Catching Up
I've been thinking about starting up blogging again for the last few months. As I dug out this old thing, I realized that I used to blog more than I remember, and I miss it. It was great to skim through my old posts and see who I used to be versus who I am now. I opened this blog because I'd like to share my latest in cloth diapering adventures, but since it's been 3 years, I'd like to do a little catching up.
I now have 2 children. My oldest, Bruce, is now 5. He'll start Kindergarten this August. My youngest, Bethany, turns 2 in May. I almost quit working to stay home with Bruce when he was born, but got promoted to Editor at work and decided it was worth it to stick around. When he was 18 months, I was working long hours and getting less and less happy with my job. I got a new job as a Content Strategist at Rackspace. I really loved that job until after Bethany was born. When she was 18 months old, I'd had enough, and I decided to stay home with the kids. With Bruce starting Kindergarten soon, my time for the stay at home mom experience was running out. I have been tempted here and there to get another job. I feel like I'm cheating the system. I can just live off my husband's job and stay home with the kids all day? That's amazing! It's not easy, and it's a lot of work, but they're my kids, and I love being with them.
Cloth Diapering
Cloth diapering began for me when I was pregnant with Bruce. I read a lot about cloth diapers, talked to moms who loved them, and bought a newborn prefold stash and one size all in ones plus the wet bags and diaper sprayer. I was ready to do this. Then when I decided to keep working, daycare didn't want to do cloth diapers, but I might have been able to talk them into doing the all in ones. That's not a deal breaker though. It doesn't have to be all or none. You can do cloth at home and disposable at daycare.
Bruce came into this world through an unplanned c-section at 3:49 a.m. after I was induced for pre-eclampsia 6 days after his due date. It was incredibly hard. Brad took on most of the diapers the first few days because I was recovering from surgery. Brad got very used to the Pampers the hospital gave us and didn't want to do cloth diapers. I used a few cloth diapers during maternity leave, but Brad really hated it. He thought cloth diapers were disgusting and I thought creating that
much trash was terrible. At that point, my marriage mattered more to me than getting my way so I gave away all the cloth diaper supplies.
Now my second and last child is almost 2 and will be potty training soon. I don't want to rush her. Parenting isn't a race or a competition, but she'll probably be ready soon. Starting a few weeks ago, I couldn't stop thinking about cloth diapers. I tried to let it go, but I couldn't. Finally I brought it up to Brad and he said he won't stand in the way this time. Once again, I read all about the options, compared prices, and decided what I wanted to buy. I asked Brad one more time before I put my order in to make sure he was really ok with this, and he promised not to get in the way again. Cliiiiiiick! They came in Friday and were prepped (washed 5 times) and put to use starting Saturday.
Cloth Diapering Lessons Learned 4 days in:
1. The hardest part of cloth diapering isn't how to put a prefold on. It's
poop. Some people love disposable liners and some people love diaper
sprayers. I tried disposable liners, but I'm firmly in team diaper
sprayer. Liners means managing diaper trash and diaper laundry. I'd
rather just have diaper laundry, and I don't feel comfortable flushing
those things. I soaked one in water for 24 hours and it didn't
disintegrate at all. Let's not need a plumber to remove those from the
pipes. Rinsing poop off of diapers is not fun, but neither is having stinky poop in your trash can.
2. You need more than 3 covers. You don't have to change the cover with every diaper change, but you do need to change it when she wets a lot first thing in the morning and if poop gets on it (probably every poop whether it gets on the cover or not because the smell lingers). I ordered 2 more to come today. Five should be good. It's also nice to have one in the diaper bag.
3. A medium (12.5 x 16 inches) wet bag isn't enough for 2 days worth of diapers. The goal is to wash every other day. I started with 2 medium wet bags to rotate, but needed large (17 x 21 inches). A good wet bag isn't cheap, but it's worth it to me. Wet bags were a big chunk of the expense of cloth diapering, but they contain everything and can be washed with the diapers. Some people just use plastic pails. Cloth diapers aren't as stinky as disposables because you rinse the poop off.
4. You can cut your finger with a Snappi. Brad learned this last night. Those plastic teeth can get you.
5. Prefolds are absolutely the right choice for me right now. All in ones cost more and you can't separate the covers from the absorbent part. I can wash my diapers in hotter water and use bleach on them if needed without hurting the covers. I also don't put the covers in the dryer ever. I hang the diapers to dry most of the time too, but can put them in the dryer if time is an issue. If you start with one size all in ones earlier, it's probably worth it. Since she's at the bottom of the large range, she's set until potty training.
6. Lanolin makes great diaper cream. It's sold as nipple cream for breastfeeding, but it's great to clear up or prevent a diaper rash and washes out of cloth diapers in hot water. I'm hoping I won't need cream much as cloth is gentler on her skin than disposables, but we'll see. Most diaper cream has petroleum as a base and is terrible for cloth diapers. I'm tempted to use coconut oil, but I suspect it would affect the absorbency and be harder to wash out than lanolin.
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Gel Nail Polish
Exactly one year after I got super excited about getting a gel nail polish kit, and I still love gel nail polish enough to continue putting toxic chemicals on my skin for it. (Acetone isn't that bad right? Right?)
Also, I finally tried a brand other than OPI and I love Finger Paints brand gel polish. If you're thinking about getting a gel polish set, I would not recommend a starter kit.
Why?
1. The cuticle oil is B.S. Just use coconut oil or lotion.
2. The bonder is B.S. It's just another coat of goo.
3. The nail cleanser is B.S. It's just rubbing alcohol.
4. If you love doing your own nails, you have a bunch of nail files and buffers, so you don't need the one it comes with.
What you actually need:
1. a good LED light (getting 5 fingers instead of 4 under it would be nice)
2. a base coat
3. a top coat
4. 10 or 20 colors. :)
5. rubbing alcohol (always wipe the nail with alcohol before the base coat and after the top coat)
6. lotion, coconut oil, or cuticle oil
For removing it in 2 weeks
1. cotton balls
2. acetone
3. foil
Also, I finally tried a brand other than OPI and I love Finger Paints brand gel polish. If you're thinking about getting a gel polish set, I would not recommend a starter kit.
Why?
1. The cuticle oil is B.S. Just use coconut oil or lotion.
2. The bonder is B.S. It's just another coat of goo.
3. The nail cleanser is B.S. It's just rubbing alcohol.
4. If you love doing your own nails, you have a bunch of nail files and buffers, so you don't need the one it comes with.
