James Walsh Yoga

Friday, March 31, 2017 Today is the last vacation day that I'm using up in 2017. Woke up at a leisurely 6:30am and padded into the kitchen to make coffee.  I've been lounging around for the past 2.5 hours enjoying this relaxing start to my day. Something I'm going to practice mentally today is gratitude.  If I had to list the things I'm grateful for, the would go as follows..... My family My job My friends My health As gooey as it sounds, I'm going to try and keep those 4 positive aspects of my life in front of me at all times throughout the day today. In additional to practicing gratitude, I'm going to also focus on letting go of fears and anxieties today.  I think it's only natural that you fear loosing what you're most grateful for but, since much of it is completely out of one's control, what's the point in worrying yourself over it? I'll be showering up and hitting my mat shortly; my intention to focus on will be gratit...

Thursday, March 30, 2017 For the first time since I started this blog (4 months ago now), I went back through and read my posts.  It's fun to look back months ago and read what you were thinking and feeling and how you maneuver through physical, mental and spiritual blocks. I talk an absolute heap  of shit in my posts but that's what they're for; contemplation and introspection.  It helps to understand your own mental and emotional process. It's late this morning as I type this (6:18am already), and Thursday's are my days to go in early.  I'm going to hit my mat for, at least, some meditation and a few Vinyasas. Thursday, March 30, 2017 (Part II) I'll be late but it was worth it. Hit my mat for meditation and warm-up.  Now that I'm in the depth of my running training, my legs, feet, and ankles are in a constant state of "death and re-birth" when it comes to the musculature of my lower half.  Warming up feels absolutely amazing. Went...

Wednesday, March 29, 2017 Haven't posted to the blog in a week but had a great instructor led class at Big Bend Yoga Center on Saturday, March 25, 2017. For awhile now, I haven't " felt" very centered or focused.  I've "felt", longer-than-usual, periods of purposelessness, longing and an unconnected feeling.  I don't know where it's coming from. I'm proud of my life, and I'm proud of the accomplishments that I've achieved, but I feel like I'm my toughest critic (a good and bad thing at times).  Having said that, I don't know if that's where my disconnected, "floating" feeling is coming from or not.  I have things to look forward to and I have attainable goals in front of me that keep me driven and motivated (most of the time). I'll be taking my own advice and not focusing on my " feelings"  and how I " feel" about practicing yoga (which is a big ole.....'absolutely not', t...

Tuesday, March 21, 2017 Up again at 5:00am and breaking the bad routine cycle that I had last week. I'm sore and achey all over from a strong practice yesterday morning and a training run last night.  That achey-ness is a good  sign, and I know I'll be able to break apart some of that on my mat. Tuesday, March 21, 2017 (Part II) Post practice, I'm feeling wonderful, as always. I only had the intention of going through my Vinyasa Series this morning but, once I was warmed, I kept going through my modified Primary Series. Ended the sequence with 3 full upward bows.  They're ugly and painful at first but, as I've said before, they're one of the best examples of how your body adjusts to something quickly.  By the 3rd version of the pose, my arms are straightened and there's little to no pressure in my back. I can't wait to tackle my day today as I'm feeling channeled and energized by my practice. Namaste

Monday, March 20, 2017 Up at 5:00am starting the week off right. I'm on my mat after an hour of coffee and contemplation and am excited about my week.  I've got a lot to forward to and a lot of goals I want to achieve for myself.  Getting back into a solid 5:00am wake-up call with a solid practice each morning is one of them. I'm going to meditate and pray for 5 minutes and incorporate a 4 count breath ( pranayama ) into my meditation.  My practice always incorporates Ujjaya breath/pranayama into the physical asana/poses, but my meditation doesn't necessarily incorporate it.  I'll post after my practice. Monday, March 20, 2017 (Part II) Post practice.  You will never  regret hitting your mat.  I had an exceptionally deep practice this morning and I attribute this to my breathing.  I notice that my breath will become shortened (particularly on the exhale) and that will cause my chest and shoulder to stay stressed and lifted for some reason....

Saturday, March 18, 2017 This will be the first time I've hit my mat in nearly a week.  Daylights saving time, as much as I adore the sun-setting at a later time, I have been waking up as late as 7:00am this past work week ( waaaaaaay too late to get in a practice). Now that it's Saturday morning, I'm going to shower up, hit my mat for a full practice..... Saturday, March 18, 2017 (Part II) Post practice, I have to say that I'm feeling good.  No, there was no trance-like state that I was able to put myself into with this mornings practice but I moved strongly and fluidly through my prescribed series of Asana (physical poses). I realize that I've never given a detailed description of my flow.  I've included 1.  Sun Salute A (Vinyasa A).  A great video and description here .  I typically do 4 of these Sun Salutes and move onto Sun Salute B. 2. Sun Salute B (Vinyasa B).  Video and description here .  I typically do 2 of these Sun Salutes....

