James Walsh Yoga

Wednesday, August 31, 2017 I woke at my usual 5:00 AM this morning and have lolly-gagged around for the past hour sipping coffee, bumming around on the interwebz, and giving myself an opportunity to thaw from my night's sleep.  This early part of my mornings is, by far, my favorite part of each day.  It's alone time that I get, away from any stress or complexity, that allows me to think about what I'm going to do today and how I'm going to approach what I'm responsible for. I'm physically sore from last night's Taekwondo practice, but will be hitting my mat here in a bit.  I may shake up my practice a little bit and put some new Asanas into the mix. Wednesday, August 31, 2017 (Part II) I'm writing this on my mat having just come out of Savasana.  I had a great practice this morning and moved, in a focused way, through my full Vinyasa Series and into Padahstasana and Padanguthasana.  I ended with 1 upward bow, and1 bridge pose. I feel good having ...

Tuesday, August 29, 2017 Woke at my usual 5:00 AM this morning for my coffee and contemplation #strangerthings Today will mark my first practice since Saturday morning's instructor led class. I typically take Sunday's off (Saturday is traditionally the day of rest, however), and use that day to relax and let my body rest and repair itself.  That day of rest bled into Monday, however. Today, is Tuesday, and I'm looking forward to hitting my mat and sweating it out. Tuesday, August 29, 2017 (Part II) I'm writing this on my mat, having just come out of Savasana. Today's practice was interesting. I understood that breath should be a 5 count inhale and a 5 count exhale.  From what I've been reading, it can be any count inhale, and any count exhale, as long as it matches pace, rhythm, and intensity. I incorporated this into today's physical practice, and realized that I was only truly inhaling/exhaling for a 4 count breath, not a 5 count.  While I ...

Saturday, August 26, 2017, I'm writing this on Sunday morning having had attended a class at Big Bend Yoga Center yesterday morning with 3 of my friends. I do not  ordinarily take classes and, rather, wake each morning and go to my mat with the knowledge I have of yoga (however lacking), and move through my practice by myself.  However, I believe that taking a class from an instructor every now and then is absolutely essential for adding variety, and keeping your practice dynamic and ever-growing. Yesterday's class, with the wonderful Michael Shabsin  (Attorney by day, Yoga instructor by night), was exactly that; dynamic, different, challenging, fulfilling, and re-energizing. The style of yoga that I practice is called  Ashtanga Yoga , sometimes referred to as "Vinyasa Flow" or "Ashtanga Vinyasa" yoga.  It follows a pre-determined sequence/pattern of movement and I typically don't allow for too much variation.  Ashtanga Yoga also puts emphasis on ...

Friday, August 25, 2017 It's 5:00 AM on a beautiful Friday morning.  TGIF is a ridiculous little saying but, while I enjoy all days of the week, work-days and non-work-days, it is nice to wake up and know that you've got a little 2 day vacation ahead of you. While I do like to keep busy and have game plans in mind, I do enjoy the relaxation of my weekends.  I do not  keep the weekends for chores or other things that I was, otherwise, too occupied to complete during the week.  My weekends are for sleeping in with no alarm (most times), extra coffee and contemplation time, reconnecting with family and friends, and spending longer than normal amounts of time in the kitchen making wonderful things to eat. I'm looking forward to this weekend, especially, because 3 of my friends are joining me tomorrow at Big Bend Yoga in downtown Webster Groves (a suburb of St. Louis). The wonderful Michael Shabsin will be leading tomorrow's class. For today, it's 6:01 AM and ...

Wednesday, August 24, 2017 Woke at my usual 5:00 AM and then slept for another 20 minutes.  No big deal. I'm feeling grounded, stable, and balanced, even before hitting my mat. To stay on schedule, I'll hit my mat in about 30/40 minutes. Wednesday, August 24, 2017 (Part II) I not only slept in this morning, I didn't hit my mat until 6:30 AM (30 minutes after my normal time).  I was productive, however, and used my coffee fueled morning motivation to tidy up around my place and take care of some chores that I'd been putting off for a while. When I finally did hit my mat, I began with my standard 5 minutes of prayer and meditation.  After that, I began my standard warmup.  I moved into my formal practice feeling wonderful; no aches and no sluggishness, as I felt yesterday. I finished with 3 beautiful Upward Bow poses and am writing this after having just come out of Savasana. I feel balanced, strong, beautiful, content, solid, gentle, and indestructible. ...

