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At least I think it is week three! I missed writing last week I do believe as it was a pretty crazy week! We did the Catfish Days race in Trempealeau Wisconsin last Sunday. I did the 5K and had a reasonable time of 33:24 considering the hills and the wind. My schedule last Sunday called for 8 miles, so when we got home, I went out for another 5.6, since that is an easy route for me…from home, around the big lake and back home. We had some pretty crazy wind gusts, so I don’t even think I kept track of my time in that training run/walk as it was pretty cruddy.
Today, I went out for 11 miles. From home, I go around the entire Lake Winona once, then around just the East Lake once and then back home…it is pretty close to 11 miles anyway. It wasn’t to bad, other than being a little hot. I really don’t mind the hot weather, it is the humidity that is the problem. I feel pretty good right now, after a nice shower. I think we will go out and get a good dinner tonight. After 11 miles I deserve it don’t I??
yogajen
Yes, so I passed the last test in my MBA program! Last Thursday I took it, and found out Monday that it had been a successful completion! I have a paper on Marketing sitting out to be graded. It is driving me nuts, and I check the site every couple of hours! Typically, it only takes a day or two, and we are on day 3 now, so I am starting to get frustrated.
Now, I am down to the thesis!! I have changed my mind on the topic after some research, and have decided to do it on “Can a business be both socially responsible and profitable?”. Again, basing it on the yoga studio startup as well as my other online business ventures. Is it possible to be honest and make money? I have found some excellent resources and will keep this site updated as I progress through the paper!
until later…
yogajen
One of the biggest challenges I have with both my running and yoga practice is motivation. I think others may have this problem too. I make a list for the day with the best of intentions to cross off every item. When the sun goes down, many items remain on my list, which get moved to the next day. I try hard to not leave yoga or running on that list, but sometimes things seem to crowd them out. Dishes or clothes to wash, papers to write, work to do.
Men seem to have less of an issue with it, at least Dan does. He just gets home from work and runs. I swear the house could be burning down and he would track down his shoes and shorts and say “see you in an hour”. I unfortunately can’t do that and sometimes feel guilty about going out for physical activity when there is so much to do!
What have I tried to do over the years to keep my physical activity on the top of my list? Teaching yoga has been a great help. I HAVE to go, I am the teacher! I LOVE yoga! I want to do at least an hour every day! I have also purchased dvds so that I have them at home if I would happen to not be able to get to a class.
I have started to use the “Dan Technique” and just go as soon as I get home. I feed the pets if needed, change my clothes and go! If you have little kids this can be more complicated, but I truly believe that you will be a better parent if you get in some type of physical activity every day. Can you get up earlier in the morning? Or workout after the kids go to bed? I am a late night person, so I prefer working out in the afternoon or evening. I actually get sick to my stomach thinking about running or doing yoga before work!
Another thing to try is sneaking in fitness during the day. If you have a lunch hour, can you get out then? Is there a yoga class at noon somewhere? Does your local YMCA offer a running group or fitness class?
Whatever you need to do, fit in something for at least an hour every day! You will feel better, your family will be happier and you will be more fit!
There are many styles of yoga. When I saw a large article in our local paper today about yoga, unfortunately it failed to mention that the physical postures of yoga are only one part of yoga as a whole. The word yoga means “to yoke” or bring in. The original practice of yoga was to prepare for seated meditation. It generally was only men who practiced yoga! Yoga is a philosophy, encompassing 8 limbs of which the asana, or the physical poses isj ust one limb.
The styles of yoga vary in intensity and purpose. There are several that are popular in the West right now including Bikram (hot yoga), Iyengar (focuses on alignment), Jivamukti (focuses on the postures as well as the spiritual aspect of yoga), Anusara (a spin off of Iyengar), Ashtanga (a series of poses done in the same order and built upon). Many teachers in the US teach an eclectic style of yoga, incorporating their favorite aspects of a variety of styles.
If you tried a class once and didn’t like it, there may be many reasons. Perhaps the instructor wasn’t a good match or the style may not have been a good fit. The choice of a yoga class is a personal one. Unfortunately in many small towns, your choices are limited. If you are unable to find a good fit, checkout some videos from your library in a variety of styles and see if you can find a class you can do at home. I recently attended a particular style of class for the first time, after having taught yoga for quite a few years. If I had done this style of yoga first, without knowing that there are so many different ones, I may have never done yoga again!
If you have tried one and didn’t like it, find a different instructor and a different class and try again! Another rule of thumb is to try to find a teacher who is an RYT-200 or RYT-500. This designation means that the instructor has had 200-500 hours of training in all 8 limbs of yoga. Typically, the instructors at fitness centers and gyms are aerobics instructors who took a weekend certification in yoga. They can help you through the physical poses of yoga, but may not have the underlying knowledge of what yoga really is, leaving you with only a physical yoga experience.
