Why, hello there blog!

Hello blog world! My apologies for neglecting you so terribly. As nearly always happens in my life, NOTHING HAS HAPPENED except tiny little mundane life events. Read on if you're bored...

1. My dog has Giardia, a protozoan parasite in the gut. While she has no symptoms, the vet said we do need to get rid of it to prevent secondary bacterial infections or any further complications. They gave me little packets of de-worming medication to put in her food for the next 3 days. I'll also have to wash and disinfect her bed and keep her from sniffing other dogs' poop (Mission Impossible!!). I'm just glad she doesn't straight up eat poop, like other dogs we know.

2. Studying is starting to cramp my style. While I enjoy knowing things, I do not enjoy the arduous task of putting those facts in my dinky little brain. Why haven't we found a better way to do this yet? Like some sort of surgery that puts all that knowledge in a hard drive in your brain? Google, I'm lookin' at you.

3. I came up with the best idea for an app the other day while texting Steven: GANGSTA AUTO CORRECT. Let's make it happen, Internet.

4. In my ashtanga practice, I recently got advanced to Bujapidasana, which is a really fun arm balance. However, I'm still not sure I'm ready for it. I'm still huffing and puffing by the end of Navasana, sometimes by the end of Marichiasana C. I'm trying to be worthy of advancing past Navasana, but it's hard when the call of cookies and The Good Wife is so much more delicious than 5 AM wake up calls.

Life was good before Navasana

I'm taking a lady's holiday and skipping Ashtanga this morning, so I thought I'd pop in and write a little update about how it's all going. In a way, it's going well, and that's why it's also becoming more of a challenge.

Recently, I got "advanced" to Navasana, much to my dismay. If you don't know, this is Navasana:

Source

The picture looks all floaty and happy, but it's actually sweat-inducing and shaky and soul crushing.

Here's what my Navasana looks like:

Yes, that is blood, sweat and tears.

And I've got to do this every morning, 5x, with one breath lift-up inbetween. Uggggghhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrr.

However, Navasana is like the gateway to the cool stuff that comes afterwards, so hopefully I'll be able to levitate and gain mind-control powers soon, like all real yoga people.

My knee is healing well and my hip on that side is feeling looser every week. I'm still too fearful of hurting my knee to pull into a lotus position, but I do feel like I'm getting closer, and that's a good change for me. I've always been so into the "yoga as healing" camp that I've down-played the importance of going forward in the sequence, the "yoga as challenge" camp, let's call it. As I'm healing I feel like it's OK to introduce some more competitiveness and challenge into my practice rather than going easy and holding back.

You certainly can't go "easy" with Navasana.

Back on the Ashtanga bandwagon

I didn't know if I would...

But I did.

I'm back at the Ashtanga Yoga Centre of Toronto.

We will see how this goes.

:)

My Last Yoga Class and Ugh, I Washed My Shoes

Yesterday, was my last day as a yoga teacher in Sydney. I boarded the 6:15 train to the city, and was delighted to see the sunrise--the first time after days and days of endless rain.

It was a 7 AM Ashtanga class that went quite well. After class, I did my own practice in the beautiful city studio and then made my way home to start my day with Steven.

Steven took the day off work so we had planned to get our tourist jeans on and explore the city.

Our tourist jeans look a lot like our new skinny jeans by the way.

We took the bus to a quaint nearby neighbourhood called Neutral Bay. It has a small town feel on a heavily trafficked road. We had a morning coffee in the sunshine (oh how we have missed you, dear sunshine).

We strolled along Military Road to Mossman, a larger suburb in North Sydney. Boy, is Mossman ever POSH. Lining the streets were little boutique fashion stores, coffee shops, furniture stores, etc. Soccer moms pushing baby carriages walked along these streets as Porches drove by. And I'm NOT EVEN JOKING. All we needed were some Desperate Housewives running naked down the residential streets.

We found a busy little lane-way off the main strip, and decided to have lunch here. The restaurant is called The Mews, and was actually a bit disappointing. 

Most of the meals were pre-made in the display cabinets, which would be OK, except they didn't even heat my vegetarian lasagne through. It was so heavy and filling that I felt overly stuffed afterwards. Though The Mews is a beautifully presented restaurant, I was quite disappointed with its food.

