Back, but not quite…

January 7, 2009 at 6:03 am (Bumping into YOGA, Step away and TRAVEL, Stepping it up and DANCING, The steps of LIFE)
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So. More traveling and exhaustion. It seems that it will never stop. I was in San Diego over the past weekend… supposedly to celebrate the incoming of the New Year, and also to dance (there was a festival going on there). Plus, this was an occasion to see the (long-distance) boyfriend. The trip went well, though my energy was obviously really gone–I was so tired from work and the non-stop travel of the past few weeks, that I just fell asleep hours before New Year’s eve. The 3-hour change relative to the East Coast didn’t help me; I had to make an effort to open an eye and celebrate the New Year in New York that my boyfriend was watching on our hotel room’s TV. Poor thing, he didn’t even complain that I snored through it all. Other than that, the dancing was good, but again a test to how tired I was (since I was not able to pull the late nights *at all*). Ha, what a surprise.

Anyhoo… Back in town since yesterday night. I am *theoretically* on vacation, and running a thousand needed errands. Some of them pretty engaged–they involve some house renovations that I’m getting into, not without fear of the mess they’ll bring into my life. But I’ve been saying I’d do them for long enough, it’s time to just get to them, and things and plans have been in motion–though slowly–for a few months already. I just have to push ahead and do it. In fact, today I ran errands all day long and at least got a lot of stuff done.

Of course, my Ashtanga practice is one of the most important things that are not getting done these days. This frantic rushing between the office, the urgent stuff to do, and the airports, really demands of me a level of discipline and stamina to keep the Yoga practice going that I’m finding–not without disappointment–I just don’t have. I admit that, from time to time, the fact that I don’t manage to make the space for it doesn’t make me precisely proud of myself, although I also realize that maybe is simply makes me human.

At least I’ll be able to go back to the shala for the rest of the week to start to recover. Then… I travel again (on Sunday!!!). Ugh. And, 4-5 days after that, I will come back home and things will finally calm down. I’ll again have time for myself, and will go back to my more peaceful and normal life ;)

Can’t wait for that to happen…

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Vacation!

August 22, 2008 at 3:34 am (Bumping into YOGA, Step away and TRAVEL, Stepping it up and DANCING, The steps of LIFE, Visiting the FAMILY, WORKing steps...)
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Finally… I’m off the hook from work! Yay!! :)  

So, tomorrow, I get to go to my last Mysore session at the shala for a few weeks; I’m looking forward to it, since I took a break this morning. I do plan to keep my daily practice while I’m out of town in the next couple of weeks (want to keep accumulating days, and I’m so excited about being able to do a decent led Primary and Mysore when I come back!!! ;) ). 

So, let’s see how it goes. I’ll be traveling, spending time with my Mother and Brother, and also with The Boyfriend. I do hope it will all go well, and nice. I’m just looking forward to spending some quiet time, some fun time, some dance time, some Yoga time, some reading time… mmmm :)

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Flowing

August 14, 2008 at 3:05 am (Bumping into YOGA, Stepping it up and DANCING, The steps of LIFE, WORKing steps...)
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I’m kind of tired these days. Have been working hard every day at the Office–everyone from my team is on vacation, except for me. And I’ve got stuff to do. All these research projects that always take longer than one expected (if I knew what I was going to get, and how long it would take, it wouldn’t be research, would it?). Getting a database, trying it, getting a new one, fighting with the econometrics software that doesn’t deliver what I need, getting everything upside down until I get it anyway. Uh. I actually spent my two weekend afternoons at my desk at work… but I have to say that so far I’m kind of pleased with the results. Yes, it’s been slower progress than I had hoped, but I’m definitely happy with the quality. I have a few more days to push forward before the Boss comes back and pass the check list on me… Ouch.

I also have been working hard at the Shala. I am definitely trying to go faster than last week, and I’ve cut my practice by a bit more than 10 minutes. Funny, I”m still a bit slower than others (ha) although this is OK, since that’s not me taking breaks, but keeping the poses a bit longer and my need to develop muscle strength, which I think are valid excuses. I’m also happy to report that I’m slowly breaking into my tight hamstrings (ugh) and I keep on moving up on the Primary Series (got a new asana today, yay!).

Other than that, D keeps on complaining about the lack of depth in my breath (SIGH… but shallow). Well, what to do… I have to make a bigger effort, because I am generally *not* a good breather. I have a long, long history of bronchitis, pneumonia and all sorts of almost chronic coughs that have attacked me over the course of my life. Back when I ran (in grad school… ha, I was such a disciplined runner back then) I often got told by more experienced runners that my breathing was shallow. So it is no surprise to me that my Ujjaya breath just isn’t. But well, I know I’m trying, and as I get more comfortable with the asanas, I am noticing a greater ability to breath a bit deeper (for my standards). So I have hope ;P 

