With An Open Heart

Image of Wheel pose from Universal Yoga Center

Last week work was very challenging both physically and mentally, and I expect this week may be more of the same. I was so glad that I took the time to go to yoga on Sunday morning and to go to the gym today. Being physical makes such a difference in how I feel about myself and about the world around me. Each time I have a really great workout, I feel like I have contributed positively to my own being and also to the person I am capable of being in the world. 
Two memorable things happened this week in yoga- I did my first backbend (also called wheel pose), and my yoga teacher read part of the quote below, which I've been thinking about a lot. Sometimes, it is really challenging to have an open heart and to be our best selves. When we can, however, those feelings of love, generosity, kindness, and compassion that we express to those around us build on themselves. When we express our love and gratitude, it helps those feelings grow not just in ourselves, but also in our communities.

"This scarce human body is acquired after many lifetimes; don't waste this opportunity. Every moment of life is precious. Do not think of yourself as weak and fallen. That which was done up to now, understand that this was unintentional. But now, apply yourself to action fit for a human. If having become a human being you do not obtain knowledge of your Divine nature, it is as if you have sold a diamond for the price of spinach.

The world is in need of love. With an open heart, you radiate the light of love to all those around you. Remember, no impulse of love is wasted. As a lover, rejoice in your state of lovingness, and know that every being who reflects a ray of your love is enlightened by the experience. This is your essential state. It always was and always will be.

Do not allow the pervasive worldly demands of life to constrict your heart. The sun does not use the excuse of clouds to stop shining its light, for it knows that clouds will always come and go. It is your birthright to live a life abundant in love. Make the commitment today to open your heart and let your love flow. No matter what has happened in your past, you have an infinite capacity for love. Please use it, for your own sake and the sake of this precious world."-Swāmī Brahmānanda Saraswatī

Neck Update/ 2 new Friends!

I realized I should give an update on the neck problems I was having last week. Last Monday I saw a chiropractor for the first time. I visited Andy Rosser at the recommendation of one of my co-workers. He was kind and gentle and not at all scary. Two things he recommended that have seemed to help were switching from hot packs to  ice packs (my trusty bag of edamame works great!) and using a ball to do stretches on my back muscles. My neck is slowly but surely getting better, and I am finally returning to my normal life.  It's still not perfect, but it's a lot better, and it feels great to be able to do some of the active things I enjoy.

Crossfit?

This week I'm making kind of a weird goal (#47) and that is to go check out the CrossFit gym downtown before February of next year. I am simultaneously intrigued and wary of CrossFit- most of the people I know who do CrossFit are in excellent shape and talk about how much they loooovvvveee CrossFit. I have also met a fair number of people who have gotten injured doing CrossFit, and that is part of what makes me wary.  I've also have gotten the impression that CrossFit gyms can be a little competitive, and as I think I've said before, competitiveness in gyms is something that isn't really a good fit for me. But recently a customer at the Co-op who I really like told me that the downtown CrossFit gym has a beginner program where you learn to do the exercises with other folks who have never done CrossFit before. He claims it's low-pressure, fun, and fairly affordable. I figure it's at least worth checking out and might be a way to keep myself motivated and interested in working out.

More Fun in the Woods

 I went for a hike on Monday in Priest Point Park, and I was surprised to find a pretty big tree had fallen and blocked the main trail. I don't remember it being particularly windy on Saturday or Sunday, but it must have been, because the tree appeared to have simply fallen over, and the base was broken and splintered. Of course, I didn't let that downed tree stop me; I just climbed over it and kept going. Farther along the trail, I saw a few other smaller trees that appeared to have taken a topple as well.  It's pretty cool to be in the same woods so often that you can easily tell when some weather event has happened, even if you didn't notice it when you were cozy in your bed at home. I also got to see my first PPP snake on Monday! I heard rustling and then noticed a pile of leaves that appeared to be moving of its own accord. Suddenly, out slithered a little black and green snake. I stopped and watched it for a little while, and I think it was watching me too, as it stayed very still when I moved close to it. We sat there, each waiting for the other to make the first move, until a boisterous golden retriever bounded up and broke the spell.