We did a bit more wandering around the extremely beautiful Mossman area (some of the houses literally looked like CASTLES). Then, we hit up the Chatswood shopping mall to look for new shoes for me. After my beautiful hike on Monday, I was seriously considering scrapping my shoes completely and getting some new kicks. Unfortunately, the shopping malls really couldn't offer me anything I liked enough. 

So when I got home, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. 

Do you ever get that feeling of satisfaction when you suck every last bit of use out of something? The smug righteousness that happens when you've used these things really properly and well? Like you've wrung out every lasting ounce of value from a product, and you therefore win? Well, I'm clearly winning with these shoes.

I've had these Nikes for over 3 years now. They've journeyed with me to several countries, often multiple times, and hiked and walked and ran so many miles I can't even begin to estimate. These puppies sitting out in the sun now, and I'm excited to bring them back on the road.

You and me, babe, we'll go far.

What a "Super" Moon Day!

As I'm sure you know, yesterday was the supermoon. And oh, WHAT a supermoon it was!

Here's what happened to me:

1. I know I wasn't "supposed" to practice yoga, but I did a short one (no drop backs) and It Was Wonderful! + 100 points

2. Went to the gym to run but couldn't shake the leaden feeling in my legs. - 30 points

3. Bought new skinny jeans that I actually fit into! + 20 points

4. Without a car, had to walk everywhere in the rain and had wet feet for part of the day. - 5 points

5. Tried to blog about my day, but my computer kept switching between Battery Mode/AC Mode in a frantic, epileptic episode. (And today, it is fine...There's Moon Days for ya!) - 80 points

6. Had delicious cake and watched stupid movies on TV. + 20 points

The score?

About a +50, which is absolutely mathematically correct (I majored in English; accurate math would only happen by chance on this blog).

But honestly, it wasn't too bad a moon day, as moon days go.

How was the supermoon for you?

Look at me! I'm like healthy and everything now!

I had an early start to the day this morning as I signed up for the next few weeks to teach a 7 AM led Ashtanga. It's a serious RUSH, as we only have 50 minutes to get through as much of primary as we can. I was so surprised to hear that the previous teacher had done full vinyasa, which I was enthused about, and fully support. No better way to build strength than vinyasa-ing until you can't feel your arms. 

After my class went off to their regular jobs like proper adults, I lit some candles and did my own Ashtanga practice. I have very, very much missed doing yoga on a hardwood floor without a bed or bedmate in the way. 

By the time I got home, I got hit with the nap bug again. This time, I was out for about 2 hours before I woke up with the, "WTF happened" feeling. 

Naturally, I went on the internet to read through my blogs and generally waste my time. 

That's when I came across this: 

I've been meaning to make better use of the 180nutrition protein powder I purchased nearly a month ago. I use it in my cereal in the mornings, but I would love to have more of it during the day. 

So I dug around in the kitchen for some sort of blending machine that could grind up some almonds and dates.

I was SO delighted to find this hand-held food processor that I literally pranced out of the house IN MY PAJAMAS (proof above) to get to the store. 

Eleven dollars and a bit more prancing later, I came home to blitz up some protein balls. 

 This photo collage makes it look a lot easier than it really was. 

The hand-held food processor is actually quite small, and I had to shake and shimmy with that bad boy quite a bit to get the dates to blitz up. I also didn't use exact measurements, so I was doing a lot of tasting and guessing. Lastly, because I'm not rolling in the green, I had to swap out some of the more expensive ingredients for cheaper stuff, like Kraft peanut butter instead of almond butter, honey instead of stevia, and instead of coconut flakes.....nothing..... I also didn't have goji, but I imagine it would be fantastic in these. As would all those other ingredients I'm too broke to afford...

They needed to set in the fridge for a few hours, so I sat down to eat this afterwards: 

You're saying leftover roast potatoes and jarred pasta sauce isn't healthy?! Pshaw, it's like 2 servings of vegetables! 

Mmm! A really delicious dessert (even though it looks like mashed up poop). 

Snickers wasn't the answer

Sydney had a few hits of fog these past few days.

