James Walsh Yoga

Friday, July 28, 2017 Woke at my usual 5:00 AM this morning but, even though it's already a little after 6:00 AM (my normal start time for yoga), I'm still lounging around, procrastinating (just like yesterday). I'll have my yoga fires lit again at some point but, like yesterday, I'm not interested in practicing, for whatever reason.  I'll hit my mat in 5 minutes or so for a practice.  Tae Kwon Do from last night hasn't left me too sore, I'm happy to say. Friday, July 28, 2017 (Part II) I will never  regret going to my mat.  Never. I went to my mat this morning with zero  motivation and zero interest in practicing yoga.  Within only a few moments of purposefully going into my meditation/prayer warm up, I had already lost all  of my procrastination and ornery attitude.  "Well begun is half done", as the saying goes. I went through my physical warm up, as I did yesterday, and then began Sun Salute A.  I did not go into Sun Salute B, o...

Thursday, July 27, 2017 Woke at my usual 5:00 AM and farted around for an hour+. I have a few minutes to warm up on my mat before I have to shower and get ready for work.  I don't know why I procrastinated the way I did but I'm not going to beat myself up. Thursday, July 27, 2017 (Part II) Despite my terrible procrastinating, I'm happy that I hit my mat for meditation/prayer, and for a physical practice. I began with my standard warm-up which, after praying and meditation, includes rolling on my back until my spine's warmed up.  After I've done this for a minute or two, I roll over completely into a lazy-man's "plow pose" or a lazy man's Kardapidasana .  This helps my legs wake up and starts to reverse the flow of my digestion. Since I haven't had a diligent practice lately, I expected my legs to become numb; they did just that and began to loose a little bit of feeling as I remained in this pose. I finished my warm up with loose fo...

Tuesday, July 25, 2017 Back to my mat after a week long vacation!  Had a wonderful break from routine (both professional and personal routines) and ate, drank, and slept my way through a wonderful week's worth of laziness. Now that I'm heading back into the world, I'm going to waking up my practice again slowly but surely.

Tuesday, July 18, 2017 Woke at my usual 5:00 AM this morning.  Feeling good but not motivated to hit my mat. I'm going on a week long vacation from Wednesday, July 19, through Tuesday, July 25.  I won't post during that time. I may come home tonight and do an evening practice before going to Tae Kwon do.

Friday, July 14, 2017 Woke up at 6:30 AM this morning (an hour and a half behind my normal schedule). I probably won't have time to do a physical practice this morning and will do a bit of meditation on my mat.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017 Woke up feeling wonderful.  I had an immensely productive day at work yesterday and followed that up with a wonderful Tae Kwon Do class. I always feel a little blue and crest-fallen whenever I don't have a productive day or when I skip TKD; I'm delighted to say that keeping that blueness at bay is as easy as following through with what I consider to be my responsibility. I am  a little sore this morning.  The main area is in my middle/lower back.  This is probably due to a combination of the backbends I executed in yesterday's practice but is probably more  due to Tae Kwon Do.  The whole body is used in kicks (all movements, but felt most acutely for me in kicks). The abrupt twisting of one's spine to counter-move before you land your kick is typically a little jarring, and causes some soreness the next day. I've got my air conditioning turned off, windows open, and I'm allowing the warm summer air into my bedroom to begin my...

Tuesday, July 11, 2017 Woke at my usual 5:00am. I'm feeling happy and motivated this morning, and am looking forward to hitting my mat. Ate junk food for dinner last night so, while I'm enjoying my first cup of coffee, my stomach's a little out of sorts.  My practice will set me right again. Tuesday, July 11, 2017 (Part II) I'm writing this on my mat, having just come out of Savasana. I had an unusual practice this morning where my mind was moving around a lot.  I would feel strong and powerful, then anxious and scared.  I would feel certain and solid, and then flimsy and second-guessing. I've said it from the very beginning of this blog that there is way  too much emphasis put onto feelings and allowing our "feelings" to dictate how we behave.  Feelings can be the result of eating too much sodium or having sugar withdrawls and it doesn't mean that any  of the scared/anxious/powerless feelings that one is having mean any thing or that there...

Friday, July 7, 2017 Woke again at my usual 5:00AM.  I'm feeling motivated to hit my mat this morning and am happy to say that I don't have any real soreness from yesterday's practice. Friday, July 7, 2017 (Part II) Writing this after coming out of Savasana .  Had another great practice this morning and am happy to see that not much endurance or flexibility has been lost over the long 4th of July weekend. What has  occurred is a little  bit of stomach softening.  I don't beat myself up about how I look (most of the time), but I'm not looking quite as "lean and mean" as I'd like.  This has everything  to do with my 4th of July "party diet" and that's it.  The remedy?.......eat properly. I'm going to shower and take the peace I feel out into the world with me to share. Namste

Thursday, July 6, 2017 Woke at my normal 5:00am for the first time in five days.  Had a wonderful 4th of July weekend with friends and family. Looking forward to hitting my mat.  I'm going to move gently but purposefully and wake myself up on the inside. Thursday, July 6, 2017 (Part II) I'm writing this on my mat, post-practice, having just come out of Savasana. Physically, I'm delighted that I hit my mat to sweat it out.  I felt a little un-conditioned for a yoga practice (which I expect after a 5 day hiatus), but I know that, after a few Vinyasas, my blood and sweat will begin to flow and I'll "unfreeze" some of my muscles. I always feel a little too "solid" and "rigid" when I'm not practicing with frequency.  It's an interesting feeling in that I feel like my muscles slowly morph into wood when I'm not working to keep them liquid with a daily yoga practice. Finished with my 3 Urdhva Dhanurasnas to put the final c...