James Walsh Yoga

Tuesday, July 23, 2019, Woke again in Seattle feeling marvelous. I don't have much time for a pre-practice post this morning so I'm going to begin my warm up and get right to it. Tuesday, July 23, 2019 (Part II), Feeling marvelous after this morning's practice.  I would say that I feel slightly "stodgy" and "bloated" as I move today. I felt a bit of this yesterday, but I'm feeling it more pronounced today.  I slipped out of a routine practice for the month of May and June; I'm not sure why.  A practice isn't always great, as this morning's wasn't great, but it's always an excellent way to start your day.  I'm going to continue to rebuild. Time to get in the shower and enter the day! Namaste

Monday, July 22, 2019 I'm traveling for work and have taken my new mat on its first voyage. In the lovely city of Seattle, on my hotel room floor, getting ready to practice. Feeling good, and looking forward to what my practice will bring. Monday, July 22, 2019, One cannot deny how marvelous one feels after a strong and focused practice.  I don't know why I haven't been hitting my mat with enthusiasm lately but I've gotten out of the habit of waking early and going to my mat. Today's practice allowed me to rekindle some of that warmth, peace, and understanding that comes after a good yoga practice; there's nothing like it.  Mentally, I feel stable, focused and powerful.  Physically, I feel relaxed, and strong.  Spiritually, I feel humbled.  I always pray and meditate before and after my practice (and during), and it feels good to offer yourself up to God in devotion.  One's silly and feeble problems seem complex and unsolvable at first and then,...

Tuesday July 16, 2019 Still haven't gotten back into my yoga swing. I haven't practiced in a month.  No biggie.  I can regain what I lost but, for some reason, when my alarm goes off at 4:30AM, I've gotten into the bad habit of simply hitting the snooze, and not rustling again until 6:30AM. When I do wake, for some reason, there's almost no draw, whatsoever, to hit my mat.  I consider it, and then I think, " I don't even want to do that" , and then go back to bed.  lol . #lazy I did wake at my usual 4:30AM this morning, and I am  going to have, at least, an abbreviated practice to see where things are at. Time to sweat it out. Tuesday, July 16, 2019 (Part II) Great practice.  No time to post after my practice.  Namaste

Monday, June 17, 2019 I think this has been the longest hiatus from my mat that I've had since I began this blog in the Winter of 2016. No worries, however.  I'll quickly regain what I lost. I have purchased a new mat, and will be retiring the one I've had for over 20 years.  This is a big deal to me, as I've considered my mat an almost sacred thing that I've developed a relationship with through the years. It was time to replace it, however, and I've invested in a traditional cotton yoga mat; one that gets stickier and more stable the wetter it get with your sweat. I'm going to warm up and go through my practice. Monday, June 17, 2019 (Part II) I'm writing this on my new mat, having just come out of Savasana. This was my first practice on my new mat, and my first experience with a traditional cotton yoga mat.  I have to say that I enjoyed it, and will have no problem acclimating to this new material's look and feel.  It definitely stuc...

Wednesday, May 22, 2019 Two weeks since my last practice. This may be the longest I've ever gone without hitting my mat!  NBD. In the past few week's I've had wonderful changes occurring in my life, and I haven't been able to get out of bed until, some times, as late as 6:45AM. I woke at my usual 4:30AM this morning and will attempt to keep in this routine until the weekend. Time to pray and meditate and sweat it out. Wednesday, May 22, 2019 (Part II) Two Weeks off my mat didn't put too much of a damper on my body or spirit. Practice was marvelous this morning, but I've definitely lost flexibility in my legs; I've been jogging with more regularity lately, and it's wonderful for your lungs and heart, but reverts your flexibility back to zero if not stretched out regularly.  Spiritually and mentally, I noticed myself loving the practice and controlling my thoughts and my mind fairly well.  I'll move with confidence today as I've al...

