Fail: #64 - Hold a Crow's Pose for 1 Minute

Wednesday, July 1

I should have been posting about this one since January.  But I didn't.  So.

I have never been able to get the hang of crow's pose.  I waver for a quick moment and fall.  In January, I kicked off my year by doing 7 days of yoga in a row.  I focused my practice at home and at Mosaic.  I fell in love with Mosaic and continued to practice there once a week, missing occassional classes only for travel or work.  I had done yoga before, once semi-regularly in Chicago, but everywhere else I've practiced, it's felt like a group exercise class.  Mosaic makes it feel like self inquiry practice and an honoring of self and other.  Every time I go it feels like a combination of church, therapy, and exercise.  I'm in love with the practice and what it teaches me.

Back to this list item, I was making slight progress on my crow's pose, but it still wasn't sticking.  Then, I had been enjoying my yoga practice at Mosaic so much that I signed up for a Grace in Strength workshop with my two favorite yoga instructors, Sophie and Kevin.  (As I mentioned in my Yelp review of Mosaic, that probably isn't fair because once I was introduced to these two, I haven't given the other instructors a chance.  But, to their credit, I've actually stuck to regular yoga practice, so...)  We started with a warm up and then went into crow's pose.  With just a little extra instruction, particularly on my gaze, I could balance.  It was awesome.

I can how hold the pose for around 10 seconds, actually balancing, feeling my weight shift slightly in my fingers spread wide.  I'm now just building balance, strength, and greater knowledge of my own body to hold it longer.  60 seconds seems like a long time, but I feel confident I'll at least get close by the end of the year.

Saturday, July 25

Because of work and sailing lessons, I took 2 weeks off of yoga class and 3 weeks off of Kevin's Tuesday class.  I was so thrilled to be back this week.  I wasn't feeling well just before class and sat on my yoga mat having an internal battle about whether or not to stay.  I really wasn't feeling well.  What if I got sick during class?  But I had been looking forward to rejoining that class for 3 weeks!  And I want to be the kind of person who chooses to tough things out when I want them.  And I could always leave in the middle of class.  But that's bad etiquette.  Eventually I took so long to decide that class started.  The sick feeling passed within minutes and I had one of the best classes I have had in a long time.  The main reason I'm writing about it here is because I stuck my crow's pose for well over 10 seconds even though I was physically exhausted and sweating more than I had ever sweat in that class (due to the summer heat and the number of bodies in the room).  I was also grateful that after class, when I told Kevin about the stiffness in my traps, he gave me some great advice and resources to work on it on my own.  I heart Mosaic.  So much.

Sunday, August 2

On Tuesday I held my first side crow!  I could really only hold it on my right side, but I managed a little bit of time on my left.  I was super sweaty this week, so it was tough to keep from slipping.  I held my regular crow for probably 10 seconds or so.

Monday, August 10

When practicing at home, I must have held my crow for at least 15 seconds and felt strong.  Progress!

Monday, August 31

Lately I've been struggling because either I'm not warmed up enough to hold the pose or I'm so sweaty that I slip.  I'll have to figure that one out.

Thursday, September 10

I held my crow particularly long in Sophie's class today.

Summary

I didn't get anywhere close to 1 minute and now realize that's likely an unrealistic goal, but I'm glad I improved so much.

#33 - Do Yoga Every Day for 7 Days

This year had a pretty rough start.

I flew home to San Diego from Michigan on 12/30/14.  I had picked up a nasty cold and the air pressure during the flight was extremely painful, particularly during take off and landing, and I wasn't so lucky this trip to have a nonstop flight.  My ears hurt so badly that it gave me a headache.  Plus I was snotty and coughing and gross.  I was thankful that my Dad paid for me to upgrade my boarding position on Southwest, so I did have a good seat to pass out, but I kept waking myself up coughing.

On top of the sickness, I recently developed a slight flying anxiety that really flares during turbulence.  The flight to Michigan was probably the bumpiest I had ever been on, just constant shaking and large jumps for the first hour or two.  I was so anxious I couldn't do anything.  Then, for the flight back, I was remembering the flight there and having even more anxiety just worrying that every bump was signalling a series of turbulence, which was sometimes the case and sometimes not.  Then I overheard the flight attendant say that because of the extreme winds out of San Diego, our landing was going to be "fun."

Here's Kyle a few months ago playing by himself.

