December 2019 Yoga Cross Trainers: May your days be merry & bright!

[Pat58]

Hi gang, checking in with an actual workout last night - good old Winsor 20 Minute Workout.

My left foot has been a real PITA lately so I went to the EMS sporting goods store to try out the Superfeet insoles my podiatrist recommended. Since I was there I asked the associate to help me find a good pair of sneakers. A pair of Brooks seem like they will work. We tried with insoles, then without. The insert that comes with the Brooks seems sufficient. He told me to wear them around the house and decide. Wish me luck that these will be my walking / workout shoes. They sure didn't have a Walmart price tag. The Superfeet insoles were kind of rigid - felt good on the arch but not so nice on the forefoot.

Pam, I hope you feel better soon. What is a Balinese massage? You find the most interesting mind/body classes, day spas and body work treats! Funny - I felt pretty funky after my massage too. Headachey, maybe that can happen because massage detoxifies the tissues??

Margot I never thought of a Las Vegas vacation as being an outdoors trip, but then - why not? It's a beautiful part of the country and Lake Mead is one of the great national parks. A nice dose of desert really does a body good. The gold mine trip sounds fun, I hope the donkeys are happy.

Sherry, maybe your DH will pick up the weights again for New Year's. This is such a hard time of year to keep up a new healthy habit.

Jackie it's good to hear you are enjoying vacation, hopefully you got some peaceful nights of rest.

Hello Laura and Cyana.

[yogapam]

Today’s workouts:
~ETV: Express Posture
~Barlates: Endurance 80 Body Burner - This was definitely a workout, but not as intense as the title suggests. There were a couple of wrist-y segments I modified & I also kept some of the movements smaller. It was a nice length at about 30 min with a short stretch at the end.
~headstand, toe sit, upper back acupressure, & 30 min of yin stretches while watching anatomy videos on YT for my level 3 Essentrics training.

Aw thanks Sherry & Pat. I am feeling good today after a great sleep last night.

Sherry - Good for you for being self aware & taking a rest day. Have fun with your friends!

Pat - Balinese massage is long deep strokes and acupressure. I think deep massage does stir things up but it’s good to get into those tight spots. Sorry your foot is acting up! I hope the shoes & insoles work for you. I can empathize as I am still dealing with the PF in my left foot. I’ve been faithfully wearing my orthotics in my sneakers & my Oofos clogs in the house along with a night splint. It’s somewhat better but it goes up & down. It’s a long process.

Waves to all!

[cyana]

Good Morning - enjoying a cup of coffee as I get my day started. I'm planning to do yoga today - keeping my fingers crossed that I can get Happy Hormones done as it's been calling my name for ages. I'm going to do some de-cluttering and cleaning and I'm also going to be working on my post-busy season get my rear back into gear planning. I always struggle a bit getting back into a routine after busy season finally ends, but the insomnia is killing me this time around, so I have to come up with a new and improved plan to get back on track. I've been awake since around 3:30 this AM.

Pam - That Balinese massage sounded wonderful! I'd never heard of that form of massage. Without the stroking, it sounds somewhat like tui na. I think you definitely have much better body work options in your neck of the woods! Do you know when you're going to do your Level 3 testing? I've been meaning to tell you that last month's quote about the sunsets was so true - the sunrises and sunsets have been really nice this year, so at least there was a trade off for cooler weather and shorter days.

Pat - I did penance last night attending DH's work party, LOL. Fortunately it is a casual, low key affair, so it truly wasn't bad. Which Brooks shoe did you end up with? I currently have one of the Brooks Ghost models (can't remember the number, but it's at least a year old) and an Asics (can't remember which number - one of the GT models). I wouldn't describe either as a Soul Mate shoe (RIP my old Adidas Supernova 6 - I continue to mourn this one after I don't know how many years. If Scotty from Star Trek could replicate one thing for me, this might just be at the top of my list!). I have about a zillion different shoe inserts around here from when I had PF years back. Getting inserts to work in a pair of shoes can be a major challenge - one area feels good but another is "less good" with the insert in (like slipping heels or smooshed toes). Good luck!

Sherry - Are your cats sleeping in after their little visitor came over last night? Hopefully you're helping to groom her to become a fellow cat lover. I got up and fed my old guy while I was awake at 3:30 so he wouldn't wake DH, and after he ate, he came back in the bedroom and snuggled up next to me. He promptly went to sleep. Too bad it didn't work for me! He's a good snuggle buddy.

Jackie - I hope you've enjoyed tons of sunshine and warmth this week.

Margot - I've never been to Vegas and always felt like it would be total sensory overload on top of too many humans. I think some of the shows would be fun to see, but I'll take the great outdoors any day. Aren't the sunsets in the desert amazing? I'm sitting here smiling just thinking about that wonderful pink glow.

Waves to Laura.

Going to grab my second and final cup of coffee and get started on my day. Will try to check back later with some actual physical activity to report.

[sherry7899]

Good morning!

