Who moved my cheese... The substitute Yoga teacher..

I always look forward to my Monday evening class.    It is probably my favorite class at my studio.  It is an extended on 1 hour and 15 minutes and with the 20 minutes or so of warmup that I do,  I get a good 1.5 hour practice session in.  

The teacher generally follows the same pattern  (though the flow and class is not 100% the same from week to week) that involves a large number of Sun Salutations,  a great strenuous standing sequence,  a balance,   a challenge pose  (warrior 3 or half moon), a hip stretch, and then a sitting sequence with challenges like table top and plow.    The class is somewhat warm  80 - 85 degrees but not hot.  (90+) 

When I first took the class,  it was very hard but over time as I got stronger and more flexible and knew what to expect,  I really enjoyed going and felt that it was a great part of my practice.

The instructor,however,  had the unmitigated gall to take June and July off so starting yesterday we had a substitute instructor.      I had taken a few classes from her before and while I thought she was OK,  I was not sure how things would be.    Prior to the start of the class,  a few of us were wondering what to expect.   Most of us really liked the current teacher and her class.

I won't go into the details of what new instructor went through except to say that she was more than adequate and in some ways the class was more intense.    I will be looking forward to my old instructor returning but for now,  I guess I can deal with the moved cheese.

First real Headstand

I have been trying to get into a headstand for the past year but really focusing on doing it for the past few months.  I really did not think I would ever do it  (it requires real flexibility in the pelvis).   During the past two Wednesday classes we worked on it.   After about 12 tries and with some encouragement and coaching from the instructor,  I was able to lift the proper way  (not forcing it up).  For me it was a great accomplishment.    Now I just have to be able to do it consistently and remain balanced more than a few seconds   That is the next step along with a graceful exit.

Getting Back in the Routine is very important.

Sometimes my travel and life schedule really kills my time to practice.  I was as up in Maine this past weekend and I was only able to get to practice 2 out of the five weekend days because of the time it takes to travel  back and forth (10-11 hour drive).   My two practices were very rigorous but missing 3 days is tough.

Now that I am home and off of jet lag,  getting back to my home practice and my studio practice has to be a priority.    When you have a period when you get out of your routine,  I think this is when people have the tendency to step away from their practice.   It is critical to pick up the routine from where you left off.  It is also important to remember  (and for me it was a 3 week interruption to my routine),  that you may have taken a step back on the physical side of your practice  (but hopefully not the emotional side) and it may take a few weeks for you to feel that you are back in the same form as when you started.

So in a nutshell  (where did this term come from?) ,  a routine is critical,  breaks from routine can be dangerous to your practice and thus is is very important to resettle on either your old routine or an adjusted one.

Finally over Jet Lag

Well my jet lag is probably 90% gone.    I read that it takes 1 day for every hour difference (and mine was 13) but today is the first morning where I feel almost human.    

Practice this week has not been too intense.  I skipped Sunday and Tuesday but did classes on Monday and last night with a 45 minute session at home yesterday morning.    I really hope to be back on my regular schedule next week  (I go up north this weekend ).

It is also nice to eat my own food.   Too bad I forgot to buy tofu..

Back home and happy to have space and my real mat to practice with.

After spending 3 weeks traveling,  I am happy to be home to my real mat and the ability to have some direct control over my diet.   This was my first trip to Korea,  China and Japan (in that order) and while the experience was really great,   I did have issues both with eating and with practicing regularly.    Japan especially was a challenge to maintain a Vegetarian diet and I was never really sure if what I was eating contained bonito flakes or not.    I just had to go with the flow and deal with it.      Practice was hard with jet lag,  work schedule and small rooms but I was able to get in some good though not great sessions.     I also did a ton of walking,  and because of this,  a good amount of my focus was on restorative Yin sessions.

Now that I am back home  (and was asleep at 7:30 last night and up at 5:30 this morning), I have to get back into a good routine with jet lag once again.  At least I have my kitchen and the foods that I love to cook and eat. 

I am tempted to take the Yoga 2 class this morning but I think my brain will win over my heart and I will take an easier class and may double up with two classes if I am up to it. .   My mental equilibrium is not just there yet for a vigorous tough class and 16 hours in planes has made my back very tight.

Work, Travel Challenges

The past week has been the hardest week on my practice.    My hotel room in  Kusatsu Japan was too small to practice in and there was no gym.   In addition,   work really started at 7:30 when we took a 40 minute train ride to our factory and then ended 12 hours later when we took the train back.   Long days and no room make a difficult practice. 

I was able to practice yesterday and today in Osaka where my room was larger.   I can feel the results of the layoff  (very tight lower back and hamstrings) and neither of them were good sessions.    

Eating in Japan is also a challenge. Everything seems to have fish and meat in it.   There was one work dinner where all I had was some salad and french fries.  That was a challenge to say the least to see tons of Sushi and Sashimi in front of me.   I really liked it in my past life. 

Well.  Off to the plane for the long trip home.

Posting Blocked in China

China blocks blogger so no posts.  Now I am in Japan so I can post again.  It has been a hard exercise week.   My hotel room was small and work has been very busy.   I did get in some practice most days but with travel and social events a few days were missed.    It was a bit challenging eating Veggie in China but found a halfway descent Indian place,  ate some Italian and found a rocking good Chinese restaurant  (whose name I will never know) where you pick out your ingredients, decide on your heat level and they put it all together with about 25 hot peppers. garlic,  ginger and spices.  That was great..     If I go back,  I'm getting stock in that place.