Barefoot & On The Mat: January 2022 Happy New Year!

[Pat58]

Good morning all! We're on the brink of a blizzard, it seems. It started as 2-3", then went to one to two feet, then 6", now it may be "historic proportions" with 60 MPH wind. I don't have any storm excitement with this one - just aggravation. What can you do except deal with it.

Anyway, yesterday I got out Kathy Smith's Matrix Power Walk for a change of pace. I needed some mood busting endorphins and it delivered. I love the backgrounders in this video. For my sadhana, the the yoga inspired stretch sequence felt sufficient. 7,272 steps.

Cyana - we called them chastity belts, too.

Sandra, I’m so glad to see your niece and nephew are better.

I also noticed Margot hasn’t posted in a while and hope all is well with her.

Pam - good news about DH’s negative test.

Don’t mean to miss anyone - please have a good day and stay healthy, everyone.

[Paine]

Give Me Strength Muscle Toning workout (full body)

I had a good workout with Margaret this morning!

Pat, stay safe in that upcoming blizzard! I've never been in a blizzard and it sounds scary.

[Margot]

Hello everyone!

Thank you for thinking of me.

Sorry to be MIA! I think I overdid it with all the challenges I've been doing lately! Once the bitter cold weather hit, I started getting some flare ups just like I had 3 years ago when I was recovering from pneumonia. I do think this is a lung issue. So I've been taking it easy - being really lazy actually - and catching up on my reading.

I don't have anything much to report. However, I did manage to do one of Joelle's yoga workouts for the shoulders and one of Kate Vantucci's 'Just Like a Fluffy Scarf'. I also did Beth's 'Half Pigeon' class. Thank you for all the modifications Beth. That's the first time I've ever managed to get my front leg parallel to the mat. I'll never manage this in my lifetime without a prop but with the bolster I finally achieved it. I'm also trying to get in some qigong practices for the lungs.

Pat - Oh wow! You're in for a real doozy of a storm. Please take care and keep warm.

Cyana - I saw a genuine chastity belt when I was visiting one of the castles over here a few years ago. ((Shudders)).

Paine - Thanks for the link to the positive newsletter. I very rarely watch the news and just rely on DH to update me on what I really need to know.

Pam - Glad you managed to find some nice yoga classes on the beach. It sounds heavenly. DH lived on the north side of Oahu and is hoping to show me around one day when we can travel again.

Sandra - It must have been a shock for your niece and grandniece to catch Covid but a relief that they recovered quickly. Glad to hear you're feeling well again too.

Beth - Thank you for the link to Yuki's YT channel. His outfits made me giggle. I didn't get any subtitles when I watched it. I got a kick out of some of the translations you mentioned in your post.

Carolyn - Have you tried any more of Joelle's classes? I'm really enjoying her style and picking out the most gentle ones for me at the moment.

Linda - Hope you're feeling well and staying warm.

Karen Jo -I'm so happy that your DH is feeling much improved after his surgery and also that your Mom has fully recovered and is able to socialise again with her friends.

Wishing everyone a happy day.

[yogapam]

Good morning!

Yesterdays activities:
~Beachfront Hatha yoga class
~Family hike up to Manoa Falls + lots of walking for a whopping 25,000 steps.

Margot - Sorry to hear you’ve been under the weather! Take care and take those recovery days.

Oh Pat, I hope the blizzard isn’t a big one. Stay safe & warm!

Sandra - Cleaning is not my favorite past time and I work best under pressure, lol.

Waves to all!

[toaster]

Where is cyana with our TGIF? Hope you didn't have to work late like Carolyn!

Carolyn, sorry you are still covering for others and had to work late!

Carolyn, supine cow-face legs is similar to what they call "baby stretch" in CS. It annoys me because I can reach my feet pretty easily on one side, but not on the other.

Pam, how cool that you can walk and revisit your favorites! How many times have you been to Hawaii?

Margot, glad you are okay, and glad you are taking it easy! Also glad you found the pigeon video helpful. I love doing it with the bolster and plan to teach it like that in class tomorrow. Getting your leg parallel to the front of the mat doesn't even matter; you just want to put it in a position where you feel the outer hip/glute stretch, which is different for everyone.

Paine, it's always nice to get in a good workout!

Pat, so sorry that you are supposed to get hit (my sister in Boston too); stay warm and safe!

You might like this yoga practice I did today. It was an Ekhart yoga class "I have arrived. I am home." that is currently being offered for free to honor the recent death of Thich Nyat Hanh. I only was able to do about 20 minutes (I thought it was 30 minutes, but it was closer to 40), but I was able to stop at a natural point. At least in the part I tried, she had some moves to shift energy, and it had a bit of a Kundalini (lite) feel.

Today I got the email newsletter from the studio where I used to teach (pre-pandemic). The owner who took over in 2019 (who I had some clashes with) said she is struggling to keep the studio open and has started a GoFundMe. I was certainly sorry to hear that; it further validates my decision to leave, but I would be sad to see the studio close.

I'm teaching yoga tomorrow morning, and then my photo shoot is tomorrow afternoon!

[cyana]

Happy Week-end! I worked long hours all week and still didn't get everything done. I woke up to a dusting of snow this morning. That was a bit of a surprise, as we were only supposed to get flurries, if anything. OMG it is brutally cold, especially when you factor in the wind chills. I didn't go to the farmer's market this AM, so you know it was bad. Two of my regular vendors weren't going to be there so DH and I made an executive decision we'd just have to deal with what we have in the refrigerator as neither of us was in the mood to deal with the extreme cold. I truly can't believe they even had a market with such brutal weather. I dread seeing the next round of utility bills!