Wednesday, May 8, 2019, In my hotel traveling for work and, as always, brought my trusty mat. This morning will probably be the only opportunity I have to get in a real practice during my 3 days here, and I'm thankful for the opportunity. Time to sweat it out.... Wednesday, May 8, 2019 (Part II), Had a marvelous practice.  Strong, steady, and focused.  I will, more thank likely, not get a chance to practice in the morning, as I fly home early, but I'm delighted that I brought my mat with me, as always. Namaste

Friday, May 3, 2019, Woke at my usual 4:30AM. I'm on my mat at 5:45AM, slightly behind schedule, and ready to sweat it out.

Thursday, May 2, 2019,  Woke at my usual 4:30AM and hit my mat.  I've noticed that, for the past few days, I haven't added a post-practice update onto the blog.  I've been short on time each morning, and then neglected to update throughout the day.  I'm short on time this morning, surprise-surprise, and I'm going to keep this pre-practice update brief to ensure I get in enough practice time.  

Tuesday, April 30, 2019 Last day of April 2019. I woke at my usual 4:30AM this morning and had my hour of coffee and contemplation. Physically, I'm feeling good.  Slightly sore and stiff, but feeling overall well. Mentally, I'm feeling fairly well controlled, but I can sense my brain flitting from one thought to the next.  I'm going to focus on controlling my thoughts this morning, and add an extra "omph" to my physical practice to help sweat out any over-active tendencies. Spiritually, I'm feeling well.  I'm secure, solid, and whole.  Time to sweat it out. 

Thursday, April 25, 2019, Woke at my usual 4:30AM time to realize I'd neglected to fill the coffee maker last night.  Had to make coffee groggily this morning at 4:30AM and couldn't have my first cup until 4:45AM. #firstworldproblems I'm on my mat at 6:00AM, behind schedule, so I'm going to keep this pre-practice-post quick. Time to sweat it out. 

Wednesday, April 24, 2019 Woke, and stayed woke, at the usual time of 4:30AM for the first time this week. I don't know why, but I've woke at 4:30AM on Monday morning, had my usual coffee, and felt almost zero effects from it.  I went back to bed at around 5:15AM Monday morning and slept until 6:45AM.  That's very unusual, but I'm not beating myself up about it. I've continued my running patterns so I'll be finding all sorts of sore areas that are prime opportunities to open and stretch.  Time to sweat it out.

Friday, April 19, 2019 Woke at my usual 4:30AM this morning to get onto my mat for the first time since Tuesday. I woke on both Wednesday and Thursday at my usual 4:30AM time, and just couldn't do it.  I hit the snooze until 6:00AM, and went back into dreamland.  NBD. To get in a strong practice, I'm going to keep this pre-practice-post short and sweet.

Tuesday, April 15, 2019, Woke at my usual 4:30AM for coffee and contemplation. It's 5:38AM as I type this, and I'm going to keep this pre-practice-post brief, and begin meditation, prayer, and breathing exercises.

Thursday, April 11, 2019, I ran a competitive 10K (6.2 miles) this past Saturday. Post-run, I talked myself into McDonalds breakfast (which was amazing), pizza for lunch, and then, behold, pizza for dinner.  No regrets.  I run so I can commit food crimes. Throughout this week, my alarm has gone off at 4:30AM each morning, and I've said "nope" and turned my alarm off to wake later, in between 6:15AM-6:30AM. I'm expecting this morning's practice to be fine, but, even as I sit, I can feel soreness in my body.  Time to sweat it out. Thursday, April 11, 2019 (Part II) I'm writing this post-practice update the next day.  I had a wonderful practice yesterday but, as it goes sometimes, my head was running around and thinking all of its own thoughts.  The mat helps me bring everything down to Earth again and allows me the practice and exercise opportunities to tell myself, " no, brain; we're not going to think about that hilarious Far Side comic ri...

