(Days 56 & 57) Day 58: my spine feels fantastic! Day 59: stiff morning

Day 56 & Day 57: I thought I strained my neck in Triangle-- on day 57 (ow! you reach with your hand/arm, not your neck, dummy!) Had to rest out two poses on day 56, one on day 57. My friend came to both classes and she is kicking booty!

What I want to talk about is Day 58. The class was taught by Jen, a teacher I'd never had before--found out afterward she's new to my studio. Guess what? SHE KICKS ASS!!! My first thought was that she's very cool and mellow. I liked that she would come to the front of the class and demonstrate for us, to illustrate a point about pose. And I was so so excited in the 2nd set of Rabbit, she gave us the option of doing Plow instead! Plow is one of my favorite poses--one I've always done for fun because it feels good, especially as a child, without even knowing it's a "yoga pose." It's also a spine extension, but less tension in the neck. Most importantly, she has a strongly encouraging yet gentle spirit that had me going deeper into poses than I ever had before (I got one hand up off the floor in Toe Stand! First time!) but not straining to do so, and discovering more ENERGY at every turn. I was in this great place where there was a lightness and curiosity to my practice without a TRY TRY TRY feeling in the mind that can really get in the way of practicing more deeply. On the calendar on the wall of the lobby after class, I wrote, in addition to bragging about my fantastic spine, in small letters: energy! and hooray! Because I just felt so damned joyful after class.

This morning at 8 AM, the lovely Audrey was my teacher. I was feeling darned stiff, but had a great class. I can't say enough about Floor Bow...and I felt great afterward, not so stiff, of course.

I can't believe I'm almost there--my 60th day tomorrow! Every day for 8.5 weeks. I confess that in the past few days I have been really looking forward to taking a day off from yoga on Monday! But the class from Jen yesterday was definitely a morale booster. Only one more to go... I should have kept some more stats during the 60 days. Like how much water I drank, how many bottles of Vitamin Water (which I had this morning--after a bit of food--taking ladylike sips--and no ill effects!,) how many hours I slept or... how many loads of laundry I've done! People have asked me how much weight I've lost, and I don't know. Considering how much musclier I am now, I've probably lost no weight, just mass! The most important difference is how I feel--my body is virtually pain-free, and I lift things and use my body the HEALTHY way now, without even giving it conscious thought--body awareness. (A woman complimented my lift at the carry-on retrieval cart after we landed in Medford.) And I've come a long way with my mind, too. I know now that it is my mind that creates limits for myself--my body is doing things I thought it never would! and I can usually talk my mind through it when it says "Can't! Tired! I don't WANNA!" I'm also glad I haven't had to rest out poses the last two classes, I was feeling negative about that. I think it's a product of better hydration more than anything! Water water always more water!

I just got two pairs of shorts I ordered from Anahata Clothes. I had bought a pair of the Ashtanga shorts at Shakti in Ballard and really like them (SO comfy,) so I went online to order more. They're made in the USA, shipped very fast, and at $26 and $32, they're cheaper than Prana! I am not sure about the visual aspect of the "crossover waistband"--I don't wear cropped yoga tops so often it's like a wee triangle of tummy skin pointing toward my hoo hoo dilly, but I admit that's probably me being neurotic. From a pure practice standpoint, it feels great to not have material cinching right across my belly. The Relaxed Short is made of the same very soft moisture-wicking fabric, just has an inch longer inseam, and a straight waistband. It's a nice wide waistband, so I don't think there will be an uncomfortable cinching sensation. (I got one pair of each.) I have a pair of spandex shorts I got on clearance at Target, and they just bug me. They have a zippered key pocket in back, since they were made for running, and the zipper pull sometimes pokes into my lower back when I lie down. The first time it happened I thought I'd pulled a muscle or something! And the waistband digs in. The thing about going to training is--I can't afford to replace all my not-so-ideal pieces of yoga clothing and I don't have the luxury of leaving them at home--I'm going to have to use each and every shred of Lycra currently in my possession to get through eleven classes a week! I'll probably be making myself a sports-bra out of Ace bandages by week 3!