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. :)
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Balance
Balance is an important theme in my life. Here are some balance struggles that I think about a lot:
Yoga
- going to class vs. practicing on my own
challenging myself in the basic poses and doing/learning advanced poses vs. being too easy on myself- focusing on teaching vs. focusing on my own practice
- power yoga vs. restorative yoga
- not falling over in balancing poses (this is especially fun when teaching them because you have to talk and look around)
- doing my work quickly, but with perfect accuracy
- being friendly, but not spend too much time socializing
- taking it seriously, but not stressing out to the extreme
- working overtime when needed, but trying to not need overtime to get the job done
- being a good officer, but not dedicating my life to the game
- keeping the game fun for myself and others so it doesn't become more like work than a game
- caring about the success of the guild without taking the fun out of the game
- doing things with Brad that we both enjoy vs. doing my own thing
- planning everything out vs. being spontaneous
- relaxing vs. being active
- chores vs. fun time
- hanging out with friends/leaving the house vs. staying home
- having the yard not look like the house is abandoned vs. overdoing the yard so that it's too much work to maintain it
- eating healthy vs. enjoying treats/not being too strict with food
- cooking vs. eating out
- meat vs. veggies
- food as fuel vs. food for pleasure
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Yay Spring!
Spring officially begins in 10 days, but the weather seems to be perfect already. This winter was more of an actual winter than San Antonio is used to and I'm happy to see it go.
I have new spring skirts that I got to start wearing yesterday — bright floral fluffy cotton skirts that I could easily wear along the beach in flip flops, but I wear them to work because I can. They're so comfortable that I don't change out of them when I get home from work, and they're cute too.
Yesterday on my way out of the office, I bumped into a chatty lady who was also taking the stairs instead of the elevator. After we got out of the building and passed over the smokers (we can see them a floor below us over the railing) she turned to me and said, "There are those people killing themselves with cigarettes." I was stunned that she said that to a stranger like that, but I agreed and figured since she started it, I could take it a step further, "Yeah, I feel the same way about junk food." She was surprised and said, "I never thought of it like that, but it is the same kind of thing isn't it? I'll have to stop eating that stuff." Wow. That was a great feeling for me. I don't expect this lady to throw away all of her Oreos and Cheetos, but I did get her to think about it in a new way.
Most people are very defensive of their terribly disgusting food to the point of giving me a hard time for what I eat. I don't lecture people or try to make them feel bad. I just eat what I eat, and that bothers them. They know it's bad for them, but if everyone else is doing the same thing it's somehow ok, so when someone else is doing it right, it annoys them.
I feel like junk food is the new cigarettes. People are realizing how bad junk food is and I hope that someday it will be as obviously stupid as smoking. I also wonder if there's something else in our daily lives that will be so obviously bad for us that it's stupid to do it that we don't know about yet. Caffeine maybe? I like caffeine...
I have new spring skirts that I got to start wearing yesterday — bright floral fluffy cotton skirts that I could easily wear along the beach in flip flops, but I wear them to work because I can. They're so comfortable that I don't change out of them when I get home from work, and they're cute too.
Yesterday on my way out of the office, I bumped into a chatty lady who was also taking the stairs instead of the elevator. After we got out of the building and passed over the smokers (we can see them a floor below us over the railing) she turned to me and said, "There are those people killing themselves with cigarettes." I was stunned that she said that to a stranger like that, but I agreed and figured since she started it, I could take it a step further, "Yeah, I feel the same way about junk food." She was surprised and said, "I never thought of it like that, but it is the same kind of thing isn't it? I'll have to stop eating that stuff." Wow. That was a great feeling for me. I don't expect this lady to throw away all of her Oreos and Cheetos, but I did get her to think about it in a new way.
Most people are very defensive of their terribly disgusting food to the point of giving me a hard time for what I eat. I don't lecture people or try to make them feel bad. I just eat what I eat, and that bothers them. They know it's bad for them, but if everyone else is doing the same thing it's somehow ok, so when someone else is doing it right, it annoys them.