I was happy to land and my roommate kindly picked me up.  Once I got home, he mentioned how one of my cats (Kyle) hadn't left his favorite cardboard box all day.  Then I saw him get up, limp a few steps, and lie down again.  So I called the vet and B Street Vet, right around the corner, let me walk in.  The vet did some x-rays and told me he has arthritis in both hips.  I spent close to $400 on the x-rays and medication and was told we'd have to figure out a long-term solution with medication and I should buy him a heating pad.  They had also given him a sedative because he was so squirmy during the x-ray.  When I got him home, he was so drugged out and kept trying to walk but just looked drunk.

The next day was NYE.  Kyle spent the whole day looking miserable and exhausted.  He wouldn't move.  He wouldn't eat.  He wouldn't sleep.  I checked the medication and it also contains a sedative.  So I went out to dinner with some friends.  The next day I got up and he still wouldn't move and looked worse.  I took him back in and the vet's assistant looked panicked.  She had him see the vet right away and they soon told me he was in heart failure.  The poor thing spent the next 24 hours at the vet, spending the night in the emergency room, and I was out several hundred more dollars without any way of knowing what his chances really were.  He responded positively to everything they did for him, but he was recovering very, very slowly.

Finally the night of the 2nd, I took him home, and he popped out of his carrier, started purring, walked around, rubbed against my roommate, ate some food, drank some water, used the litter... like all within 15 minutes.  He was clearly not back to his normal self, but I was so relieved that a lot of his apathetic behavior at the vet was due to being at the vet for so long and being miserable.

Here's Kyle with his Get Well Soon flowers.
He really loves flowers.

So now I've taken him to a cardiologist and he has a genetic heart condition that requires me to give him pills twice a day, but he acts more like himself every day.  His prognosis isn't good, but besides the seconds it takes to give him the pills each day, he seems happy and painfree.

With all of the the tears and snot and sickness sweat in those few days, I couldn't believe I had any liquids left in my body.

So obviously, I went to a heated yoga class.

Last January, I took a trip to Sri Lanka for a course.  The focus on mindfulness was such a beautiful way to start my year that I decided that this year, I would put a mindfulness practice on my to do list every day, and that I would start my year with this list item specifically (do yoga every day for 7 days).  I decided to alternate between studio yoga and shorter sessions at home with a youtube channel called "DoYouYoga.com."  I'd been using the "30 Day Challenge" videos to guide my home practice for a couple months, so I decided to keep using those during this week because they tend to be 10-20 minutes of gentle yoga that would nicely complement the tougher days in the studio.

I knew lots of studios in San Diego, so I Googled yoga Groupons, and the universe was kind and there was a current deal for Mosaic.  (There is still a deal as of this moment here.)  I've been wanting to try Mosaic for awhile.  It's literally 2 blocks from my house, I've heard great things, and a few of the staff are graduates of or connected to the USD leadership program, where I am working on my PhD.  Even better, Jessica Williams and Kari Szakal also bought the Groupon, so we all got a $16 refund from the already low $45 we paid for 10 classes.

I started my week with a Tuesday night Yoga 2 class led by Kevin with, and at the recommendation of, my friend Kassi Grunder.  I struggled to start because my cold was still very present and a running, stuffy, sticky nose really makes it tough to have fluid, mindful breathing.  I decided to dedicate that week's practice to my breath and the meaning of having my breath feel out of control, stuck, or stopped.  The theme resonated with me because of poor Kyle at home, working so hard, with doctor's help, to get the fluid out of his lungs that had accumulated during his heart failure.  I adjusted my breath as needed and simultaneously fell in love with Kevin's class.

Kevin had a nearly perfect pace.  There were moments when I felt like I couldn't do any more and I would need to take a break, and as soon as I had made that decision, he would transition to something else.  That with 20 or so of us in the room, all at different levels.  There were students less experienced than me, concentrating on the words as well as the poses.  Then there were students light years ahead of me, seemingly easily moving to each pose, including graceful balances and inversions.   By the end of class, sweat was pouring from my pores, and I was thankful to have such a wonderful holding environment for cleansing myself and building my strength.

In the next 7 days I also attended 2 classes led by Sophie, a Yoga 1 and a Yoga 2.  I loved the Yoga 1 because I am always so inspired when I see people trying yoga for the first time, because I love when an instructor includes time to assist in bettering my poses, and because Sophie included a crystal singing bowl at the end.  I loved Yoga 2 because it fits my level a little better.

While I have now given myself a nearly 7 day break from yoga, I really loved developing my practice.  I hope that between Mosaic and the ARC I'll find myself doing yoga at least once a week.  I love the sweat that pours in heated yoga and I felt a lot more coordinated and strong during volleyball.

