Barefoot and on the Mat - October, 2021 - Pumpkin Spice Edition!

[Paine]

Strong For Life (Strength workout--all of it)

This morning I really enjoyed Margaret's Strong For Life Strength workout.

Garrie, it's good to hear from you. I think you'll make an excellent personal trainer!
I'm glad your mom is doing better.
It has been a couple decades since I crocheted. It's been so long that I'm not sure I'd be able to do it again.
Yucky about the jury duty!

Beth, enjoy your yoga training.

Carolyn, I wish my daughter had continued on with exercise. Maybe she will start up in her 50's like I did.
Enjoy your day trip up north!

[yogapam]

Hello mat mavens!

Yesterday:
~Taught Essentrics
~PT exercises

Today:
~Ellen’s Moving Meditation - This was nice! It was flowing & stretchy, very breath focused & included some good balance work. It was perfect for a recovery day.

I had another IMS session yesterday. I am slowing improving, my PT said to take it easy today, which I did & I can start adding is some outdoor walks next week.

Pat - I hope you get some relief for your arm, IMS has helped me many times. Did you get in to see your chiro? I like those 20 min Skakti Warriors a lot.

Garrie - Sorry to hear your mom has been ill & hope she’s 100% soon! Like Paine, I also used to do a little crocheting. I keep thinking I’ll give it a try again, but I keep procrastinating. Sorry about the jury duty & hope it doesn’t drag out too long.

Beth - Are doing more yoga training this weekend?

Carolyn - Your road trip sounds lovely, hope you had a good day up north!

Waves to all!

[toaster]

Pam, yes, I have the training Fri-Sat-Sun again this weekend; I'll do a teaching portion on Sunday in order to get the certification.

Carolyn, I did that Kassandra practice as a warm-up to my kettlebell workout today.

I will try to write more about my training later. One thing that was interesting was we did a chair yoga practice that included some exercises from a technique called "edgu" - you can see some of what we did here (starting at about the 3 1/2 minute mark):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAlJ...estylesOfLight

[Paine]

Today is a functional fitness day doing food prep/kitchen work and house work.

Pam, I know you're happy about being able to add in some outdoor walks--yay!

Happy Saturday everyone!

[cyana]

Happy Week-end! I tried to post on Tuesday and kept getting the dreaded server error. Went to the farmer's market this AM, as usual, and got spritzed by a light rain shower, which was totally unexpected and not in the forecast. It was nice to find fresh spinach and freshly harvested organic ginger. I'm hoping to get in the kitchen at some point this week-end.

Pat - LOL on your reference to Poltergeist! I was dumping the water out of the humidifier yesterday morning (before daylight) and the cat had followed me into the bathroom. Since I had my hands full, I couldn't flip the light switch, so I was quoting the "Run to the light" and "Stay away from the light" lines from Poltergeist to the cat (who had followed me into the bathroom)!!! I've done a few Kassandra practices. I like her affirmations - practical and concepts that should resonate with most practitioners.

DonnaD - A belated Happy Birthday to you! What a relief that your house situation worked out. At least you know the house and don't have to physically pack everything up and move.

Garrie - It's good to "see" you. Costco has either the Cuisinart or Calphalon air fryer ovens on sale fairly regularly. It makes me nuts, as they both have four stars, but the reviews are SO mixed, and I'm left scratching my head. I'm glad to hear that your mom is OK - I've been wondering how she was doing. Please share pictures of your new yarn projects. If I ever retire, I'd like to dig out my old crochet hook and play around with some yarn. I think you will be a great personal trainer. Who's the pretty kitty in your avatar pic?

Pam - I do check out the Tiny Desk concerts from time to time. I enjoyed the August one with Ronald and Ernie Isley. I was SO happy when they did "That Lady", as I've always loved that song. Ernie Isley is an amazing guitar player and Ron is still in great voice (since not all voices age well). Hooray that you can start doing some walks next week - that's great news. Have you gotten the email about the latest Essentrics series for the lymphatics?

Paine - I'm glad your DH enjoyed the Doobie Brothers links. It was great to come of age in the 70's when we had so much good music and concert tickets were reasonably priced - even for poor college students. Another concert I went to that blew me away - The Edgar Winter Group. At one point, they did something like musical chairs - the whole band cycled through every instrument. And Edgar would play multiple instruments during a single song - like Frankenstein. That was a "happy accident" concert, as someone invited me to go at the last minute. Santana and 38 Special both put on really good shows. I've found music to be a great source of relaxation during my busy season and during The Era of The Covid.

Sandra - I have a YT music clip for you - The Pointer Sisters from 1979 - Angry Eyes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01Bmb6QwJmw . I'm glad you like your Farberware air fryer. One day I'll bite and it's good to know which brands people like. Patio puttering sounds like a great way to spend an afternoon. Or morning.

Carolyn - I hope you enjoyed your trip up north. Did you see snow? And fall color? Our dogwood tree is getting some nice red color on the leaves. One thing I always enjoy in winter (since I'm not a winter fan and have to work to keep that glass half full!) is looking at my coral bark maple as the bark is so striking. One of my co-workers had snow this week - in Montana. He was not amused, LOL. I don't think he's ready for "chain season" just yet. I've been continuing to follow Leonid and Friends around the country via YT. They were in Plano, TX earlier this week and it looks like several of the guys went boot shopping as they were wearing them for that performance. I know someone who lives in that area and she said there's a huge boot store in Plano.

Beth - So is your training wrapped up tomorrow? I watched the EDGU introduction - I like those movements. I also watched a good bit of the Slings in Motion link - I'll have to check those out, too - interesting concept. Oh no - I sure your work doesn't turn into anything that remotely resembles the craziness I routinely deal with this time of year!