I feel like junk food is the new cigarettes. People are realizing how bad junk food is and I hope that someday it will be as obviously stupid as smoking. I also wonder if there's something else in our daily lives that will be so obviously bad for us that it's stupid to do it that we don't know about yet. Caffeine maybe? I like caffeine...
Friday, March 5, 2010
Worst Workday Ever
Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. I've been working on a 360-page document full of MathType and jpegs trying to get it perfectly perfect, and when I had it ALMOST perfect BAM stuff went horribly wrong with the files...twice.
Thanks to some wonderful coworkers and my 13-hour day today. The deadline will be met with 100% quality.
Apparently I was obviously frazzled. I was literally holding back the tears. It was really frustrating. People kept offering me food and chocolate. I wasn't hungry, I didn't need candy. What I need is a hot bath with essential oils.
Brad's at home waiting to cater to my every whim. He always does this for me after a bad day. I think I'll just let him keep playing XBox so I can do some yoga and take that bath, but it is sweet of him to be so willing to spoil me.
I'm so glad tomorrow is yoga nidra day at teacher training, and that I don't have to miss teacher training to get my work done. I have perfect attendance, and I intend to keep it that way unless I get REALLY, REALLY sick. :-)
My file just finished printing! WHOOOO Going home!
Thanks to some wonderful coworkers and my 13-hour day today. The deadline will be met with 100% quality.
Apparently I was obviously frazzled. I was literally holding back the tears. It was really frustrating. People kept offering me food and chocolate. I wasn't hungry, I didn't need candy. What I need is a hot bath with essential oils.
Brad's at home waiting to cater to my every whim. He always does this for me after a bad day. I think I'll just let him keep playing XBox so I can do some yoga and take that bath, but it is sweet of him to be so willing to spoil me.
I'm so glad tomorrow is yoga nidra day at teacher training, and that I don't have to miss teacher training to get my work done. I have perfect attendance, and I intend to keep it that way unless I get REALLY, REALLY sick. :-)
My file just finished printing! WHOOOO Going home!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Yoga at Work
I changed things up a little with yoga at work, but not so much that it was a shock to me or my students. I like the idea of introducing new concepts gradually so it doesn't feel like the same old thing over and over again. That's hard to do with an Ashtanga-based class, but since I'm not restricting myself to exact Ashtanga, it's very possible. It just requires me to think, prepare, and continually step up to a new level, so I'm never too used to the same thing, always learning something new to pass on to the class.
The aromatherapy and music were a big hit for not a whole lot of effort. I enjoy playing with aromatherapy oils and people were really impressed that I mixed it myself (quiet whisper: it's really very easy).
They also liked beginning with the Moon Salutation and then doing the Sun Salutations. I did Chandra Namaskara A twice, then Surya Namaskara A twice, then Surya Namaskara B twice. I think it was neat to have the variety. People seem to get this "oh no, not again" face when we do Sun Salutations over and over again. It also helped warm them up more gradually than just diving into Sun Salutations.
Next time I'll toss in Chandra Namaskara B too. I ordered Vinyasa Krama which includes more information about the Chandra Sequence. Right now I'm getting it off of a poster, which I find tedious and a little frustrating. I can't look at a poster while practicing very easily, and the book should have more information.
In the end, I had that "awwwww man, I don't have enough time to teach everything I want to teach" feeling instead of, "hmmmmmm how do I fill the next 20 minutes..." That was a great feeling to have, and made me feel like I'm really finding my groove.
I thought it was really neat that the class was half men. It really bothers me that yoga has been feminized to the point that some men aren't comfortable doing yoga. I even considered it as a thesis topic or at least as part of a thesis on common misconceptions about yoga. Yoga and Pilates were both invented by men, for men. Women weren't even allowed to do yoga at first.
