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

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This was one of those work days that I didn't get a chance to post - a 2-hour morning meeting turned into 3.

Pursuant to our prior discussion (sorry Garrie if you are lurking!), I'm lucky never to have had to use sanitary pads with belts myself. However, my mom got me a kind of "just for girls" kit that did include this in the products; maybe I was on the cusp of change!

Sandra, so sorry to hear about your family members with covid! Sounds like everyone is recovering; hope that continues to be the case, and hope you cold continues to go away.

Pam, hope your DH hasn't been sick while you've been away! How much more time do you have?

Pat, I've done a pigeon with a twist similar to what you described; it does look rather awkward! When I first tried yoga years ago, I was pleasantly described that many of the poses (most standing poses) were more accessible than I had anticipated.

Karen Jo, wishing you a better night's sleep tonight - and waving to Paine, Linda, cyana, Margo, Carolyn, and Sherry (if you're still lurking).

Today I did a Muscle Burns Fat workout from Lift with Cee (YT) plus Awaken & Energize from Rodney Yee.

[JustSandra]

Hi!

Today's Workout: Neck & Shoulders (Flow 1) from Jessica Smith's Gentle Yoga DVD. After two weeks of cold symptoms my neck and shoulders appreciated the attention.

Thank you all for your good wishes for my niece and grandniece. Interestingly, both had a miserable first day, but by the second day were feeling much better. I mentioned my grandniece appeared already recovered, but I guess this morning she was still testing positive so no school for her.

Paine: I'm glad you liked the lower body routine from Jessica's Walk Strong -- I like it too!

Take care everyone!

[yogapam]

Todays activities:
~Beach Hatha flow yoga class
~300 meter (approx) swim
~Walkabout, 13,000 steps

Beth - DH feels fine, he’s just had a nagging cough at times. We are thankful he tested negative!

Waves to all!

[Pat58]

Good morning! It feels like I got back in a better groove:

~ LWR Advent Calendar Days 23 and 24, 7 Minute Cardio Abs and 7 Minute Winter Wonderland Adventure
~ Margaret Richard Perfect 10, workout 1
~ Rodney Yee's Core Centered Yoga, Back Balance
~ 5,695 steps

Psyched about finishing Lucy's Advent challenge before Valentine's Day! Yee's Core Centered Yoga DVD is interesting. It's yoga science, lots of cuing on internal and external rotations, minute attention to how it feels this way versus that way. Yesterday featured "the dialogue between the pubis and the tailbone." ROTF, all I could think of was "A pubis walks into a bar ..." and sits on a bar stool to chat with a tailbone.

Beth, I’ve always loved the pretzel/bendy/twisty and standing poses, and not so much flows.

Pam I’m so happy you all tested negative. These days even an allergy attack can be scary.

Sandra I’m so happy to hear your niece and grandniece are feeling better, and you, too.

Morning all!

[Paine]

Today is a planned rest day since I went to 2 markets this morning. My hamstrings are sore from the deadlifts I did yesterday!

I've been avoiding the news because it depresses me but I signed up for a nice newsletter: Reasons To Be Cheerful and they have inspiring happy stories--just what I need! It is at this link if you want to sign up for their newsletter:

https://reasonstobecheerful.world/

Pat, I'm laughing at "the dialogue between the pubis and the tailbone." That sounds just like Rodney!

[YogaGal]

On Friday afternoon, DH and I did a 1.8 mile walk in the neighborhood and before going to bed I did Yoga with Bird’s 5-minute Gentle Yoga for Relaxation.

Saturday was working around the house, but no exercise or yoga. Late Sunday afternoon I did Jessica Smith’s Apple Shape Workout on YT and Yoga with Kassandra’s 15-minute Evening Yoga, Day 21 for Hips and Lower Back.

On Monday I did KCM’s CardioFIT, workout #1 Kickboxing, the premix w/o the dumbbells and Yoga with Joelle’s 10-minute Seated Yoga Full Body Flexibility Stretch to feel Amazing.

Tuesday was Jessica’s Upper Body from Walk Strong 3 and a 10-minute Yoga with Bird that had some great upper body stretches.

[YogaGal]

All but two people are back to work this week, so hopefully they return by next week. The Wonder Bread plastic bag trick is new to me! I remember wearing either thick socks or sometimes two pairs of thin ones when I lived in colder climates. And I also follow Beth’s advice of not spending time outside!

Margot: Joelle’s Seated Yoga for Hips sounds like one I’d like. Square Pose, or Fire Log Pose is indeed challenging! Every time I do it, I say I should be doing this every day to improve my ability to do it.

Paine: Sorry that Jessica’s Upper Body workout from WS wasn’t a good fit for you. Don’t ever worry about giving your honest opinion! I was doing her Upper Body from WS3 and noticed a little bit of lower body work. I get annoyed when upper body exercises are added to lower body work. I like to go fairly heavy with lower body, and I can’t do that if I am doing upper body moves at the same time. I’m glad you liked the Lower Body Sculpt and hope you like some of the cardio workouts on WS; I like Cardio Party and 360 Abs. On another note, I am old enough to remember the sanitary napkin belts. Fortunately, it wasn’t too long before the adhesive variety came out and I could dispense with the belt!