Namaste.

#8 - See Cristiano Ronaldo Play Live

When I added this to the list, I thought it was pretty far fetched.  I make a grad student salary (negative), so unless the best player in the world (yep) happened to find his way nearby with an affordable ticket, I was out of luck.

But then.  There was a rumor.  And then it wasn't a rumor, it was an announcement.  Real Madrid and Manchester United were playing

AT THE BIG HOUSE!

(That's Michigan Stadium for those of you who don't worship the gods of college football.)

Cristiano Ronaldo and friends would be playing against my team in my hometown, in my home stadium.

Then I feared I wouldn't be able to get tickets or they would be too expensive.

Wrong again.

Reiko, Nicole, & me loving life

$35 got me a seat with a chunk of friends who were as excited as I was.

Then there were the injury rumors and the absolute FAIL of a World Cup for both Spain and Portugal.  But I held on.  He'd be there.  Right?

Gareth Bale before his penalty kick.

Then the roster came out and there were a lot of names missing from the list...  Sergio Ramos, Casillais, Chicarito...  AND RONALDO.  NOOOOO!  I'd already seen Rooney  play.  I wasn't flying all the way to Michigan to see Rooney.

But then a few days later, an article came out that said he was injured but would be meeting the team in LA but not playing (good thing I didn't buy one of those tickets) and then would be off to Ann Arbor to play at the Big House.

Ann Arbor got pretty jazzed up, like it did for the NHL game in December.  Shut down Main Street.  Stages, bars, food...

The Krones had dinner at Aventura Friday night.  Our server told us they were on hold to host REAL MADRID later that night.  I freaked out a bit.  We gave up, knowing we'd get kicked out if they showed up anyways.  Rumor is they did eat there later that night.  I ate at the same restaurant as Ronaldo just an hour apart!

So happy that Billie & Steve made the trip too.  That was a nice surprise!

Saturday was magical.  I got up a little late, headed to the tailgate my lovely friend Nicole set up, played some games, saw some friends I didn't expect to see, and headed to the game, ignoring the texts from Al that Ronaldo would not be playing and what a "jerk" he was.  (I'm giving Al credit for being there even though I never saw him.  He texted me when he was outside my gate but I was already in the stadium and there was a line to get back into the section.  He didn't want to wait in the line and risk missing first touch.  I didn't want to go out and then have to wait in the line and miss first touch.  That's real friendship there.  Live on different coasts but would never expect the other to miss a minute of a soccer game at Michigan Stadium.)

Whatever.  Ronaldo was there.  In my stadium.  The closest I'd ever been to him.

Nicole and I were on Cloud 9 from the start.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Ronaldo walk across the field.  Luckily my Ma lent me her binoculars...  which also made me look a little silly because I started freaking out about subs walking across the field until I could fully communicate that it was RONALDO.  He sat in the stands and I have to admit, I watched him almost as much as the game.  Whatever.  I was there to see him, playing or not.

Brother hug

The Fray played at half time.  That was random.

I walked down a few rows to visit the brother and friends.  Walked back up.

Then... it happened.  A cheer went across the crowd.

RONALDO WAS WARMING UP.

That's Ronaldo.  At midfield.  Ready to sub in.  At Michigan Stadium.  Ahhhhh!

And warm up he did.  For real.  I watched it.  Through the binoculars.  Oh, at this point, Rooney and Bale had scored some goals.

Then he was at midfield.  Then the referee let him in.

Ronaldo ran around.  Did a little fancy footwork.  Chicarito scored a goal.  Ronaldo jogged a bit.

It was bananas fun.  Life changing.

I miss him already.

Chicarito cooling down with the "winners" of the game.  I say "winners" because obviously I and the others freaking out all day were the real winners.

#61 - Don't Eat Out at All for at Least 7 Days

BONUS item!  I finished my list early this year, so I might as well check off some more.

This one isn't the most exciting to write about, but there was one fun event: Kassi invited me over for lunch and we cooked channa masala, rice, and creamy spinach.  And by "we," I mean "Kassi" while I listened to directions, chopped up a few things, and then cried for a good five minutes because I somehow got onion or something spicy in my eyes.  It hurt a lot.  

But, it was worth it.  Lunch was delicious and Kassi even sent me home with leftovers that I ate for dinner the next day.

I am hoping making myself cook at home and bring lunches/dinners to work/class helps me make that the norm and eating out an every now and then exception.  I'm giving myself a little slack with the World Cup but I have already been just assuming I'll eat at home or pack food these few days after this week.