It is also important to arrive to your first class about 15 minutes early to talk with the instructor. Let him or her know about any injuries you have or conditions that may affect your yoga practice. This will clue the instructor in as to how to help you make the most of your experience.
It is my opinion that if an instructor breezes in at the last minute, teaches the class and leaves, that you might want to search out another instructor. Also, keep in mind that no matter what style of yoga you choose, the breath is your friend. If all you do is learn how to breath deeper and more fully, then you are doing yoga. A final relaxation of at least 5 minutes, preferably longer, is vital to an effective yoga experience. Don’t skip out on this part! Most instructors will either get you to a relaxed position and be silent, or guide you through a meditation or visualization. This final part of your class, called shavasana, should be savored and enjoyed in our very rushed society!
There is an excellent resource at http://yoga.about.com/od/typesofyoga/a/yogatypes.htm that outlines some of the more popular yoga styles. I encourage everyone to try yoga. Try it again if your first experience wasn’t what you were looking for….
until next time….
yogajen
simplicity…yoga and wellness will open on July 14th. It is located at 601 East 5th Street. For summer, I am offering $5 classes for everyone! Come in, bring a friend and find the fun in yoga!
I have two classes available for summer. Monday is the yoga for stretching and relaxation, which works for pretty much anyone! Thursday is a power class, which is a little more high energy and will help to get your heart rate up there! Join me for one or both of these classes!
Visit www.yogafitnesswellness.com for more information and class descriptions. If you need help deciding which class to attend, please feel free to call me at 608-797-1990 or email me at simplicityquest@gmail.com
I look forward to seeing all of you for yoga!
yogajen
http://www.aftontrailrun.com/results.htm
Dan ran the 25K this morning. He just called and is on his way home! Said it was pretty brutal and hilly, but he did better timewise than he thought he would.
He will do a critique of this race in the next few days, but in the meantime, here is the link to the results. I just looked and the 2008 results aren’ t there yet, but I am sure they will be soon! In the meantime, take a gander at the other posts on our little blog!
until later…
yogajen
Well, the week started off kind of bleak. I injured my back, right up between my shoulder blades on the right side. I couldn’t even take a deep breath without wanting to cry. I had to forego the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday planned run/walks in order to get back to healthy. After a trip to the chiropractor and a one hour deep tissue massage, by this morning I felt ready to face the world!
My animals woke me up at 6am. They were hungry and really wanted to have breakfast. The sun was shining, so why was I lying in bed? Anyway, I got up, fed everyone and by then was unusually awake for me. Typically, I can crawl back into bed, but today, I started doing things right away. After getting the clothes off the line, I decided to do a short yoga workout from www.corepoweryoga.com This is an awesome site, and offers YOGA ON DEMAND. I have done a bunch of the classes in my one week trial and plan to sign up for a year of use. Those of you who come to my classes will benefit greatly from this subscription. The classes are AWESOME and I will be incorporating much of what I am learning into my power yoga class. They even have one called YogaSculpt, which uses weights. That is the one I did this morning.
I was then meeting Kasha at the lake at 10am to do a 7 miler, which was on my schedule for today. I biked down there (less than 2 miles from home) because why take the care out on such a great day? We met up, got started and had a great time talking. It was hot, but we kept up a pretty good pace, and did the run/walk as we are planning to do through the entire training. Kasha’s shoes have been bothering her for a while, rubbing against her toes, so she had ordered a new pair. They hadn’t arrived yet, so by the end of one trip around Lake Winona her toes were yelling at her. She bid me farewell and headed for home…barefoot I am sure!
I finished the last 1.8 miles (one more time around the small part of the lake) myself, and actually did it in less than 22 minutes! Then I hopped back on the granny trek and headed home.
When I got home, I still had a bit of energy in me, so I ate a cookie, and loaded up another yoga workout. This one was a vinyasa class with hip openers. Again, awesome class, with great instructors! I really need to sit down and just write down the sequences to use in class!
So, it was a good thing to take a few days off and let my back heal. It gave me a renewed energy. It also helped me to realize how much I missed working out everyday! It almost felt as if something was missing from my day. I will do another 7 miler tomorrow. It is on my schedule, which I really need to stick to! It looks like the plan I am using has a bit longer run on each of the weekend days, I think to help to build endurance.
I am still looking for a good marathon diet plan, so if anyone knows of one, let me know! I am one of those unfortunate people who doesn’t lose weight when I train, so even though I am putting in a ton more miles, I still need to restrict my calories in order to get down to marathon weight. I am hoping to lose 20-25 pounds before the big event in October.
Until later!
yogajen