Source

Fog is much darker, and much less glamorous, when you're waiting for a delayed train on your way to work in the morning rush...

The fog work made me sad and tired so I ate a Snickers bar (totally breaking this no-sugar thing).

It made me feel bloated and overly excited during my yoga class that evening. I won't be seeing you again, Mr. Snickers. No, I won't.... (no promises).

Luckily, today dawned clear, blue, and beautiful. So I didn't have to shove my face in candy bars to make myself feel alive.

I went for a run! A glorious, sun-filled run!

I'm still recovering from whatever little bug I caught on Tuesday, so I stopped plenty along the way for pictures, and to gasp for air.

I ran/strolled down to Berry's Reserve, just about a 10/15 mins from our house.

My stats:
2.76 miles
35 minutes
average pace 12.46 min/mile

I came home and duckered around (oh, Internet, how do you make Time disappear?). Suddenly, I felt the great urge for a nap. This has never happened to me before! After a run, I'm usually pumped like a 9-year-old overdosing on Halloween candy. How did this happen?

I woke up to Steven calling me on his lunch break. He basically told me to get my shit together and do some yoga because it makes me a more tolerable person (not true, both that I'm incurably intolerable and he didn't say that. He said something like, "Hi, oh were you asleep?!" but that's no fun.)

So I did my practice like a grown up.

I ate this afterwards:

I call it the Irish diet--leftover potatoes with any random stuff you can find.

Annnd... I'm still hungry.

Off to make some real food!

Sick...AGAIN

This year has been one heck of a year for bugs invading my body. It's only May and I swear I have been sick nearly once a month.

That being said, this sickness isn't nearly as bad as the week before New Zealand. I still sneeze up some disgusting boogers in the morning, my throat feels raw, and my nose drips whenever I hold my head down at a forty-five degree angle... like now...as I am typing this...

Because my head didn't feel woolly or sledgehammer-y this morning, I decided to give "Ashtanga while sick" another try.

Remember this? And my subsequent regret in trying it?

Surprisingly, I was strong through the warm up. It felt like I could breathe deeper and fuller as I hung upside-down in Downward Facing Dog. In the standing postures, my legs felt steady and grounded. Jumping back and forward, my arms felt strong and powerful.

I even did 3 drop backs, lift-ups, and headstand (not in that order).

Compared to the last time I attempted to practice while (severely) sick, this felt like a breeze! I am glad I did it.

Tonight, Steven and I had originally planned to sign up for a gym membership at Crunch fitness near our house. They have this awesome deal where if one person signs up, the other person can get in free each time.

We went for our free trial over the weekend, and both of us love the size of the place (huge!), the facilities (weights in pounds!), and the friendly staff (he seriously did look like a Ken doll). I did a challenging treadmill hill run, and gloried in the fact that I didn't have to inflict sharp downhills on my 90-year-old knees.

Anyway, we'll probably hold off on going to the gym until I feel 100% again.

Plus, my arms are sore.

BACK TO BED (as if I ever left)!

By the way, these are the best tissues ever invented. It feels like I'm disinfecting my nose each time I shove one of these up in my nostrils to stop the drip.

Sexy mental image, eh?

You're welcome.

Oh JEEZ what HAPPENED last night?!

No. No, I didn't get trashed and have to be rescued from the bathroom (where I passed out), carried out of the club, eventually collapsed on the dirty sidewalk in a pile of disgust and humiliation while my friends called a cab.

That never happened to me.

ANYWAY, those days are OVER and I'm trying to figure out this healthy living stuff, right? Because it makes me feel better, more capable, stronger, and generally like a ninja kicking ass at life. So this week I cut sugary treats and desserts out of my diet. 

The results had been GREAT (especially since I have had NO knee pain, not even a bit)!

Then, last night happened....

Steven and I had tickets to see the Australian Ballet perform Vanguard. After work, we got takeaway Thai food from a restaurant down the road. We had to chow down pretty quickly before we rushed to the Sydney Opera House for the ballet.

It was a stunning performance and I loved every minute of it!

It made me want to do this:

But when I woke up this morning, I felt more or less like a truck hit me.