Wednesday, August 23, 2017 Woke at my usual 5:00 AM feeling ver well.  I practiced yoga in the AM yesterday, and went to taekwondo in the PM last night, but, despite that stretching and tearing of muscles, I don't feel too sore this morning. My back, and fronts of my hips are the only two areas that feel like they need to be warmed up gently.  I'll hit the mat in about 30 minutes to sweat it out. Wednesday, August 23, 2017 (Part II) I was not  feeling motivated to hit my mat this morning.  I procrastinated for as long as I could before changing into my yoga clothes and walking into the space where I practice.  While I had zero motivation, I did go through my entire modified Primary series, which makes me proud. Physically, I felt slow, stodgy, and sluggish.  I've felt that way before, and I typically push through it gently, but with determination.  I don't feel too  much different, now that I've practiced, but I do feel more accomplished, ...

Tuesday, August 22, 2017 Woke at my usual 5:00 AM this morning for coffee and contemplation.  I haven't practiced since last Thursday, and I spent my weekend out of town on a camping/float trip so, needless to say, I'm sore all over and my mat is going to feel exceptionally good when I hit it. I'm at the beginning of another body detox; after a weekend of food/wine/etc., I'm easing myself back into a healthy lifestyle; for me, that almost exclusively means a healthy and balanced diet. I'll finish my coffee in a minute and hit my mat to sweat it out. Tuesday, August 22, 2017 (Part II) I'm writing this after coming out of Savasana, still on my mat. I'm feeling wonderful from the physical strain/sweat of the practice (there's still plenty of garbage left in me that I'll need to sweat/work out over the next few days), and I'm delighted with how my body cooperated with what I was guiding it to do. Mentally, I'm feeling good as well.  I...

Thursday, August 17, 2017 Woke again at my usual 5:00 AM for coffee and contemplation. Time for prayers and meditations, a warm-up, and then some bro-ga Thursday, August 17, 2017 (Part II) Even though I woke at my usual 5:00 AM this morning, which gives me plenty of time to thaw from my night's sleep and organize my thoughts, I didn't think I'd hit the mat, for some reason. I'm delighted I did, as always, and feel wonderful after my full modified Primary Series practice. Backbends are essential.  That's my thought for the day.  They're magnificent and triumphant and reverse the flow of time and age (figuratively, of course). I feel balanced and wonderful and am looking forward to bringing this peace out into the world to share with others. Namaste

Wednesday, August 16, 2017 Woke at my usual 5:00AM this morning for coffee and contemplation.  #strangerthings I haven't practiced since last Friday as I spend my weekends breaking routine, and having a 2 day mini-vacation with my family, friends, and loved ones; that mini-vacation bled into Monday and Tuesday morning. The fact that I didn't practice with diligence for awhile would have upset a younger version of myself.  Now, I believe that, whatever I'm doing at that moment, is what I'm meant to be doing at that moment (hippie-dippie, I know), and that I shouldn't beat myself up if I'm relaxing, taking care of myself through rest, or spending my time with a loved one.  Family, friends, and loved ones are exceptionally important in one's life. I'm going to hit my mat in a few minutes, and sweat it out....... Wednesday, August 16, 2017 (Part II) I'm writing this on my mat, having just come out of Savasana. I had an exceptional practice th...