What you actually need:
1. a good LED light (getting 5 fingers instead of 4 under it would be nice)
2. a base coat
3. a top coat
4. 10 or 20 colors. :)
5. rubbing alcohol (always wipe the nail with alcohol before the base coat and after the top coat)
6. lotion, coconut oil, or cuticle oil
For removing it in 2 weeks
1. cotton balls
2. acetone
3. foil
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Fred and Ethel, the pugs
6 years ago tomorrow, Christmas Day, two pugs were abandoned outside of the Converse Animal Shelter near San Antonio in a small plastic cat carrier on a cold night right after they closed. The lady working there went back to get her coat when she found them and saved them from being there all night by asking Debbi from the San Antonio Pug Rescue to come get them.
Two weeks later, I decided to put my foot down. I was getting a dog! I remember like it was yesterday. I told my friends at work that Friday that I was going to have a dog by Monday and I wasn't taking no for an answer anymore. I grew up with a dog and didn't have one in college or the apartment we lived in before we bought our house, but we had been in our house with a fenced yard for nearly a year. Brad had promised that once we got settled into the house, we could get a dog. It was time.
We looked at the dogs at the Humane Society and I was willing to take any dog home. Every dog we played with was acceptable. "Let's take this one! No? Ok, this one! No? OMG Seriously, Brad?" Even the puppy who peed on the floor in front of me would have been fine with me. It's cool. What do you expect from a puppy?" Then we went to the Animal Defense League and the same thing happened. I was fine with almost ANY DOG and Brad was super picky. We had done some research to watch for aggression, so I made a point to mess with the dogs' ears and faces a little bit. Not enough, to hurt them, obviously, but enough to see how they handle it. If they pass that test, let's take them home!
I was upset. Brad was being difficult and I would never get him to agree to a dog. Then he said that he really liked pugs and he had been reading about them, and they're gentle with kids (we knew we'd have kids in the dog's lifetime, so that was an issue). He found a pug rescue organization in San Antonio online and showed me their website. "OMG LET'S CALL THEM RIGHT NOW!" So we did. It was Sunday afternoon and they let us come over to look at their pugs RIGHT NOW. I was super excited and not very patient. :)
When we got there, all the pugs were snorting and sniffling. I was concerned that there was something wrong, but the pug ladies (Kathleen and Debbi) assured me that it's normal pug behavior. There were pugs everywhere, and I was ready to play with them all and pick one out. There was a puggle (beagle/pug) named Emerson. I felt bad for him because he was not like the others and wanted to take him home. Brad didn't go for it. Of course, not, he's Brad, so he's being difficult.
Then something happened. Fred came and played with me as Ethel went and played with Brad. Kathleen and Debbi told us their Christmas story and warned us that they need to be adopted together because they were abandoned together and bonded to each other, so separating them was not an option. When I looked at Brad's face as he played with Ethel I knew that we weren't getting a dog. We were getting 2 dogs. CAN WE TAKE THEM HOME RIGHT NOW? Fred still needed some shots, so we had to wait a few days. This worked out because we had some shopping and learning to do. Neither one of us knew much about taking care of dogs. My parents always did all the work and Brad never had a dog.
Kathleen and Debbi sat with us and wrote out a list of what we needed to buy, and we bought it all before we went home that day.
We have no idea what their names were before they were abandoned or what their lives were like. All we know is that the vet who examined them 6 years ago guessed they were about 2. It makes me sad when people ask if they're brother and sister or when their birthday is because I have no idea, but I do know that they are very well loved today.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
1 pound of chicken
20 oz. of romaine lettuce
Frank's Hot Sauce (about 3 oz. depending on preference)
1 tomato
parmesan (or feta or bleu) cheese
croutons
caesar dressing (not the creamy kind)
Optional:
bacon bits
hard boiled egg
Handy Tools:
large salad bowl
medium bowl (enough to hold the chicken)
salad chopper
tongs or salad tossers
flexible cutting mats
George Foreman Grill
Microwave Bacon Cooker
1. Cook chicken. I used the Foreman grill. It takes a few rounds to cook all the chicken, so I multitask that with steps 2 and 3.
2. Chop tomato.
3. Cook and chop 2-3 slices of bacon.
4. Cut chicken into small pieces and put into medium bowl. Pour about 3 oz. of Frank's Hot Sauce into the bowl and spread evenly onto every piece of chicken.
5. Put Romaine lettuce in large salad bowl. Add chicken, tomato, bacon, and hard boiled egg, and then toss the salad.
7. Add croutons, cheese, and caesar dressing. Toss the salad again, and serve.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
How to Make an Ice Cream Cake
Sometimes you just have to say, "Screw it, I'm going to make an Ice Cream Cake, and it's going to be delicious!"
Here's how:
Ingredients:
cake batter (suggest: white cake)
1.5 quarts of ice cream (suggest: cookies and cream)
whipped cream (either make it with heavy whipping cream and vanilla syrup or get Cool Whip)
Any decorations you choose, suggestions:
chocolate syrup (or caramel or both)
Reddi-wip (for the pretty design)
Oreos
Day One
1. Place a round cake pan in the freezer for at least half an hour.
2. Leave the ice cream on the counter to soften while you make one layer of round cake.
(If you use boxed mix, you can make cupcakes or something with the other half.)
3. Take the cake pan out of the freezer and line it with plastic wrap. Mold the softened ice cream into the plastic wrap lined pan.
4. Cover the top of the ice cream with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer overnight.
5. Half an hour after the cake is out of the oven, take it out of the pan and let it cool on a cooling rack.
6. Once the cake is completely cooled, wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer overnight.
Day 2
7. Take the ice cream out of the freezer and set it up to be the bottom layer of the cake.
Aren't you glad you didn't forget the plastic wrap?
8. Cover the ice cream with whipped cream. (Made yourself or Cool Whip.)
9. Unwrap the cake and place it on top of the whipped cream.
10. Cover the cake with a solid layer of whipped cream. Be sure to fill in any gaps in the layers.
11. Decorate it however you like.
Lesson I learned the hard way:
DON'T decorate it with Reddi-wip until right before you serve it. It looks awful if you do it ahead of time because it deflates as it freezes. I scraped it off and redid it because I'm a perfectionist.
How to make whipped cream. (Suggest making it before beginning day 2.)
Ingredients:
1 pint heavy whipping cream
vanilla syrup
1. Mix heavy whipping cream and vanilla syrup with a hand mixer. (I just pour some syrup in.)
2. You know it's fully whipped when it does this.
and this. Go ahead, taste it.
Way better than Cool Whip!
Here's how:
Ingredients:
cake batter (suggest: white cake)
1.5 quarts of ice cream (suggest: cookies and cream)
whipped cream (either make it with heavy whipping cream and vanilla syrup or get Cool Whip)
Any decorations you choose, suggestions:
chocolate syrup (or caramel or both)
Reddi-wip (for the pretty design)
Oreos
Day One
1. Place a round cake pan in the freezer for at least half an hour.
2. Leave the ice cream on the counter to soften while you make one layer of round cake.
(If you use boxed mix, you can make cupcakes or something with the other half.)