Some people blame the Western culture for yoga becoming "feminine," but I try to be careful throwing the blame on the West so easily without further research. I think it's very interesting that Pilates and Yoga both have the same issue. Pilates was invented in the West (Germany) by a man to help soldiers (men) recover after WWI.
In light of all that, it really is great to see men practicing yoga. They also openly enjoyed the aromatherapy and asked for more after class.
I'm really getting into yoga music, trying to figure out what I like. I spent several hours of today listening to the previews of yoga music on iTunes and chatting with other yoga teachers about what kind of music they like. Currently playing: Yoga Groove and loving it.
The aromatherapy and music were a big hit for not a whole lot of effort. I enjoy playing with aromatherapy oils and people were really impressed that I mixed it myself (quiet whisper: it's really very easy).
They also liked beginning with the Moon Salutation and then doing the Sun Salutations. I did Chandra Namaskara A twice, then Surya Namaskara A twice, then Surya Namaskara B twice. I think it was neat to have the variety. People seem to get this "oh no, not again" face when we do Sun Salutations over and over again. It also helped warm them up more gradually than just diving into Sun Salutations.
Next time I'll toss in Chandra Namaskara B too. I ordered Vinyasa Krama which includes more information about the Chandra Sequence. Right now I'm getting it off of a poster, which I find tedious and a little frustrating. I can't look at a poster while practicing very easily, and the book should have more information.
In the end, I had that "awwwww man, I don't have enough time to teach everything I want to teach" feeling instead of, "hmmmmmm how do I fill the next 20 minutes..." That was a great feeling to have, and made me feel like I'm really finding my groove.
I thought it was really neat that the class was half men. It really bothers me that yoga has been feminized to the point that some men aren't comfortable doing yoga. I even considered it as a thesis topic or at least as part of a thesis on common misconceptions about yoga. Yoga and Pilates were both invented by men, for men. Women weren't even allowed to do yoga at first.
Some people blame the Western culture for yoga becoming "feminine," but I try to be careful throwing the blame on the West so easily without further research. I think it's very interesting that Pilates and Yoga both have the same issue. Pilates was invented in the West (Germany) by a man to help soldiers (men) recover after WWI.
In light of all that, it really is great to see men practicing yoga. They also openly enjoyed the aromatherapy and asked for more after class.
I'm really getting into yoga music, trying to figure out what I like. I spent several hours of today listening to the previews of yoga music on iTunes and chatting with other yoga teachers about what kind of music they like. Currently playing: Yoga Groove and loving it.
Monday, January 25, 2010
A Bit Overwhelmed
Last week was rough. I had to work some long hours at work which made me bail on 2 practicum opportunities with Ken. I'm sure he understood, but it really sucks to ask someone to help me, and then back out at the last minute.
I didn't raid in WoW Friday night because I was upset and exhausted, and I had a busy weekend planned. Saturday morning was a Yoga workshop for how to assist students in poses. I learned some pretty neat stuff that included grabbing men's upper thighs. LOL The best assists that I took home from that are how to help people balance in half moon (mostly just by making them feel safe, it's really not a lot of work), opening the chest in side angle and triangle, and pushing the shoulders back in downward dog.
Immediately after that workshop was yoga teacher training, so that was a long, but good day. I was pretty tired when I got home, and the need to write my thesis paper is looming over my head. Sunday was more teacher training, and I still haven't started writing that paper. I have a solid outline that I wrote a few weeks ago, so I have a good start, I just need to sit down and do it. I'm scheduled to present my paper on February 7th, and I'd like to give Ken time to read it talk about it before then, so I don't want to wait until the last minute.
I didn't raid again Sunday night because I was really tired again.
This morning after being at work for an hour, I realized that I'm useless today. I had a headache, was very sensitive to the light, fatigued, and a little nauseous. Maybe all of this work hitting me at the same time is wearing me down. Since we just met that major deadline, I decided to take the rest of they day off. I feel a lot better after a few hours of sleep, and now I have time to write my paper.
