A River Between

Since my roommate moved out a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been enjoying my space at home much more, and finding new ways to use it, so it seems. About six months ago I purchased OM Yoga in a Box, from the suggestion of someone over the internet, and practiced it a few times, then just sort of let it set for a while. I got a roommate, and in my small space, it just wasn’t convenient to move things in the living room to give me adequate space to do yoga.

This week, I seem to have found a new friend. I’ve done this yoga practice four out of the last five days this week, and I’m really happy with even the progress I’ve made in just four days.

The first benefit I found after just the first day, was that for almost the entire next day, I felt as if my chest was open and my shoulders naturally fell back to give my lungs about 50% more capacity. Being a singer for almost all of my life, I think that this benefit is going to go a long way.

Day two, I felt so much more rested, and seemed to have a bit more energy the next morning. It’s great waking up feeling alert and being able to breathe fully right when you arise. This could turn me into a morning person. HA! We’ll see.

Day three, I went from 30 to 45 minutes of yoga as I added module 2, “Sun Salutations.” I was a bit tired after this, but I did the whole routine, taking a few breaks when I needed to, but I got through it, and then did the final meditation from “Corpse Pose.” The next morning in the shower, I felt like my body was so much more in line with itself. I had this very light and flexible, yet strong feel to my posture. A really interesting feeling.

I took a day off Wednesday to rest. I also had some things to attend to in the Twin Cities, which didn’t bring me home until about 11pm, so I just called it a night.

Day four - I feel like I made a big jump in progress. The warmup didn’t tire me at all! I got through all of it without taking breaks in the “Child’s Pose,” or resting position. As well, one of the tougher moves, “Plank Pose” where you allow your body to be somewhat parallel to the floor, kind of like when you are at the top of a push-up, seemed easier, flowed incredibly well, and I was able to really integrate it with my breath. The Sun Salutations section, while it did tire me a bit, I was able to complete most of it without taking many “breaks”. I was also more comfortable trying out the “Tadasana” standing position without modification, with my feet together, toes and heels meeting together. It felt much better this way today.

A very dramatic thing happened with the cool down ending meditation. While I was lying on the floor on my back, arms outstretched, legs extended, I felt something very strange, interesting, and wonderful. It was as if my skin were just another layer or me, and I could feel energy moving across it. Underneath I could feel energy running through the inside of my body with my breath. The coolest feeling was just being fully aware and sensing how my hair fell on my forehead, and how the skin, sweat, and air around me felt on my face. It was as if my senses opened up, and I was completely in my body. A really good feeling!

I’ll be going to Iowa and then my parents’ place in Missouri over the holiday weekend. I’ve packed my OM Yoga CD and materials, so I can keep on with this new discovery.

One of the other things that’s happening, is that I’ve changed my eating habits this week. I’ve cut out 90% of my caffeine (I did get a mocha at the coffee shop this morning as a treat), and I’ve really been watching my carbs (not cutting them out completely), and substituting snacks at work and home with healthy ones. Apples, bananas, nuts, etc. I think it may be the mind-body connection that yoga has I’ve heard, that is really making me think about what I do and its effect on me and in the world. I’m not making any far reaching goals of “I’m going to lose this many pounds by this time” or anything like that, but I feel like I should just continue to renew myself and feed my body with good things each day. It’s actually felt “natural” and “normal” this week for me to carve the time for exercise and yoga, and to make healthy food choices. I don’t feel I’m sacrificing anything at all. It’s a great feeling.

Wish me good luck with my continuing progress. I’ll update you from time to time!

Peace.