During my morning Ashtanga practice, my concentration was off, my hamstrings were stiff as ice, and my arms felt wobbly nearly throughout. By the time I got to Marichiyasana C, I was FINALLY feeling more like my regular self, but not as flexible or strong. (Drop backs were hellish)

It's hard to pick out what made such a big difference in my practice this morning, as a whole lot of factors were at play last night.

1) I ate take-out Thai, which probably had lots of added sugar, salt, and oil.
2) I spent much of my Friday work day sitting at my desk.
3) I wore a dress to the ballet, so I had to sit like a lady for the 3 hours of the show.
4) I had a glass of wine during intermission.

I know I've said it before, but it really does bear repeating: food is the single largest effector of change in your body. I'm surrounded by people preaching on about how you must fuel your body for your activities, and you can't expect to build muscle and strength without proper food. This week, I guess the message is FINALLY hitting home.

I'm no longer a young, limber 22 year old who can eat whatever she wants with no consequences, especially if I want to enjoy my yoga practice and run injury-free for the rest of my life.

I'm not too sure where I'm going with all of this--after all, I've already cut out meat and sugary treats. When I figure it out, I'll be sure to let you know.

Sorry for being such a downer on your Saturday morning!

Here is a picture of my dog to cheer you up:

Works every time!

Am I doing Traditional Ashtanga?

It has been officially five months since I've transitioned from a daily Mysore practice at David Robson's shala in Toronto, to a home practice in whatever bedroom / living room / hotel / hostel / kitchen floor I happen to be inhabiting.

What has been the result?

1) A Really Disgusting Run-Down Yoga Mat that has not been Cleaned for Five Months

Need I say more?

2) A Return (Sort-Of) to Running

After David Robson had shattered my dreams of becoming a ultra-marathon runner (just kidding, I can hardly make it to 10K without crying), I had stopped running all together.

While traveling, it's been hard to run or do yoga consistently, so I was keeping a very low mileage and spotty practice for a couple of months. Only recently have I begun consciously raising the running bar, and my Ashtanga has suffered for it.

This week, I've decided to do no running and come back to a daily Primary Sequence practice.

3) My Notions of "Traditional Ashtanga" have Changed....Drastically

I believe in the benefits of a daily traditional practice, and I believe this practice is right for me.

However, I wish there were teachers out there telling me that you do not have to practice asana when you are sick, on a Ladies Holiday, or doing something wonderfully beautiful like surfing or kayaking with dolphins. I've gotten myself in such a bad mood sometimes because I had to "miss" my full practice. Or, if I manage to squeeze in a practice, I am often incredibly tired and foggy for the rest of the day. How is it that I let something that's supposed to make my life EASIER suddenly make my day horrid, guilt-ridden, or completely drained of energy?!

So I decided to let go of the frustration that comes with a full daily practice.

And so much changed as soon as I did that.

If I am tired, I will do the sequence until I have had enough. I save my energy for my day.

If I do not have time, I will put together a short-form Ashtanga and not feel guilty about it.

I have stopped counting how many days a week I have done a full sequence. In fact, I have stopped doing FULL VINYASAS (I know, *Gasp!*) and it has made the vinyasas I do more fluid and strong. I have even backed off from the poses that are too difficult for my bum knee (padmasana, you impossible duck), and concentrated on the poses that are best for my body (Janu shirshasana A 3x for the win!).

I am happy about this change, as it has freed me from a lot of negative emotions without leaving me yoga-less. Until I return to Toronto where I can afford a Mysore practice, this is more than enough.

4) No Longer on a Fence, I am Firmly in the Ashtanga Camp...that is, Both Feet In. 

I know I just spent the last point saying how much I've deviated from the traditional sequence. But I think my home practice has made me understand the intent of the tradition more and more.

Before I left Toronto, David Robson told me that home practice would sharpen my focus more than the Mysore class.

And it has.

I unroll my mat every day and do a series of asanas in the quiet of my own body, no external cues, no external distractions. Each day, it is a challenge to bring my mind into a meditative state, and it's an addictive challenge.

