Dedicate Your Pose

Oh, hey there sweaty readers. How's your 2012 going? Mine, well it ain't so bad. I tell ya, things are just lovely these days. The weather is not at all unbearable and work has slowed down enough that I can finally write a blog post.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about my 30-day challenge, and I've been suggesting that everyone I know take on their own challenge - whether it be bikram, running or any other type of exercise. I'm convinced that taking 30 days to focus on exercise and making that a priority, to take time for yourself is an incredibly effective form of  getting your priorities straight. I'm also convinced that it is not just good for physical health, but mental health too.

Today, in class, when we got to floor bow pose, the instructor reminded us to dedicate this pose to whatever it was that we dedicated today's practice to. It is something that I have heard in classes before, and I really appreciate when the instructor reminds us to do that. It is a perfect opportunity to stop and consider what it is that you want to change or just encourage in your life. I like to dedicate my practice to love. Not necessarily romantic love, but just the act of loving everything and everyone. It's a good reminder for me to love myself first, which seems to feed directly into thoughts of loving all the other people in my life. Family, friends, lovers and so on.

I came from class feeling great and as soon as I got on the train - where it's usually a hellish commute for the 4 blocks - and I am always bogged down with bags and a yoga mat and in the winter a huge jacket... anyway, I  was pleasantly surprised to see that the train was relatively empty and that getting on it was in no way a hassel at all.

Well, I'm just going to go ahead and take this loving feeling with me all over the place today.

If your palms are facing up...

Happy New Year fellow Yogi's and Non-Yogi's alike. I hope 2012 is treating you all well. I'm good here. I mean, I'd prefer to be at yoga than in the office, but, I can't afford yoga if I don't come to the office --- so, there ya go. 

I went to my final class of 2011 on Saturday. It felt really good to go on December 31 because I feel like the best thing I've ever done for myself was start going to Yoga in the year 2011. It was a "detox to retox" class and the mood was just generally happy. I actually had a really good class. Was super focused and light-hearted. At one point in the class, I even broke out into a sort of uncontrollable fit of laughter. It was during the floor series and we were doing half locust or whatever you call it, the one where you lay on your arms and lift your legs. Anyway, there were a couple of first-timers in the class so the instructor says, make sure your palms are on the floor. If your hands are up, you're enjoying this posture too much. ha.. hah. ha. 

If you've seen the posture or done it, you know that if your hands are facing up, you're basically grabbing your crotch. So, it took me a second to register the joke, but when I did, I couldn't stop giggling. I don't actually know how many other people picked up on my little giggle fit, or how many other's even caught the joke. 

After class, I noticed that the studio I practiced at this day was selling yogabella apparel and this is just about the best news yet. I've literally run every kind of search I could on this brand to find any retailers in the city and was just lucky enough to stumble upon them this day!

I can't wait to get back into the studio this year. Probably tomorrow morning!