I'm definitely off-kilter since I didn't go to the market and didn't remember until yesterday afternoon that I have the fourth and final workshop in Lee's breathwork series today. This is the one that had to be rescheduled due to technical issues and it snuck up on me, especially since it's on Saturday and not Sunday. Today we're going to be getting into more of the vigorous techniques, so that will be my work-out.

Beth - I thought about the TGIF and that's about as far as I got yesterday. Long hours plus some extra meetings definitely had me preoccupied. I loved those translations! Can't wait to hear about your photo shoot.

Margot - Sounds like some self-nurturing was exactly what you needed. January is a great time to snuggle up with a warm quilt, hot tea and a good book! I've seen pictures of those chastity belts - yeek - terrifying-looking, to say the least!

Carolyn - I've traveled to the Dallas area numerous times for business. I also have co-workers in OKC. They have some interesting weather in OKC - everything from severe tornadoes to major winter storms with ice and really cold temps. And an occasional earthquake thrown in for good measure - crazy stuff! I'd love to have your mild temps today.

Sandra - Hooray that your niece and grandniece are now testing negative. I had to laugh at your comment about needing to do some cleaning before your niece's massage clients arrive. We no longer have curbside glass recycling, so we save up our glass in a box near the entryway, as well as the boxes that frequently arrive from things we order on-line. Dh will do a haul to the recycling center about once a month. Some of the recycling centers were temporarily closed due to COVID, so we have quite a stash of boxes right now and I wanted to cringe when the HVAC guy came last week. I hid in my office and let DH deal with him, LOL!

Pam - I'm quite jealous of your tropical paradise weather right now!

Pat - I would imagine you're having Moan Day early based on the latest weather forecast. Stay safe and I sure hope you don't lose your power. Hope you were able to grab some groceries this week.

Paine - Thanks for the Harmony recommendation - I've started a spreadsheet listing all the vendors that I need to be checking out. My VitaCost order with the pinto flakes arrived yesterday. Don't hold back on your opinions on work-outs (such as the one from earlier this week). I personally like compound movements, but realize they're an absolute turn-off for others. I'd originally hoped to do bulk cooking today, but think I'll probably only roast up some JSP's since I have the workshop this afternoon.

Linda - Cubii Jr arrived yesterday afternoon, so he's still in the box. I also ordered 2 hoodies from Costco as part of my winter work wardrobe. One I liked fairly well. The other is very "synthetic-y", as it's made from recycled plastic fibers. I knew that going in, so no biggie. I prefer good old-fashioned cotton sweatshirts, but those are getting harder to find. I'm wearing one now that I've had since the 90's.

Hope all is well with KarenJo, Garrie, Sherry and DonnaD if she's peeking in. Time to go make some coffee and get the JSP's in the oven. Waves to ALL!

[cyana]

P.S. Before I forget it - Bob and Brad posted a new hip video this week for my fellow "hipsters": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2ctKCpKPTk . Most of these are done seated, and would be good to work in several times during my work day. They also posted a new neck video this week - I haven't had time to preview this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeoI3TjCxnY

FYI - if you look on that shelf behind Brad, that white massager is the one I purchased and have gotten a lot of use out of it. Can't remember what I paid, but it was very reasonably priced. Love that long handle - really handy for working on the back or the backs of the shoulders. Not sure which of the percussion tools is mine - possibly the one just to the right of the hand massager. I like it too, as it was reasonably priced and fits my hand well.

Time for coffee!!!

[Pat58]

Good morning everyone! It's coming down like crazy here! My sage and rosemary were covered when I got up at 7:30 and it's going to continue until around midnight. I'll be in all day for sure. I plan to begin rearranging my yoga room, props and videos. In between reading, that is - I'm starting my Stephen King Christmas gift, Billy Summers. There have been spot power failures here and there but so far crews are responding quickly and our mayor has a good hand on things.

Yesterday featured:

~ GYM for 20/20/20 stroll on the treadmill, recumbent bike and arc trainer
~ Kassandra yin yoga for hamstrings and hips
~ 7,472 steps

[toaster]

cyana, sorry you didn't get past the mere thought of TGIF. I just previewed the B&B neck one, and it looks good, although nothing particularly new. I won't even say what your massage thing looks like! I had a feeling those translations would speak to you, haha.

Margot, you said you didn't get the subtitles. For some of the Japanese videos, there's a subtitles option you can click on - I think those are the submitted captions, and those generally read pretty normally. But for others, you have to select "auto-translate" (or something like that), which I think means a computer is translating - and often getting it VERY wrong, to hilarious results.

Happy Saturday! I enjoyed teaching yoga this morning, with 11 people in the studio and 3 on livestream. I'll be back at the studio this afternoon for my photo shoot!

[toaster]

Trying to solve a mystery of a yoga logo. It was on a mat left at the studio (probably from one of the teachers), and several of us liked the look/feel of the mat. I uploaded a photo of the logo logo that was on the mat to my VF member page; it's in an album called "random." Let me know if you recognize it!

Of course, I just purchased a new mat from the studio since we get a great discount. I haven't gotten it yet, but it will be another Manduka eko lite (my old one now lives in the studio because it's too worn to use regularly) in the color "Shade Blue Marbled":
https://www.manduka.com/products/eko...39450907639866