3. Take the cake pan out of the freezer and line it with plastic wrap. Mold the softened ice cream into the plastic wrap lined pan.
4. Cover the top of the ice cream with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer overnight.
5. Half an hour after the cake is out of the oven, take it out of the pan and let it cool on a cooling rack.
6. Once the cake is completely cooled, wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer overnight.
Day 2
7. Take the ice cream out of the freezer and set it up to be the bottom layer of the cake.
Aren't you glad you didn't forget the plastic wrap?
8. Cover the ice cream with whipped cream. (Made yourself or Cool Whip.)
9. Unwrap the cake and place it on top of the whipped cream.
10. Cover the cake with a solid layer of whipped cream. Be sure to fill in any gaps in the layers.
11. Decorate it however you like.
Lesson I learned the hard way:
DON'T decorate it with Reddi-wip until right before you serve it. It looks awful if you do it ahead of time because it deflates as it freezes. I scraped it off and redid it because I'm a perfectionist.
How to make whipped cream. (Suggest making it before beginning day 2.)
Ingredients:
1 pint heavy whipping cream
vanilla syrup
1. Mix heavy whipping cream and vanilla syrup with a hand mixer. (I just pour some syrup in.)
2. You know it's fully whipped when it does this.
and this. Go ahead, taste it.
Way better than Cool Whip!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Yoga Day USA
Yoga Day USA was this past Saturday.
Studios all over the country held free yoga classes and San Antonio was no exception.
I wasn't able to participate as a student in any classes, but that's ok, because I taught 3 classes that day.
The first class was my normal Spectrum class that I'm enjoying very much. That room is a challenge to speak audibly in, but I'm working on it. I have to avoid the temptation to minimize the words I say because I have a lot to teach. I just have to get comfortable projecting my voice or break down and use the microphone. Should I just use the microphone? It seems like a yoga teacher faux pas, but I could be crazy.
Then I went to Two Hearts Yoga and team taught 2 yoga classes with my friend, Stephanie. We were in teacher training together and she's a good friend. I've been going to her Rockin' Vinyasa class on Fridays and really enjoying it. I'm familiar with how she teaches, but she's not that familiar with how I teach, but she does know that I'm pretty into Ashtanga. It was a fun day, and I was a little sore from all the demonstrating.
Since our classes were official yoga meetups, we got rated by some of the students after class. Right now we have 5 ratings with 5 stars. People said such nice things. It's pretty exciting to see that.
“ I really enjoyed this Meetup!!! ”
“ If you want to learn Yoga, this is the place, ”
“I enjoy the classes very much, and look forward to continuing yoga practices. ”
“Stephanie and Becky complimented each other in their teaching styles. The class was excellent!”
Studios all over the country held free yoga classes and San Antonio was no exception.
I wasn't able to participate as a student in any classes, but that's ok, because I taught 3 classes that day.
The first class was my normal Spectrum class that I'm enjoying very much. That room is a challenge to speak audibly in, but I'm working on it. I have to avoid the temptation to minimize the words I say because I have a lot to teach. I just have to get comfortable projecting my voice or break down and use the microphone. Should I just use the microphone? It seems like a yoga teacher faux pas, but I could be crazy.
Then I went to Two Hearts Yoga and team taught 2 yoga classes with my friend, Stephanie. We were in teacher training together and she's a good friend. I've been going to her Rockin' Vinyasa class on Fridays and really enjoying it. I'm familiar with how she teaches, but she's not that familiar with how I teach, but she does know that I'm pretty into Ashtanga. It was a fun day, and I was a little sore from all the demonstrating.
Since our classes were official yoga meetups, we got rated by some of the students after class. Right now we have 5 ratings with 5 stars. People said such nice things. It's pretty exciting to see that.
“ I really enjoyed this Meetup!!! ”
“ If you want to learn Yoga, this is the place, ”
“I enjoy the classes very much, and look forward to continuing yoga practices. ”
“Stephanie and Becky complimented each other in their teaching styles. The class was excellent!”
Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy New Year 2011!
Highlights/Lowlights of 2010:
January: Began teaching part of yoga classes at a Yoga Shala with my yoga mentor, Ken. He's a wonderful teacher and an amazing person, and I'm lucky I met him when I did and got him to agree to be my mentor.
February: Presented my thesis for yoga teacher training. I volunteered to go first and didn't have to worry about it anymore. It went really well, and I was able to organize the basics of my favorite style of yoga in writing.
March: Finished the mentoring part of teacher training.
April: Graduated from Yoga Teacher training. Something I've wanted to do for years, and I'm glad I actually did it.
May: 1. Went of our first vacation since the honeymoon and had a great time in Port Aransas. (Although next time I'd like to go to a prettier, less seaweed covered beach.)
2. Decided in the pool at the Mayan Princess that we're both ready to have kids.
3. Met Wayne Palmer in real life. I've worked with him for years through email and the phone since he lives in New Jersey. We became friends and finally got to see each other in person. That was neat. He's coming again in a few weeks.
4. Was recruited by the Yoga School Director to build a new website because I'm the most tech savvy person she knows and she desperately needed one immediately because of the Texas Workforce Commission. I told her I didn't know what I was doing, but promised to try my best with Brad's help, and did it. Sure, a real website guy could do better, but it's pretty and functional.
5. Touched my face to my shins with my knees straight and my feet flexed. This is a big deal for me because it has been my flexibility weakness all my life.
June: nothing comes to mind. Sorry June.
July: 1. Brad's dad had a heart attack. Someone did CPR and saved his life. Then he had a double bypass. That surgeon saved his life again.
2. Saw Weird Al from the FRONT ROW.
August: Got hired as a yoga teacher at Spectrum. Started substituting classes until one that I wanted opened up.
September: Found out I was pregnant.
October: 1. First appointment with the obstetrician. Saw the fetus's heartbeat. Announced it to the world, because a heartbeat means it's good, right?
2. My good friend, Eric's sister had a miscarriage at 11 weeks.
November: 1. I had a miscarriage at 11 weeks. Had to announce that to the world, because well...you can't just wait and hope they forget, can you?
2. A coworker suddenly died of a heart attack.
December: 1. Started teaching my own yoga class at Spectrum. At a convenient time and location for me!