Other yoga teachers I know practice with DVDs, or under the guidance of another teacher. While there is nothing wrong with this (hello my love, yogaglo.com!), my most meditative and peaceful sessions have always been my quiet little Ashtanga ones.

For all you Ashtangis out there, what do you make of this? 
Have you ever done a consistent home practice? 
Have you ever done Ashtanga on the kitchen floor? 
Am I spouting heresy and should I be kicked out of the Ashtanga Camp?

A Sydney Harbour Walk: Where am I? No, seriously where am I?!

If you've been following my blog for a while now, you'll know that I enjoy wandering in small confusing circles without a map or phone. 

I did one better today and went for a Sydney Harbour Walk with both my phone AND a map, and I still got lost!

Can you imagine how great I'd be at navigating back in the compass and constellations days? Do not let me steer the ship!!

Anyway, I started my day by sleeping in, which I highly recommend when Ashtanga isn't on the schedule (cuz I know you really need to know why, it's my Ladies Holiday. WIN!).

I recommend long sleeves and long pants in case of low bushes that might scratch.

Thick pink socks are a must!

I decided beforehand to do a "short walk" so I could have some lazy time at home later. This 3km one is close to the city and easy to get home from - McMahons Point to Waverton.

But 3 KM in a wwwaayyyy is too little for an superstar like me. I thought I could up the ante by adding a few extra km by starting at Circular Quay and walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

So I had basically added up 2 walks in my book; Circular Quay to Lavendar Bay + McMahons Point to Waverton = about 7 km.

Some of the highlights was a beautiful stretch of road behind Luna Park, in Lavendar Bay.

It takes you down to a seriously tiny beach, and then the road ends.

Where do you go next?

Don't ask me. This is where I got seriously lost. There's a little park once you cross under the train tracks, and a bunch of stairs that lead you to random residential streets. I think I went in 3 little circles, up the stairs, down the stairs, around the park, and back up the stairs before I decided to ask someone.

The answer is, THIS IS LAVENDAR BAY, NOT BLUES POINT RESERVE. You need to take Bay View Road and wind around the private residences before you can get to Blues Point Reserve. Luckily, Bay View Road is a small residential street without a lot of traffic, so it's a pleasant detour.

And it's well worth it. Blues Point Reserve is a beautiful little loop with great views.

From here on, it gets better and better. There's a small foray back into the residential streets, and then you get to Sawmiller's Reserve, which was my absolute FAVOURITE!

Take a look!

There's some sort of ship wreck washed up!

IN A CITY PARK!

A. CITY. PARK.

SHIPWRECK!

You cannot deny how cool this is!

The walk goes through Sawmillers Reserve and onto a boardwalk that leads to the North Sydney Marine Centre. You've got to get back onto the residential streets in order to go around the Marine Centre and back   to the water.

Eventually, you get to this fork in the road:

The higher one goes back to residential streets, while the lower one goes to a nice little sports field in Waverton Park.

From there, you can go to the BP Oil Station, which is a nice little walk I've done before, and about 10 minutes from home.

Like a proper lazy person, I decided to go home.

I had started my walk at 1:37. By the time I got home, it was 3:15! That's about an hour and a half walk! WOO HOO I'M A WALKING MONSTER!

Anyway, I rate this walk about a 7/10. It's filled with beautiful green spaces and some quieter residential streets. It's easy to do, peaceful and quiet. Much better than last week!

Ashtanga while sick?

After my whirlwind of activity on Tuesday, I woke up on Wednesday with a niggle in my throat.

Doing my morning practice was out of the question because I had slept in. By the time I was out of bed, showered, and breakfasted, I had to catch my train to work.

I got through my day decently well, but by the time I got home, my niggle turned into a full-out sore throat.

I woke up today and felt worse.

My head aches every time I turn my eyes, my voice breaks and cracks like a squeaky old car, and my hips, thighs, and calves HURT.

Despite all this, I got up early and attempted a practice. Now why in hell and high water would a sick person put herself through Ashtanga when it already hurts to move her eyes?

Because she read this:

So I got through 3 Sun Salutation As, crawled back in bed, and continued to feel generally horrible. Sure, a practice raised the blood, stretched my hamstrings, but it did not make me feel any better or worse. I am still sick, and Ashtanga ain't going to change that.