I didn't raid in WoW Friday night because I was upset and exhausted, and I had a busy weekend planned. Saturday morning was a Yoga workshop for how to assist students in poses. I learned some pretty neat stuff that included grabbing men's upper thighs. LOL The best assists that I took home from that are how to help people balance in half moon (mostly just by making them feel safe, it's really not a lot of work), opening the chest in side angle and triangle, and pushing the shoulders back in downward dog.
Immediately after that workshop was yoga teacher training, so that was a long, but good day. I was pretty tired when I got home, and the need to write my thesis paper is looming over my head. Sunday was more teacher training, and I still haven't started writing that paper. I have a solid outline that I wrote a few weeks ago, so I have a good start, I just need to sit down and do it. I'm scheduled to present my paper on February 7th, and I'd like to give Ken time to read it talk about it before then, so I don't want to wait until the last minute.
I didn't raid again Sunday night because I was really tired again.
This morning after being at work for an hour, I realized that I'm useless today. I had a headache, was very sensitive to the light, fatigued, and a little nauseous. Maybe all of this work hitting me at the same time is wearing me down. Since we just met that major deadline, I decided to take the rest of they day off. I feel a lot better after a few hours of sleep, and now I have time to write my paper.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Teaching Yoga
I've been teaching yoga in a conference room at work since November. It's been going really well. People keep showing up. I used notes at first to keep myself from freaking out. That's a perk of teaching free classes, I don't feel bad about using notes. They know they're my practice bodies. :-) My last class I didn't have notes or even a specific plan. I just knew generally what I wanted to do and improvised. That was easier than trying to memorize an original sequence every time. I could just look at the clock and decide what do do from there. I really enjoyed that one.
Teaching yoga to beginners in a conference room at work is awesome and all, but now I'm starting to teach parts of classes at a real yoga studio for the practicum part of the teacher training. Saturday was my first time, and it's much harder than it looks. I was really intimidated by the room full of people who know what they're doing. Teaching intermediate to advanced students is actually easier because you don't have to explain the details, and they know how to avoid injury, but it's freaking intimidating because they also know if you screw up. Also, it was scary because it was the Ashtanga standing sequence. This is a specific, traditional sequence. No improvising or mixing stuff around is allowed in this one.
I don't think it was horrible, but I know it could have gone better. My in-laws came into town for Brad's birthday even though we told them a few times that it really wasn't a good weekend for company. Brad had just gotten home from training in California, I had a yoga workshop, and the yoga teaching at the studio going on, but they always come for his birthday and this is probably their last weekend to come see us until tax season is over, so they came.
Work is really busy right now. I may have to work overtime this weekend, but I'm in yoga school all day Saturday and Sunday, so if I do work overtime, it will be late evenings. Bummer. Balancing family, yoga, work, and WoW gets really difficult when family visits while I'm working on my practicum, thesis, and attending yoga workshops and teacher training, while work is super busy. WoW isn't a priority, of course, but I did just get promoted to officer, and I do like to attend all of the raids.
I still need to write my thesis on Ashtanga yoga, but I don't know when I'll have the time. If I don't have to work this weekend, I can probably knock it out Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. At least I have a solid outline to get me going.
I graduate from teacher training at the end of April. I feel like everything will calm down and I can get a normal schedule going then. Of course, when I start teaching, I'll have to balance that with practicing and WoW, but I can find a routine that I'm comfortable with and stick with it.
Teaching yoga to beginners in a conference room at work is awesome and all, but now I'm starting to teach parts of classes at a real yoga studio for the practicum part of the teacher training. Saturday was my first time, and it's much harder than it looks. I was really intimidated by the room full of people who know what they're doing. Teaching intermediate to advanced students is actually easier because you don't have to explain the details, and they know how to avoid injury, but it's freaking intimidating because they also know if you screw up. Also, it was scary because it was the Ashtanga standing sequence. This is a specific, traditional sequence. No improvising or mixing stuff around is allowed in this one.
