James Walsh Yoga

Thursday, October 25, 2018 Woke at my usual 4:45AM for a relaxing and rejuvenating start to my day. I feel great after my practice yesterday, and I love how an hour on my mat every morning shapes my perspective. Time to sweat it out.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018 Woke at my usual 4:45AM this morning for the first time all week. For whatever reason, I could not get up at the correct time Monday or Tuesday of this week.  I smashed my internal alarm on Saturday night (#noregrets) and I think I'm paying the price for it, four days later. I've needed this practice so I'm going to sweat it out this morning and focus on purifying, centering, and humbling.

Woke at my usual 4:45AM this morning for coffee and contemplation. Feeling good, but wanting to work up some heat this morning to burn it out on my mat. Calf muscles are incredibly sore today.  I blame Tuesday's Tae Kwon Do class, as the effects of my martial arts classes almost always hit me in a delayed way (I.E. not feeling any soreness or muscle stiffness until 2 days later, etc.). Time to sweat it out. Thursday, October 18, 2018 (Part II) For whatever reason, I haven't been able to totally clear my thoughts on my mat, as I practice.  Part of the Eight Limbed Yoga is Dharana ; focusing and concentrating your mind. I caught myself, usually in sitting positions, having remained in the pose for a longer than usual time.  Typically, I hold a pose for five inhales and five exhales before moving to the other side.  I would realize that I'd been holding a position, thinking about something, and not moving out of the posture.  This isn't "bad", but I ty...

Wednesday, October 17, 2018 Woke at my usual 4:45AM this morning for coffee and contemplation. For whatever reason yesterday, I could not get myself out of my bed at 4:45AM, when the alarm went off.  I snoozed until nearly 7:00AM.  I try not to beat myself up when I miss a scheduled practice, but I also want to challenge myself into hitting my mat every weekday, if possible; if my body needed the sleep, I wanted to allow the extra Z's. This morning, I'm feeling excellent, and ready to warm up.  I'm going to focus on centering and burning this morning.

Monday October 15, 2018 Woke at my usual 4:45AM this morning and decided that 5:15AM was a much better start time. Dozed for 30-ish more minutes before getting up. I'm on my mat at my usual time, looking forward to my practice. Monday, October 15, 2018 (Part II) I'm writing this nearly done with my day today. After I finished my practice, I was short on time, and had to shower up before leaving for the day. My practice was excellent this morning and, even though I hadn't hit my mat since Friday, almost none of the strength or flexibility I've built up has left. While my energy was lower today, I'm always thankful that I started things out on my mat.  I'm looking forward to a relaxing evening with my loved ones. Namaste

Friday, October 12, 2018 In about one month's time this blog will be two year's old. That's a good feeling of accomplishment. I'm going to take a page from my own book this morning and internalize the feeling of being on fire and burning through components that are not necessary. Friday, October 12, 2018 (Part II) I'm writing this as I traditionally do; on my mat, having just come out of Savasana. Today's practice was superb, and I'm thankful for everything I gave and received on my mat (#hippie-dippie). Time to share this version of myself with the world. Namaste

Wednesday, October 10, 2018 Woke in my hotel in Las Vegas, and got some coffee. After an hour or so of waking up with coffee and contemplation, I hit my mat. My practice was excellent this morning, with a focus on centering.  What that means is that I envisioned my physical body with a core that was drawing in God and other good things; I used this metaphor of drawing God into my core in a literal and figurative way as I prayed that God is always at the center of my life, guiding all of my decisions. Yesterday's "theme" was put it on the pyre, today's was centering. Centering is hard to do after I get on my mat, and enter the big bad world; the second you begin interacting with other people and situations, you can forget.  Shaping yourself and burning through the bad, while trying to cultivate the good, can make you less reactive to the pushes/pulls of the world. I went through my full modified primary series this morning and ended with one of my favorite p...

Tuesday, October 9, 2018, Some of the imagery that I focus on when I'm on my mat is something like a fire or pyre where I burn things that are unnecessary. Part of living as stress-free and care-free a life as possible, is to offer things up to God by envisioning them on the pyre.  Fear, anxiety, and any unwanted emotions go onto the pyre, but I also try and put my will onto the pyre and burn through my own thoughts and desires.  This means that I'm trying to minimize myself as the center of my life and put God at the heart of everything.  This is extremely difficult to practice, let alone maintain throughout the day after I'm off my mat.  That is today's goal, however.  Physically, I'm feeling good, but still a little bloated from delicious weekend food (#noregrets) and stiffness from yesterday's practice, and the increased running cadence I've had.  Time to heat up and put it all on the fire.

Monday October 8, 2018, Woke at my usual 4:45AM feeling refreshed and ready to go. I've got a 10K race coming up in a few weeks and I've been running at a steady pace to get prepared for it. I'll say that, while running is great endurance and strength training, it builds up tighter muscles in my back and legs.  There's nothing to do for fresh, bound-up muscle than smooth it out on one's mat. Feeling great about my start to the week. Monday October 8, 2018 (Part II) My practice this morning was good, but wasn't deep or focused.  I always feel better after hitting my mat, but my brain wasn't focused this morning at all.  Physically, I felt strong, but very stiff in my back and leg and "bloated" around my middle.  No regrets, however....my weekend food was totally worth it. I'm going to hit my mat again tomorrow morning before flying out of town again. Namaste

Went out of town for work this week and, though I brought my mat, I didn't get the chance to practice.  No worries, however, as I'm still in the yoga mood, and intend to practice this weekend.  Namaste

