A Wonderful Yoga-Date

When I was in Jacksonville, FL, this past week, I was able to spend some time catching up with my favorite yoga instructor and sweet friend, Lisa! What did we do? Yoga, of course!

We went to a BEAUTIFUL practice at Lotus Yoga (thanks Bethany!)... This 'moving meditation' was so fabulous in fact that even the instructor lost track of time, and we ended class a little late. Obviously, there were no complaints coming from me. This was my first time going to Lotus, and I can't wait to go back!

After class, we headed over to The Bold Bean for a chai tea with steamed soymilk. Maybe a little stereotypical yogi of us, but it was fantastic. The perfect end to a perfect morning.

I will be repeating this scenario ASAP... good for the soul! 

Where the Heck Am I?

This thought pops up in my head rather frequently these days... I think it might have to do with the fact that we've stayed at least one night (usually many more) in 13 hotels this year.  That doesn't include any of the homes or the 5 more hotels we will add to the list before 2013 comes to a close. Needless to say, it is occasionally difficult for me to quickly remember that we are currently living in Augusta, Georgia.

We arrived less than a week ago for my husband to begin his general surgery rotation here at Eisenhower Medical Center on Fort Gordon.  It is very hot here. Our hotel room has many pros and cons... so far, the cons have the upper hand. However, the air conditioning is working beautifully! Hallelujah!

While my husband was busy settling in at the hospital, I went down to Florida for a couple of days to visit with my in-laws. I got my cooking, wine and yoga fixes before coming back north to GA.

Although there isn't much going on in this area (so it seems to me), I am trying out a new yoga studio this week and will keep you posted :)

Coping...

This list will probably evolve as the weeks keep passing, but as of right now, this is my list of best ways to cope with true loss and sadness (you can read about the loss of my cat here).

First, I would like to note that I have never been especially skilled at coping. Growing up in a Navy family, I kind of developed a "just get over it/let go/move on" philosophy to emotionally draining circumstances. Not the most healthy way of dealing with tough stuff, but it worked for the most part. In recent years, however, I've developed other techniques.  Hallelujah! (that is my husband rejoicing... he wasn't a big fan of the 'if I don't talk about it, I'm fine' method :)

1) Prayer. Anytime, anywhere! A short (or long) conversation with God really gets me moving in a positive direction with my thoughts, no matter what.

2) Yoga. For those of you that think #1 conflicts with this, think again. My yoga practice keeps me centered, positive and grateful. Not a single session goes by that I don't send up a little thank-you prayer for the gift of yoga in my life.

Lately, I have been keeping an especially consistent practice by purchasing a membership to Thrive Yoga. Getting on my mat daily allows me to work through whatever emotions I'm dealing with while I focus on breathing through poses. Oh, and it's a pretty awesome workout too... I have the bakasana and pincha mayurasana to prove it!

3) A little retail-therapy. This one isn't quite as wholesome as my first two, but it is helpful all the same. Something fun and frivolous to focus on can be a good way to get out of your own head for a bit and think about something very un-serious. Not to mention pretty :)

4) Help others. This is my FAVORITE one, and something I have trouble balancing sometimes because I thrive on it. You can help others through a tough or stressful time even though you're dealing with some tough stuff, too. Sending a card or making them a meal are my two favorite ways to help. It doesn't have to be a huge gesture to offer a huge amount of support. And once again, you're putting yourself out there in a positive way.

5) This last one is kind of a reward for doing #1-4...not that they aren't rewarding enough themselves! 

Wine... specifically Sauvignon Blanc, right now. I think that good wine can be the perfect catalyst for relaxing and reminiscing, which is what one really needs to do in order to cope with a loss. It might not be the right choice for everyone, but Kim Crawford will always have a fond place in my memory for making an absolutely awful day a little bit better for my mom and me!

Side note- During all of this coping craziness, my husband and I forgot one of our most favorite anniversaries: August 6, 2008! This was the day we met for the second time after being apart for 10 years! Here is a throwback picture of us from about 3 years ago that pretty well shows what we think about forgetting to celebrate such an important occasion...

