock’s first game. Of course, I had to stop and get another coffee lest I get cold at the rink.
The Mayor was on fire during his second game. He scored a hat-trick and had several assists. It was incredible to see the kids moving the puck. I loved seeing them work so hard to setup their teammate for a goal. Undoubtedly, their teamwork today is what led to their success as a team. Honestly, I just love watching my Mayor play. He’s the smallest on the ice, but he plays and runs his mouth likes he’s six feet tall. He works hard and is always giving 100%. I love his commitment to his team and his game.
As soon as the Mayor’s team left the ice, the Zamboni started cleaning the ice for Goalielock’s game. I spent a lot of quality time with the scorekeeper today. In an effort to contain my crazy, I ran the music during the games today, which put me in the sin bin where I belong. Goalielock’s had the first game off, but his goalie buddy Brian was lights out that game.
Unfortunately, someone probably should have called a 5250 for the megaphone mom from the opposing team. We’ve been in travel hockey for many years and we’ve seen a lot things, but this woman took the cake. She put the craz in crazy. Keep in mind, these kids are either freshmen in high school or 8th graders not little kids. Imagine, if you will, a mom screaming directions and commentary via a megaphone from the stands. My favorite part, is when she chirped our player, #4, and he took the puck and went and scored. Thankfully, the goal was enough to shut her up for a couple of minutes. I did my best to drown her out with the music, while my better half drowned out the megaphone with a fog horn. Instant karma was served to megaphone mom as we beat the team 7-1.
Between Goalielocks’ two games, we headed to pick up the Mayor from dinner and pick up some grub. Unsurprisingly, we didn’t have a ton of time between games, so there was no trip home between them. After taking Goalielocks’ to Publix for a sub, we headed back to Hurricanes to get hubby and the Mayor. While we waited for the check, I acquired a nice, new sexy tattoo. You’ll love it, but don’t worry mom it’s only temporary.
In the end, the Mayor decided to go to a teammate’s house during Goalielocks’ game, so we headed back to the rink without him. I took my position in the sin bin, where I belong, ready to blare the music as the boys took the ice. The game got a little chippy, but we were all relieved that there was no megaphone mom on this team. By the end of the 1st period, we were up 5-0.
Goalielocks’ wasn’t seeing a lot of work, which stinks for a goalie because you don’t have the opportunity to get into a rhythm. Nevertheless, he was playing well when his team needed him. I was busy in the box with a couple 10-2 and repeat visitors. Nonetheless, the boys won 9-2. Goalielocks’ played well, but as always was quite critical of his performance.
Namaste my dear friends in the blogosphere. Tuesday morning started off with the realization and confirmation that another icon of my youth was indeed taken too early. Today Tom Petty is playing his guitar with George in the great beyond. Consequently, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and The Travelling Wilburys provided the soundtrack for my morning commute.
The soundtrack brought some solace and lots of nostalgia. Petty’s songs played with heavy rotation in my house. Inevitably, these songs remind me of my parents and all the great times we had as a family growing up. Not surprisingly, as my kids have spent many their summers with Minnesota, these same songs conjure up sweet memories of their time in Minny with my folks. Music unites us, our collective experiences and the generations. One simply cannot ignore or question the power that music has to shape our lives.
Tonight, after too long of an absence, I finally made it back to Burn Fitness for yoga with my beloved yoga teacher Monica. Oh boy, am I going to hurt tomorrow. Undeniably, my return to yoga was long overdue for both my physical and mental well being. After a year of pain and grief, tonight’s class felt like a welcome release. As I work to get rid of the Irma weight, I’ve made the commitment to myself to take time and devote it to my yoga practice . This is long overdue as all of the running and Zumba are quite taxing on my body. Meanwhile, yoga is the perfect anecdote to keeping my body in peak physical shape.
Post yoga, its all about the MLB wildcard game between my Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees. There’s something alluring and thrilling about baseball in October. It definitely peaks my interest significantly more than the regular season. We just turned the game on and its tied 4-4 at the bottom of the 4th. We’re already into our bullpen. Consequently, this isn’t the best harbinger for a favorable outcome for my Twins. If the Twins lose, work will surely be miserable tomorrow with all the Yankees fans in the office. Let’s go Twins!
I remember playing tether ball as a kid and being pretty awful at it. It was a lot of fun, but if you got distracted for even a second there was a good chance you were going to get smacked in the face by that ball. Now as an adult, we all have days like that. Days that smack us upside the head like a tether ball.
Thening. Our daily routines, can set us up for how we handle the stressors of our day. In a perfect world, I’d start each and every day with at least 20 minutes of yoga. My snooze button – a very stubborn thing – keeps getting in the way. Another practice that helps during the day is taking regular walks throughout the day. If you can’t get away from your desk for multiple walks, set aside at least one fifteen minute break to take a walk outside.
The events of our day, much like our life, don’t define us. Rather it is our reactions to these events, both good and bad, that define who we are. Setting yourself up each day for a calm reaction will go a long way to ending the tether ball feeling. Being mindful about how we react to other people and to our stress is an important skill needed to be successful. With a little practice, some breathing exercises and a few walks, one can find balance in even the craziest day.