2. Eric's 2-year old great dane, Goliath, suddenly died from bloat.
3. Got a badass computer that gives me 60 fps in WoW with all the settings turned up.
4. Brad got a promotion, and will actually be people's supervisor.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
WoW Cataclysm, Yoga Practice, Work, Yoga Teaching
The latest World of Warcraft expansion, Cataclysm came out a week ago today. It raised the max level from 80 to 85 and added a ton of new content. A lot of people are already level 85; Brad and I are 83. The only way to be 85 this soon is to blow through the new areas as fast as you can without doing much else in your life and without taking the time to enjoy the game. I think that's sad. Why is it a race? I like taking my time enjoying the time I spend playing, and doing other things between playing.
I went to my first Ashtanga Primary Series class with Lisa since August. That was great. I should have gone to her Monday class yesterday, but I chose WoW over yoga. Tomorrow, I'll choose yoga over WoW again. I could go to Kimberly's class tonight, and I probably should. I think I'm being lazy. Going to a 6:00 class at Yoga Shala means giving up my entire evening. I used to do that all the time and love it, but now I only want to do it once or twice a week.
Last week was a busy week at work. It was the last major week of our peak season. There's still some loose ends to tie up before the books go to print, but the worst is behind us. That's another reason that WoW wasn't a priority for me. I was lucky that I didn't need to work any overtime, but I came home exhausted and just wanted to rest. Sitting at a computer for a few more hours was the last thing I wanted to do.
My second yoga class as the regular teacher was on Saturday. I was nervous as I waited for the class ahead of me to end. The attendance of this class would be the first time it was a reflection of what they thought of me as a teacher. Two or three people hovered by the door with me, but that was it. I hoped that wasn't the whole class. People came pouring in. The first class had 9 people, this class had 13. Yay, it's growing! I know it will fluctuate up and down and that's fine, I'm just glad it grew by 4 the first week rather than shrink.
The pregnant student wasn't there. I was both relieved and disappointed. I ended up not teaching anything a pregnant woman shouldn't do. I forgot to teach Bakasana and Navasana as I'd like to. Normally by the time we get to that point, class is nearly over. I remember when it seemed agonizing to fill an entire hour with yoga poses, now I really think an hour and a half or 2 hours would be more productive. I always struggle to decide which poses to leave out this time. That's a good problem to have, so I can't complain. I'm also thinking about throwing in some lunges, twisting in lunges, and binding in the lunges like Ken used to teach. That will mean deviating more from the primary series that I've been clinging to for dear life. It's a good foundation to start from, but I'd like for my class to be different every time. I remember getting bored of my first yoga class because it was the same every time. Then again, primary series can be practiced consistently for years. I could drive myself crazy thinking of this. :)
I went to my first Ashtanga Primary Series class with Lisa since August. That was great. I should have gone to her Monday class yesterday, but I chose WoW over yoga. Tomorrow, I'll choose yoga over WoW again. I could go to Kimberly's class tonight, and I probably should. I think I'm being lazy. Going to a 6:00 class at Yoga Shala means giving up my entire evening. I used to do that all the time and love it, but now I only want to do it once or twice a week.
Last week was a busy week at work. It was the last major week of our peak season. There's still some loose ends to tie up before the books go to print, but the worst is behind us. That's another reason that WoW wasn't a priority for me. I was lucky that I didn't need to work any overtime, but I came home exhausted and just wanted to rest. Sitting at a computer for a few more hours was the last thing I wanted to do.
My second yoga class as the regular teacher was on Saturday. I was nervous as I waited for the class ahead of me to end. The attendance of this class would be the first time it was a reflection of what they thought of me as a teacher. Two or three people hovered by the door with me, but that was it. I hoped that wasn't the whole class. People came pouring in. The first class had 9 people, this class had 13. Yay, it's growing! I know it will fluctuate up and down and that's fine, I'm just glad it grew by 4 the first week rather than shrink.
The pregnant student wasn't there. I was both relieved and disappointed. I ended up not teaching anything a pregnant woman shouldn't do. I forgot to teach Bakasana and Navasana as I'd like to. Normally by the time we get to that point, class is nearly over. I remember when it seemed agonizing to fill an entire hour with yoga poses, now I really think an hour and a half or 2 hours would be more productive. I always struggle to decide which poses to leave out this time. That's a good problem to have, so I can't complain. I'm also thinking about throwing in some lunges, twisting in lunges, and binding in the lunges like Ken used to teach. That will mean deviating more from the primary series that I've been clinging to for dear life. It's a good foundation to start from, but I'd like for my class to be different every time. I remember getting bored of my first yoga class because it was the same every time. Then again, primary series can be practiced consistently for years. I could drive myself crazy thinking of this. :)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
First Class as the Regular Teacher (for money)
I've been the regular yoga teacher at my office for a year, but that's a free thing I do to be nice and for practice teaching.
Saturday was my first day as the regular teacher at Spectrum. A week ago, I attended this class and was very nervous and anxious because while it's called "Yoga Flow" the former teacher's style is VERY different from mine. My original intention was to make the class what the students are used to and gradually "make it my own." After attending that class, I thought about it a lot and got some advice from experienced teachers who have been through this. Then I decided to just teach what I'm used to teaching. I can't try to be someone else, nor would I ever want to.
I taught a modified Ashtanga Primary Series, some stuff cut out because it's too hard and I only have an hour and some stuff thrown in for fun. That's what I always do. I change up what I cut out and what I throw in so it's not the same every time. The Ashtanga Primary Series is very therapeutic and leaves students feeling good afterwards. That's what I love about it. I'm so grateful for the teachers who have come before me who came up with this series and passed it on through the generations, eventually making it to me, and then my students.
A lady came up to me at the beginning of class and asked for adviced for pregnancy. Oh, wow, ok good thing I just researched this. She was 12 weeks along, barely out of the 1st trimester. I told her not to do the chaturangas or any deep twisting, and I didn't teach any strong ab poses, but if she's back next time, I will, but I'll need to have alternatives for her in mind. I'll probably get her to do cat/cow or her choice of any pose she'd like. I think I handled that well both as a teacher and as a woman who lost a pregnancy a month ago. I'm proud of myself for feeling helpful and compassionate rather than jealous or angry. I would never wish bad things to happen to people.
Also, after the Kino MacGregor workshop I just attended where she emphasized that muscular burn is ok, even a good thing, I'm going to change my attitude towards pain in practice. I used to say not to push yourself into pain, but I'm going to explain that muscular burn is ok and that it's an individual decision how far you push through the burn.
As class ended I said, "Please let me know if you have any questions or comments." That's when they surprised me. They weren't rolling up their mats and running out of there. They stayed seated on their mats and told me how much they enjoyed the class and how good it made them feel. Awww shucks :-) I'm really glad I've had the opportunity to practice on my coworkers, because otherwise I wouldn't be nearly as prepared to teach a room full of strangers as I am today.
