worst practice today….i drank almost no liquid yesterday.

a glass of water, an arranciata (sp) and that was about it. seems crazy but true.

and of course i was stiff stiff stiff. ughhh!!!!

george got spooked in the middle of the night and i woke up to him barking at god knows what. of course that made me all jumpy and i couldnt really sleep after that. so not only was i dehydrated but tired on top of it.  i cheated pretty much all the way through it. not my best showing but at least i made it.

god give me the strength to make it through the next couple of weeks at work. im so ready to be out of the salon!!!!!

So its finally official! I will be a New Business Sales Advisor for Bumble and bumble come January 4th!!!

It was a difficult decision to come to and it took almost a year to finally make it but I have and Im happy about it.

A major turning point came when I turned 40, somehow that number seems to put the horizon in clearer view. Up to then I have always looked out and seen endless ocean, now  Im beginning to see the hint of something out there in the distance. When I fast forward my life 5 or 6 years and I see myself working until 8:00 every night and Saturdays that isnt how I want to spend my time.   Being a hairdresser is a LIFESTYLE, which I knew going in but I dont think I was prepared for the reality of it. Even if I were to do editorial (photoshoots and stuff) the hours and schedule would take me so far away from any sort of yoga practice that this major life change was all for naught. Ive come to realize that as much as my last career was far away from the person I am to far to the right this new career is the exact opposite too far to the left of where I am. In both situations I found myself trying to be someone else than who I really am. ( I hope this isnt  a theme for me…)

This new opportunity sits right in the middle! I get to use the 15 plus years of professional experience that Ihave and still be conected and involved in the beauty industry. The perfect compromise!!!

This all started when Mark and I decided to move from Queens. I was doing all the initial contacting of brokers and lawyers and I found myself writing emails and having conference calls and seriosuly missed using that part of my brain.

I kinda let it go for a while but realized that I was wasting a LARGE portion of my lifes experience. Sure it came in handy in a very indirect way communicating with clients but by and large I was starting from zero. Adding onto that was the fact that strengths of mine in the rest of my life were viewed as liabilities in the salon. Finally the toll this physical work was taking on my body was more than I wanted bear. One of the main reasons I started this experiment was to bring me closer to my yoga practice, it was having the exact opposite effect.

ITs been a bit of a struggle to let go of the identity of hairdresser, I love doing hair! Ill still do it on the side and if the economy falls through the floor again then Ill always have that trade to fall back on so its not a waste. I just needed to create more of a work life balance and I have the means to do it so Im doing it!!!

Talk about crowded!! It was insane at practice this morning. I got there at 730 so luckily I was safely in a spot but by 810 it was jammed packed with a wait of about 6 to 10 people. Insane!!!

I was kinda worried that I was going to be all tight and uncomfortable but suprisingly I wasnt. I did  chill out on the mat for a while before I started in some passive stretches which made a huge difference. Yossi helped me in UHP and had my leg up really high, with out any real effort on his part or mine, seems that the hamstrings are just really opening up. Also, Ive been letting go of my glutes when Im inhaling the leg up which sends it right up. The only challenge it presents for me is ,when Im up , isolating the bandhas and not throwing off my balance. If I engage to hard too quickly I wobble. It all kinda comes back to the breath when you think about it, take long slow breathes coordinate your movements to your breathing and there you have it….oh wait… that IS the practice.  UM DUH!!!!!

Everything else was fantastic, backbending was deep love it when they go deep. too bad its a moonday tomorrow

Less coffee really did improve my practice. focus was there, stillness was there it was good! Im trying to increase the flow of the entire practice. I can give into the temptation of making each posture a little episode of its own. Mainly between Mari C and Supta K it becomes a series of little vignettes. the wrapping of the bandanna for Mari C & D then the spraying of water for supta K (Ill explain) its like these little interruptions between each posture. Some of them are at this point necessary others are habit. The wrapping of the bandanna in C is no longer needed so Im dropping that one. Wrapping in D isn’t totally necessary but I need to work on it.

So, Ive screwed my left hamstring up on more than one occasion getting into the Supta K not because Im not limber enough, I can put both legs behind my head with ease. More so because my leg hair gets stuck on my shoulder, I figured it out this past summer when, you know, its super hot and sweaty and I have no issue getting into Supta.  Sooo if I dont feel sweaty enough then I spray the backs of my shoulders and upper arms.  Legs slide right into place bind is right there, works like a charm So for now that one is for sure necessary. It might go away once Im doing LBH stuff but for now that one is staying. Oh not to mention needing water for Garbha P, that will probably always be necessary, unless I go vegan, not sure thats going to happen.

Backbending was amazing, I really made an effort to slow and lengthen my breathig before going into them and it makes such a huge difference. Usually Im a little wound up from the 2nd series postures and there is tension in my body which doesnt allow me to focus on the breath. Today that wasnt so much of an issue and dropback were cake!! Smooth standing no final little stepy steps fantastic!!Brett assisted me with DB’s and it was amzing, he gives a great assist. Maybe because he is tall or something but they were stellar.

