Tennessee Adventures and Misadventures

I have been spending long stretches of time near Chattanooga Tennessee for work so my Yoga, diet and exercise lifestyle has been adjusted somewhat to account for long work hours ,  missing my kitchen, having a tiny hotel to practice in and not having my well loved home Yoga studio nearby.

My big misadventure is my inability to keep water bottles.   In two classes that I took in the past week,   I have left water bottles both times.   I assume that  I'll get them back but it has been most annoying.  That is what I get for chatting with the instructor after class.   One I had for a total of two days.   And what is with $12 water bottles.  Someone is making a huge profit somewhere.

One good thing about the town I'm in  (Cleveland, Tennessee) is that there is a Greenway that runs through town and goes almost 6 mile.  Most evenings (if the temperature is below 100) I try to do at least 5 or 6 miles walking there if  my work schedule allows it.   It has been brutally hot here, but parts are shaded so it has been bearable.  I try to do this as much as possible even if I do practice Yoga that day. 

Nearby is a great amount of Hiking.   Smokey Mt National Park is an hour away and the Cherokee National Forest is only 1/2 an hour away.    Two coworkers and I did a great 13 mile hike through pretty rugged terrain.   The heat has made it dicey to hike unless you start early in the morning because of the continual threat of thunder storms and because the temperature has been hitting the mid 90's  (35c) .

I found a second Yoga studio to supplement the one here in Cleveland.    I really only like the Yin class here (really great well prepared instructor) as the floor is tile and it is not good for a flow class.   The second one is in Chattanooga (about 20 miles away) but it is mostly interstate so the drive it not too bad.   I have taken a few classes at the further studio and the facility is much better and they have a rubber like floor.  In addition,  they have some good hot classes  including something called Barkan Yoga which is a flow based style in a heated room.   In one class we did head stands, hand stands, and shoulder stands.  It was more than fun.   I'm really liking Yoga East in Chattanooga Tennessee.

http://www.yoga-east.net/

Food is always a challenge but with a refrigerator in my room there is always fresh vegetables and beer.   Each is necessary for life.  

Namaste..

Calmness

When I do a yin yoga practice session and added on meditation afterwards,  I am spending upwards of an hour and a half on my mat.    Most of the poses I do are 3 minutes long and at a minimum and,  while not painful, are not exactly comfortable either.    This requires me to just sit and think  (or not think) and stare into my mat , my head or space for quite a long time.  This goes against my general nature and has required me to adjust myself to be able to do this practice.

I am by nature an unsettled person.   My attention span is pretty short and like a normal child of the 60's,  I need something to entertain me at all times.   My grade school report cards always said things like "Eugene likes to speak out to much" and "Eugene needs to settle down".    I am thankful that Ritalin came after my early school years or I would have joined the doped masses. 

Yoga has allowed me to find a sense of calm and to be comfortable with just my thoughts and to shut down my thoughts at certain times.    I am a much  calmer person than I was before I started my practice.   I have learned to take a few breaths and calm down when stressed (even when driving).    This has been a real plus for my mental health.     I am a very mellow for a long time after my practice and meditation.   The sense of peacefulness that I have is something that I very rarely if ever have had outside of my Yoga practice.  This has gone a long way for my general health and well being to be able to control stress.

In a Yin class I took today,  we had a very long (five minute) side twist to hold.   It was not very comfortable but I was able after a time to almost shut down my mind and my feeling of discomfort. I was able enter a zone where I could have probably done 10 minutes without realizing how long I had been there.   It was a great feeling and it will continue to feel great.


Namaste.