Friday, April 5, 2019 Woke at my usual 4:30AM this morning and am on my mat at 5:42AM as I type this. As in the past few days, I'm going to focus on controlling my mind and breath in today's practice. Friday, April 5, 2019 (Part II) I'm writing this post-practice. I noticed my brain flitting around while I warmed up and meditated so I put more focus into keeping my head clear while I practiced.  Even with the best focus, my brain was a little out of control today.  Physically, I'm feeling wonderful and strong.  Minimal soreness from other physical activity and I'm looking forward to another practice tomorrow morning.  Namaste

Thursday, April 4, 2019 It's been an odd week for yoga.  I've woken at my usual 4:30AM and said, "nope",  twice this week; that's unusual for me, but it does happen sometimes.  I've been sleeping in until 6:00AM for some reason. I'm on my mat at 5:53AM as I type this (a bit behind schedule), so I'm going to keep this pre-practice-post brief. Thursday, April 4, 2019 (Part II) I'm writing this later in the day after my practice, but this morning's session on my mat was strong and marvelous.  I intentionally put more effort into breath control and mind control.  I think I've been a little too lax in those areas lately.  I'm realizing that the more practice I put into shutting my mind off, the easier time I have throughout the day as the inevitable challenges of life come my way.  I am far less reactive to stimuli when I've focused my mind on my mat.  The focus, is on nothingthingness.  As I move and breath, I intentionally look...

Monday, April 1, 2019 Woke at my usual 4:30 AM to start my day. Had a wonderful vacation and time off from my normal work routine this past week. While I didn't indulge too much, I'm definitely going to be feeling "stodgy" for a day or too.  Once I muscle past that two/three day hump, I'll be back to normal. Time to sweat it out and begin my practice.....I slept on an air mattress this past Saturday... Monday, April 1, 2019 (Part II) I'm writing this second post well into my day, but have a free moment to update. I'll say that, over the past few days, I've eaten little more than junk food.  I've eaten clean today and my body is talking to me like, " I don't know what you're doing by eating that apple w/peanut butter and kefir yogurt drink, but we hate it and it tastes like garbage".  Long story short, I'm feeling digestive issues today, and I'm glad I started this morning out on my mat to begin moving things al...

Thursday, March 28, 2019, Still enjoying a wonderful week of vacation. My internal alarm is getting me up at 5:00AM, so I plod out into the kitchen for coffee. It's 8:23AM as I type this post, and I'm feeling well, but I can tell that my brain is flying around.  I'm going to focus on mental control in today's practice. Thursday, March 28, 2019 (Part II) I focused my mind and breath with greater intent today and I believe it paid off. It is extremely tricky to control your mind.  Try to "not think" about anything for any length of time, and your mind starts to stir, almost within seconds.  You'll start thinking about work, friends, to-do lists, that embarrassing thing you did in the 7th grade; you'll start thinking about "not thinking" and if you're doing enough "not thinking" to really be "not thinking". I joke with what I'm writing above, but your brain really does flit around like that almost all of t...

Monday, March 25, 2019 I'm writing this first post at 10:31AM.  I'll be enjoying some lovely vacation days this week and will be allowing myself more time to relax and chill in the mornings before hitting my mat.  I ran around, all caffeinated, and did some deep cleaning around my home that I'd been putting off. I'll be running either the Half-Marathon or 10K (6.2 miles) in a few weeks, and I've been diligent with my running routine.  I'll be paying special attention to my warm up this morning to ensure that I un-kink my feet and legs gradually and intentionally. Time to sweat it out. Monday, March 25, 2019 (Part II) I re-titled this post after my practice because this morning was a strong, and focused physical practice.  I feel proud and amazed at what I accomplished.  I'm thankful that my body can cooperate as it did today. Sun Salutes A and B were controlled, stable, and strong.  I continued to extend and add-on poses to Sun Salute B to make ...

Friday, March 22, 2019, I'm writing this on a Friday morning at 10:00AM. I'm enjoying some vacation time today, and every day next week. I'm going to begin my meditation and go through a light practice. Friday, March 22, 2019 (Part II) I went through my meditation and prayer series, but I feel like I have so many thoughts buzzing through my mind, that I can't focus myself properly, another side of me doesn't even want to focus my thoughts, as I'm buzzing with good, high-spirited energy.  I went through my Sun Salutes after prayers and meditation and they were simple, clean and strong.  I added some additional postures to my, already modified, Sun Salute B (I normally do four Sun Salute A's and 2 Sun Salute B's).  Sun Salute/Surya Namaskara can be viewed here .   I am nowhere near as beautiful in my movement as the practitioner in this video, but this gives a visual representation of what I do each morning on my mat.  I follow these Sun Salute...