Saturday was my first day as the regular teacher at Spectrum. A week ago, I attended this class and was very nervous and anxious because while it's called "Yoga Flow" the former teacher's style is VERY different from mine. My original intention was to make the class what the students are used to and gradually "make it my own." After attending that class, I thought about it a lot and got some advice from experienced teachers who have been through this. Then I decided to just teach what I'm used to teaching. I can't try to be someone else, nor would I ever want to.
I taught a modified Ashtanga Primary Series, some stuff cut out because it's too hard and I only have an hour and some stuff thrown in for fun. That's what I always do. I change up what I cut out and what I throw in so it's not the same every time. The Ashtanga Primary Series is very therapeutic and leaves students feeling good afterwards. That's what I love about it. I'm so grateful for the teachers who have come before me who came up with this series and passed it on through the generations, eventually making it to me, and then my students.
A lady came up to me at the beginning of class and asked for adviced for pregnancy. Oh, wow, ok good thing I just researched this. She was 12 weeks along, barely out of the 1st trimester. I told her not to do the chaturangas or any deep twisting, and I didn't teach any strong ab poses, but if she's back next time, I will, but I'll need to have alternatives for her in mind. I'll probably get her to do cat/cow or her choice of any pose she'd like. I think I handled that well both as a teacher and as a woman who lost a pregnancy a month ago. I'm proud of myself for feeling helpful and compassionate rather than jealous or angry. I would never wish bad things to happen to people.
Also, after the Kino MacGregor workshop I just attended where she emphasized that muscular burn is ok, even a good thing, I'm going to change my attitude towards pain in practice. I used to say not to push yourself into pain, but I'm going to explain that muscular burn is ok and that it's an individual decision how far you push through the burn.
As class ended I said, "Please let me know if you have any questions or comments." That's when they surprised me. They weren't rolling up their mats and running out of there. They stayed seated on their mats and told me how much they enjoyed the class and how good it made them feel. Awww shucks :-) I'm really glad I've had the opportunity to practice on my coworkers, because otherwise I wouldn't be nearly as prepared to teach a room full of strangers as I am today.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Life Doesn't Always Go According to Plan
I had a miscarriage a month ago today. It was a hard way to learn that I don't have as much control over my life and my body as I'd like. I'm still glad that I told my friends, but I wish I hadn't told as many people at work and on Facebook.
When we saw the heart beat on the ultrasound at 8 weeks, the doctor said that miscarriage after seeing a heart beat is very rare and that we were "out of the woods." I even asked, "So I can put it on Facebook?" She said, "Yes." I knew that it was still the 1st trimester and that miscarriage is a possibility any time until it's over, but she told me what I wanted to hear, and I ran with it.
Here's another lesson I learned the hard way: a rare chance doesn't mean not possible.
Sometimes life does go according to plan. I just picked up my first regular teaching job at Spectrum. I don't have to worry about subbing the 2 classes a month minimum. Now I can just sub as a favor when it's convenient (i.e. not going Downtown Monday afternoon to sub anymore). That class starts this Saturday and I'm very excited. It's such a good time to start teaching a class: right before the New Year's rush of new faces.
When we saw the heart beat on the ultrasound at 8 weeks, the doctor said that miscarriage after seeing a heart beat is very rare and that we were "out of the woods." I even asked, "So I can put it on Facebook?" She said, "Yes." I knew that it was still the 1st trimester and that miscarriage is a possibility any time until it's over, but she told me what I wanted to hear, and I ran with it.
Here's another lesson I learned the hard way: a rare chance doesn't mean not possible.
Sometimes life does go according to plan. I just picked up my first regular teaching job at Spectrum. I don't have to worry about subbing the 2 classes a month minimum. Now I can just sub as a favor when it's convenient (i.e. not going Downtown Monday afternoon to sub anymore). That class starts this Saturday and I'm very excited. It's such a good time to start teaching a class: right before the New Year's rush of new faces.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Big Life Change
I've posted before about my life changes, from what I ate to who I spent my time with, where I lived, and what I did with my time. But now I'm at the beginning of the biggest life change of my life ever.
Marriage was a big deal, but it wasn't a sudden change. The wedding was formalizing a relationship that grew over a few years. No one was shocked. No one said, "Wow, I didn't think you would get married."
It really surprises me that people have reacted to the news that I'm pregnant with "I thought you were going to be childless!" Thanks, Dad. All you had to do was ask. It seemed obvious to me that it was the next step for me and Brad.
I'm in the middle of the first trimester which seems to take forever... in terms of morning sickness and everyone saying, "Don't worry that's only in the first trimester, it will pass soon." 7 more weeks seems like a long time to feel nauseous, but I guess it should be a comfort that it will go away at a predictable time.
My biggest problem with the first trimester is the idea that it's supposed to be hush hush secret that I'm pregnant. This is something I've been working towards for years: getting my body in shape, getting our house, having 4-door reliable cars paid off, no debt, etc. And it's supposed to be a big secret! Why? Oh because I could have a miscarriage and it would be awkward. Seriously? That's a good enough reason to keep really exciting news to myself?! Seriously?
I went ahead and told my friends I see everyday, and my supervisor/team at work, because if I didn't, they'd worry about what's wrong with me. Why would I hold super exciting news in and worry people who care about me?
But, still I've kept the news off of Facebook and haven't told a lot of people yet, not because of fear of miscarriage, but because of fear of people thinking it's wrong for me to tell this early. I do recognize the possibility of miscarriage, but I try not to worry about it, and I'm just going on like everything is perfect until proven otherwise.
Now that the exciting news that I'm going to be a mother is out. OMG seriously? I'm going to be a mom? Oh crap, how do you keep an infant alive without breaking the law? I've always been the baby. I don't have much experience with babies. For now I'm just going to focus on keeping myself and my sweet pea sized child healthy.
A lot of people keep telling Brad and me that our lives are going to change a lot. First of all: NO DUH? SERIOUSLY? Yeah, we thought of that long before we started calculating ovulation days with charts.
Second, that implies that nothing changes until the baby is born. EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT RIGHT NOW! Obviously my body is changing and I have to be careful what I do and eat. I need more sleep, sometimes I feel like crap for a really good reason, so obviously my life is different, and of course that affects Brad too, since he lives with me.
Of all of the changes in my life now and when the child is born, the hardest one for me to handle emotionally is my yoga practice. My practice is very important to me and I give it 100% credit to my body and emotional state being ready for this. Of course I can still do yoga and I still should, but it's very different now. I'm not just thinking about me when I practice. I'm thinking about that little tiny heartbeat inside.
I've been attending Beryl Bender Birch's workshop this weekend. I signed up for it knowing we were trying to conceive, but not expecting to actually get pregnant this early. I've talked to my doctor, Nydia, and Sreedhara, and read the pregnancy section of every yoga book I have (that's a lot). Every book says something different, but it seems to be the consensus that I can do anything in the first trimester as long as I feel ok. Even my family doctor told me to listen to my body and that it will tell me if something isn't right for me.
