First the good news - I was able to get into a headstand without assistance this week! Yay! The not so good news - some stuff of a questionable nature showed up in my tests this week, and I have to have more on Friday.
DAY 17
The sails for the day had been canceled, so I was pretty free for whatever class I wanted to take. Joe was teaching an Open class at 12:30, so I headed over to the studio. Great class, as always. Unfortunately, I was preoccupied with multiple other things: one, the transit for Pioneer was scheduled in the morning, I needed to be there at 0600, and the weather looked absolutely uncooperative; two, Christoper (number 12) had been acting like he had last spring, basically he was too busy to fit me into his life, and had blown off my attempts to see him this week. It's frustrating to realize that his job nine months ago or so was not the problem. It's him.
I ended up crying on a friend's shoulder (literally) that evening as I released all of the tension from dealing with yet another failed potential relationship. I'm back on OKC.
DAY 18
Transit day. I get down to the boat at 0600, and its pouring rain and cold. Weather forecast is for cold temperatures and high winds. We attempt to leave for Haverstraw, but after about 45 minutes of motoring against the wind to get around the Battery, we return to the dock. Captain Dorfman decides to try again at 1700, but the wind conditions do not change, so the trip is postponed until the morning when the weather is expected to improve dramatically.
I thought maybe I could make it to a class in the intervening hours, but ended up switching between napping on the couch and watching a Twin Peaks marathon for most of the day. I was able to leave the house for the 5:30 Restorative Class. Ah, relaxation.
Turn to was at 0500 the next morning, so I turned in early.
DAY 19
Transit day, take 2. By the time I got down to Pier 16, I could see that stars were out and that it was going to be a clear day. It was still cold, but at least it wasn't raining. Most of the way up we had NW winds, and were able to raise the fore and staysail for about 30 minutes. We made the 35 mile trip in 6.5 hours.
Needless to say after a day out in the cold and wind, I was exhausted when I got back home. I had plans for dinner with Filipa to talk about our man troubles. I thought I could make it to a class, but after losing 2 1/2 hours to a nap, I just didn't quite make it to class.
DAY 20
7:30PM Open Class with Joe. He is quickly becoming my favorite instructor at Om. It was a vigorous class, I ended up sweating bullets, and towards the end of the class when we were doing inversions, I was able to get up into a headstand. I was able to really differentiate what muscle groups I needed to push to stay in the pose, and to keep pressure off my neck. I really enjoy moments where I really feel like I'm making progress.
DAY 21
In the morning I packed up my yoga stuff so I could go to class after work to continue on with the challenge. Before all that though, I had to deal with my 8:30 mammogram. Some milestones really suck.
I got to the doctor's office a couple of minutes early to fill out paperwork. I'm waiting....and waiting....A little after 9:00, a nurse comes out apologizing for the delay, and says its going to be another 30 minutes. I have a meeting at 11:00 that I need to go to since my boss is sick. I contact Jen in the office to see if she can get the drawings up to the gallery since I won't have time to go to the office and make it up to midtown for the meeting.
9:30, nurse comes out again. She again apologizes for the delay. One woman goes ballistic. I on the other hand decide that I need to reschedule. The nurse calls my name a minute later. I figure that I've got 90 minutes, and I'll be ok for my meeting. At this point, I'm much more concerned about being late than getting these routine scans done.
I change into the completely unfashionable hospital gown that just looks great with my boots, and sit in a second waiting room for about 15 minutes. They call me in, I get pushed and pulled and prodded, and then sent out to the waiting room again while a doctor checks my films.
For those of you who have never had this procedure done - it's miserable. While I was waiting, I was listening to these two older women who between then have probably had this procedure 20 or 30 times at least. One of them was complaining about one of the technicians, and how if she got stuck with that woman she was going to politely ask for someone else. When you think about how the breasts are one of the most sexualized and fetishized female body parts, this flesh is basically treated like play-doh when it comes to making sure it's healthy.
