Barefoot and on the Mat: December 2021

[Paine]

Today is a planned rest day since I have errands to run. I may do some Yin Yoga later on.

Beth, how nice of Clay to take photos of you at the yoga studio. I hope we will be able to see the photos.

Pat, I love my Instant Pot! It's my most used appliance.

I'm waving to everyone!

[Margot]

Hello everyone

Today I did one of Karin's Webinars for Strengthening the Abdominals and Nourishing the Back, which was just over 2 hours, including 3 practices totalling 60 minutes. I've often wondered why I'm not able to raise up my upper back when lying supine without straining my neck muscles. Apparently, it has a lot to do with the dorsal hinge, located in the lower thoracic area (around T10 -T11). I found the information helpful and hopefully the suggested practice will help.

This evening I did:
- Kate Vantucci's Neck Relief. I like how Kate is so natural and can laugh at herself. This, I found funny; 'if you feel your eyeballs popping out, just close your eyes. (15 min)
- Pete Caughey Zang Fu Dao Yin (15 min)

Paine - Thanks for the great advice on cooking beans in the IP. It really helped. My chickpeas came out well today. I think it was because my IP is so much bigger than my previous pot and I could cover them with more water than I usually do.

Beth - Hurrah for you and your DH's tests being clear. What an honour to be asked to be a model for your photographer friend. I'm sure you'll have a blast.

Waves to all.

[toaster]

Would you all believe that DH and I watched a video about at home tests, poured over data about the efficacy, etc.? As I type, he is telling me that the tests are extremely effective at predicting if you are currently contagious; that gives me a sense of relief for teaching my New Year's Eve Ball class tomorrow and going to class on New Year's Day.

Margot, I just love Kate's goofiness! I was just thinking that I should check her channel for anything new. Maybe one of my 2022 goals should be to take one of her live classes.

Paine, I will definitely share the photos! Clay told me I could have whatever I want; I can post some to my albums here as well as on FB & IG.

Pat, you've been really consistent with your workouts! Our town was giving out free test kits a week or so ago, but DH and I didn't want to take free kits from someone who would need them more than us; we were lucky to be able to purchase 2 from our local grocery store before they sold out everywhere.

Pam, hope you enjoyed your ski day!

Happy New Year's Eve eve, all! DH & I are looking forward to the annual New Year's marathon on SyFy starting tomorrow.

[luvcritters]

Turns out I have a kidney infection. No wonder I had such excruciating pain. I had an ultrasound to make sure there was nothing major going on. M arrived at 4 a.m. and is already back home. I took him in the exam room with me so he could meet my doctor. The pain started easing as soon as I took the first antibiotic. He cooked a big pot of spaghetti for me and even washed dishes. I think I'll keep him.

Meow Meow and I have been napping. She's still being a mother hen and I'm enjoying the attention.

Patiently waiting for some exercise.

Beth, exciting re the photos.

Sandra, I finally got some rain too but at this time of year it should be snow. I remember how Meow never wanted to be touched. She sure has changed. She still hides under the bed when the woman who took Jerry to chemo comes by. Maybe because that woman has 4 dogs and other critters.

[toaster]

Linda, oh no! I remember my youngest sister had one years ago, so I know they are very painful. Great that you are now getting treatment and starting to feel better though!

[cyana]

Happy Friday and Happy New Year's Eve I'm off today since the actual holiday falls on Saturday. I will be more than happy to kick 2021 to the curb and move on. Has anyone ever been to a Fire Ceremony for New Year's Eve? The local yoga studio does them, but I've never been as I'm usually working since she does them in the afternoon. Since 2021 has been a doozy (to put it kindly), I was thinking of writing up some intentions that I'd like to release and burn them. I need to give the logistics a bit of thought, as I'd like to keep my relationship with the fire department confined to a friendly wave as I walk or drive by the station. I have a sturdy metal ash bucket....I could put a candle or small oil lamp in there and "burn" out on the front porch. Not particularly glamorous, but it would be safe.

Margot - So what did you decide about your MFML subscription? I'll be renewing mine in several weeks and need to do a better job of using it consistently in the coming year. I just renewed my Essentrics TV this morning (for a full year). If I don't use ETV more consistently in 2022, I won't renew it next time around. I'm glad you're enjoying your IP.