In the Woods

 This morning I went for a hike in the woods, and it was absolutely magical. There was a very light breeze blowing, which kept sending the leaves falling towards the ground. They were swirling lazily from the sky, and eventually touching down with a melodic little flutter. It was spooky and beautiful. If you like to hike and don't want to go far away to get to a trail, Priest Point Park is a perfect destination. The trails are well-maintained and provide a (mostly) easy walk through woods of both deciduous and evergreen trees, and include several nice views of Puget Sound as well as beach access if you want to get a little closer to the water. The uncharacteristic lack of rain this fall has left piles and piles of beautiful leaves to look at and crunch under your boots. Knowing Olympia, this isn't going to last much longer, so get out there while you can and enjoy one of the coolest (and free!) places in Olympia.

Push It

This week at the gym I used 10lb weights for my arm workouts  instead of my usual 8lbs. A couple of years ago I was working out with a friend and he suggested I try using 10lb weights- pointing out that due to the amount of lifting that I do for my job, 8lbs probably isn't much of a challenge for me. While I've used 10lb weights occasionally since then, they've always felt a little too heavy for me to use consistently. It's true that I lift a lot for work (40lb cases of bananas! 50lb cases of potatoes!), but somehow at the gym, the 10lb weights just felt too heavy...
This week, however, I decided to give the 10lb weights another try, and to my surprise, they didn't feel too heavy at all. They were challenging, but totally manageable. I'm going to credit the amount of yoga I've been doing with helping me develop better arm and shoulder strength.  I want to keep using the 10lb weights and see if I can eventually work my way up to 12lbs. Goal #40-  to use 10lb weights for my primary arm and shoulder exercises, doing 3 sets of eight reps for each exercise.

Underwater Fun

When I was in Hawaii, I was shocked to discover how much I love snorkeling.  I have never been a fan of putting my head under water, so I thought I would be really uncomfortable. Imagine my surprise when I found that swimming is really fun when you can open your eyes and breathe under water. After I tried snorkeling once, I was hooked, and I wanted to do it as much as possible. Now, being back at home, I'd love to recapture some of the fun I had in the ocean, and enjoy some of the awesome exercise that swimming provides.  Despite the fact that I live near the sound, the water is far too cold here to swim or snorkel without a wetsuit except during the very warmest times of the year, and even then, it's pretty cold! I think I'm going to give swimming in the pool at the YMCA another chance. I wish I could wear a snorkel mask during lap swim, but I think maybe I'll just stick with goggles and maybe even be a total nerd and get a nose clip. Goal#38: Swim at the YMCA at least once before the year is over. I hope I really love it and decide to make swimming a part of my regular gym workouts.

Welcome Back and Happy Birthday Self

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted on this blog-just about 3 weeks. Happily, the reason I wasn't posting is that I was enjoying myself in Hawaii! One of the goals I made before I left for my trip was to try at least one new activity before the end of the year. In Hawaii, it was easy to meet this goal, as I tried a lot of new things. Snorkeling was my favorite new thing I tried, and since I did it without fins, it was great exercise too! I saw many beautiful fish, tons of coral, a few eels, and even some sea turtles! I also tried some new foods: Ono (a delicious type of fish that I had grilled on a salad), green papaya slaw, lilikoi (also known as passionfruit), ahi poke (raw tuna salad with yummy marinade), rambutan (a fruit that looks scary but tastes good), and laulau (in this case they were little bundles of root veggie wrapped in taro leaves). I also ate lots of fresh ripe papaya and pineapple. Lastly, I officiated a wedding, which was a very exciting and fun experience. Getting away was so refreshing and relaxing, and even though I didn't maintain some of my usual goals (going to the gym, riding my bike, eating blueberries, etc.), I feel like the mental health benefits were so great that it far outweighs any physical health benefits that I may have missed out on for a few weeks. Now I'm back and ready to start working on my health and blogging about it again, and right in time for my 39th birthday!