The nurse calls me in to the room for some additional films. I figure that I must have moved ever so minutely, and the image wasn't clear. I once again go out to the waiting room. 10 minutes later, they call me in for a third set of films. Now I'm worried.
A little while later as I'm sitting in the examination room, the doctor comes in and tells me that I have 'bright spots' on my films, and that although she thinks they are most likely not a problem, I have to have a biopsy to make sure that they are not malignant. I wish she had said that they have to do the procedure to confirm that they're benign. Semantics, I know.
Luckily, they have an opening on Friday morning. I'm going to continue thinking that it's probably nothing.
So no yoga tonight. I also can't do anything strenuous for three days after the procedure, so no yoga for the rest of the weekend. Well, maybe a restorative class on Sunday.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
The blatant crash of Autumn
So Fall is here. It's made its presence known with unseasonably cold temperatures, rainy weather, and gray skies. I was hoping Indian Summer would appear this weekend for the last sailing of the summer, but due to the forecast, the season has basically been scratched other than a couple of more education sails and the trip up to Haverstraw on Sunday through Tuesday. I'm doing the transit and the programs on Monday. It's going to be cold and rainy, and most likely miserable. It's the last chance for sailing this season though, so I'll take it. Hopefully Monday will be sunny, or at least dry. Highs are only forecast for the mid 50's though.
Turn to is 0600 on Sunday, so practicing yoga on that day is shot. Monday, I'll do it once I get home - I doubt I'll be able to get to the studio in time for even the last class at 8PM.
Here's the wrap up of the rest of the week though.
DAY 15
Officially half way there! There is a meeting for all challenge participants on Monday at 6:30, but unfortunately I won't be able to make it. Thursday was the first of the cold raw days. I planned to go to the 7:45PM Stretch/Restorative class. Once I got home after work, it took all I could muster to leave the house again. I grabbed my rain gear and headed out before I could change my mind.
The instructor wanted us to concentrate on being instead of doing. Nothing should be a strain, everything should be with minimum effort. In that way, I succeeded.
DAY 16
I got up in the morning and made a list of things to do on my day off:
Tennis was a bit optimistic. It had rained the day before, but the streets were starting to dry. I texted Elena to tell her I was heading to the courts. Once I got there and looked at the courts. They were still soaked and covered in leaves. No tennis.
Yoga's a bit easier to predict. I went to the 12:30 open class. This week I've gone to mostly stretch or restorative classes, so it was good to get to a more vigorous class. The class (like most vinyasa classes) concentrated on variations for sun salutations, but then we moved on to inversions. Those are a challenge. The order the instructor wanted us to do them in: headstand, handstand, forearm stand.
I start out with the headstand. I've been working on the preparation of each of these poses. No matter how much
upper body strength you think you have, this is really tested when you need to rely on these muscle groups to hold your body up. For all these poses, its best to start by doing them against a wall so that there is something to stop the momentum of your legs. It also helps with balance. I was able set up for the headstand on the floor (see diagram), and was abl
e to kick one leg up to the wall. I'm not able to stay in the pose yet.
The handstand was next. One of the preparation methods is to do the pose in an "L" position, with your hands on the mat, and your legs perpendicular to the wall. This is harder than it looks. The instructor helped me into this pose by standing behind me with her knees pressing into my shoulders to help me stay up. This pose is also hard due to the muscles in the backs of my legs being really tight also. But I was able to stay up for about 20 seconds. It's a start.
I was also able to get into the crow pose for the first time. That feels like a real accomplishment.
After yoga, I headed over to Diagnostic Radiology Associates to pick up some films in preparation for a mamogram next week. My first one was two years ago, so my doctor figured it was time for another one, especially since I turned 40 this year. October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, seems like a good time for one. They are strange ghost-like images, similar to sonograms and catscans. I don't understand them, but I glad some people are trained to.