The workshop is wonderful and I love it, but it is a new experience for me. I've been to a workshop with her before, that part is essentially this same, but I am different. I'm no longer pushing myself as far as I can. I'm doing child's pose instead of downward facing dog in sun salutations, skipping vinyasas between seated poses, not doing navasana or any tough ab work (because the books say not to and because it feels terrible), and not pushing very far into twists. Next weekend I'm going to David Swenson's workshop in Austin, and knowing what I know about him, I'll have no problem modifying my practice as I have been. You learn more from listening at workshops than from doing asana anyway.
I plan to continue to teach yoga as there's no reason for me practice every pose I teach. A good teacher isn't practicing while teaching anyway.
Marriage was a big deal, but it wasn't a sudden change. The wedding was formalizing a relationship that grew over a few years. No one was shocked. No one said, "Wow, I didn't think you would get married."
It really surprises me that people have reacted to the news that I'm pregnant with "I thought you were going to be childless!" Thanks, Dad. All you had to do was ask. It seemed obvious to me that it was the next step for me and Brad.
I'm in the middle of the first trimester which seems to take forever... in terms of morning sickness and everyone saying, "Don't worry that's only in the first trimester, it will pass soon." 7 more weeks seems like a long time to feel nauseous, but I guess it should be a comfort that it will go away at a predictable time.
My biggest problem with the first trimester is the idea that it's supposed to be hush hush secret that I'm pregnant. This is something I've been working towards for years: getting my body in shape, getting our house, having 4-door reliable cars paid off, no debt, etc. And it's supposed to be a big secret! Why? Oh because I could have a miscarriage and it would be awkward. Seriously? That's a good enough reason to keep really exciting news to myself?! Seriously?
I went ahead and told my friends I see everyday, and my supervisor/team at work, because if I didn't, they'd worry about what's wrong with me. Why would I hold super exciting news in and worry people who care about me?
But, still I've kept the news off of Facebook and haven't told a lot of people yet, not because of fear of miscarriage, but because of fear of people thinking it's wrong for me to tell this early. I do recognize the possibility of miscarriage, but I try not to worry about it, and I'm just going on like everything is perfect until proven otherwise.
Now that the exciting news that I'm going to be a mother is out. OMG seriously? I'm going to be a mom? Oh crap, how do you keep an infant alive without breaking the law? I've always been the baby. I don't have much experience with babies. For now I'm just going to focus on keeping myself and my sweet pea sized child healthy.
A lot of people keep telling Brad and me that our lives are going to change a lot. First of all: NO DUH? SERIOUSLY? Yeah, we thought of that long before we started calculating ovulation days with charts.
Second, that implies that nothing changes until the baby is born. EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT RIGHT NOW! Obviously my body is changing and I have to be careful what I do and eat. I need more sleep, sometimes I feel like crap for a really good reason, so obviously my life is different, and of course that affects Brad too, since he lives with me.
Of all of the changes in my life now and when the child is born, the hardest one for me to handle emotionally is my yoga practice. My practice is very important to me and I give it 100% credit to my body and emotional state being ready for this. Of course I can still do yoga and I still should, but it's very different now. I'm not just thinking about me when I practice. I'm thinking about that little tiny heartbeat inside.
I've been attending Beryl Bender Birch's workshop this weekend. I signed up for it knowing we were trying to conceive, but not expecting to actually get pregnant this early. I've talked to my doctor, Nydia, and Sreedhara, and read the pregnancy section of every yoga book I have (that's a lot). Every book says something different, but it seems to be the consensus that I can do anything in the first trimester as long as I feel ok. Even my family doctor told me to listen to my body and that it will tell me if something isn't right for me.
The workshop is wonderful and I love it, but it is a new experience for me. I've been to a workshop with her before, that part is essentially this same, but I am different. I'm no longer pushing myself as far as I can. I'm doing child's pose instead of downward facing dog in sun salutations, skipping vinyasas between seated poses, not doing navasana or any tough ab work (because the books say not to and because it feels terrible), and not pushing very far into twists. Next weekend I'm going to David Swenson's workshop in Austin, and knowing what I know about him, I'll have no problem modifying my practice as I have been. You learn more from listening at workshops than from doing asana anyway.
I plan to continue to teach yoga as there's no reason for me practice every pose I teach. A good teacher isn't practicing while teaching anyway.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Yoga is Non-Competitive
There's a Bikram Yoga Competition in San Antonio this month. I see a lot of San Antonio yogis getting excited, and while I'm not one to tell them what to get excited about, I don't share their enthusiasm.
When I first discovered yoga, one reason I fell in love with it (as a former competitive springboard diver) was that it is non-competitive and non-judgmental. That's just beautiful. Yoga is for the sake of the practitioner, because it's good for the body, mind, and spirit, also it's fun. It doesn't get any better than that. Shiny gold medals and trophies distract us from what really matters and the competition required to win alienates people from each other.
I was only a diver for a year and wasn't ever good enough to actually win, partly because of the lack of flexibility and strength at the time and partly because I only did it for a year, but I saw what the competitive spirit does. It takes all the fun out of it and makes it hard work with more risks of injuries. What could have been a great friend with a shared interest became a rival to defeat. What if I just like flipping around in the air and landing in a giant pool of water? Good luck finding a coach who cares about anything other than winning.
I saw the same thing when I did debate competitions a few years later. I'd try to be friendly, "Hi, I'm Becky. You like debate, I like debate. That's pretty cool." No way, they weren't having any of that. It's harder to treat me like an idiot if you see me as another human being who's a lot like you.
When I first discovered yoga, one reason I fell in love with it (as a former competitive springboard diver) was that it is non-competitive and non-judgmental. That's just beautiful. Yoga is for the sake of the practitioner, because it's good for the body, mind, and spirit, also it's fun. It doesn't get any better than that. Shiny gold medals and trophies distract us from what really matters and the competition required to win alienates people from each other.
I was only a diver for a year and wasn't ever good enough to actually win, partly because of the lack of flexibility and strength at the time and partly because I only did it for a year, but I saw what the competitive spirit does. It takes all the fun out of it and makes it hard work with more risks of injuries. What could have been a great friend with a shared interest became a rival to defeat. What if I just like flipping around in the air and landing in a giant pool of water? Good luck finding a coach who cares about anything other than winning.