I didn't post yesterday. The day started out being very aggravating but ended well. Every year I make a photo calendar from Walgreens for my MIL for Christmas. None of us like getting our pictures taken, so we honestly did not have any new pictures to add, and I was tired of reusing the same pictures of our son from when he was younger. I had asked him days before if his girlfriend would be okay if I used photos of the two of them, and if so, would my son forward them to me. I had to ask multiple times, and he finally sent them very late Friday night.

Yesterday was the last day to order to get half off and guarantee Xmas Eve delivery. My dh found pictures of other relatives to add to the calendar. I started working on it before 7 am yesterday. I had the whole thing done and then saw that instead of starting with January 2020, it had started with February and ended with January 2021. I could not correct it and had to start the whole thing over. I did it a second time, and the site froze and I lost the whole calendar again! By then I was ready to hit the computer, and I'm not a violent person. I had spend ninety minutes attempting to get this done at that point. Finally the third time it worked and I got it done and ordered.

To add the annoying morning, our son was going to a concert the night before with his girlfriend. They were going to Philly and leaving from her house. We had horrible torrential rain, and he was driving on a major highway to get there. We were worried about him all night. Yesterday morning (he drove back here very late) I asked him how the concert was. He told us it had been canceled, so they stayed at his girlfriend's house. He knew we were worried about him driving to Philly and my DH had texted him to ask if he was okay. It did not occur to him to let us know that the show was canceled at 3pm. Sigh....

We had our friends over with their little girl and had a really nice time. Only our cat Wes stayed downstairs to socialize. He is a very friendly little guy! He curled up on a kitchen chair while we ate, and curled up on the floor near our friend's daughter while she played after we ate. He also gave kisses to all of them, even though he doesn't know them well. Our other two cats bolted upstairs and hid until they left. Oh, well.

Cyana, the cats sleep a lot anyway, so it is hard to tell Our oldest cat (almost 13) looked very put out that we let other people in the house! His name is Huck (the shelter named him and he knew it, so we kept it) but we call him Sheldon sometimes (as in Big Bang Theory) because he likes things a certain way and his own way all the time! He was born in 2006, which I think is the year the series started? I need to check! Last time our friends were over, our cat Mila did stick around downstairs, but she wanted to escape last night. These friends are quiet. We have one friend who has a really booming voice, and all three cats ran upstairs when he was over!

Workouts:

Saturday:
Soul Sweat with Lucy 52 minutes
Sarah Beth Yoga-Yin Yoga for Relaxation 20 minutes. I loved this one!

Sunday:
Soul Sweat with Maria-Keeping Low 65 minutes
Yoga Upload: Yoga for Hips and Thighs 20 minutes.

I haven't done this particular Soul Sweat class in a long time. There is a young woman in the class who later passed away from aggressive breast cancer (they had a fund raiser for her at the dance studio where they were filmed, and mentioned in a later class she had passed away). She is right at the front, and I think of her every time I use this class. It is so sad.

I have no plans today-a few things around the house and relaxing.

Cyana, I hope you can get to Happy Hormones. I just ordered Ravi/Ana's latest dvd. It should arrive tomorrow. I might do a kundalini focus for the sadhana, but of course I may change my mind. I am so sorry about your lack of sleep.

Pam, your massage sounds amazing!!

Pat, good shoes are a fortune. I hardly spend anything on clothing, makeup , skin care or purses, but I splurge on good shoes to save my back. I am glad you found ones you like. I hope they work out for you.

Jackie, hope your vacation is going well and you are feeling better.

Margot, Las Vegas is somewhere that would totally overwhelm me. I have a good friend from high school who lives there, but I doubt I will ever go. I hate crowds, cities and do not gamble....wrong spot for me! I hope you have a great time.

Hi, Laura!

Have a great day!
Sherry

[laurajhawk]

Hi, ladies! I'd like to say I haven't checked in b/c I have just been so busy, but it's not really true. I still have Christmas shopping to do today for things to be shipped. All week long I was coming home and watching the new season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel instead of getting things done

I did a lot of yoga during the week:
At work, we were between teachers so I offered to lead a class on Monday. I had to change the time b/c of a meeting I needed to attend, but three people said they'd go - then only one came. She and I did a sort of half-led/half-freestyle flow together; I'd planned to focus on core, and we'd do something and talk about whether she felt it in her core and she'd say "no but I feel this one" and we'd play with that one. Ended up burning our abs & glutes pretty well. THEN we got a new teacher for Wednesday (they always do a sort of "audition" class first). She's a nice person and has the confidence and humor I've been missing in our work teachers. We all liked her so she'll be hired unless something goes wrong.
My teacher Kim focused on spandana - the pulsation of the universe/the body/the breath - particularly noting the contraction that supports expansion, with relation to where we are in the year, near the darkest time. Physically these classes were ALSO core-burners. For the Wednesday advanced class, at the full moon, she added hip openers and ended with a five-minute shoulderstand followed by a two-minute malasana (for grounding) - very profound. I also went to Kim's classes on Tuesday and Saturday. So my core is DONE for the week.
In my morning workouts I did mostly Walk Strong 3. One day I did RaviAna's Quick Fixes superset.