More Mysteries of the Deep

(Photo from TESC's invertebrate zoology webpage)

 I went out for a beautiful paddle on Monday morning. When I launched, the tide was extremely low, and I was able to see some marine life that I haven't had the opportunity to see before. There were lots of the amazing creatures pictured here. When I saw them, I assumed they were some kind of anemones, but thanks to David Jamison's fabulous webpage, I was able to identify what I saw as Northern Feather Duster Worms. WORMS! There is a video here of this thing in action, and it is pretty amazing. I think I've written about David Jamison's site before, but I want to mention it again, because it is  incredibly cool to be out paddling, see an animal or plant, and have such an easy to use and detailed resource to help me identify it. In addition to the spectacular worms, I also saw a lot of Purple Sea Stars. Even though being out during such a low tide was kind of weird (my paddle hit the bottom in the middle of the sound!), it was fantastic to get the chance to see some of the animals that live a little further down than I usually get to see.

Sweaty Selfie

I had a great workout at the gym tonight, and I was proud of my efforts. You can't really really tell in the picture, but I am absolutely drenched in sweat here. That is partially because I was really pushing myself and partially because the downtown YMCA is not air conditioned, so it is hot as Hades in the summer. I had a funny moment tonight when I was working out, where I felt like a total fraud, and thought that all of the other gymmies were looking at me and thinking "What is she doing here?", but as I kept going and my endorphins started kicking in, I felt like I totally owned the place. This is my 3rd YMCA workout this week. Say what you will about the rain,  but nothing like foul weather to motivate me to spend time at the gym!

My Sweet Ride #2

 This post is an ode to my beautiful paddleboard. I took it out on the Sound today, and the whole time I was out there, I kept thinking "Man, I love this board!". My board isn't the fanciest, or the sleekest, or the most expensive board out there, but it's perfect for me. It's long enough and wide enough to deal with the small waves and boat wake that are frequently present in the Sound, yet it's light enough for me to lift it onto my car fairly easily. I love the way it feels under my feet, and when I am on it, I feel stable, strong, and athletic. I can move through the water quickly and easily maneuver and turn the board when I need to. Plus, it's just so darn pretty. I love you sweet paddleboard. Thanks for taking me out to places I used to only see from the shore!

Live and Learn

I wanted to do an update on my last post about doing yoga with weights. I woke up the next morning with a terribly sore neck and back. My neck was so stiff it was hard to turn my head. Luckily, I was able to get in to see Miracle Merey, the incredibly gifted massage therapist I've written about before. She got things loosened up and I'm feeling much better now, but it was a good learning experience for me- maybe doing yoga with weights isn't such a great idea after all. It's possible that I just slept funny or that my muscles were already taxed from working and that I just overdid it, but I think for a little while anyway, I might just stick to regular yoga. I'll guess I'll have to keep things interesting by changing the music I'm listening to or doing yoga outside.

Keeping Your Workouts Interesting

I've been doing a lot of yoga lately, so much in fact, that I'm making Goal #29 to add another yoga workout each week to my fitness commitments. Since I sometimes don't have the time or money to go to classes at the yoga studio, I have been doing some of my yoga at home, using DVDs from the library. In order to keep these workouts interesting and challenging, I am trying something new, which is to use light dumbells (3lbs) with some of the poses I am doing. 3lbs doesn't sound like much, but when I am in a pose that is already challenging, the weights push me just a little farther and keep my workouts interesting. I am also very grateful to Zach who rearranged the furniture in our dining room to give me a mini yoga studio in our house. Even though I was (highly) skeptical at first, it has been so awesome to have a nice space to work out in at home.