I saw the same thing when I did debate competitions a few years later. I'd try to be friendly, "Hi, I'm Becky. You like debate, I like debate. That's pretty cool." No way, they weren't having any of that. It's harder to treat me like an idiot if you see me as another human being who's a lot like you.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Yoga is still going well :)
I subbed last night at the Bandera Spectrum and people asked when I normally teach so they can come to my class. Too bad I don't normally teach outside of work yet. I just sub as much as I'm able to, but AWESOME compliment!
Then today there was a great conversation today at my office class as I turned off the lights for Savasana.
Pete: Becky, you kicked my butt!
me: Yoga is supposed to kick your butt and make you like it.
Pete: I liked it!
Then he emailed me to tell me how much he liked the class.
"Becky,
I really enjoyed your yoga class. It's something I've wanted to do for many years that I never got around to, until today.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Pete"
This is why I teach yoga. :-D
I give credit to the poses and the Ashtanga Primary Series. Most of my classes are based on the series in one way or another. I'm glad I was able to learn about it so I can share the benefits with others!
Another thing about teaching. I've really gotten into having people swivel around to the other side in standing poses where I'm standing on the back of the room, so the people in the back of the room get some time in the front of the room.
Then for Presarita Padottanasana the side of the room becomes the front. Also, you haven't lived until you've told 20 people what do while your head is upside down looking at them between your legs. :-D That's fun every time.
Then today there was a great conversation today at my office class as I turned off the lights for Savasana.
Pete: Becky, you kicked my butt!
me: Yoga is supposed to kick your butt and make you like it.
Pete: I liked it!
Then he emailed me to tell me how much he liked the class.
"Becky,
I really enjoyed your yoga class. It's something I've wanted to do for many years that I never got around to, until today.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Pete"
This is why I teach yoga. :-D
I give credit to the poses and the Ashtanga Primary Series. Most of my classes are based on the series in one way or another. I'm glad I was able to learn about it so I can share the benefits with others!
Another thing about teaching. I've really gotten into having people swivel around to the other side in standing poses where I'm standing on the back of the room, so the people in the back of the room get some time in the front of the room.
Then for Presarita Padottanasana the side of the room becomes the front. Also, you haven't lived until you've told 20 people what do while your head is upside down looking at them between your legs. :-D That's fun every time.
Monday, August 30, 2010
I Love My Yoga at Work Class
Today was my usual yoga at work class, but instead of my 3 or 4 regulars, 13 people were there because I had an all-staff email sent out last week letting people know about the class. (The last all-staff email was sent back in November.)
It was fantastic. I had to tone down the difficulty a bit for the beginners, I only had them do 2 Surya Namaskara As and that seemed like enough for some of them. I figured Surya Namaskara B is for another day. One man in particular was really struggling, but had a good attitude about it. I reminded them to focus on breathing and that it doesn't matter how far it goes, not to push too hard, etc.
At then end of class he said that this is why he really needs to do this. YES! He gets it! Yay for taking care of himself. It's so rewarded to bring yoga to people who wouldn't do yoga if I didn't make it convenient and free. :)
It was fantastic. I had to tone down the difficulty a bit for the beginners, I only had them do 2 Surya Namaskara As and that seemed like enough for some of them. I figured Surya Namaskara B is for another day. One man in particular was really struggling, but had a good attitude about it. I reminded them to focus on breathing and that it doesn't matter how far it goes, not to push too hard, etc.
At then end of class he said that this is why he really needs to do this. YES! He gets it! Yay for taking care of himself. It's so rewarded to bring yoga to people who wouldn't do yoga if I didn't make it convenient and free. :)
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
On Slippery Yoga Mats
Slipping during yoga was a problem for me for a long time and I threw a lot of money around trying to solve this. Now a lot of my students are having the same problem. I just wrote this out as an email to a student, but I decided to put it here to share it with both my readers. ;)
Jade Yoga mats are the best I've found. They come in 2 different thicknesses (the standard mat is 1/4 inch, so even their thin one is thicker than regular mats)
3/16 inch and 5/16 inch
I have the 3/16 inch one (2 actually) and I love it, but I wish I had the 5/16 inch one. In Ashtanga 3/16 is fine, but in Anusara, you do a lot of weird stuff with your knee digging into the floor and more padding would be nice.
(You're never supposed to put your weight on your knee cap, always in front of your knee, it hurts like hell right on your knee cap. DON'T DO THAT! I think I'm going to rebel every time I'm asked to dig my knee into the mat, there has to be a better way to stretch my quads.)
There's also yoga towels that you can put over your mat. I've tried those and they're not bad.
Yogitoes is good.
OMG they have a Groovy Yogitoes towel! I don't need it. I won't buy it. I don't need it. I won't buy it. I don't need it. I won't buy it. I don't need it. I won't buy it.
The Manduka towel is also alright.
Don't buy the Manduka black mat! It's supposedly top of the line awesome. I have one, and it's like a freaking slip 'n' slide. I can barely even attempt yoga on it without a towel. Biggest waste of money ever.
Jade Yoga mats are the best I've found. They come in 2 different thicknesses (the standard mat is 1/4 inch, so even their thin one is thicker than regular mats)
3/16 inch and 5/16 inch
I have the 3/16 inch one (2 actually) and I love it, but I wish I had the 5/16 inch one. In Ashtanga 3/16 is fine, but in Anusara, you do a lot of weird stuff with your knee digging into the floor and more padding would be nice.
(You're never supposed to put your weight on your knee cap, always in front of your knee, it hurts like hell right on your knee cap. DON'T DO THAT! I think I'm going to rebel every time I'm asked to dig my knee into the mat, there has to be a better way to stretch my quads.)
There's also yoga towels that you can put over your mat. I've tried those and they're not bad.
Yogitoes is good.
OMG they have a Groovy Yogitoes towel! I don't need it. I won't buy it. I don't need it. I won't buy it. I don't need it. I won't buy it. I don't need it. I won't buy it.
The Manduka towel is also alright.
Don't buy the Manduka black mat! It's supposedly top of the line awesome. I have one, and it's like a freaking slip 'n' slide. I can barely even attempt yoga on it without a towel. Biggest waste of money ever.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
First Class at Spectrum
I subbed an Ashtanga-lite class at Spectrum today. The room was full and people kept trickling in, eventually 20 people were there. I'd never taught an entire class this full before. I taught some Sun Salutations at my big graduation class, but never the whole hour and fifteen with more than 6 or so people. One of my students from my work class came. It was nice to have a smiling face of someone I know.
I was nervous, hoping I'd talk loud enough to be audible and they'd enjoy the class. It always looks so easy when someone else is doing it. I hope this gets easier with practice. I feel like I'm full of book knowledge and I need the confidence to pass it on and share it with others. It went well and I enjoyed it, I hope the students did too. Now I need to bug people about getting me my own regular class.