Turn to is 0600 on Sunday, so practicing yoga on that day is shot. Monday, I'll do it once I get home - I doubt I'll be able to get to the studio in time for even the last class at 8PM.
Here's the wrap up of the rest of the week though.
DAY 15
Officially half way there! There is a meeting for all challenge participants on Monday at 6:30, but unfortunately I won't be able to make it. Thursday was the first of the cold raw days. I planned to go to the 7:45PM Stretch/Restorative class. Once I got home after work, it took all I could muster to leave the house again. I grabbed my rain gear and headed out before I could change my mind.
The instructor wanted us to concentrate on being instead of doing. Nothing should be a strain, everything should be with minimum effort. In that way, I succeeded.
DAY 16
I got up in the morning and made a list of things to do on my day off:
- Tennis
- Yoga
- Drugstore
- Pick up food for Salem
- Pick up medical films
- Clean my desk (way overdue)
- Hang second window shade (again, way overdue. Hung the first one back in August).
Tennis was a bit optimistic. It had rained the day before, but the streets were starting to dry. I texted Elena to tell her I was heading to the courts. Once I got there and looked at the courts. They were still soaked and covered in leaves. No tennis.
Yoga's a bit easier to predict. I went to the 12:30 open class. This week I've gone to mostly stretch or restorative classes, so it was good to get to a more vigorous class. The class (like most vinyasa classes) concentrated on variations for sun salutations, but then we moved on to inversions. Those are a challenge. The order the instructor wanted us to do them in: headstand, handstand, forearm stand.
I start out with the headstand. I've been working on the preparation of each of these poses. No matter how much
upper body strength you think you have, this is really tested when you need to rely on these muscle groups to hold your body up. For all these poses, its best to start by doing them against a wall so that there is something to stop the momentum of your legs. It also helps with balance. I was able set up for the headstand on the floor (see diagram), and was abl
e to kick one leg up to the wall. I'm not able to stay in the pose yet.The handstand was next. One of the preparation methods is to do the pose in an "L" position, with your hands on the mat, and your legs perpendicular to the wall. This is harder than it looks. The instructor helped me into this pose by standing behind me with her knees pressing into my shoulders to help me stay up. This pose is also hard due to the muscles in the backs of my legs being really tight also. But I was able to stay up for about 20 seconds. It's a start.
I was also able to get into the crow pose for the first time. That feels like a real accomplishment.
After yoga, I headed over to Diagnostic Radiology Associates to pick up some films in preparation for a mamogram next week. My first one was two years ago, so my doctor figured it was time for another one, especially since I turned 40 this year. October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, seems like a good time for one. They are strange ghost-like images, similar to sonograms and catscans. I don't understand them, but I glad some people are trained to.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Day 14 - nearly half way there
I've reviewed my progress so far, and I've practiced yoga 10 out of the last 14 days. I'm pretty pleased that currently I'm meeting with 71% of the challenge. I could do better though, and the rest of the week looks like it'll be easier to fit a class in.
DAY 14
Days have been dragging at the office since Thursday. The first week of October we had learned that our paycut was going to be extended indefinitely. That was bad enough. The worse news came last week when two more people were let go. I once again made the cut, and one of my co-workers told me that she thought that I'd be one of the last ones standing. I hope she's right. I took over a project from one of the people who left, a renovation of the Picasso Museum that we finished a couple of years ago. The Museum is looking to convert some of the areas close to the entry into a 'free-zone', mostly retail/cafe spaces to generate more revenue from the public who may not necessarily buy a ticket to the Museum. I'm hoping this turns into a trip for me.
I spent most of the day familiarizing myself with the existing building and investigating what we needed to renovate. I was also looking forward to checking out the Core class at Om.
