I woke up this morning with a puffy throat feeling miserable. Tomorrow I have a big meeting so I have to find some way to keep it together. My intention was to do a good practice today. I haven't had a chance to do yoga in three days and, y'all know, the essence of commitment is commitment. I sense there's a bolster with my name on it, but that's not exactly promoting my improved strength.
Here's the thing - and I'm sure I don't need to tell you this - as much as you are truly invested in whatever path you're on (just pick one) - the regular world is going to step in semi-regularly to fuck with the plan.
I can handle my current derailment in a variety of ways. I can decide to ignore how I feel and practice hard. That would be foolhardy as years of past experience have taught me. I can feel sorry for myself (actually, this is part of the plan regardless) and do nothing at all.
Did I mention that it's pouring misery outside?
I'm aiming for the middle ground: some knitting, the requisite cooking (Bolognese cuz it's comfort food) and these gluten-free brownies. (I haven't forgotten to tell you about my gluten-free experiment. I'm just choosing not to dwell on it. Thank God for the new GF bakery on my route to work because baking without flour is a whole new frontier...)
I'll practice some kind of yoga. It won't be intense. It may be fairly static. Mind you, as I start to move I may feel better. As with all things (impending but distant home reno), it's best to take the long view. I'm stronger than I was 2 months ago. Hopefully I'll be stronger (and less inclined to colds) in another 2 months.
But enough wallowing. Here are a couple of yoga resources I've been meaning to tell you about...
Yoga By Candace: I read very few yoga blogs. Actually, there are very few yoga blogs that are more than 5 posts deep or that talk about the topic in a way I can get with. Candace manages to be very engaging on a variety of peripheral topics, particularly yoga "style" (aka clothing and accessories). She's peripatetic. She stays in awesome hotels. She's not hard to look at (and there are many opps to do so). And she's struggled with a serious illness in the past 4 years, which makes her practice and lifestyle all the more impressive. This is an interesting blog for those of you who want to see yoga through the lens of a real person who happens to be a teacher. It's not granola in the slightest, but if you have hotel envy, trigger alert. BTW, while I'm interested in Candace's tutorials (as a fellow teacher), I don't look to her practice posts as a learning vehicle - so I can't recommend her on that basis.
My Yoga Online: Recently this site (one of which I've had longstanding experience) merged with Gaiam TV. I have to say, the merger has made a formerly good site 100 times better - in as much as the content had doubled and broadened. Worry not however, if you care nothing of any element of Gaiam TV's "channels" except for the yoga one. The inventory of classes taught by numerous teachers has doubled. Needless to say, I would never recommend a website over a studio with a good teacher who can observe your body and alter your practice in accordance with your needs. But as a supplement or if you live in an isolated place (or work odd hours), it's a really good addition to a home practice. There's not much Iyengar instruction, alas... Most of it is pan-yogic, which is not optimal, IMO. I haven't spent a lot of time looking at the volume of beginner classes so I don't know how useful they are, but I can tell you there are numerous very challenging classes of all lengths. My fave teachers currently are Kreg Weiss (Cdn) and Rodney Yee (Iyengar expat). Kreg's got many more offerings than Rodney - to suit me, however. There are also "yoga challenges" (sign-up events of a variety of lengths to assist in developing practice), articles, guides and tons of resources on anatomy.
Hopefully these sites may be of some use to you.
Today's questions: Which yoga blogs to do read? Have you tried My Yoga Online? If yes, what do you think of the revamp? Do you use another online platform to supplement your practice? Let's talk.
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These will be a great resorce for me post-partum.
ReplyDeleteOh yes! Very good for new mums with yoga background. Because you can do it any time!
DeleteI don't read any yoga blogs, and because of an injury I sustained last year, I've had to dramatically reduce and alter my own practice. But in the past I used yogaglo.com, which has a subscription format. I like that the classes are searchable by style, teacher, intensity, duration. I've also found some good practice sequence videos on yogajournal.com. But like you, I wouldn't recommend these things across the board - I think it's essential to get a good start with a teacher before moving on to a non-interactive format like these.
ReplyDeleteI wondered who'd mention YogaGlo. I wish I could recommend that site (for its Iyengar teaching if nothing else) but they've recently patented the way they film their classes and I find it utterly objectionable - as well as totally stupid. It's been quite a scandal in the yoga community. Have you heard about it?
DeleteNo, I haven't! I have never been part of any yoga community. Well, at least not for about 30 years, when I first started learning yoga. For the last many, many years, my practice has been all on my own, at home. Now my curiosity is piqued - don't think I can resist googling it!
DeleteCheck it out. They even addressed it (badly) on their own site. I SO wish they hadn't done that because I think their platform is likely the best one out there for those who prefer Iyengar practice. But it would be particularly unyogic for me to subscribe in light of my feelings about their philosophy.
DeleteYeah, I checked it out. A whole lot of uncoolness going on. I had already unsubscribed by the time that all went down, so I guess that's why I missed the whole thing!
DeleteSuch a good line: the essence of commitment is commitment. So, so true, and mine was tested over the last two weeks. Like you, I found ways to adapt as well as times that just going home for a nap was the best path.
ReplyDeleteHusband does yoga by laptop when the schedule dictates (although he's also able to get to 3 or more classes a week, lucky semi-retired guy!). Because of my hearing, it's a sub-optimal approach for me, but I have heard that MyYogaOnline is good and have been meaning to check it out. Pleased to hear you think it's decent.
That's my credo! I came up with it at a particularly challenging time in my marriage :-) Can you turn up the volume high on the laptop or plug it into your sound system for more ballast? I like to watch the videos once before doing them, if time permits, because my vision is not great (I really need my glasses, can't wear contacts) and I can't really do the classes with my glasses on. So in the same way you can't hear, I can't see. I find it's helpful to watch once or I really have to pay attention to what I'm hearing.
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