Friday, July 31, 2009

Bliss with a sandy butt

Came back from vacation last Saturday, and even after a horrendously busy week at work I am coasting on the blissful feelings of relaxation after a week at the beach.

I carried the Project with me. I walked on the beach every day, no matter how hot it was. I went to the yoga studio with Chris's class on my iPod and did my yoga practice. I ate normally, picking all the fresh foods they had to offer - gorging on fruits and salads (anybody ever heard of pitaya? I tried it, not bad!) and indulging in the evenings with wine and grilled lobster.

Some of the things I experience on vacation are things I strive to maintain when I get back home. My husband and I talked about it and are committed to keeping the vacation sensibility alive as much as we can. Things like never turning on the TV, not listening to news or checking the computer every five minutes, and ignoring the endless assault on our senses by electronic devices. It's one of the things Chris talked about - a break from media - that does the most for us both to bring a sense of peace and calmness.

When I go to the beach, the things I love most are the sound and the smell of the ocean. My husband laughs because almost every time we go to the beach I wind up sitting in the sand, letting the water lap my feet, and telling him that I am becoming "one" with nature. Once I became merged with nature to the point that when I stood up, my bikini bottoms were so full of sand that I looked like a toddler with a loaded diaper. I had to stand out in the ocean to dump all the sand out of my suit -- very undignified.

Anyway, after a week of relaxation, pampering (I got a massage!), and communing with nature, I'm rested and happy. I have missed the Saturday class so much and look forward to being there again in August. Love to all!

P.S. And the BEST part of all - I didn't gain back a SINGLE POUND!!!!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Vacation!!!!

I leave for vacation tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. and am almost spastic with anticipation. This summer has been so busy, at work and at home and otherwise that I feel like a hamster running constantly on the wheel of life (stupid metaphor, I know, but my synapses are shot). Mental and physical exhaustion - let me show you it.

I have loaded Chris's yoga class on my iPod and plan to take advantage of the resort's lovely yoga studio to do my practice. I will walk on the beach. I don't plan to lift weights, although they do have an exercise facility -- but it's against my general principles to exercise in a sterile workout room on a treadmill or weight machine when there is a beautiful mile-long beach available and all the time I need to enjoy it. The ocean will clear my mind.

Hopefully I will be coherent enough when I come back that I can blog again and actually make sense. Adios, amigos, vaya con Dios!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Bum knee

Ugh, I am crabby.

I hurt my right knee about ten days ago, and it has caused me to severely cut back my workouts. It's been a busy summer, and one Saturday I chose to do the CD version of Chris's yoga class rather than come downtown. I was coming out of bakasana (crane) pose awkwardly (what a surprise) and I felt a sharp pain in my right knee. I thought I'd torn something - I could barely straighten out my leg. I sat there for a good five minutes unable to move. I thought maybe they'd find my body on the floor of my bedroom, twisted into something like a broken pigeon pose, and I could see the headline: "Woman Dies in Bizarre Yoga Accident; Frozen in Pose and Suffocated by Dust Bunnies."

Eventually I got my leg straightened out, and was able to finish my practice, but damn. I've been gingerly walking on that leg ever since, and have only really managed a couple of low-level workouts since then. And it's made me really cranky. Even though I despise getting up at 5:30, I miss the feeling I had after getting my workout completed. It made me feel strong and improved my mood, and really helped my metabolism.

Now I am walking around like my knee's made of glass, and every so often I'll stand up and my knee will feel like someone stuck a knife in it. This is ridiculous! I was not supposed to get injured! My knees have always sounded like gravel mixers, but they didn't hurt too bad. I have visions of myself a year from now, hobbling along, like a hunchbacked crone in a babushka. What next, bits of teeth breaking off? Boils? Leprosy?

Bummer.