Changes

Lately I've been noticing that my body is starting to look different than it did back in January when I started this blog. My clothes sit in different places on my body, and I can see muscles and definition where I didn't see them as much before (especially in my shoulders and legs). After a few questions from family members about how much weight I've lost, I decided to weigh myself on a proper scale. I don't have a scale in my house because I don't want to obsess about my weight, and so I hadn't weighed myself in a few months. On my last visit to the Y, I got on the scale and I was surprised to find that I have actually lost a fair amount of weight. I want to point out that I have not been trying to reduce my caloric intake or forbidding any particular foods (with the exception of beer, which I decided to take a month long break from last week). I've just been eating tons of healthy food and exercising more than I used to. After noticing that I had lost some weight, I decided to check my measurements. I recorded them 2 months ago when I ordered a dress, so I have a recent record to compare to. Since the beginning of June, I've lost an inch from my waist and hips, two inches from my bust, and (thankfully), no inches from my biceps. I hope I can keep getting strong and fit as the year continues, developing muscles where I didn't have them before, and increasing my endurance and flexibility. I'm also excited for the next time I visit the doctor for my annual blood work, etc. to see how my dietary and fitness changes have impacted my blood sugar, cholesterol, etc.

Sunday Bike Ride

 Today I wanted to get out and enjoy the beautiful Pacific NW. I really felt like taking a hike in the woods, but due to some blisters I got breaking in new shoes this week, I knew that probably wasn't a good idea. I decided to take a bike ride instead, and as I was riding along I remembered that there is a portion of the Chehalis-Western trail near my house that is wooded and quiet, and I thought that would be a great substitute for a hike in the woods. I've written about the Chehalis-Western trail before in relation to walking, but I have to say, it is even better on a bike! The trail is flat and paved, and it winds through some really beautiful areas. The portion of the trail I was on today is kind of funny, because it is bordered in some areas by cow and horse pasture, so you do get an occasional whiff of barnyard smell, especially on warm days like today. In a few more weeks the blackberries will be ripe, though, and when that happens, the only thing you will smell on the trail is their heavenly, musky berriness. As I was riding on the trail, I looked up at the trees. With the dappled sunlight hitting their array of green leaves and needles,  they were breathtaking. I thought about how amazing it must be for people who come to the Pacific NW for the first time. I feel so fortunate to live in a place of such incredible beauty, and I hope I never take this place for granted.

Lose Yourself To Dance

 Last weekend some friends and I were watching videos from Daft Punk's new album Random Access Memories. A couple of the videos (Lose Yourself To Dance and Give Life Back to Music) featured people dancing on the show Soul Train in the 1970s, as well some fantastic shots of people dancing from movies and music videos. We danced along with the videos, and I had so much fun and got in some great exercise too. I've posted before about how much I love to dance, but when I was watching the Soul Train dancers, I felt totally in awe of their incredible moves. There is also this memorable dance scene from the movie Boogie Nights which I've always loved. I want to learn to dance like that, and believe me, if anyone ever offers a disco fitness class, I'm totally in! Since that doesn't exist yet, I decided to check out the library's catalogue to see if there were any instructional disco dvds I could check out. There were two available, and I checked them both out a few days ago. Tonight, I watched portions of both of them and danced along with them for about an hour. It was so super cheesy, and I felt like a total weirdo dancing along to these in my living room by myself. It was definitely a funny and fun experiment though, and I'm going to try to find a better quality disco dvd and keep practicing my moves. Hopefully, someone will invent a time machine eventually, and I'll get to go back and show off my moves. Ha!

Breakfast In the Sound

Today after work, I went for a beautiful paddle. I saw an incredible array of marine animals, including seals (tons of them were hanging out on the log boom- they looked like a pack of dogs with bowling balls for heads!), blue herons, and jellyfish. This time, the jellies weren't the harmless moon jellies that I've written about before, but another type called a fried egg jellyfish. The fried egg jelly is much larger than the moon jelly, but has a sting that is mild, so I was careful not to fall in, but not too afraid. There were so many of them out in the sound, and they really do look like giant fried eggs floating in the water. It's a pretty weird sight to see.

I don't normally go paddling much on the weekends due to the potentially heavy boat traffic, and today was no exception. A few of the boats were zooming around really fast (despite the "no-wake" zone) and it reminded me of "THUNDER! THUNDER! THUNDER! On the Ohio"- a speedboat race on the Ohio river that used to happen in my hometown. Being on a paddleboard with heavy boat traffic is kind of like riding your bike on a busy street, except you have a much bigger bike lane to ride in! At any rate, despite all the boat traffic, I was glad to have gone out. It was a great way to unwind after work and a chance to get in a good workout too. 

