Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Yoga Chickie: Now Using Solar Power

Seriously. I'm greening my yoga practice. I'm going to take what was a horrendous uninspired cold-assed winter and turn it into a concept. From here on in, when the weather is cold and my joints ache, I am not going to try to do my practice at all, BUT every day that the sun is shining and the temperature hits 70 degrees farenheit, I will get on my mat...outside.

All through this dismal winter and spring, I dragged my achey, arthritic joints through agonizing practices by turning on the space heater and upping the thermostat to upwards of 80 degrees. Sometimes I used the wood fireplace. None of those methods is helpful to my home's carbon footprint. In fact, they all suck pretty much. And I'm just talking about impact on the environment. As far as yoga practice goes, they pretty much suck too. Wood burning fire sends ashes out to greet the lungs. The space heater is cacophonous and smells sort of weird. And turning the thermostat up doesn't make it feel the "right" kind of warm. It just feels kind of like the walls are closing in.

Sure, not all my winter practices were awful. Some were even quite nice. But for the most part, it reminded me of trying to jog while pregnant. It just didn't feel right. And I knew that if I tried to keep it up, it would only spoil it for me afterwards. I figured that if I gave myself a break while the circumstances were less than decent, then I would return with that gung ho fervor that relish. And so it came to pass.

Now, way late into the spring season, the sun may actually be doing what we expect it to do, which is to say, warming the earth. The mushrooms growing all over my woodlands will be a bit miffed, I am sure. But whatever. They're poisonous anyway. Not that there's anything wrong with being poisonous, in and of itself, to wit, Foxglove (also known as Digitalis, also known as the source of a highly toxic substance used to make a highly potent heart medication).

But I digress.

And it's a beautiful thing. Me, jabbering away on my blog. Sure, you may not think so. But I feel good again, thanks to a delightful two hour practice in the sun on my back porch, and I might as well say it here.

YC

11 comments:

hyla said...

...but that's what's so great about ashtanga in the winter...it warms you from the inside out...

aren't there any cozy shalas nearby to practice in??

p.s. speaking of mushrooms, check out 'know your mushrooms' film- its too funny

Yoga Chickie said...

That's not how it feels to me - it feels cold all the way to the core...when it's cold out, I mean. I have what appears to be a vata imbalance in my strongly pitta composition.

No cozy shalas within 30 minutes from my house. 35 minutes, yes.

Anonymous said...

I think if you work to balance the vata and also take some natural supplements to help the inflammation response that sounds like is going on in your body...you should feel a lot better...doing ashtanga or not!

Anonymous said...

Guruji said that one should not practice outside - but I dont remember why. It is written in his book, Yoga Mala

Yoga Chickie said...

Yeah, I know that. I really don't care. It feels awesomely awesome and joyful and amazing. So, I should not do it because someone who has never met me and doesn't know my practice says not to?

Anonymous said...

You never met him? I saw a picture on your flickR site that you bent to his knees.

Anonymous said...

Here is something that can help you with arthritis:

1. a simple diet change:
- no coffe (caff of decaff)
- no nightshade vegetables + examine your spaces carefully for the presence of paprica

2. start taking systemic enzymes (I take Vitalzym). they reduce inflamation.

Helps me a lot.

Yoga Chickie said...

I never MET him. I did bow down and touch his feet. I wouldn't call that meeting him. I would call that (ill-advised) guru-worship.

救援部 said...

貴方のオ○ニーライフのお手伝い、救援部でHな見せたがり女性からエロ写メ、ムービーをゲットしよう!近所の女の子なら実際に合ってHな事ができちゃうかも!?夏に向けて開放的になっている女の子と遊んじゃおう

逆援交際 said...

会員制の逆援交際倶楽部では男性は無料、一日最低額10万円保障での交際をお求めできます。ご登録された女性様達はセレブであるがための悩みをそれぞれの方が持ち、皆様、男性との営みを求め、ご登録されております。彼女たちとの初々しい一時をお楽しみ、謝礼をいただいてくださいませ。会員制ですので人数に限りがあるため、打ち切りの場合はご了承ください

家出 said...

家出中でネットカフェやマンガ喫茶にいる女の子たちは、お金が無くなり家出掲示板で今晩泊めてくれる男性を探しています。ご飯を食べさせてあげたり泊めてあげることで彼女たちはHなお礼をしてくれる事が多いようです

Copyright 2005-2007 Lauren Cahn, all rights reserved. Photos appearing on this blog may be subject to third party copyright ownership. You are free to link to this blog and portions hereof, but the use of any direct content requires the prior written consent of the author.

About Me

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Northern Westchester, New York, United States
I live by a duck pond. I used to live by the East River. I don't work. I used to work a lot. Now, not so much. I used to teach a lot of yoga. Now not so much. I still practice a lot of yoga though. A LOT. I love my kids, being outdoors, taking photos, reading magazines, writing and stirring the pot. Enjoy responsibly.

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