At the end, one of the students told me that I have a good yoga personality and that she thought I did really well. Yay! :) I'm pretty laid back and easy going. I don't really care what my students are doing unless they're going to hurt themselves.
I'm very grateful to everyone who has helped me get to this point.
I was nervous, hoping I'd talk loud enough to be audible and they'd enjoy the class. It always looks so easy when someone else is doing it. I hope this gets easier with practice. I feel like I'm full of book knowledge and I need the confidence to pass it on and share it with others. It went well and I enjoyed it, I hope the students did too. Now I need to bug people about getting me my own regular class.
At the end, one of the students told me that I have a good yoga personality and that she thought I did really well. Yay! :) I'm pretty laid back and easy going. I don't really care what my students are doing unless they're going to hurt themselves.
I'm very grateful to everyone who has helped me get to this point.
Monday, August 9, 2010
My First Yoga Injury
Last week, at Wednesday evening Ashtanga Primary Series, I was doing a vinyasa between seated poses and noticed my right knee hurt. Uh oh...what did I do to it? At the moment, I was thinking about what I should do to keep myself from hurting it worse. Now I wish I had paid more attention to which pose it was after and what I did that caused this pain.
My first guess was Trianga Mukha Ekapada Paschimottanasana. My quads aren't very happy in this pose and pull on my knee if I'm not careful. I usually do it with my hip on a block, but I forgot to grab a block before class, so I did it without one. The more I thought about it, the less that made sense. If I hurt my knee during that, I would have felt it and backed off before hurting myself. It was drilled into my head at teacher training to never tolerate any pain in the knee during a pose.
Then I remembered that I botched up one of my jump throughs...maybe the one before I noticed the pain? I don't remember. I can't jump all the way through, so I always jump to cross legged. That time my feet hit the floor earlier than I'm used to and because of my super grippy mat that's awesome in down dog, my feet stayed put and my knee took the momentum of my jump. Oh right, oops.
My knee wasn't injured terribly, but it hurt enough to make sure I didn't forget about it. I decided to keep practicing on it, since wasn't a severe injury. I sprained my ankle pretty bad a few years ago, and this was nothing nearly that bad. Thursday I rested, iced, compressed, and elevated it while watching some Star Trek in bed, but Friday I went to an Anusara-ish vinyasa class. I didn't do any jumps, but camel was fine on my knee. Lunges and warriors were a little scary, but I could do them without hurting myself. Saturday, I was able to do jump throughs and jump backs without a problem. It was a good reminder to land lightly as I always should. Sunday, my practice was back to normal. My knee hurt a little, but didn't slow me down. Afterwards we were playing with acroyoga stuff and "flying." I would have tried to be the base if my knee were perfect, but holding the weight of another person on my legs and arms seemed like a bad idea in those circumstances.
Today it feels almost completely normal. Yay! Injury is very scary. I'm glad that mine was very minor and healed very quickly. It reminded me that I'm not invincible and that I need to be mindful in my practice. :)
My first guess was Trianga Mukha Ekapada Paschimottanasana. My quads aren't very happy in this pose and pull on my knee if I'm not careful. I usually do it with my hip on a block, but I forgot to grab a block before class, so I did it without one. The more I thought about it, the less that made sense. If I hurt my knee during that, I would have felt it and backed off before hurting myself. It was drilled into my head at teacher training to never tolerate any pain in the knee during a pose.
Then I remembered that I botched up one of my jump throughs...maybe the one before I noticed the pain? I don't remember. I can't jump all the way through, so I always jump to cross legged. That time my feet hit the floor earlier than I'm used to and because of my super grippy mat that's awesome in down dog, my feet stayed put and my knee took the momentum of my jump. Oh right, oops.
My knee wasn't injured terribly, but it hurt enough to make sure I didn't forget about it. I decided to keep practicing on it, since wasn't a severe injury. I sprained my ankle pretty bad a few years ago, and this was nothing nearly that bad. Thursday I rested, iced, compressed, and elevated it while watching some Star Trek in bed, but Friday I went to an Anusara-ish vinyasa class. I didn't do any jumps, but camel was fine on my knee. Lunges and warriors were a little scary, but I could do them without hurting myself. Saturday, I was able to do jump throughs and jump backs without a problem. It was a good reminder to land lightly as I always should. Sunday, my practice was back to normal. My knee hurt a little, but didn't slow me down. Afterwards we were playing with acroyoga stuff and "flying." I would have tried to be the base if my knee were perfect, but holding the weight of another person on my legs and arms seemed like a bad idea in those circumstances.
Today it feels almost completely normal. Yay! Injury is very scary. I'm glad that mine was very minor and healed very quickly. It reminded me that I'm not invincible and that I need to be mindful in my practice. :)
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Teaching at Spectrum
It feels like yoga teacher training ended a long time ago, but it was just a few months. I put a lot of thought into if, when, and where I want to teach for money. (I still have my free weekly class at work.)
I subbed a little bit at one studio, but didn't push for a regular gig there. I still haven't been paid for the last time I subbed. I'm sure if I push them they'll pay me, but it's annoying that I had to push for my first paycheck, and then will have to push for my second.
There's a new studio opening up off if I-10 in the Leon Springs area. That's a bit of a drive for me, but I've made peace with the fact that I have to drive at least 30 minutes to get to a yoga studio. They're having auditions and I thought about trying to get in on that, but I decided not to.
I decided to teach yoga at Spectrum! They eagerly hired me thanks to the very kind recommendations of some friends who teach there. Spectrum is special to me because it's the first place where I practiced yoga. I used to go to 4 classes a week to get my money's worth out of the monthly membership fee. I went to 3 different teachers and they were all great! This is where I learned the basics of yoga including to never push myself to the point of pain. These teachers taught me so much and sparked a desire to learn more on my own.
I'm really excited that I'm starting as a teacher at the same place that I started as a student.
I subbed a little bit at one studio, but didn't push for a regular gig there. I still haven't been paid for the last time I subbed. I'm sure if I push them they'll pay me, but it's annoying that I had to push for my first paycheck, and then will have to push for my second.
There's a new studio opening up off if I-10 in the Leon Springs area. That's a bit of a drive for me, but I've made peace with the fact that I have to drive at least 30 minutes to get to a yoga studio. They're having auditions and I thought about trying to get in on that, but I decided not to.
I decided to teach yoga at Spectrum! They eagerly hired me thanks to the very kind recommendations of some friends who teach there. Spectrum is special to me because it's the first place where I practiced yoga. I used to go to 4 classes a week to get my money's worth out of the monthly membership fee. I went to 3 different teachers and they were all great! This is where I learned the basics of yoga including to never push myself to the point of pain. These teachers taught me so much and sparked a desire to learn more on my own.
I'm really excited that I'm starting as a teacher at the same place that I started as a student.
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