What did make me feel better? Cake.

I'm not even kidding you, it made me feel alive again.

So, to justify all the crazy in my life lately, I learned that yesterday was a Full Moon Day, and there is a bunch of other shit going on today as well. From Tim Miller;

The Sun and Venus together give us a desire to express ourselves through creativity and relationships. We want to be noticed and put ourselves out there in warm and friendly ways to attract the attention of others. Everyone gets a little more charming under this influence, but we may be susceptible to over indulgence and believing that we are the most fascinating beings on the planet, when others are thinking that we are incredibly vain and foolish. When Uranus joins the party, all hell breaks loose as we are given a jolt of liveliness intended to shake us out of our dreary, lifeless routines. Uranus is the planet of rebellion, striving to free us of whatever shackles we feel are binding us. Our samskaras (inherent tendencies) will be very much in evidence now and we will be faced with the choice of riding this big wave of electric and transformative energy, or trying to ignore it (not recommended). The close proximity of Mars (five degrees away) may make us headstrong and impulsive, striking out against resistance and authority figures in ways that invite conflict.

While today is technically not a Moon Day, it does seem like a shit-storm doesn't it?

Just a quick Ashtanga post

The Confluence Countdown blog has posted several really good links that I want to repost here.

On stiffness and food, which I've noticed before in my own hamstrings, The Yoga Workshop says:

"Diet can definitely impact stiffness. There are no hard and fast rules relating particular foods to stiffness for everyone, so when you notice you’re stiff, it’s a good practice to review what you’ve eaten in the previous 24-48 hours. You might see patterns emerging. Some people find wheat (or other grains) make their joints feel inflamed. Others swear by a piece of toast before practicing. Alcohol consumption is generally not a great yogic practice anyway, but many people find it makes their body stiff and/or sluggish for practice. Cheese–a whole pizza for example or even less–can also produce a stiff, sluggish body. It really depends on you though, so the best way to figure it out is slowly and observantly." 

(The bold in the text is my doing)

Doritos, chocolate cake, salty, deep-fried mushrooms I blame you (but I also like you a lot, so please don't take it personally).

On the dynamic nature of the practice, on the purpose of asana (focus the mind), on history and tradition, Kate O'Donnell says:

"For me, what followed was a dance between practice and the rest of life for a good 3 years. The energies unleashed, yes unleashed, by that series required a whole new level of commitment and focus: food, drink, right speech, rest- all the time, not just in practice. I fell down and got back up so many times...
It is possible that Guruji was just pulling it out in a sequence for that student, at that time. The codification of anything dynamic always makes for trouble doesn’t it. I am so thankful for my crazy days with Nancy, because I was plucked off a rigid yoga path and stirred in the pot. Yoga is crazy. Yoga is fun. Yoga thwarts the mind. Now I can never see it as a static thing. Thank goodness."

The "pulling out a sequence for a student" is what really gets me (again, the bold text is my doing). Ultimately, does it matter which asanas, the "correct" order of asana, the precise number of vinyasas, even the breath count---do these things really matter? The fact is, some sort of organization exists for every given student. Perhaps "a sequence", not "which sequence", is most important in the real work of concentration, of focus, of clarity.

It is the practice of concentration, focus and clarity that brings me here in the mornings. Each day, I discover that there is more to Ashtanga than meets the eye.

Happy Moon Day everyone!

My Knee Hurts...Again

I've been plagued with a bum right knee for ages, but I only really noticed it when I started practicing yoga nearly 3 years ago.

Since then, it's been on-again and off-again. I can't really say that it's ever healed completely. Recently, with my daily home practice, I've been getting closer and closer to a pain-free ardha padmasana (half lotus). I do this with a lot of care and attention each time I move my knee in an external rotation. I thought my work was paying off.

However, yesterday, something triggered a deep ache in my right knee that I can't seem to shake.

Every step today has been worrisome and painful: downhills, uphills, stairs, even just standing still--it all hurts my knee.

Steven and I came home early from a day out.

He made dinner, and now I'm calling it an early night. Hopefully I'll wake to a healthier, happier knee.

A bad food day and Ashtanga

Yesterday was a bad food day for me.

