Barefoot & On the Mat, Week of 11/17-11/23; "Shower the people you love with love..."

[toaster]

Gayle, yoga outside is nice when it's a beautiful day and there aren't too many distractions. The two little girls were the kids of one of my colleagues who was a regular at my yoga class--we did that class at the end of the day, so she went home and got her girls first. Unfortunately I haven't seen her in class in awhile; she used to tell me that the class was the highlight of her week, but she now works in the President's office, so I am guessing that is more difficult for her to get there.

I think Keith's nature photos are amazing. Here is his FB page if anyone wants to take a look:
https://www.facebook.com/KeithWaltersPhotography/

Given all that, I am trusting him to make me look good for today's photos.

[gjv]

Ha! I don't think there is any worry, you're gonna look great!

[Paine]

CS 1113

CS 1113 was done very slowly but worked deeply with lots of mobility and bone strengthening moves.

Sandra, how are you doing? I'm sending you healing thoughts.

Beth, I liked seeing your yoga class pictures. I bet Keith's pictures of you will be great!

[toaster]

Thanks Gale and Paine! It is going to be outdoors--the idea is someone being mindful in the midst of other things, so we're going to have a fake "desk" outside. I'm not sure how exactly it will be.

[JustSandra]

Hi! Just a quick fly by today. I'm over the stomach bug (thankfully those move on pretty quickly!) but have been spending the last few days regaining my strength and re-establishing my internal plumbing. I didn't eat at all on Sunday, but Monday I was able to have a little food, and today so far I am closer to normal. I called in sick to the library on Monday, but am going to try to do my regular 2-7 shift this afternoon -- in the meantime I am trying to take it easy. Am hoping to resume at least gentle workouts tomorrow or Thursday, as my body feels quite stiff and sore.

Thank you all for your good thoughts!

BTW it is clear and in the 70s here -- but we could really use some rain to lessen the chance of more wildfires.

[YogaGal]

Beth: Loved your Wednesday cartoon from last week! DH and I really don’t like winter weather which is why we moved to Arizona in 2015. Does your Crosstrek handle winter driving as well as your old Forester? I also love that James Taylor song and think it would fit in great with a yoga class. Which reminds me; was it you who saw that movie Yesterday about everyone forgetting about The Beatles? DH and I saw that last summer and *loved* it. I could see it again. Great news about getting featured in the meditation article!

cyana: Enjoyed hearing about all the ways you sneak in some exercise throughout your day, even when brushing your teeth! I sometimes do heel raises when brushing. I have been doing a lot of legs up the dresser while meditating before bed, but tonight I think I’ll try a crystal bowl meditation while doing supine figure 4.

Sandra: Sorry to hear that a stomach bug attacked you over the weekend; glad you are feeling better now and able to eat a little and go to work as you fully recover.

Gayle: I agree that Kelly does favor the upper body, but she also has one of my all-time favorite lower body workouts and that is the Lower workout on Split Sessions (which also has a good upper set). If you don’t have this dvd, you might try it. Wow, you are getting some warm weather for Kansas! My DH grew up in Topeka, so I've heard about the cold weather there.

Garrie: Sounds like you are staying busy between your fitness teaching and your bookstore job; hope good things are in store there! And I agree about the whistle blowing during your class--so annoying! I think you handled it quite well.

Waves to Paine, Linda, and Anny!

[YogaGal]

Last Friday and Saturday DH and I did a LOT of walking going to 2 places to pick out a slab for our kitchen counter. After what felt like miles and miles, we finally settled on one late Saturday afternoon. All of the cabinets are in, but there are smaller things like base trims and crown molding that need to be completed. I'll be so glad when it is done. I plan to spend a good portion of my weekend putting in shelf liner where needed and getting things placed in their semi-permanent location. (I'm reserving the right to rearrange later if needed.)

On Monday morning I did Sarah Beth’s 20-minute Yoga for Sciatica after Jessica’s 20 minute Total Body Barre on youtube. It seemed more like a regular strength workout with light weights more than Barre, but I liked it a lot and will use it again when I need a short strength workout. Today was a quick 1-mile walk with Steady Burn from Jessica’s 6 Mile Mix dvd and a very short matrix from RaviAna’s Body Electric doing most of the Warmup and the meditation from set 2.

[toaster]

Sandra, glad your bug was short; hope your work shift went okay today.

Carolyn, yes that was me with the Yesterday movie (and I think Paine said she liked it too). DH and I liked it a lot too; DH has actually written a screenplay with themes similar to the movie. Last winter my Crosstrek seemed to handle pretty well, so I feel good about that. What kind of stone did you wind up with for the counter--granite?

Today's yoga practice with Ted was Stretch. There were some nice stretches towards the beginning but some more challenging things that I probably would not introduce to beginners so soon, like cow seat. The sequencing also felt weird, with a round of sun salutes towards the end of the routine.

My photo shoot seemed to go okay. I was seated at a desk in a woodsy area, apparently appreciating nature/meditating in the middle of my work day. For most of the shots, I had my eyes closed and was supposed to be doing a sort of Mona Lisa smile. I got a quick glance at a few of the photos (on the camera screen) and they seemed okay. It will probably just be one tiny photo to illustrate the article, which comes out in late February.

[Anny]

Sandra glad to hear the stomach bug is going. I had a stomach upset last week and it really took me the whole week to feel completely good.

Carolyn I will have a look at that Jessica workout. Might be just right for me at present.

cyana nice to hear from you!

Beth I would find a Mona Lisa smile awfully hard to do.

Hi to Gayle and Garrie!

Tonight was a late night home from work so I decided on YWA's Yoga for the Service Industry . It started off with standing postures and then moved to the floor.

[toaster]

Anny, it is hard! I probably would not make a good model. But they said that the photos looked good, so I'm sure it will be fine. Adriene is releasing some interesting routines of late!

Looks like the temps are a bit more stable here (high 30s/low 40s, haha) and no snow immediately predicted...but still, I thought this meme was cute for today's Hump Day!