Take a bath!

I went to my sweetie's parent's home yesterday afternoon for a visit. Truth be told, we'd been on the driving range hitting balls in the cold (golf is an outdoor sport, right?) and when we arrived a bit early for dinner, his mom whisked me off and before I knew it, I was soaking in their big jacuzzi bathtub. She's a real sweetheart and her motherly advise to "soak in a hot tub" sounded like the perfect post-cold-golf medicine. And boy, was it. I honestly can say it's been years since I have taken a bath (my condo only has a shower) and I could have easily fallen asleep in the tub. I lingered for about 20 minutes and when I got out and we relaxed over dinner, I must say I have never felt better.

It got me thinking as I was teaching this morning and was relaying this sentiment how many things are accessible to us where the payoff is huge and we can feel so much better but the effort we need to expend is pretty small. Taking a bath, walking outside, hugging a dog, spending time with a child. Taking a yoga class, going for a run, doing any kind of exercise. Reading a good book, taking a deep breath, sitting in stillness for 10 minutes with your eyes closed. These things are natural medicine for your body. You don't have to take a pill, buy a lot of equipment and it's not complicated. But yet, we always try to make life so complex and we never take the time to do the things that would allow us to feel great.

If you have a tub, take a bath. If you don't, take a minute and think about what makes you feel good. Then, do it.

Wherever you go, there you are

I read today in the paper that Oprah was dismayed to admit that she has hit 200 pounds. Dear god. She reported that despite dropping to 160 several months ago, she has been struggling with her thyroid, developed an aversion to exercise and just started eating whatever she wanted, knowing that eventually it would catch up with her.


It's funny how we sometimes think that when you have money (and who has more money than Oprah?!) you don't have the same old regular problems that the rest of us have. I sometimes look at the movie stars and the people the media chases and think wistfully that they must not struggle with the same image issues as the rest of us. "They have access to the best personal trainers, best nutritionists and certainly enough money to buy great clothes and go on wonderful vacations to exotic locations," I would think.

But at the end of the day, guess what? Money can't buy you motivation. It can't guarantee you lose weight. It can't ensure you eat right every day. It can't get you up off the couch to exercise. It can't give you the confidence to make the right choices about what to do with your free time. And really, these are all the same core issues that we each deal with every day, regardless of how much money we have.

There's a great book by the mind/body expert, Jon Kabat-Zinn called "Wherever you go, there you are." It's a comment on the fact that no matter how far you run, how far you try to hide, your issues will still be with you. I remember in the movie "Pretty Woman," at the end, when Richard Gere's character tries to tell Julia Roberts' character that while he can't really commit to her in a real way, he'll take care of her, buy her a home, buy her clothes and see her whenever he can. "It'll get you off the street," he says to her. "That's just geography," she says back. She realizes that until she digs deep down and attacks the real issues inside her, it won't matter where she lives, or what she wears, or how much money she has. Because "wherever she goes, there she'll be."

Oprah hopefully will realize the same thing and soon.

We all have these things inside us that we keep running up against time and time again. And the older we get, we wonder if we'll ever break the patterns we've established. Patterns are like the concentric rings inside a tree; you cut a tree down and you see inside the concentric circles that tell the story of it's life. But we always have the power to change and to make positive changes in our life.

I see people in my yoga classes all the time and when they take their first downward dog, I start to get a sense of who they are. Without words, I watch as they move through their practice. I get an idea of if they're confident, if they're tentative, if they're strong, if they're passive. I get an idea of their optimism, their ability to learn and be open-minded. And time and time again, I am amazed at the power of the human spirit to try, to make an effort, to continue to push oneself, despite challenge. And it gives me faith. That we all have it inside us to make positive changes and turn over a new leaf. And all it takes is that first step.

Be well.

Creating space at home for your practice

I created a new space for my home yoga practice today. Coming from a die-hard in-studio student, it's been a pretty big deal for me to be practicing at home. But a variety of things have come together to render me interested in creating some time and space for practice at home. Truth be told, part of the challenge has been getting the motivation to go out in the dark at night and practice in the studio. So, I've decided to give home practice a try; at least for now, a few days per week.

Prior to tonight, I was practicing by the front door. It was the only logical place to roll out a mat. But I moved a few things around and found a good space in a new spot for my mat. As I rolled the mat out in the area that used to be home for my dog's resting place ( a pretty, flowered soft rug) she looked at me rather concerned and confused as to why I was taking over "her" spot. But she loves yoga so after a few sun salutations, she settled into a new spot by the front door on the rug that's in the entry way. Dogs are so adaptable. It's something we can all learn from our furry friends.

So, I popped a CD into my computer, which was conveniently on my desk, next to my mat and off I went. I had a small heater by the mat and a few extra layers on, but as I tried out my new spot, I really felt like it could work. I christened it with a one hour practice, complete with the dog excitedly milling about during backbends (she loves that part!).

So, I'll try this for a few weeks and see how it feels. If this cold, dark weather has you down, look around your space and see if you can create a place for a home yoga practice. It will bring excellent energy into your home!

Be well.

Being grateful

I went for a run this afternoon. The sun was still out, it wasn't too cold and I started to think about what it means to be grateful. It's been hard these days to be grateful, what with the economy being what it is and every day the headlines scream about another drop in some significant economic indicator or another bail-out by the government of another company. But as I went on my run today ( post- root canal, mind you) I forced myself to start a mental list:

I'm grateful for my health; that I can run and practice yoga. I'm grateful for my friends and family and that they love and support me, no matter what. I'm grateful that I am an intelligent, motivated person that has proven she can survive life's challenges. I'm grateful I have a few dollars in the bank and a job and fairly nice place to live. I'm grateful for my dog and that I have a really special someone in my life that I care deeply about.