For the past 5 days I have been getting up waaaay  too late with not enough time to hit my mat. I love daylight savings time but I have not  readjusted to it yet..... Hoping to get back in the routine by tomorrow and get a practice in. Namaste

Friday, March 10, 2017 I'm enjoying another day of vacation and another leisurely morning of coffee and contemplation (to quote " Stranger Things").   For the past week or so, I have felt unmotivated.  My sense of pride has been diminished as well and I want to turn that around. I know that, to renew my motivation, I can..... 1.  Not dwell on anything  in the past.  It'd done.  If you didn't like how you did it, do it differently, next time. 2.  Act in a more responsible way towards your duty.  For me, this means approaching life's responsibilities with a renewed spirit of, " how can I do that better?".   Additional effort put into my work leads to pride (the good kind of pride). 3.  Remember that you are nothing, your problems are nothing, and, therefore, you shouldn't dwell on them.  (this tid-bit, in particular, is fueled by my yoga practice). I'm showered and on my mat already so, after 5 minutes of prayer and refle...

Wednesday, March 8, 2017 For the past week or so, I've lacked motivation to hit my mat.  Why is this?..... I've been typically ignoring my feelings (which can be good, at times) and have been hitting my mat and forcing myself to practice, but it's felt like a grind for a while now and I wonder if there's anything I can do to inject some fun back into it all..... Why have I been writing and maintaining this blog for 3 months?....      1. To have something to report to on a daily basis that tracks my progress.      2. To, ultimately share with the world and inspire others to enrich their lives through a yoga         practice.      3. To deepen my own understanding of myself and my yoga practice. I'm going to seek out ways to get inspired and try to incorporate that into my practice and into my life.  I'm also  going to be gentle and patient with myself (something I need to work on) and allow myself ...

Tuesday, March 7, 2017 Woke at my standard 5:00am.  Didn't do a formalized practice but hit my mat for meditation and warm up stretches. Going to re-enter "real life" today after a rejuvenating 5 day vacation. Namaste

Monday, March 6, 2017 I've had the past 4 days off from work and have been having very nice and relaxing mornings where I don't get up at a pre-determined time.  I allow myself a little more luxury time with my coffee drinking as well and don't hit my mat at 6:00am sharp. I am a firm believer in routines but I'm also a firm believer in having a time and place where one's routine is broken.  I'm enjoying the break from routine but will be getting back into my normal 5:00am wake-up call tomorrow. Physically, the past 4 days have been filled with 8 mile training runs and long hikes.  My legs are definitely stronger than they've been in a while which means I'm going to have to continue breaking up the newly formed muscle; if I don't, it'll form into unbendable wood and I'll regress my yoga practice back more than I'd like.  Other than that, physically, I'm feeling strong and proud. Emotionally and spiritually, I'm feeling a lit...

Saturday, March 4, 2017 Again, woke with minimal, if any yoga motivation. I've been increasing the frequency and duration of my training runs so my warm ups have been becoming more and more extended.  It's astonishing how running tightens up and compresses ones' back, neck, legs, and feet. Enough belly-aching about my sore, 31-year old body.  I'm going to hit my mat..... Saturday, March 4, 2017 (Part II) Hit the mat for an extended warm up and prayer/meditation session.  Stretching out the backs of my legs feels bizarre after they've been tightened up by long runs.

Thursday, March 2, 2017 Don't know where my yoga motivation has gone, but it's gone..... I'm feeling a little stuck in my practice and feeling grossly unmotivated.  I know that I've been in this place of feeling stuck before and I know that there's way  too much emphasis put onto feelings and not enough emphasis put onto one's duty and one's obligation.  Having said that, I've already showered, changed into my yoga attire, and am typing this on my mat before I have my 5 minutes of prayer and meditation. Thursday, March 2, 2017 (Part II) Found my yoga motivation!!! Had one of the best practices I can remember.  I felt strong, fluid, and focused.  I honed myself mentally, continually bringing myself back to the thought of empty-ness and nothingness.  It's a humbling and cleansing thought to focus on. I move too quickly throughout my days sometimes.  There are moments when speed is a necessity, but, other times, there's no need to rush thr...

