Sunday lie-in this morning and big meal last night (I'm not used to that - I tend to eat light in the evening) so I was looking forward to getting on my mat this morning and being dynamic.
So, I was quite disappointed when Travis explained that the class would involve holding stretches from three to five minutes. I then assumed that there would at least be a flowing warm up but we just went straight into the first stretch.
Now, Travis explains that the challenge with this DVD is that you're seemingly doing nothing, when all the other workouts involve strong, dynamic movements. He quite rightly points out that our lives are so full of doing 'things', rushing about from one activity, job or other commitment to the next so that staying still feels very alien.
I can see his point. However, my feelings of agitation doing this particular DVD were due to my knowledge that, according to current research, long, static stretches are not beneficial to the body. Part of the elastic recoil that is essential in movement - and especially in running - can be compromised with excessive stretching and lengthening of the muscles. I enjoy dynamic/flow/power yoga because I gradually gain more suppleness through varied, flowing movement without holding stretches still for long periods.
HOWEVER, I know that I would benefit from being more flexible. I also recognize that this DVD could be very relaxing at the end of the day and if pursued with an awareness of how each stretch is feeling and taking it gradually, it may improve my other sporting activities and general movement. Most importantly, I am much more a fan of anecdotal evidence rather than scientific studies and know from experience that everyone is very different.
I discussed all this with David and wondered whether I could substitute this DVD with another but he pointed out that it's part of the programme that I've committed to and I should follow it as closely as possible to fully understand how well it works for me.
So, my plan is to find out what the other programme participants think of 'Yin' yoga and what their experience has been with it. I will also continue to include it in the plan and will try and do it at the end of the day rather than the beginning.
Incidentally, I went for a small run later in the afternoon and my movement felt pretty fluid and springy. I suspect that this maybe the DVD that, in many ways, will challenge me the most and after all, a challenge and new perspective is why I chose to do the programme in the first place.
Looking forward to sweating and twisting in 'Detox' early tomorrow morning :).
Sunday 30 June 2013
Saturday 29 June 2013
Day Three - Shaky arms!
I wasn't sure what mood I'd be in when I hit the mat this morning. I'd set my alarm for 7.20am to do my session before my first client, but I was awake well before that due to: David's alarm going off at 7am (it has a mind of its own), David's snoring (which has a LIFE of its own) and our other beautiful and demanding cat, Cleo, who likes to sleep on my pillow (and sometimes on my head)
I also didn't get to bed until midnight. A friend of ours had the official opening of his gym last night and it was a two hour drive away, so we returned late. I then also did my meditation practice before going to sleep (which seems like it'll be a good option for me - I felt really relaxed afterwards and drifted off quickly). At the gym, our friend Greg had laid on a great spread of healthy looking food but I wanted to wait and eat something later on so didn't try any. He also offered us beer, champagne, Pimms or a non-alcoholic elderflower/mint leaf cocktail; I amazed myself by opting for the cocktail. Offered beer and saying no? That almost never happens! Of course, it was ruined by the fact that we ended up leaving very late and had 'dinner' from a decidedly scuzzy Burger King - ah well!
Anyway, my 'yoga studio' was all ready for me again this morning (thanks David) and I felt more awake than yesterday. I was really looking forward to "Strength" - although I was somewhat nervous after seeing the comments on facebook about how tough it is!
I must admit, I didn't complete ALL of the yogi push ups and my arms were quivering and verging on useless at some points but the leg work was fine. I think I was watching the participants more because I found myself wondering what those marks are on the chest of one of the guys. Are they scars or is it a tatoo? I work as a movement therapist and running coach, so I'm also very interested in how people's bodies have adapted to yoga in different ways - and their movement in general. I love that yoga is so accessible to all body types and that little adjustments can be made where needed.
I don't think I breathed properly today, so perhaps it was tougher than I thought. When I don't breathe efficiently I also don't feel the mind/body connectedness so well. Just shows they go hand in hand.
As someone on facebook recommended, I stopped the DVD just before the final stretch/relaxation and did HARDcore. It felt better doing it this way. I then went back to finish the first DVD. I don't know if anyone else feels this, but sometimes yoga gives me such a release that I cry. This is what happened at the end of today's session. It's a great feeling - the tension leaves my body in my tears. I'm happy to share this fact - I've worked for so long with different clients, many of whom have opened up their innermost feelings and had a little weep and I know what a good - neccessary - reaction it can be.
I'm feeling a whole world beginning to open up around me and I'm only on Day Three. Goodness knows what day 108 will bring - maybe I'll take off and fly!