[laurajhawk]

Continuing with personals...
Sherry, I love it when animal people come over and the cats actually want to socialize. We had one once who loved everyone; the two we have now are gradually mellowing with age. Our Fifi used to take three days (really) to come out of hiding, but now it's more like an hour. Paris likes to overlook our main floor from the loft and is happy if people come up to visit and pet her.
Cyana, did you get Happy Hormones done? That's a great one for this time of year - I'll try to fit it in (a matrix mix) this week.
Pam, I have some Essentrics DVDs that I'm remailing for an international VF friend - she's encouraged me to try them out before mailing so I need to make time for that too!
Pat, I hope the shoes are working out for you. Good sneakers are worth a lot!
Margot, Arizona sounds lovely. This is the right time of year for it!
Waves to all - have a lovely week!

[JackieB]

Checking in... Still on vacation. I've been doing little classical stretch and essentrics workouts, snorkeling, and lots of walks. It's been good... we don't go home till next weekend so it's a nice length of time to be here. I see the weather in Minnesota and I'm glad that were down in 85 + degree weather.

Hope everyone is doing well! if I can get on a computer, I'll try to do some personals later.

[Margot]

Good morning everyone!

I'm still doing 1 1/2 to 2 hour walks, as well as being on my feet most of the day, so I'm pretty pooped by 9 pm and ready for bed. Yesterday, I played basketball and a game of cornball. Lots of fun but my right arm and shoulder needs some extra TLC today!

I made up my own yoga flows and stretches this morning. Later on, we're going down to the lake for a hike. It's quite funny to me to see London Bridge here!
I plan on doing one of Lee's qigong classes later on.

I agree, Las Vegas would never be my choice for a vacation. I went there many years ago when we were setting up a new station there for our airline. The shows are fun but gambling doesn't interest me. We just flew in there, as it is the nearest airport to Lake Havasu, where we are spending Christmas with my step-son. It's sunny here and quiet, so DH and I are happy. Pat, we stopped at Hoover Dam on our way down, which was quite spectacular.

Pat and Cyana - I'm looking for some trainers. Are the Brooks wide-fit? I have a fairly wide forefoot but a narrow heel, so it's always hard to find a good fit.

Oops, I'm being called for, as we're on our way out. I'll come back later to do personals. Typing on my I-pad takes twice as long.

Waves to all. Have a great day.

[cyana]

Today:
Holden Streaming Class 11.29.2019 (which was actually a "Classic" class from 11.30.2018 as he didn't each on the 29th). This one included healing sounds and a color meditation.
R/A - Happy Hormones - Warm-up 2, Happy Hormones 2, Magic Medley and Closing Prayer.

Margot - I have narrow heels, too, so finding a good-fitting shoe is always an adventure. Back in the day, I would've told you Adidas without one second's hesitation, as they fit like a glove - good snug heel, perfect arch support, and nice toe boxes. I haven't tried on any recently, but they just weren't the same after they quit making my much beloved Supernova 6. The toe box is usually decent in Brooks and most Asics. I find the toe box to run a little narrower in Mizuno's (I have an old pair that I bum around in - they're literally starting to fall apart). I don't know if there any New Balance stores in the area, but they tend to have widths in all their shoes. My favorite all-time walking shoe (from the 90's) was from New Balance. Can't remember the number, but those were some seriously speedy shoes. Saucony used to be pretty decent, with good heels and toe boxes, but I haven't had a pair of those in years. Reebok supposedly makes some good cross-trainers but man oh man they can be pricey, as they have a number of models that are geared to the CrossFit crowd! In years past Reeboks fit my feet well, but my one knock was the lining inside the heel would wear through awfully quickly. Nike can run slimmer in the forefoot, so you'd definitely want to try them on (although Jessica Smith wears Nike and some of those appear to have decent toe boxes). Have you figured out I LOVE work-out shoes, LOL! DH refers to me as "The Imelda Marcos of Sports Shoes". My crown is slipping these days, as there are a bunch of brands I haven't checked out yet (Hoka, Altria, Under Armour, etc), since I just don't enjoy going out shopping these days because I have to try on a million pairs of shoes to find one that might work.

Sherry - OMG, Sheldon is a great cat name!!! There's a boatload of feline Sheldons out there, LOL. The calendar thing would've definitely gotten my goat!!

Laura - Sounds like you have earned some serious Abs of Steel after last week's yoga practices!!! I enjoyed Happy Hormones. That's great that the new instructor sounds like a good fit.

Jackie - What a nice long winter getaway - enjoy every minute.

Must run - I'm trying the Sunday Night Stew recipe this evening and I think it's probably ready. Smells great.

[yogapam]

Today’s workouts:
~3 km walk
~Leslie’s Tone Every Zone Upper Body Circuit - I got this from my Secret Santa & it’s a good one. The circuits are 20 min & cover all the bases.
~Headstand, toe sit, upper back acupressure, & an hour of yin while watching more anatomy videos.

I’ve totally stalled out on my Essentrics level 3 & need to get moving. There are some very good anatomy videos on YT.

I also did some prep for our second annual Christmas tapa night & Bad Santa gift exchange tomorrow. It’s just a few close friends & should be fun!

Waves to all!