The Counter Pose To Life

Recently it’s seemed like my yoga practice has really ebbed and flowed. I get in a groove with it for a period of time and then I start skipping out on my practice when I feel busy and other things are demanding my attention. Case in point, I practiced ashtanga 2-3 times a week (in addition to attending my normal power classes) for a year and a half and now I have only practiced ashtanga twice since November. My ashtanga practice is important to me because it is self-led and allows me the opportunity to slow down and just be with myself and my thoughts for a while.

My schedule has been very busy during this transition time between jobs and I allowed my yoga practice to slip. This is especially hard when you teach a lot of classes and know that you aren’t giving your practice the dedication it deserves. Over the last week I have recommitted myself to my practice and I have been regularly attending classes. I am amazed by how much better I feel both physically and mentally from simply being back on my mat consistently. Although I have not picked my ashtanga practice back up yet, this is a great start.

I had a fairly busy day but I made attending a class a priority and it ended up being the best decision I made all day. It was one of those practices where I felt like everything my teacher was saying was directly applicable to how I was feeling. At the end of our 90-minute practice she told us it was now time to take the counter pose to life – rest. In yoga we sequence our classes based on pose/counter pose. Bent knee pose/straight knee pose, back bend/forward bend, etc.

She told us we practice power yoga because we can’t be still with ourselves. We need the physical distraction to be able to get out of our heads but the counter pose to all of this physical activity is rest. Being still on our mats for 5 minutes at the end of class. Being still at the end of the day. Letting the experiences of the day soak in. Knowing that the next day is a new opportunity to let everything else go and start again. As we settled into savasana she said to us, “let the Earth hold you.” I kept repeating the phrase in my head and felt an instant surrender into my mat. I walked out of the studio and into the sunshine with a smile on my face and a lightness in my heart. This is why I practice yoga.

I kind of ate my breakfast in several parts over the course of the morning.

Part 1 was peanut butter toast with honey and bananas at 6:30 a.m. before teaching a 7 a.m. class and then training a client. Part 2 was half of an Apple Pie Larabar that I ate in the car on the way to yoga.

Part 3 was a green smoothie (well, a strange shade of green) after yoga to hold me over through teaching a lunch yoga class. Banana, strawberries, spinach, honey, milk and Greek yogurt. I really wanted to add some protein powder but a quick scan through the cabinets revealed that I was out. Need to remedy that now that the days will be getting warmer and I’ll be craving smoothies more.

It was an amazing day in Charlotte. I had a break between my class and a yoga private so I walked around downtown, grabbed lunch and ate outside. The weather was perfect. We are having the best winter ever with very, very few cold days and no snow or ice!

Lunch was a turkey wrap with artichoke spread and a cup of vegetable soup from Just Fresh. My afternoon yoga private was really fun. I do a group private each week with the staff of our new professional lacrosse team, the Charlotte Hounds. Today they had two players in town so they joined us. They loved the practice!

I spent the rest of the day/evening hanging out at Metro. I had a meeting about some new classes we’re launching in March, did some computer work and then did the 6:30 Crossfit class. Today’s workout was really cardio-intense, which was just what I was looking for. We did an 800 meter run and a 500 meter row two times. I finished in 14-something. My hips were on fire during the last row. The row was supposed to be a 400-meter backwards run but given my level of coordination there was no way that was happening.

Dinner was a salad with a veggie burger, cheese, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, carrots, avocado and balsamic vinaigrette. Toast on the side. Now I’m craving chocolate milk for some reason? Really random.

Hope it was a great Tuesday!