I also didn't get to bed until midnight. A friend of ours had the official opening of his gym last night and it was a two hour drive away, so we returned late. I then also did my meditation practice before going to sleep (which seems like it'll be a good option for me - I felt really relaxed afterwards and drifted off quickly). At the gym, our friend Greg had laid on a great spread of healthy looking food but I wanted to wait and eat something later on so didn't try any. He also offered us beer, champagne, Pimms or a non-alcoholic elderflower/mint leaf cocktail; I amazed myself by opting for the cocktail. Offered beer and saying no? That almost never happens! Of course, it was ruined by the fact that we ended up leaving very late and had 'dinner' from a decidedly scuzzy Burger King - ah well!
Anyway, my 'yoga studio' was all ready for me again this morning (thanks David) and I felt more awake than yesterday. I was really looking forward to "Strength" - although I was somewhat nervous after seeing the comments on facebook about how tough it is!
I must admit, I didn't complete ALL of the yogi push ups and my arms were quivering and verging on useless at some points but the leg work was fine. I think I was watching the participants more because I found myself wondering what those marks are on the chest of one of the guys. Are they scars or is it a tatoo? I work as a movement therapist and running coach, so I'm also very interested in how people's bodies have adapted to yoga in different ways - and their movement in general. I love that yoga is so accessible to all body types and that little adjustments can be made where needed.
I don't think I breathed properly today, so perhaps it was tougher than I thought. When I don't breathe efficiently I also don't feel the mind/body connectedness so well. Just shows they go hand in hand.
As someone on facebook recommended, I stopped the DVD just before the final stretch/relaxation and did HARDcore. It felt better doing it this way. I then went back to finish the first DVD. I don't know if anyone else feels this, but sometimes yoga gives me such a release that I cry. This is what happened at the end of today's session. It's a great feeling - the tension leaves my body in my tears. I'm happy to share this fact - I've worked for so long with different clients, many of whom have opened up their innermost feelings and had a little weep and I know what a good - neccessary - reaction it can be.
I'm feeling a whole world beginning to open up around me and I'm only on Day Three. Goodness knows what day 108 will bring - maybe I'll take off and fly!
Friday 28 June 2013
Day Two - Cardio and cats
I set my alarm for 6.30am as I'd planned to be 'on my mat' in time to do Day Two's session before I had to leave for my first client.
David kindly set up my 'yoga studio' for me last night (i.e. moved all the furniture out of the way) before he came to bed so I just had to drink some water, get my mat out and get going.
Just a slight hitch - one of the cats (as I had predicted) was up and feeling like having a stretch herself so I had to gently interrupt her practice and convince her that the floor was better idea:
I do wish I was as bendy as her!
Day Two was cardio and, as promised by Travis, I did sweat. Not the dripping sweat of a run but that deep heat that develops like a wave during a yoga session. The old me would have pushed through the ten crescent pose sequences but I sat in child's pose through one set to then finish strong. This is something that's changed in me since beginning barefoot running. Nothing quite like directly connecting with the earth for that therapeutic kick.
My favourite part was when Travis said, "...and inhale, even if you have to fake it" - how did he know?! Oh, and, "just so you know, you've just burned 500,000 calories". I love it that he has a sense of humour - yoga can sometimes get a bit too intense; you need those little nuggets now and again.
I'm now part of the facebook group and everyone has been very welcoming and friendly. Most of them are quite a way through the programme and it's great to hear how much they're still getting out of it. I'm noticing my thoughts wander to questions like, "How will I feel at day 50? How is the rest of my training going to fit?"...and other such questions which do not involve 'being in the moment'. At the moment I'm letting things unfold as they naturally will though and hope I can maintain this approach...
Day Three is Strength, HARDcore and meditation - looking forward to the challenge :).
David kindly set up my 'yoga studio' for me last night (i.e. moved all the furniture out of the way) before he came to bed so I just had to drink some water, get my mat out and get going.
Just a slight hitch - one of the cats (as I had predicted) was up and feeling like having a stretch herself so I had to gently interrupt her practice and convince her that the floor was better idea:
I do wish I was as bendy as her!
Day Two was cardio and, as promised by Travis, I did sweat. Not the dripping sweat of a run but that deep heat that develops like a wave during a yoga session. The old me would have pushed through the ten crescent pose sequences but I sat in child's pose through one set to then finish strong. This is something that's changed in me since beginning barefoot running. Nothing quite like directly connecting with the earth for that therapeutic kick.
My favourite part was when Travis said, "...and inhale, even if you have to fake it" - how did he know?! Oh, and, "just so you know, you've just burned 500,000 calories". I love it that he has a sense of humour - yoga can sometimes get a bit too intense; you need those little nuggets now and again.