Life happens... don't take it too seriously!

Yoga in the Hood

I found something today. Something that had been missing in my life for a month (here's to hoping that never happens again)... A yoga class!!

For the past few years, my primary yoga practice has existed in my home. This was not my ideal situation, but due to my schedule, Michael's schedule, and DC traffic, it was easier to be consistent this way. It definitely taught me more discipline and motivation within my practice, and introduced me to new things (YogaGlo, anyone?).

Even with my personal practice thriving (most of the time), I would get myself in a studio at least once every few weeks. I would bounce around to different studios because there are SO many to choose from in the Bethesda area, and I never found a studio/class/instructor that I especially bonded with.

My favorite mat: Manduka eKO Lite 

Having said all that, I expected to take my usual show on the road this year... Although I did have a panic moment when I thought my yoga mats wouldn't fit in the car. Thanks for talking me down off the ledge on that one, mom :) Then I arrived at Fort Hood.

The first time I rolled out my mat on the motel room floor and stretched into adho mukha svanasana, I realized that there were several issues with a possible 'home' practice.

1) Space. I have practiced in the most crowded of yoga studios, with a man on my right and a woman on my left, both sweating onto ME and MY mat. I can deal with that. This was different... bumping into a bubbling crock pot wouldn't be as forgiving as a stranger's body odor.

2) The musty carpet. Ideally, my practice is accompanied by candles and incense, not the smells of slightly damp carpet that has seen... I don't even want to go there.  Bottom line, the carpet doesn't smell like anything I want to be putting my face near.

3)  Space. I like to be a little adventurous and ambitious in my yoga practice. There is no way that I could adequately work on my visvamitrasana or vrchikasana in the space between the bed and the dresser/'pantry'.

For these reasons, I decided to look elsewhere for yoga.  I was hoping for a studio and ready to settle for a gym class, but I couldn't find any evidence of yoga anywhere!

Yesterday I finally found a class that was starting up at one of the gyms on post (there are seven different gyms on post... are you getting the idea that this base is enormous?). Woo hoo!

I was totally psyched to try it out, but knowing what I do about base gyms, I had realistic expectations.

When I first arrived at the Applied Fitness Center, I walked into an open room filled with weight-lifting equipment, wall-to-wall padded flooring for dropping weights, and men screaming/cringing/whatever-you-would-call-those-noises as they picked up heavy things.  "Where is the yoga class?", I asked with a hopeful smile.

As I walked  into a door-less room twenty feet down the hall from the weight-lifting mania, I was surprised to see so many people! There were nearly 25 men and women arranged in this room... fifteen minutes before class was supposed to start. The popularity of this class was a good sign.

The class ticked along much like any hatha/vinyasa flow. The instructor wasn't especially 'yogic' or 'mind/body' aware, but at least she reminded us to breathe every now and again.  She kept the focus on core strengthening and chest openers, for the most part, which was refreshing compared to my typical hip-opener personal practice.  I enjoyed the work-out aspect of the class, but there was a lot to be desired, otherwise.

I'm not going to go into detail about the less-than-ideal parts of this class because I don't want to sound like I am ranting.  It was a free yoga class about a mile and a half away from our motel room, and I am extremely grateful!! However, these are the issues I had:

1) The extremely low rise pants on the woman practicing in front of me.

2) No music.

3) The screaming (or whatever-you-would-call-those-noises they were making) weight-lifters.

4) The men who started leaving about two-thirds through class in order to go back to work.  Their farewells to their buddies and the instructor was especially disruptive during our standing sequences, inversions and savasana.

I'll stop there. In a way, my frustrations allowed me to stay focused on my practice. With every breath I exhaled, I let go more of the little details I expect in order to really enjoy a class. Not every class can be as yummy as one of Lisa's or Kate's (two of my all-time favorite instructors), or as intense as a class at Down Dog . I realized that it was up to me to get what I needed from the class I was attending in that moment, so I did :)  I will be attending that class every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until we leave Fort Hood, and I will enjoy it as much as I can every single time!