Tuesday, February 28, 2017 I showered and hit my mat before writing a pre-practice post. Had a wonderful vacation day yesterday.  Spent time with my family and ate junk food most of the day. I woke up this morning very  stiff and sore.  I think this might be residual aches from the long training run I did on Friday in combination with the leaves I helped rake yesterday afternoon. Regardless of how I felt (zero motivation), I hit my mat and went through my modified primary series. I must have been fooling myself on Sunday when I practiced and said that my legs weren't stiff and unflexible.....they went numb in about 2.5 seconds this morning while I was warming up with a very  soft plow pose. Went through the rest of the modified series without any issues but did not end with full upward bow.  I'll incorporate that back into the practice tomorrow. Time to shower up and tackle the day. Namaste

Sunday, February 26, 2017 Since I didn't practice for 3 days straight, I'm going to use my day or rest as a day to hit my mat.  I've been too soft with my practice lately and haven't forced myself to be diligent. Before I hit my mat, I can say that, having done an 8 mile training run on Friday, I am expecting extreme tension to have built up in my legs and back.  I'll be doing a fairly robust warm up before getting into my practice. Sunday, February 26, 2017 (part II) A mid-afternoon practice isn't something that I'm used to having but, as I've said before on this blog, I've never regretted hitting my mat. The practice this afternoon was not  inspired.  My legs, however, were not as tight as I thought they were going to be (I've literally had my legs go numb from stretching after too much running).  I didn't have any of that, so I'm pleased and encouraged by that fact. Went through my Vinyasa series and broke a light sweat but d...

Wednesday, February 22, 2017 Woke up at my usual 5:00am and hit the snooze..... Woke up at 5:15am...and hit the snooze..... Woke again at 6:00am...and got up. I came home from Martial Arts class last night and I know that, with the am/pm workouts I'm having twice a day that my body is going to ask for more rest from me.  I'm totally fine with that but it's a change, like any other, that I'll have to get used to. I'm feeling good this morning and ready to tackle the day.  I'm going to focus on meditation a little bit more this morning and see if I can't clear my heart and mind out.  It's very  easy to harbor anger/fear/resentment without even realizing it so I'm going to turn the mirror on myself this morning and focus on cleaning myself out mentally.  I don't necessarily feel  any anger/fear/resentment, but I can sense when there's a bit of turmoil going on and I feel a slight bit of turmoil going on for some reason.  It's nothin...

Tuesday, February 21, 2017 Woke a little later than usual this morning but am eager to hit my mat. I've been incorporating more and more half-marathon training into my life and, while this has strengthened my legs/back, and increased my endurance, it tightens me up after every run.  I have to keep stretching just to maintain the level of flexibility I had to begin with. I'll be going through my standard modified primary series after 5 minutes of meditation and prayer. Tuesday, February 21, 2017 (Part II) The first day back after a couple days rest is always great.  You're limber, you're full of energy, you're feeling great.  The second day back, after a couple days rest, kicks you in the rear...... Today's practice was great but, because of my deep backbends yesterday morning, my running last night, and other things, I was very  sore and stiff this morning.  I treated myself to a longer-than-usual warm up routine on my mat to work out some of the kinks...

Monday, February 20, 2017 Had a wonderful and relaxing weekend where I listened to my body's need for rest and sleep.  I crawled into bed Sunday night (last night) around 5:30pm and was asleep at 6:00pm.  It felt amazing.  Sleep and rest are probably the best medicine. I'm going to tempt fate again and say that I'm nearly  100% over my head-cold that I've had for 2 weeks now.  Hopefully with a few more days of sleep, I can be fully recovered. I'm going to shower up and hit my mat for my modified primary series. Monday, February 20, 2017 (Part II) Had a wonderful practice this morning and finished with my full series of backbends (3 full upward bows).  I felt strong and focused throughout the practice but my brain was a little all over the place. Today is going to be awesome and I'm moving forward with a spirit of gratitude and resilience. Namaste

Friday, February 17, 2017 This hasn't been a great week for my yoga practice. lol  I haven't been getting enough sleep and, in my efforts to compensate for that, have been getting up later in the mornings, showering, and going directly into my office (I woke at 7:00am yesterday.........that's 2 hours past what my normal time is). I'm going to shower in a bit and hit my mat for my usual practice.  I'm feeling well and able for it and I'm ready for this lingering head-cold to go away.... Friday, February 17, 2017 (Part II) I sweat more than I've sweated in the past 4 years of my life combined...... I had an exceptionally wonderful practice this morning.  I felt honed, focused, and powerful.  Having been running and training for a half-marathon for awhile, I've built up leg muscles that need to be broken down and stretched; my legs nearly went numb a few times from the muscle fibers that were being stretched and rebuilt. Going into work feeling wo...

Wednesday, February 15, 2017 Woke at my usual 5:00am and began my routine.  Can I still be recovering from sickness that's over a week old now?......the answer is yes.  I've been trying to take great care with myself and not wear myself down to nothing, but I'm still not fully over the head cold that I got last Tuesday morning. This blog is not  about me complaining about life, however, it's about yoga!  I'm going to hit my mat in a little bit for, minimally, my Vinyasa series.  I haven't had a full practice in a week or more.  I'm not beating myself up, as I haven't been physically able for it, but I don't like to go so long without doing strenuous poses.