I'm now part of the facebook group and everyone has been very welcoming and friendly. Most of them are quite a way through the programme and it's great to hear how much they're still getting out of it. I'm noticing my thoughts wander to questions like, "How will I feel at day 50? How is the rest of my training going to fit?"...and other such questions which do not involve 'being in the moment'. At the moment I'm letting things unfold as they naturally will though and hope I can maintain this approach...
Day Three is Strength, HARDcore and meditation - looking forward to the challenge :).
Thursday 27 June 2013
Day One - so far so good!
My usual Thursday morning 7am client is on holiday, so I have to admit that despite my best efforts, I did not get out of bed when David left for his 8am client but snoozed until about 8.30am. Shockingly lazy!
It also meant that I felt quite stiff when I did get up so expected to feel a little awkward as I embarked on Day One of the 108 day challenge, which involves "Cross Training", "HARDcore" and "Meditation". On the cross training DVD, there was an introduction which I thought I ought to watch which outlined some modifications, the nutrition rules (basically, stop eating rubbish) and offered some insights from people who've done, or are currently on, the programme.
The DVDs are definitely not for complete beginners, although I do think that Travis's teaching style is very easy to pick up so even without any experience of his teaching, I would have been able to follow this without too much interruption in flow. I have no idea how long it was (I must find out so I can schedule it in!) but I felt unbelievable at the end. For me, my weakness is ensuring that my breathing remains rhythmical and under control but Travis cues this regularly, along with accentuating "calm" throughout so I was freer in my body and mind as the DVD concluded.
I am not sure how I'm supposed to incorporate the HARDcore section into the day. I did some repetitions of each exercise straight after the "Cross Training", even though it felt wrong to do it having chilled out at the end of the CT DVD. I also did a little of the meditation too, but by that stage I was quite mindful of the time - it was 10.30 already!
At some point, David had returned home and sat at the pc inputting accounts whilst watching and listening. His reaction: "How much time do these people think you have?!" Hmm, I must admit, I was starting to feel 'itchy' rather than relaxed towards the end, but I'm sure once I develop a rhythm and familiarity with the programme, I'll be able to schedule it in more effectively. Apparently, I'll be needing less sleep anyway so that's a bonus!
In my other Travis Eliot DVD, I hadn't noticed that he drags certain words along, stretching them out to encourage you to breathe and even sigh. "Downwards Dooooorrrrrggg" - he squeezes the word out until he runs out of breath and it really makes me want to giggle. There's also a short film about his journey to yoga which I found inspirational but David thought it was a little glossy. The packaging is all part of the product though - it communicates that there's a world of yoga out there and if the DVDs had arrived in clear plastic sleeves, I wouldn't have felt so enveloped by the concept and been so ready to commit.
There's an online community too which I'm about to join - I've been reading some of the posts and it's very friendly and encouraging. People seem to be experiencing great physical benefits but there are also posts on there about clearing out bags and bags of unnecessary clutter. I guess you reach a point in the programme where you feel ready to let go of things.
Looking forward to tomorrow's "Cardio" session :).
It also meant that I felt quite stiff when I did get up so expected to feel a little awkward as I embarked on Day One of the 108 day challenge, which involves "Cross Training", "HARDcore" and "Meditation". On the cross training DVD, there was an introduction which I thought I ought to watch which outlined some modifications, the nutrition rules (basically, stop eating rubbish) and offered some insights from people who've done, or are currently on, the programme.
The DVDs are definitely not for complete beginners, although I do think that Travis's teaching style is very easy to pick up so even without any experience of his teaching, I would have been able to follow this without too much interruption in flow. I have no idea how long it was (I must find out so I can schedule it in!) but I felt unbelievable at the end. For me, my weakness is ensuring that my breathing remains rhythmical and under control but Travis cues this regularly, along with accentuating "calm" throughout so I was freer in my body and mind as the DVD concluded.
I am not sure how I'm supposed to incorporate the HARDcore section into the day. I did some repetitions of each exercise straight after the "Cross Training", even though it felt wrong to do it having chilled out at the end of the CT DVD. I also did a little of the meditation too, but by that stage I was quite mindful of the time - it was 10.30 already!
At some point, David had returned home and sat at the pc inputting accounts whilst watching and listening. His reaction: "How much time do these people think you have?!" Hmm, I must admit, I was starting to feel 'itchy' rather than relaxed towards the end, but I'm sure once I develop a rhythm and familiarity with the programme, I'll be able to schedule it in more effectively. Apparently, I'll be needing less sleep anyway so that's a bonus!