I don't think it was horrible, but I know it could have gone better. My in-laws came into town for Brad's birthday even though we told them a few times that it really wasn't a good weekend for company. Brad had just gotten home from training in California, I had a yoga workshop, and the yoga teaching at the studio going on, but they always come for his birthday and this is probably their last weekend to come see us until tax season is over, so they came.
Work is really busy right now. I may have to work overtime this weekend, but I'm in yoga school all day Saturday and Sunday, so if I do work overtime, it will be late evenings. Bummer. Balancing family, yoga, work, and WoW gets really difficult when family visits while I'm working on my practicum, thesis, and attending yoga workshops and teacher training, while work is super busy. WoW isn't a priority, of course, but I did just get promoted to officer, and I do like to attend all of the raids.
I still need to write my thesis on Ashtanga yoga, but I don't know when I'll have the time. If I don't have to work this weekend, I can probably knock it out Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. At least I have a solid outline to get me going.
I graduate from teacher training at the end of April. I feel like everything will calm down and I can get a normal schedule going then. Of course, when I start teaching, I'll have to balance that with practicing and WoW, but I can find a routine that I'm comfortable with and stick with it.
Friday, March 20, 2009
This weekend is booked solid. It's going to be great! I was going to take Monday off, but because of work stuff, it would be better to wait until Friday, so that's cool.
Tonight I'm going to do my usual Friday night raid. It probably won't be anything exciting. Just killing the same old bosses I've been killing since January. No new bosses tonight, maybe Sunday though.
Tomorrow I'm going to yoga class at 9 a.m. I really hope I can get out of bed and get there. It's going to my first class with the owner of the studio who is supposed to be REALLY good. I just hope that since it's pretty early for a weekend day that it won't be too crowded. Ana might come to that class with me next weekend, so I have to make sure the teacher is Becky approved first hehe.
Then I'm going to go see "He's Just Not That Into You" with Ana and her new roommate Stacey. I've never met Stacey before, but I hope she doesn't tell me that my thyroid is jacked up or that I'm high risk for diabetes. Hehehe she's an endocrinologist. Also I'm going hiking with Matt either tomorrow or Sunday. I don't know yet since he's incapable of making concrete plans. :-)
Sunday is either house work or hiking. Then I have yoga class at 2:00 with my regular teacher, but this will be my first time going on Sunday. She said this is going to be more advanced than her evening classes that I've been going to regularly. Ooooooh exciting! After that, another WoW raid where I hope we will kill a new boss so I can get phat loot.
Ana is awesome. I like her a lot. Almost as much as I like Becca, but Becca is super cool.
Tonight I'm going to do my usual Friday night raid. It probably won't be anything exciting. Just killing the same old bosses I've been killing since January. No new bosses tonight, maybe Sunday though.
Tomorrow I'm going to yoga class at 9 a.m. I really hope I can get out of bed and get there. It's going to my first class with the owner of the studio who is supposed to be REALLY good. I just hope that since it's pretty early for a weekend day that it won't be too crowded. Ana might come to that class with me next weekend, so I have to make sure the teacher is Becky approved first hehe.
Then I'm going to go see "He's Just Not That Into You" with Ana and her new roommate Stacey. I've never met Stacey before, but I hope she doesn't tell me that my thyroid is jacked up or that I'm high risk for diabetes. Hehehe she's an endocrinologist. Also I'm going hiking with Matt either tomorrow or Sunday. I don't know yet since he's incapable of making concrete plans. :-)
Sunday is either house work or hiking. Then I have yoga class at 2:00 with my regular teacher, but this will be my first time going on Sunday. She said this is going to be more advanced than her evening classes that I've been going to regularly. Ooooooh exciting! After that, another WoW raid where I hope we will kill a new boss so I can get phat loot.
Ana is awesome. I like her a lot. Almost as much as I like Becca, but Becca is super cool.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)