Paine - The insomnia gremlins have tortured me non-stop the past several weeks (I've been awake since around 2 AM). Hope you're still sleeping better! Are you still enjoying your fancy pillow? I'm going to pick through some dried black-eyed peas and get those ready to soak later today. I bought a bag of Bob's Red Mill 13 Bean Soup Mix from the Whole Wallet this week. It doesn't have any seasonings, so you can customize it however you wish. The temps are going to drop in a few days, so I'm hoping to whip up some soup over the week-end. I'm always up for a comforting bowl of soup in the winter.

Sandra - I loved the Pez dispenser gift - what a great idea. I always thought those were the neatest things when I was young! I'm glad you got some walks in this week. We've had some unsettled weather and it's supposed to be getting really cold and I'm such a wimp.

Beth - I thought about you and your sloth several days ago.....we joke that the cat has hairy Hobbit feet. He was snoozing on his pillow, and the tufts of hair on one of his feet looked almost like sloth toes! I'm glad you're feeling well and your test was negative. Two of my co-workers have had COVID within the past several weeks. Fortunately neither was terribly ill.

Pam - Enjoy your trip and the snowshoeing. I've never done that and always thought it looked fun. Speaking of wintry weather - I saw a video on the Weather Channel of a young guy who jumped off his back porch/deck into the snow and it was so deep he totally disappeared - and he was supposedly over 5 feet tall. My claustrophobia meter was definitely in the red zone watching his face disappear into the snow!

Pat - I ordered some new "rocks" today. I also came across this article about grids - I thought it had some good information: https://shamansisters.com/blogs/blog...c-to-your-life .

Linda - I think you and I may have had e-stim in different contexts. My primary experience is during acupuncture, where the doctor hooks up a TENS unit to several of the needles versus being attached by electrodes. My TENS unit does both TENS and EMS. I still consider myself to be a novice TENS user, but feel it can be helpful - especially for calming down the back tweaks. I'm glad you got a diagnosis for your pain and are feeling better. Thank goodness your PCP was a good diagnostician and found the root cause. Tell Mother Hen to take good care of you!

Hugs to Sherry. Waves to ALL! Going to have a leisurely breakfast and plot my strategy for the day.

[toaster]

cyana, shh...I joke to DH that he has hairy Hobbit feet!

More later; have to get in a quick workout and then go teach my ball class.

[cyana]

Originally Posted by toaster

cyana, shh...I joke to DH that he has hairy Hobbit feet!

LMAO, Beth!!!!

[Pat58]

Good morning everyone! Twilight Zone Marathon is on, and soon the Godzilla Marathon starts on CometTV. Yesterday featured:

~ LWR Advent Day 15, 8 Minute Total Body Sculpt
~ YWK 20 Minute Yin Yoga for Sleep in Bed
~ YWK Bedtime Positive Affirmations for Sleep
~ 5,667 steps

DH is sick as a dog from his Moderna booster, worse than the prior two together. He had some kind of blood pressure event and didn't wake me up or I would have taken him to the ER, so I'm worried but also mad at him.

Cyana, I have today off as well, and took Monday too. Let us know if you decide to do the fire ceremony. My local new age store sells little wrought iron cauldrons for that purpose. I would need a small swimming pool, though. Pssst - I've been using CBD for my joint pain, and not so sure how much it's helping for that, but it is definitely helping me sleep better and fall right back if I wake up. Most of the time. Thank you for the blog!

Beth - too funny! Have fun at your yoga ball today!

Margot, I looked at Kate's channel, I like her personality.

Happy New Year everyone.

[Paine]

Good 'N Strong Volume 2 workout (all)
Kathy Smith Rejuvenation Stretch & Flex workout

It had been a long time since I've done Good 'N Strong Volume 2. It is a good workout! Kathy's Stretch & Flex felt wonderful too.

Cyana, I have never been to a Fire Ceremony. I will mentally burn the intentions that I want to release.
My good sleep nights are intermittent lately. I slept 4 hours last night (woke up at 3:30am) so hopefully I'll sleep better tonight out of pure exhaustion. I was surprised I was able to workout this morning even though I woke up early.
Yes, I still like my pillow!
Our local market has FRESH black eyed peas so I cooked them 2 days ago. They only have fresh black eyed peas at this time of year (late December through early January). Black eyed peas are probably my least favorite of all the legumes but I do have them once a year when I can find them fresh. Oh, Bob's Red Mill 13 Bean Soup Mix is good--you'll enjoy that!

Pat, I'm so sorry your DH is sick from the Moderna booster. I hope he feels better soon. Keep a close eye on him and take him to the ER if you have concerns.

Linda, kidney infections are painful! The antibiotic will get you well again.