Margot - I hope you're enjoying your holiday. DH and I watched every season of Doc Martin, so I had to go tell him that you were in Port Isaac. I'll bet those were some happy cows - I'd be happy if I had that view every day. Hope your toe behaved for the rest of the trip!

Must get something accomplished today. Waves to ALL!

[toaster]

Happy Saturday! I had another good training day today; kind of sad that tomorrow is the last day. Tomorrow afternoon we teach our portion for certification. It's just one pose each, and I have been assigned powerful pose (chair pose). I will have 5 minutes to incorporate as many variations as I might like. Here is a sample of how Baxter teaches it:
https://youtu.be/3hI4z3F9FIE

cyana, I am lucky that even when I have a bad/busy time at work, I don't have to work evenings or weekends, which makes a huge difference. I hope you have been able to get some evenings off in there! The Edgu work is definitely interesting; I would like to try to incorporate it into a future video I film, maybe one of the lunch break ones.

I actually filmed a new Lunch Break practice (#3!) today that I will set to post on Monday. Have a good night!

[yogapam]

Todays workouts:
~Ellen’s Power & Balance - I loved this one, high rep/low weight, similar feel to a Jessica Smith style workout.
~Essentrics TV: Lauren’s Live full body toning
~MELT: Hip Pain Relief Map

Pane - I’m super excited to get out walking!

Cyana - I hope you get some R&R this weekend! I will look for that Isley concert. We discovered the Tedeschi Trucks Band on Tiny Desk & they have become a favourite. Another we’ve watched a few times is Sting & Shaggy. Yes I saw the upcoming lymphatic series on ETV & plan to check it out. I’ve been doing some of the live workouts and enjoying them, primarily the new to ETV instructors for some variety. I learn a lot & get inspiration for my classes.

Beth - Glad you’re enjoying your training course. I like Baxter’s chair pose tutorial. One thing I felt he missed, and it’s probably just me from Essentrics always stressing safe knee position, is cuing keeping knees over ankles, ie not letting them fall inward.

Waves to all!

[toaster]

Pam, I didn't pick that up with Baxter. I have heard a lot of debate about the use of "safe" in regards to yoga alignment. It's something that Jenni Rawlings discusses a lot in her teaching, noting that the body is designed to move in many different ways and that ideal positioning or alignment is likely different for each individual. Glad you have been walking again; how is your hip feeling?

[yogapam]

Beth - I agree that bodies are all different, move in different ways, look different doing the same pose. One thing I didn’t like about Bikram was pushing everyone to look the same in a pose. But all that aside I think good alignment is important. My students are older, 60 - mid 70s, & most are very fit while a few are not. Knees can be issue in that demographic & knee alignment in plies and side to side lunges was drilled into us in Essentrics teacher training. But I come from a different perspective with teaching a completely different program than you.

[Margot]

Happy Sunday everyone

We arrived home yesterday and now I feel like another vacation after catching up on all the chores, unpacking and settling back in. It was a great week of long hikes, mostly along the cliffs and sandy beaches. Some of the paths were so close to the cliff edge that I had to stop myself thinking of the sheer drop to avoid getting that 'jelly legs' feeling. We were so lucky with the weather too. It felt like summer again. On the last day we went to visit the ruins of Tintagel Castle. It's one of those atmospheric places where you feel as though you're stepping back into the past. I loved being by the sea. I think Pat once mentioned a book - I've forgotten the name - that goes into how people are happier living by the coast. I would agree with that. However, some of places were still so crowded with tourists, so we avoided those places where we could.

Cyana - I always enjoy hearing about your trips to the market. Fresh ginger and spinach sounds . When we arrived home, we were happy to find some vegetables to pick from our garden, so we didn't have to rush to the store. I think you get fresh turmeric where you live too? I only found some recently in our local supermarket. I also found how it stains the fingers!

Beth - I'm glad you're enjoying your training course. The Edgu is intriguing; combining spinal movements with mindfulness/self care. Yes, I'm a big Slings fan. I think I have all of Karin's programs. She's very much into fascia work and anatomy. I'm looking forward to your new class.

Pam - Hurrah for getting the green light to get out walking again. That would be one of the things I'd miss the most too, not getting out for our daily walk. I think if you come to the UK next time, you should visit the southwest. It's one of the prettiest parts of the country in my humble opinion but of course I'm biased.

Paine - I loved hearing how you got into exercising by supporting your daughter through her heartbreak. I'm so glad that she found love again. Your family are so lucky to have you.

Sandra - Patio puttering sounds fun and therapeutic. I enjoy house puttering too - not house cleaning but moving things around and sorting things out.

Pat - Hope your flare up has calmed down. Congrats of getting past Shakti Warrior #4. Sometimes it takes me ages to get through programs; usually because I'm trying to do too many things at once!

Garrie - I'm pleased to hear your Mom is on the mend and wishing her a speedy recovery to full health. I had pneumonia a couple of years ago and it took me a long time to get my energy back. My Mum and Aunt were great knitters. I only wore homemade knitted sweaters growing up. Of course, when I was young, I wanted a bought one! I tried knitting a few times but generally I only managed to knit the back and my Mum finished it off. I don't think knitting here is so popular as it used to be. I remember though when DH and I were on a train in Norway a few years ago that all the women (young and older) were knitting together and chatting away in the carriage. I'd love to see photos of your projects too. You've reminded me that I need to get back into my embroidery. I started a kingfisher around 20 years ago and still have the head to do! Maybe this year?

Carolyn - Hope you're having a good time up north. I loved Flagstaff when we were there a couple of years ago. DH and I did think about moving there for a while.

Donna - Congratulations on being able to purchase your home. It must feel good to be able to relax now.