Monday, October 1, 2018, Woke up at my usual 4:45AM to hit my mat. I didn't post afterwards but I had a wonderful morning talking with family and having I only had time to go through my Sun Salutes and finished up with Savasana before heading out into the world. Brief To the point Useful Namaste

Saturday, September 29, 2018, I took an instructor led class this past Saturday with one of my favorite instructors, Michael Shabsin . Big Bend Yoga Center is in St. Louis, MO, in case you're ever in town and are looking for a great experience. Michael's teaching style is fluid and organic, allowing for any modifications you want/need.  He manages to incorporate the abstract/non-physical styles of yoga into a strong physical practice.  This is a Hatha style class, which I find very familiar in its flow and sequencing of Asanas to the style I practice; Ashtanga.  Feeling great and ready to enjoy my day. Thanks to Big Bend Yoga Center and Michael for being cool! Namaste

Thursday, September 27, 2018 Woke at my usual 4:45AM this morning. Today is Thursday and, for whatever reason, I couldn't get up yesterday in time to practice. NBD, as I had a great practice on Tuesday morning and will have a great practice tomorrow. It's 5:55AM as I type this, and it's time to sweat it out. Thursday, September 27, 2018 (Part II) Spent so much time warming up on my mat, that I didn't have time to update my blog yesterday or this morning, before heading off to work.  I'm eating my lunch as I type this, so this is a perfect opportunity for me to reflect back on this morning's practice. First- I've said it before, but the difference I feel throughout my day whenever I start my mornings on my mat, is nearly immeasurable.  I'm not sensitive, I'm solid, I'm grounded, I'm strong, I'm chill, I'm everything positive and forward moving.  Any fears or anxieties about my day, my work, my self, etc., get burnt up on my...

Tuesday, September 25, 2018 Woke at my usual 4:45AM for the first time in a week.  Practiced on my may only once last week, but found other ways to stay active. I'm a little behind schedule, so will begin without posting too much to this blog

Monday, September 17, 2018 Woke at my usual 4:45AM this morning and flung myself out of my bed, shut down my phone alarm, and made a bee-line straight for the kitchen before I could turn back around and crawl into bed (as I did every day of this past week).  I turned down Sunday-Funday opportunities to ensure that I was bright eyed this morning, and ready for my mat.  I haven't practiced since the 5th, so I'm going to be rebuilding mostly from scratch, but I believe that, as I've seen before, my body knows what to do.  In two months, this blog will be two years old.   I think it's time it's shared.  

Wednesday, September 5, 2018 Woke at my usual 4:45AM and hit the alarm for 10 more minutes.  That's usually a death sentence for my morning practice, but I woke again at 4:55AM and got out of bed. Feeling good this morning, but I can tell I have a little bit of soreness in my back from yesterday's backbends, and I have a little bit of "heat" in my face and head.  That heat is indicative of a slight cold, so I'm going to see if I can sweat it out on my mat today and reverse it. Time to sweat it out: Wednesday, September 5, 2018 (Part II) While it sounds hippie- dippie as all get out, I really do visualize certain things while I practice.  It's a kind of  biofeedback , where I envision things (usually a fire) within my body and anything I don't want to have for the day gets put onto the fire and burned.  Fear, anger, anxiety (the dark side are they...lol # starwarz4lyfe ), but seriously though, my morning yoga practice gives me a peaceful opportunit...

Tuesday, September 4, 2018 Woke up at my normal 4:45AM this morning. For whatever reason, I could not get myself up last week.  My alarm would sound at 4:45AM and I would walk across the room, hit the snooze, and then climb right back into bed. I don't feel too much shame at this (though keeping a consistent practice is something that helps all areas of my life), but I am happy that I forced myself up this morning. I pushed myself to run 3 out of 5 days last week.  With no yoga to stretch out my muscles after each run, I'm interested to see what my body will feel  like on my mat this morning.  Beyond that, I enjoyed a wonderful holiday weekend absolutely chock-full of junk food #noregrets. Time to meditate and pray and sweat it out. Tuesday, September 4, 2018 (Part II) I'm writing this off my mat, having started my day off right. I'll say that this morning's practice was excellent and a great reminder that, even a few days off my mat, will regress my f...

I haven't hit my mat this week as, for some reason, I've been sleeping in until 7:00AM.  That is extremely late for me, and I haven't felt at my best without a yoga practice each morning. Flew back home last Friday from a wonderful experience in Austin Texas where I was able to take an instructor led class.  The instructor was fantastic and pushed me, and the class to our limits with the practice.  I've been running after work and will need to re-incorporate my mat into my physical regime unless I want to loose all malleability in my muscles. Hopefully will practice tomorrow morning and over the weekend. Namaste

Tuesday, August 21, 2018 Woke at my usual 4:45AM this morning. It was difficult to get out of bed for some reason but, when my alarm sounded, I shambled out into the kitchen to get coffee and start my day.   I'm on my mat now getting ready to sweat it out. 

Monday, August 20, 2018 Woke up this morning at my usual 4:45AM. Feeling eager to start my week out on the right foot with prayer, meditation, and yoga. In three months, this blog will be celebrating its two year anniversary! That's something that I'm very proud of. Monday, August 20, 2018 (Part II) I'm writing this the morning after Monday's practice as I didn't have an opportunity to post yesterday after hitting my mat. Felt a little "off" on my mat, and in general, yesterday.  Not from anything in particular, but from the weekend's junk food and wine.  I will say that, practicing always helps to advance me into a more refined version of myself so, even when I'm feeling a little run down or unbalanced (as I was yesterday), my mat always brings out the best in me. Physically, my backbends are the strongest and deepest they've been in two years.  Urdhva Danurasana (upward bow) is strong, deep, and stable.  This pose is one of my...