New Year’s unresolution Number One
At the end of 2009 a friend alerted me to a LivingSocial offer for a yoga studio not far from me. Most of the studios in Indianapolis are downtown or on the far north side, but this one was only 20 minutes away. It was also a very good deal – 20 classes for $20! We both signed up, and in February I attended my first class ever. And LOVED it. I’ve always wanted to try yoga, but thought it was for skinny-minnies (which I am not). Our yoga instructor is what you might call full-figured, even, but she is incredibly flexible and bendy. But more than anything, she’s just an amazing instructor. She emphasizes attention to what your body CAN do instead of what it can’t, and reiterates over and over (and over) again that yoga class is not the place to bring your ego. It doesn’t matter whether the person on the mat next to you can touch the floor with their nose in Upavistha Konasana – it’s all about that tiny, incremental bit of space you can create for yourself each time you practice. Really, it’s about the breath, and maintaining that breath throughout your practice. We use a sounding breath called Ujjayi Pranayama, or “Conqueror’s Breath”, and one of my favorite times of the week is the start of class when the room fills with that noise.
Anyway, I hate exercise. I joined a gym a few years ago, and I can count on two hands the number of times I went. With all the money I spent I could have bought my own treadmill to have at home, since that was the only machine I ever used anyway. I always intended to use the weight machines, but they were always either in use, or I just didn’t have time. Yoga, though, is something I enjoy, and it’s made me aware of my body in different ways than working out in a gym ever has. For one, it really made me aware of my pelvic floor! Not something we think of in the context of the everyday, but since we practice spending time on our “sit” bones, it has become obvious to me that my core muscles just aren’t strong enough to support me the way they’re supposed to when I’m sitting in proper alignment. Which is why I was so glad to find Katy Bowman’s blog!
I wasn’t familiar with Katy until I found her online, but I will be a fan forever. First, she doesn’t advocate exercise in the traditional sense… according to Katy, if you move the way our bodies were meant to – and move a lot, specifically walking several miles a day – and in proper alignment, your body will work the muscles efficiently enough to keep you toned. And obviously all that walking has cardiac benefits, too. I am ALL. ABOUT. THAT. I can walk. I love to walk. I don’t love to walk in 20 degree weather, but I can do it if I must. Starting now, that’s my plan. Walking, squatting, stretching, and doing yoga. That’s it. No more Jillian Michaels, no more Bob Harper… I want to be healthy and fit, but I don’t want to hate every minute of getting there. Tonight, I started with Katy’s squatting exercises, or more specifically, the squat prep exercises, which are just calf and hamstring stretches. Holy cow! I knew my hamstrings were tight, but had NO idea my calves were also. Hopefully after a few more nights of this I’ll be able to move on to the next prep move. But there is no rush. It’s all about the breath, right?
Filed under me | Comment (0)Here we go again – 2012 version
I’m back! It’s been a while (since February, I think, or later?), and not much has changed, but I want to blog again. I went back through some of my older posts, and I really sort of miss it. Maybe I’ll have something important to talk about this year, or maybe I’ll still write about things that don’t really matter to anyone but me, but that’s okay.
I’m driving home today from visiting my brother’s family – the infamous Wia and Emma. We had so much fun this trip – I arrived a day earlier than I usually do so I could be here in time for Emma’s birthday. We ate at Sweet Potatoes and raced go-karts to celebrate her 5th (can you believe she’s FIVE?). We’ve also eaten at Vinnie’s, which is a Savannah institution, and then today tried the Crystal Beer Parlor, Savannah’s second oldest restaurant. We went to see Arthur Christmas, which was way better than I thought it would be, and yesterday we went ice skating at the Savannah Civic Center. This was probably the most fun I’ve had with the girls since they started school and pre-K – they’ve been on break all week, so we’ve played lots of Kinectimals and Once Upon a Monster on their new XBox 360, too. They’re growing up SO fast, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to make as many trips down each year going forward. It seems silly for me to come while they’re in school, so that rules out spring and fall (except for Wia’s birthday, which I will never miss if I can help it). For now, though, I’m happy to have spent the time with them this past week… it was crazy-busy, but spending time with my family is the best.
Reading: Jane Goes Batty
I thought it might be kind of cool to review books here. I am a HUGE reader – always have been – and recently rediscovered Goodreads, where I have entered as much of my personal library as I can remember. It doesn’t count books I’ve read that I don’t own – I wish I could remember half the library books I’ve borrowed over the last 35 years. Every once in a while I’ll pick up a book to read only to find that hey, I’ve read this before…
Anyway, Goodreads does giveaways of books, sponsored by authors, publishing houses, and whoever else wants to share either a book they’ve read or a book that’s about to be released. I never win anything, but I put my name in for several books I thought sounded interesting, and I actually WON. Quel surprise. Part of the deal is that they’d really like it if maybe you’d kind of write a review, if you feel like it? So, I wrote a review. It’s not a very good review – the book deserves better – but I wasn’t sure how much to divulge. I need to read some of the reviews on Amazon.com and see if I can get some pointers…
Jane Goes Batty by Michael Thomas Ford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I received Jane Goes Batty through a goodreads “first reads” giveaway – I never win anything, so I was just excited about that to begin with. I read the first book in the series while I waited for this one to arrive, and fell in love with the characters and the storyline – I only hoped the second book would be at least as good as the first. I wasn’t disappointed.
The second book begins right where the first leaves off – Jane’s book is a hit and Our Gloomy Friend is apparently nowhere to be seen. Byron is teaching Jane the tricks of the vampire trade, so to speak, just in time for her boyfriend’s mother to come for a visit. Several new characters are inroduced, along with some familiar faces, and the book moves along at just the right pace. There are lots of chuckles and a few groans, but it’s all in all a very entertaining book. I’m really looking forward to the third installment in the series…
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