Beth: It is truly scary how much Google knows about us! They must have listening devices in our homes as well as on our computers/phones. Thanks for sharing some nice variations using blocks to make fire log pose a bit easier. I also agree that some poses are best to avoid if it doesn’t seem right for you. Think of ALL the yoga poses there are! We couldn’t do all of them if we tried (well, maybe we could, but we don’t need to! )

cyana: Sorry about your knee; hope it gets better soon. I do hope you can get back to bike riding soon. I really enjoy going for a bike ride on a nice day. And it’s proven to be a good activity for DH while his foot injury is healing and he’s avoiding going for walks (just a short one once a week for now). Thirteen hours is too much work for one day; hopefully that was an anomaly.

Pam: Glad (and a bit envious) that you are enjoying class on the beach. Hope your streaming issues don’t persist.

Karen Jo: You’ve been very consistent in getting in some good yoga practices. Glad to hear that your DH and mother are doing so much better. Nice to be sunny and highs in the 60s in winter. Just keep those wildfires away! Hope you sleep well tonight.

Sandra: Eeek about your family members who contracted covid! Sorry that your grandniece is still testing positive; hopefully they all recover soon. Glad your cold is almost gone and you are enjoying your stretching workouts.

Pat: That sleeping swan (pigeon) pose with thread the needle sounds interesting. I love thread the needle and in fact that is why I picked the Yoga with Bird set for this morning because I wanted a practice that included that pose. LOL about being better off with “wrinkles and stiff joints” but without the aggravation of belts (and all the other maladies—bloating, cramps, etc. likely to accompany that TOM). LOL about Rodney’s yoga science talk. He can get very technical at times.

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Carolyn, so true about all the yoga poses! That's why I skipped yesterdays yin challenge practice (snail). Glad to hear you have co-workers back!

Today I did the Japanese arms again - that guy just makes me laugh! I'm going to try some of his other workouts. I also did another short arms routine from Fabulous50s and the yin challenge plus some ball rolling yoga.

[Pat58]

Good morning all! Low key day but I did manage to take advantage of the 38 degrees to take a 20 minute lunch walk. I saw a beautiful red tailed hawk in the bargain. In the evening I did my own yin routine.

Carolyn, I like Yoga with Bird occasionally too. She has such a gentle, low key vibe.

Paine, thank you for the reasons to be cheerful link. I try to avoid the news too, it’s always the same topics hashed over and over anyway. Or it’s not even news, but opinions and entertainment couched as news.

Everyone have a good day.

[cyana]

A quick mid-week fly by. Had to work until almost 11 Monday evening, which was not what I had planned when I got up that morning. That also means work-outs have been things like banging out 3 sets of squats (15 reps x 3 sets) with the resistance tubing and such this week.

KarenJo - I'm glad to hear your DH and mom are doing well. I'm a long-time wearer of Smart Wool socks and have found they aren't what they used to be as far as durability. I have some old Smart Wool hiking socks that have held up like champs. If I'm not mistaken, the original owners sold the company some years back and ended up starting a new company - Point6. I've seen Darn Tough at REI - may need to give those a try. My sock drawer definitely needs a purge!

Paine - All we needed were chastity belts to go along with rest of the Torture Wardrobe of Ancient Times!!! I don't miss ANY of those things. Have you ever tried pinto (or black bean) flakes by Frontier? I happened to come across those and they sure sound like they'd be handy. I ordered 2 bags from VitaCost - will let you know what I think when I give them a try. I'm thinking some healthy refried bean bowls would make a quick and easy dinner.

Beth - I'm going to have to try the Japanese Arms work-out. I love his shirt, LOL. Remember when some yoga instructors used to wear those tights? I thought they were so cool.

Linda - Drum roll.....Cubii Jr is on the way and is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. If I'm going to have to sit at this desk, I might as well put that time to good use before I turn into a calcified blob! Where do you sit and are you on the edge or sitting back in your chair? In looking at the pictures, some of those people are sitting precariously on the edge of a chair, while others are all the way back. One of the vendors at the farmer's market showed me her heated coat last year - I'd definitely have one of those if I was a vendor or had to spend long periods of time outdoors in winter.

Sandra - I'm sorry to hear about your niece and grandniece, but hopeful they'll bounce back quickly. Another of my co-workers (and her DH) now have COVID. They're both doing well overall and she's been able to work through it (remotely).

Carolyn - Hooray that your co-workers are returning to work. Over the years DH and I have joked about potentially living in colder climates and I'd say "just make sure you make enough money that I don't have to go out between Thanksgiving and Easter"! I've spent winter in the upper Midwest - holy cow was that an education! And required a new wardrobe!

Pat - I've enjoyed so many Rodney-isms over the years. I was watching animal videos on YT last night (nice change from spreadsheets) and saw one where a family on the Virginia coast had a nesting box for ospreys and the mom was attacked by a large hawk. There were two babies in the nest at the time. Long story short, after the family took mom to the vet, a rehabilitator took mom and she was able to be released the following day and was reunited with the family. I'm looking forward to "osprey season".

Pam - Enjoy the rest of your sun and warmth vacation.

Hope all is well with Margot. Waves to ALL. Must get to work!