There are lots of times in life you can think of the glass as half-full, but on this eve if Thanksgiving, what can you be grateful for?

I will run a short 4 miler tomorrow. My first Turkey day race.

Eat well, be well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Things are not as bad as you think!

All week I have been complaining about how the cold is preventing me from running outside. True, it's cold and yes, that's a barrier to running. But once you bundle up, it's really not that bad. So today, one of the coldest days of early winter thus far, I decided enough is enough. I donned my layers and went out into the sun. And within a few minutes something strange happened. I was hot! Yes, sweating in all my layers and wondering how it was possible that I turned a few cold days into an attitude of defeat. Needless to say, I quickly realized that I had made much ado about nothing. It was great to be outside running after a week off and honestly, I didn't care at all about how fast I ran. It was just great to have gotten over what had become a major mental block. ( truth be told, about 4 miles into the run I developed a very strange pain in my left knee, the likes of which I have not felt since the marathon. I walked the final mile home, which I can honestly tell you, I never do)

We all have mental blocks. They can be around exercise, asking someone out on a date, getting your act together around looking for a new job or organizing your financial papers and information. We can have blocks around communicating, confronting and facing our own truths. We can live in denial all our life and never realize our full potential. Or we can take a chance and see what happens. Life is full of so much possibility and we only have to take that first step to realize how amazing we can really be.

I read (or should say consumed) comedian Artie Lange's book, "Too Fat to Fish" this weekend. You can find it on Amazon at www.amazon.com

For those of you that are unfamiliar, Artie Lange is a regular on the Howard Stern show, weekdays on Sirius Satellite radio. (Yes, some yoga teachers listen to Howard Stern). Artie has lived a very destructive life and while he is wildly successful, it's his periods of dark depression and drug addition to the point several times that has almost killed him. In fact, there are websites dedicated to predicting when Artie will, in fact, die. The book is a picture of honesty, darkness, truth and passion and while it's hard to characterize it as "good," I would describe it as "gripping." It's the kind of read that makes you want to watch a Disney movie after you're done, or go play with a child. It's raw, it's sad, it's scary and the truth of the matter is, part of Artie is in all of us. If you've ever hated yourself the next morning for your behavior the night before, if you've ever felt you've let down your friends and family, if you've ever lacked the self-esteem to realize your full potential, you've been in the same place he has been. Now, you may not have resorted to some of the same incredibly destructive behaviors, but make no mistake about it, inaction is just as destructive over time as outright dangerous action.

As you head into this holiday week, think about what you have been lacking motivation or mindset to achieve. Set some intentions and use the positive energy of the holiday spirit to move you towards that first step.

Be grateful.

How focused are you?

With the recent shift in the weather, I've taken my workouts indoors. Truth be told, I hate the cold. Plus, I like giving my body a break from running. Even though the title of the blog is "Love Yoga and Running," in the winter months, there's a lot more yoga going on.

Recently however, I've found that my personal preferences, finances and schedule really don't permit me to take a lot of group classes. So, I've started practicing at home. Now that may sound great and convenient, but truth be told it can be challenging at times. You first have to find a good spot in your home. For me, it's right by the front door. Where there's a big draft. Enough said. ( I pull out a little space heater) Then there's the challenge of trying to stay focused on your practice when the phone rings, you look and see dust under the couch, you realize your block is in the car, you remember you wanted to put that laundry in the dryer and then, lest I forget, your dog is wandering around you excitedly because she loves yoga! Needless to say, it takes even the most dedicated yogi to be able to maintain focus under these conditions.

So, I've found I just connect to what I can do. Maybe it's not the most strenuous workout. Maybe it's not the most difficult practice. Maybe I'm not being pushed to deeper places as I might be in a group class where the heat and the group experience can take you further than you can sometimes go on your own. But you know what? So what. I'm doing it. And quite honestly, that's all that matters.

Make no mistake about it; the concentration and focus you practice on your mat will carry well to lots of situations. Work is the first one that comes to mind. Most of us work in places where there's a lot of activity. You can't always close your door or move to a conference room to do your job. So, you need to be able to call on something deeper that allows you to focus. Running or any other kind of athletic endeavor requires tremendous focus on the task at hand. Working on a project, writing, reading, thinking and planning for your future; these things all require a single-mindedness and dedication, oftentimes despite what else is going on around you.

So as you practice your poses, remember: there's a lot more going on than meets the eye.

Is slow yoga good yoga?

I practiced at home tonight. I did about 45 minutes of a very slow yoga practice. I hardly broke a sweat. Are you conditioned to determining the quality of your workouts by how much you sweat?

My yoga training was done in a studio where the room is heated to over 90 degrees. The style of yoga that I teach and enjoy doing is a very athletic style. Any ninety minute class will give you a true workout from head to toe. But sometimes, it's just not possible to do the full ninety minute flow. And sometimes, you can't get to a studio where the room is heated. So, I suppose you make do with what you have.

One of my yoga teachers used to say that it's better to do a little bit of yoga regularly, than a lot of yoga infrequently. He often handed out this explanation to students who asked him the age old question: " How often should you practice yoga and what if you don't have 90 minutes a day?" I thought of his answer tonight because all I could muster was about 45 minutes of slow yoga done in a room where I had a little space heater blasting at my feet just to try to get a sense of some warmth going.

All and all, it comes down to finding what works for you. I find that sometimes I place too much value on the intensity of the workout instead of just the mere fact that I'm exercising and moving my body in any way, shape or form. Honestly, not everyone can even say that. So, tonight, I am simply grateful for the fact that I did some yoga, moved my body and breath and was able to shift my energy at least a little.

Be well.