Now off to a great day!

I forgot to mention that I flipped right over in prasarita C today!! My hands have been touching the ground finally after what, 4 years. I thought Id try and push it to see if I could really get them down and over I went, luckily I practice next to the wall and it was earrrly so no harm no foul.

I saw that movie Paranormal Activity today, it was scary. Kinda like the Blair Witch Project type of thing low budget, told through the camera held by one of the characters in the film. You get the idea. Man it was chilling. Also recently saw Antichrist the Lars Von Trier film. UGHHHHH talk about a scary movie. Hard to watch in parts but a genius film none the less. Its a horror flick for adults if your into that sort of thing. Willem Dafoe is in it and I kept thinking how hes an ashtangi and how he fit this project into the yoga philosophy.

saw

ill get more interesting….i promise!

Getting better and stronger everyday.

Today it dawned on me that I need to start weening myself off coffee pre practice. I need to still my mind and the coffee wont let that happen. I might always need something of a boost but maybe its more of a green tea look. Eddie said today that Im going to be on Bhekasana for the next week or two which is fine with me I need build up the stamina so that Im more in control of my breath for backbends.

Made practice frenetic and not at all contemplative.
The only good thing to come out of it was how it illustrated, pretty clearly, the minds effect on the physical. I didnt have any problems with postures, but I just couldnt settle down into it. My breath was turbo fast, and I couldnt stop thinking…..ughhhh!!! Not a satisfying experience.

However, I have to say that I love love love practicing at AYNY. It’s about the “current” in that place. You know there are a few people who are doing 3rd and 4th but for the most part people are doing 1st and 2nd so it’s not that it’s some super advanced school but its a  Yoga SHALA and not a yoga studio and there is a difference. Everybody there is serious about the practice in a way that’s different from pretty much every other place Ive practiced except maybe Guys. I dont mean this as a judgement call on any place or anyone. It just that its a temple first and a yoga school 2nd. The other places Ive practiced are more service oriented. The teacher felt more like a service provider for the students where as at AYNY its more about being a student of the practice AND the teacher. Its NOT for everyone. I think that maybe the reason why there’s such a backlash from people who dont practice there.

There’s this mythology that surrounds Eddie that once you’ve practiced with him doesn’t make sense. He’s really quite normal, so normal in fact that some would be underwhelmed.  Until you realize the quiet determination he embodies. He can run the room with, gosh there must be like 50 to 75 people in there, with calm ease and hes built an amazing space of practice and devotion. Oh and his adjustments are amazing, so solid with out being heavy handed its pretty amazing.

But I feel like blogging… maybe just a fluke.

Journey feels like its coming to completion. We’re back in the city finally and Im back at AYNY.

It feels like I have come back home after a long journey. Practice is coming back at a nice steady clip.

I’ve started 2nd series 3 times now, but in reality its just once. It never felt quite right until now with Eddie. Now I truly feel like Im practicing. I love it. And the subtle changes that are taking place in my life are amazing. It reminds me why I love this practice so much.

The only part thats a drag is getting up soooooo early! I have to be up  at 4:50 to be out the house and on the mat by 5:45. Its tough. I should get a bike and start riding but riding in the winter seems like a drag. But I would be albe to sleep later by about a half an hour. An eternity in the morning.

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Long time no see ehhh : )

Im sure nobody will even see this post but I think it might be good for me to write about the new stage Im at in life.

First, Im not really doing yoga lately, its been almost 2 months since I last did ANY yoga at all.

I had wanted to take a break for a while although it never really seemed to be a good time.
Then after attempting to practice way way uptown for about a month, I just couldnt do it anymore.

So, I joined the gym and have been going pretty much 5 days a week since. I am trying to get myself back into the headspace of getting on the mat at least a few times a week but honestly, it just insnt there right now. Prehaps its because I cant get down to AYS or AYNY, they are both out of my price range. I could go to YS, which is what it wil have to be when I do go back because I can do a workstudy type thing. But alas YS doenst totally inspire me all that much. I do get cravings to bend the body and hopefully this little blog post will be just the push I need to get up and out the door.

Part of the reason I wanted to go back to the gym is a mini midlife crisis Im going through. I want to tighten up before its too late!!! But now that that anxiety has settled down a bit I might be able to split my time.

I can tell you without yoga I have lost some clarity of mind. This is weighing pretty heavily right now seeing that in the new work environment it really helps to keep a grounded perspective on things.

Ughhhhh wirting this all down it seems so damn clear that I need to get my ass back to yoga and quickly!!!!

On the work front things are going pretty well. Class is progressing smoothly Im feeling confident about  my work and Im getting along with everybody. So I’m  happy!!!