But We're Harmless...Really

This afternoon I went paddling from the rower's dock at Swantown, and I was astonished to see swarms of jellyfish right up by the dock (incidentally, a swarm of jellyfish is called a "bloom"). As I looked out, I could see that they were filling the water from the dock all the way out into the Sound. Luckily, these are Moon Jellyfish, and their stings are usually not powerful enough to penetrate human skin, so if I did fall in and get stung, I probably wouldn't even feel it. The jellies are beautiful to watch, with their glowy, translucent bodies. Still, there is something about many creatures swarming that gives me pause. I felt a little wary about plunking my board right in among them, but it was such a nice day that I decided to go for it. It was windy and challenging going out, but that was good, as I was looking for a workout today, and let me tell you, I got one! On the way back, the wind had settled down, and it was balmy and idyllic, which is the best way to come back in after a vigorous paddle.
Puget Sound was at its majestic best today, and I'm so grateful that I got a chance to enjoy it. I've found pugetsoundsealife useful for identifying the creatures I see and learning more about them. The Sound is full of an incredible array of life, and it is fun and interesting to learn more about the vast world below me as I paddle around it.

Overcoming Fear

This afternoon, I went out for an utterly marvelous paddle by myself. It was the perfect weather for paddling; warm and dry, with a nice light breeze. I saw a bunch of seals, a couple of gorgeous blue herons, and tons of beautiful sailboats (especially as I was heading in- it turned out to be pretty breezy as afternoon became evening). At any rate, what enabled me to go on my terrific paddle today was driving my car. Anyone who knows me well knows how much I dislike driving, and that most of the time, I will go to great lengths to avoid driving (Ride my bike home at 1am when there is no bus? Sure, better than driving! Carry a backpack stuffed with groceries and walk 4 miles? Yes, especially if it means not driving!). But at this point, the only way I can get my board and myself to the water by myself is by driving my car. I have a roof rack that is easy to use (especially since my dynamite friend Kim taught me an easy trick for attaching it), and there is a place close to my house that I can drive to get to the water. It's pretty cool having something I love so much (paddling) be an activity that requires me to do something I really dislike (driving) because it provides the motivation I need to overcome my fear of driving a car. So this is goal #22- I will drive my car at least once a week. Hopefully, it will be to do something fun like paddling. For those of you who haven't been paddling and want to try it out but are afraid- trust me, driving the car to the water is the hardest part!

"Bikini Body"

Today I saw an ad in a "health" magazine that made me feel completely enraged. In the ad was a beautiful woman, smiling and holding a glass of cloudy liquid. Next to her was a list with "My Bikini  Plan" written at the top. Would you like to know her plan? For the first week, she is going to replace all of her meals with a supplement powder that is stirred into water. She also gets to add one teaspoon of oil to each drink, and as a bonus, she can drink as much vegetable broth as she likes! Wow! For the "Second Week and Beyond", she will do a slightly modified version of this plan that allows her to add a little low-fat milk and some spices to her drinks and eat some vegetables and lean meat once a day. Can you imagine trying to be an active person if you were actually following this plan? I can't. I think this type of advertising plays a huge role in why many women are insecure about their bodies and turn to fad diets like this one to fit into a particular idea of what advertisers tell us a beautiful body looks like. The concept of eating a certain way (or not really eating at all in this case) so that you can look a certain way in a bikini is repulsive to me. Sadly, it is also a type of cultural conditioning that I have struggled with myself many times over the course of my life.  You know how I want my body to be? Strong, muscular, fit, and healthy. In order to achieve that end, I try to eat a balanced, whole foods diet (which includes actual food, and plenty of it!) so that I will have enough energy to work-out and be active. As something I saw recently said: "If you want a bikini body then put a bikini on your body". I say amen to that.