Friday, August 11, 2017 Woke up at my usual 5:00 AM. Feeling good, but not great yet.  I'm going to try and change that, and view the challenges that I know I'll face today with fire inside me to burn through them.  I believe it's natural to cower from challenges (professional and personal).  While it's natural, I believe you can turn up the heat on things and view challenges in a way that makes you want to engage them head on.  When tackled this way, they can be dismantled bit by bit and are nowhere near  the size and shape you originally thought they were. 30 more minutes of coffee and contemplation (#strangerthings) and then I'm hitting my mat. Friday, August 11, 2017 (Part II) I'm writing this on my mat, covered in sweat for some reason (I didn't think it was any hotter in my apartment or outside than it has been in the past few days). Had a great practice which was slower and more focused than Wednesday's quick/energetic practice.  Today...

Wednesday, August 9, 2017 Woke up at my usual 5:00 AM.  It is not 6:15 AM and I'm lolly-gagging about, procrastinating before getting onto my mat. Mornings are my favorite time of day, and I want to extend them as much as possible. I'm already feeling supported, strong, and proud.  It's time ( past  time) to hit my mat. Wednesday, August 9, 2017 (Part II) I'm writing this on my mat still having just come out of Savasana. Today's practice was remarkable. I meditated/prayed, as always, to start to give shape to myself, and to provide a template for what I wanted to be today.  Honest/Hardworking/Kind/Beautiful/Humble.  That's typically the shape I try and give myself. After that, I moved into my warm up (rolling on a curved back...bent-knee-forward bends...gentle backbends, etc.), and then I moved into my practice. I began my formalized routine a bit later than I usually do (around 6:20 AM or so), so wasn't going to do my full modified Ashtanga ...

Tuesday, August 8, 2017 Woke at my usual 5:00 AM.  While I'm used to my early rising time, my recommendation to anyone  trying to figure out a way to get it out of bed in the morning is 2 fold...... 1.  Have your alarm across the room from you.  Most people use their phone for their alarm so put that puppy on the other side of the room so that you have to physically get up to shut it off.  That way, you'll be half-way to staying up. 2.  Have something like coffee or tea ready and waiting for you.  I set my coffee maker for 4:45 AM so that it's hot and ready when I shuffle into the kitchen. I'm feeling good this morning, but feel like I've got some energy that needs to be put on the fire and burnt.  Time to hit my mat. Tuesday, August 8, 2017 (Part II) Still on my mat and feeling good after a light practice. Went through, nearly, my full Vinyasa Series this morning (only doing one Vinyasa B instead of my usual two), and then into most o...

Friday, August 4, 2017 Woke at my usual 5:00 AM and enjoyed coffee and contemplation. I've got a wonderful day to look forward to and a wonderful weekend ahead of me. I'm going to focus on my no fear/no anxiety/no anger "mantra" with a little more intention this morning.  I'm not feeling  anxious, fearful, or angry this morning, but I want to bring my best self out into the world today and I want to start my weekend off properly, with a honed, and refined version of myself.  Time to hit my mat..... Friday, August 4, 2017 (Part II) I'm writing this on my mat, having just come out of Savasana. I went deep into my practice this morning and approached each Asana with a physicality and strength that I'm proud of.  My mental focus was good, but not great.  I realize that I've gotten a bit sloppy with controlling my mind and my thoughts during my practice.  I lasso'd my thoughts, however, and brought them back under control whenever I became awa...

Thursday, August 3, 2017 Woke at my usual 5:00 AM this morning only to find the coffee machine full of hot water.  I'd apparently fallen asleep watching T.V. yesterday evening, groggily woke up around 9:00 PM and then shambled into the kitchen to prepare my coffee for the AM.  I remembered everything (even the filter) and simply neglected the coffee.  Dang. lol Thursday's are my early days but I'm going to challenge myself and post 20+ times in the month of August.  I've had this blog going for 9 months now!!  It's a "baby" of sorts, you could say. Physically I'm feeling good and have fully recovered from my wonderful, if not completely unhealthy, vacation.  I'm proud of how I've controlled my diet and my natural urge to eat junk food (like Dolly Parton says, " I'm a junk food kind of person at heart".   I'll hit my mat for at least 20-30 minutes this morning for a light practice. Thursday, August 3, 2017 (Part II) F...

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...