Other things also keep on flowing. Tomorrow evening, The Boyfriend comes to town to visit me, and we get to go to a dance festival over the weekend in a nearby town :) It should be nice to have him around after so long of not seeing each other, though I confess I’m a bit afraid of what the festival (with its dance-all-night events) will do to my practice. But oh, well, I may end up having to practice at home in the afternoon rather than go to the Shala at 8 am on Saturday and Sunday :) I suspect that it’ll be a nice break for my muscles after dancing for so many hours on 3 3/4″ heels… :D

And here are (some) of the sexy dance heels… :)

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On Yoga, Dancing and Sleep

July 24, 2008 at 1:33 am (Bumping into YOGA, Stepping it up and DANCING)
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Since 2004, and until about 2 months ago, I had many diverse interests… but *one* true hobby that absorbed a really large amount of my time: Dancing. And I don’t mean “dancing at a club”, “dancing with friends” or anything close. No. I mean dancing Argentine Tango on a very regular basis, at a minimum of 3-4 nights a week, often more. I have spent entire weekends on workshops, long hours on private lessons, time, money and energy traveling cross-country (and out of the country… when you are an Argentine Tango addict, a trip to Buenos Aires is like a trip to Mysore for Ahstangis…) to dance at Festivals in new cities, with new, interesting people. 

As you all know, I’m suddenly totally taken by my daily Yoga practice. I just love the peace and balance that Ashtanga gives me every morning. Even better–I have found the balance and strength and flexibility I’m gaining with the Yoga to be helping me to Dance better.

Up to here, it is great. It is like having introduced one new friend to my old best friend and they seemed to be getting along so perfectly…

Yeah, right.

I actually love the idea that the practice is early in the morning. I mean, the Sun Salutations are called Sun Salutations for a reason! Starting early, waking up at an ungodly time to run to the Shala to practice actually means a lot to me. It makes my day better. I already feel the lack of it when I need to take a break for a reason or another.

It turns out, however, that Dancing  is a true Vampire Operation… and the Argentine Tango is no exception to this rule. The dance events start, the earliest, at 9 pm. The more experienced dancers usually don’t show before 10:30 pm, often even later. The events usually go on well until after midnight, even during weekdays.

I could pull this through when I was not practicing Yoga, and trying to wake up at 5:15 am every morning… but I guess by now you got the picture of my conflict here. I’m just not sleeping enough. I will even say that I have actually moderately cut down on the Dancing to give myself more space for my newly found addiction… but it’s obvious that it’s not enough.

This morning, I was so wiped out that I couldn’t possibly get out of bed to go to practice. Fair enough, this time, my exhaustion was not directly caused by Dancing–I haven’t danced since Saturday night–but rather just stress, including at work and in the last few weeks. And yet… I know that the Dancing and the Yoga, my two friends, are getting into a fight right now. 

This evening, I would normally go Dancing. In fact, as I’m typing this, I’m making time to go out, waiting to get to the place just after 10 pm. But after missing today’s Yoga practice, I’m freaking out. What if, because I go to sleep late tonight, it gets horribly hard to wake up tomorrow as well? I’m feeling tired. 

Yoga. Dance. Yoga. Dance. Yoga. Dance.

Oh, no. I’m sure there must be a way to find the right balance. To enjoy these two wonderful activities that have given me so much without having to choose between one or the other. But obviously there will be a need to compromise, and I’m afraid of what will come out. I just would wish I could find a schedule where I can fit both of my hobbies without crashing into each other… and while maintaining my health and my sanity. Sleep (and health) are important… (sigh)

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Sick and Good Luck

June 26, 2008 at 3:55 am (Bumping into YOGA, Running to HEALTH, Stepping it up and DANCING, Visiting the FAMILY)
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:(

Hmmmph. Well. Still sick. Feeling awful, in fact. My head has been spacing out all day, my nose runs, my eyelids close. I’m really, really wondering whether the wisest thing could actually *not* be staying home and resting… rather than waking up at 5:15 am tomorrow morning to go to Mysore class? Ugh. What a dilemma–Yoga has become almost an indispensable way to start the day for me, just in a few weeks of practice. At the same time, I realize that it may simply be better to let myself recover–and then restart with regained strength on Friday… phew.

I have to say, part of the bummer comes because my being sick has also meant that I cannot possibly go dancing either–actually, dancing is completely out of bounds, since it is such an intrinsically social activity and any viruses and bugs I might be hosting would spread out quickly while being on my dancing partner’s arms. That’s just no fair game. But Yoga… it is a dance with myself, and somehow I can give myself permission to do it even if I’m sneezy… (he he).

But, hey, I know what common sense dictates. A little break… :)

In the meantime, I must report that my karma has improved significantly. Or, maybe, I had just forgotten that I’m blessed to have a Boss who’s actually great–reasonable and understanding. There was no explaining to do, after all–he had taken care of the little issue that emerged, and it was solved by the time I came in this morning. I guess I freaked out yesterday night being still tired by the trip and sad by what’s going on at home. But this has helped me remember how lucky I really am, by being surrounded by wonderful people in every area of my life :)

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