Exercise

Pretty good.

Monday – 20 minutes with Dave after work.
Tuesday – 15 minutes after work.
Wednesday – I skipped yoga but I did take a 15 minute walk.
Thursday – Mmm, no.
Friday – Nope.
Saturday – No walking. We worked in the yard for a few hours, digging holes and moving dirt. A fair amount of exercise.
Sunday – No walking. Three hours of rollerskating. I almost impressed myself – I’m getting better!

Ok, not the best week ever.

Monday – 15 minutes with Dave after work.
Tuesday – No. I had dinner plans at 7:30 and was busy until then.
Wednesday – Yoga, but no walking.
Thursday – It was our Friday night! And I didn’t feel like cooking, so we went out to dinner. So no, we didn’t walk.
Friday – Nope.
Saturday – Heh. No.
Sunday – Um, no. But I did rollerskate for 3 hours!

Here’s how my walking plan shaped up this week:
Monday — I went shopping after work and walked from the Target at Brier Creek to the Michael’s at Brier Creek, and back. I think that counts.
Tuesday — I can’t remember. I think Dave and I took a 19 minute walk after work.
Wednesday — No walking. I went to yoga, though.
Thursday — I took my 15 minute walk after I got home, before Dave got home.
Friday — I went to a yoga workshop, but no walking.
Saturday — W00t! I took a 2.3 mile powerwalk with Tyra.
Sunday — I spent about three hours rollerskating tonight, so I think that counts, too!

Ok, so here’s how my 15 minute walking plan went last week.
Monday — Dave and I took a 15 minute walk after work, before dinner.
Tuesday — I met Dave at Sawmill for dinner. I arrived before he did, and I knew he would be later than me, so I took my 15 minute walk in a neighborhood next to the shopping center.
Wednesday — Yoga night so I knew I wouldn’t have time after work. I took a 15 minute powerwalk with a co-worker at 3 PM.
Thursday — Didn’t happen, but Dave got his 15 minutes in after dinner.
Friday — Didn’t happen.
Saturday — I spent nearly 8 hours with the worms. Between that and getting ready for our dinner guests, it didn’t happen.
Sunday — We took a 20 minute bike ride!

We’ll see how this week goes…

So, my thighs have gotten enormous. They are 21″ in diameter and they’re starting to crowd my butt. It’s time to do something.

On Friday, I hosted an hour-long stretching session for the employees at my company. I had four people show up and we focuesed on back and shoulder stretches primarily. It was really nice. They really enjoyed it and they clapped at the end! 🙂

My co-worker Jan and I just walked up and down our three-story stairwell 5 times!

It’s a question Cyndi posed on her blog: “Do you consider your Yoga practice to be spiritual? What makes your practice spiritual?”

So, I’ve been thinking about this, and my answer is a quiet and humble “no.”

It’s something I struggle with. I guess it’s kind of like going to a fabulous restaurant and wondering why everyone raves about the food. But that’s not even a very good comparison, because I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything.

Let me explain by saying that my yoga practice is not simply physical. I do love the physical aspect of yoga. But more important to me, my yoga practice helps take me away from “I should have cleaned the bathtub” and “Did I leave the iron on?” and “OhmygodlookatmythighswhydontIworkoutmore?!” to a place where I can focus on other things.

It gives me a place to work on my biggest life goal: to change who I am. I wish I were less sarcastic, and I wish I were more openly honest with people, less guarded. I wish I didn’t use humor as a screen to keep people out. I wish I could more easily and sincerely say things like “I’m sorry” and “You’re right, I’m wrong.” I want to craft a better person who thinks before she reacts, who always considers other’s feelings before making a move, who greets life’s challenges with a smile and patience rather than cussing and glowering.

In the same token, yoga also gives me a place to be okay with who I am. Non-judgemental acceptance is the party line, and I’m down with that. My yoga practice, thanks in part to my soulful yogini and the supportive community of our studio, creates for me a space where I can be more honest with others and myself, and more satisfied and generous with myself at the same time. For at least one hour a week, I feel unstoppable and confident. Whole.

So, no, there is nothing spiritual about my yoga practice. There’s no God (either uppercase or lowercase) and frankly, there’s very little meditation. But there is a wellspring from which I can draw patience and candor. And there is some good framework for building the person inside of me as well as the person on the outside.