I overloaded on a heavy Taiwanese bento (mm, deep fried king oyster mushrooms I heart you).

And then we went home, took a nap (I heart naps), and went back out for a coffee.

And yes, coffees now always come with a piece of heavy chocolate cake and whipped cream (I heart chocolate frosting).

Later, Steven and I watched the Australian Open men's final and I ate a bag of chips (Doritos, I heart you).

By now you're wondering what I don't heart (or you want to punch me).

I don't like this hurricane-y weather we've been having (though the view is really nice).

This is basically my view every day for my morning Ashtanga. That's Central station in Sydney.

Speaking of which, it was painful and stiff today, like I had been running a 10K or something (which I haven't, really!).

My knees both popped, my left wrist lost feeling for a moment, my hips felt like they were pummeled. I even stopped before drop backs to check if today was a moon day and I should stop this madness immediately (it isn't...sigh).

I think diet affects us more than we realize, especially when each morning demands that your body bend (forward and back), twist (Marichiasana D, I do NOT heart you), and hold (friggin Navasana impossible lift ups).

Something as simple as Doritos, chocolate cake, and oversleeping can really mess you up.

Well, tomorrow's a big day for me. My first day of work, a trial yoga class at a new studio, and everything in between! I'm going to eat right today and get my energy up for tomorrow.

What foods make you feel like a 92-year-old hobo that just woke up from a night on a park bench?

My new favourite dress

Off to discard resumes to the wind (which is as good as handing them out to the stores here, apparently).

At least I look nice. Or so I think.

In the top picture, you can also see the pec/delt/bicep I've put so many hours into making. Thanks, Ashtanga!

Yoga in Hyde Park and a Run

Monday morning in Sydney.

Unemployed, bored, and all alone.

What's a girl to do?

1) Ashtanga home practice to maintain sanity
2) Email a billion people but not really expect anyone to email back (sad face)
3) Go to a local yoga studio to apply for a job, and get coldly turned away (sad, sad face)
4) Get called about an outbound call center job
5) Do some yoga in the park with the lululemming crowd

The deal is, Monday afternoons from 12:30 to 1:15, the lulus will meet at this epic fountain (called Archibald Fountain) in the middle of Hyde Park.

I waited 10 or so minutes and got my first lulu spotting, a bunch of girls wheeling a box of mats into the square.

(P.S.- This isn't a lulu hate-blog. I was actually decked head-to-toe in the stuff. It's good! Pricey, and we all look the same, but good!)

We quickly set up and got to it.

I forgot how a led class feels, especially an impromptu one. It brought back memories of when I! Me! ME! used to do this.

I miss it.

I miss the work of it--studying the bodies and thinking of words or movements that could help, studying the personalities and thinking of the words or movements that could make an impact. I couldn't help but sweep my eyes over the crowd and make those mental notes that come naturally when yoga is your job: "Tight shoulders and chest = hold plank, lower and chest stretch, Runner Man in the back = triangle, and so on, and so on."

I forced my eyes away and pulled myself back into my breath. Which was weird because I couldn't hear a thing!

In Ashtanga, we're all about listening and breathing and counting. When you're outside, you can barely hear your teacher over the cars, birds, tourists.

It's easy to be distracted, especially when someone is proposing in the sky!

Now, I know this is a really bad picture, and yes, that's someone's foot, but the guy was in the process of writing "Marry Me Erica".

C'mon, that's pretty awesome. :)

After class, I went home to eat toast and yogurt.

Because I'm unemployed and poor.

And being SO bored and unemployed and poor, I went for a run.

Shoes. Check!

Garmin. Check!

Sleeves that Jen-Jen bought me for my birthday. CHECK!

Life-sized chess in the park. CHECK!

And MATE! (har-har, oh I'm so witty)

Finally, Starbucks iced latte with soy on the way home because I suck at running.

My stats:
2.55 miles
29:18 minutes
11:29 min/mile average

I was almost thankful for all the people I had to dodge because they slowed me down. I'm so out of running shape! Anyway, I'm thinking of signing up for a race while I'm here, either to run it or volunteer in it. It might be a fun way to make some new friends!