In my other Travis Eliot DVD, I hadn't noticed that he drags certain words along, stretching them out to encourage you to breathe and even sigh. "Downwards Dooooorrrrrggg" - he squeezes the word out until he runs out of breath and it really makes me want to giggle. There's also a short film about his journey to yoga which I found inspirational but David thought it was a little glossy. The packaging is all part of the product though - it communicates that there's a world of yoga out there and if the DVDs had arrived in clear plastic sleeves, I wouldn't have felt so enveloped by the concept and been so ready to commit.
There's an online community too which I'm about to join - I've been reading some of the posts and it's very friendly and encouraging. People seem to be experiencing great physical benefits but there are also posts on there about clearing out bags and bags of unnecessary clutter. I guess you reach a point in the programme where you feel ready to let go of things.
Looking forward to tomorrow's "Cardio" session :).
DVDs have arrived!
I returned yesterday from a teaching trip to Scotland and this morning, as if it was 'meant to be' a card arrived through my door to say my yoga DVDs were at the Post Office ready to pick up.
The trip to Scotland, incidentally, was wonderful. We (David and I) were in Edinburgh which is a beautiful city and full of relaxed, chilled, polite and friendly people. We taught a barefoot running workshop on Saturday and our students were fabulous - keen to learn and unphased by the fact that every time we went outside to do practical work, it poured with rain.
We spent most of our time up North talking to various people about running and very much hope to make it back up there for the Scottish Barefoot Run.
Anyway, back to the DVDs. There are 12 of them in all, along with a calendar and a nutrition guide. I'm instructed to take a 'before' photo, which I will dutifully do, and then hopefully there will be a visible transformation in my 'after' shot! Day One involves the 'cross train' DVD, a HARDcore session (for amazing abs!) and ten minutes of meditation. Meditation is the part of yoga that so many people gloss over or even leave out. This is entirely the wrong approach, since the foundation of yoga (I've been reliably informed by an experienced teacher) is the meditation practice. The poses were developed to enhance or facilitate the focus of the mind. Within this 108 day programme, the meditation section increases gradually to thirty minutes per day. I wasn't expecting this but recognize how important - vital - it will be to the whole process. The instructions that came with the DVDs tell me to 'find a quiet, calm place in my house' for this - that could be a little tricky as my cats usually want to investigate the minute I lay my mat down and frequently end up lying on my chest when I'm stretching or twirling underneath me when I'm trying to concentrate on 'Downwards Dog'. However, I will find space and some kind of routine so this becomes something that fits in smoothly...
There are other more general suggestions, such as taking a day out to help somebody else without expecting anything in return and also taking a day to 'de-clutter' the space in which I live. One day to de-clutter might be pushing it (try one month solid) but I can see how this will all add to my journey.
Now, I was thinking that Monday 1st July would be a great day to begin this journey, but I'm super keen to start so tomorrow looks like being my first day.
I'd better finish that bottle of wine in the fridge then...:)
The trip to Scotland, incidentally, was wonderful. We (David and I) were in Edinburgh which is a beautiful city and full of relaxed, chilled, polite and friendly people. We taught a barefoot running workshop on Saturday and our students were fabulous - keen to learn and unphased by the fact that every time we went outside to do practical work, it poured with rain.
We spent most of our time up North talking to various people about running and very much hope to make it back up there for the Scottish Barefoot Run.
Anyway, back to the DVDs. There are 12 of them in all, along with a calendar and a nutrition guide. I'm instructed to take a 'before' photo, which I will dutifully do, and then hopefully there will be a visible transformation in my 'after' shot! Day One involves the 'cross train' DVD, a HARDcore session (for amazing abs!) and ten minutes of meditation. Meditation is the part of yoga that so many people gloss over or even leave out. This is entirely the wrong approach, since the foundation of yoga (I've been reliably informed by an experienced teacher) is the meditation practice. The poses were developed to enhance or facilitate the focus of the mind. Within this 108 day programme, the meditation section increases gradually to thirty minutes per day. I wasn't expecting this but recognize how important - vital - it will be to the whole process. The instructions that came with the DVDs tell me to 'find a quiet, calm place in my house' for this - that could be a little tricky as my cats usually want to investigate the minute I lay my mat down and frequently end up lying on my chest when I'm stretching or twirling underneath me when I'm trying to concentrate on 'Downwards Dog'. However, I will find space and some kind of routine so this becomes something that fits in smoothly...
There are other more general suggestions, such as taking a day out to help somebody else without expecting anything in return and also taking a day to 'de-clutter' the space in which I live. One day to de-clutter might be pushing it (try one month solid) but I can see how this will all add to my journey.
Now, I was thinking that Monday 1st July would be a great day to begin this journey, but I'm super keen to start so tomorrow looks like being my first day.
I'd better finish that bottle of wine in the fridge then...:)
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