The description of the class states that "A juicy, creative, flowing class integrating asanas, pranayama and pilates, focusing on strengthening your core throughout the entire practice. You'll see all the familiar elements of an OM yoga class intertwined with pilates based exercises. This awareness will deliver stability and freedom to your poses, relieve back pain, tone your tummy and awaken your core power!" I focused on the word "pilates" and thought the class was going to be different than it was. It ended up being an open class focusing on balancing poses - hence using the core muscles.
During the class, the instructor came over while I was in downward facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) and told me to try to straighten out my legs more. Right! I was obviously attempting to with no success, so he tells me to engage my quads. I tried that, and was able to straighten them, oh, probably another millimeter. Over the last two weeks, I do feel some give in them, but its going to be a while before I can straighten them in that pose and get my heels on the floor. My first goal is to be able to touch the floor when I bend over. Baby steps.
DAY 14
Days have been dragging at the office since Thursday. The first week of October we had learned that our paycut was going to be extended indefinitely. That was bad enough. The worse news came last week when two more people were let go. I once again made the cut, and one of my co-workers told me that she thought that I'd be one of the last ones standing. I hope she's right. I took over a project from one of the people who left, a renovation of the Picasso Museum that we finished a couple of years ago. The Museum is looking to convert some of the areas close to the entry into a 'free-zone', mostly retail/cafe spaces to generate more revenue from the public who may not necessarily buy a ticket to the Museum. I'm hoping this turns into a trip for me.
I spent most of the day familiarizing myself with the existing building and investigating what we needed to renovate. I was also looking forward to checking out the Core class at Om.
The description of the class states that "A juicy, creative, flowing class integrating asanas, pranayama and pilates, focusing on strengthening your core throughout the entire practice. You'll see all the familiar elements of an OM yoga class intertwined with pilates based exercises. This awareness will deliver stability and freedom to your poses, relieve back pain, tone your tummy and awaken your core power!" I focused on the word "pilates" and thought the class was going to be different than it was. It ended up being an open class focusing on balancing poses - hence using the core muscles.
During the class, the instructor came over while I was in downward facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) and told me to try to straighten out my legs more. Right! I was obviously attempting to with no success, so he tells me to engage my quads. I tried that, and was able to straighten them, oh, probably another millimeter. Over the last two weeks, I do feel some give in them, but its going to be a while before I can straighten them in that pose and get my heels on the floor. My first goal is to be able to touch the floor when I bend over. Baby steps.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Yoga Continued
Lots of stuff going on this week, but I continued on with the challenge somewhat successfully. I'm not hitting every single day, but I figure that its not exactly part of the practice to get angry at myself for not doing it every day. Its a challenge not a commandment. Days where I did not meet the challenge are in red.
DAY 8
No yoga. Again, didn't quite get up in time to do it in the morning, and I was getting together with Christopher for dinner so no yoga after work. We met for dinner at Rice, and then I got to experience the frustration of parking woes one encounters when living in the East Village while a film crew takes over your neighborhood. Needless to say, we had a side trip in the middle of the evening to Williamsburg to deal with the parking dilemma. Due to the fear of finding a spot, it was a short adventure.
DAY 9
My day of the week off due to the current paycut situation. Carrie was in town for work, so I was planning on meeting up with her and Kathleen in SoHo after having lunch with Roberta in Leffert's Garden. Or is it Manor? I forget. Either way, I had to be in Brooklyn around noon and SoHo around 3PM. Yoga, yoga, when can I fit this in when I've got plans for the bulk of the day? Plans included:
DAY 10
Woke up to a rainy but somewhat warm day. I was scheduled to sail the morning Harbor School sail from 1100-1500 hrs and then the 1600-1800 hrs public sail. The wind was perfect for sailing. Unfortunately, it also made me complete exhausted and not able to do much of anything for the rest of the day. No yoga.
I was however able to drag myself to Brooklyn for dinner with Heidi and Carrie. Heidi had gotten her share of the CSA bounty that morning, and made a great dinner (with Tom's help on the fish). Halibut, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, and bok choy. Ice cream for dessert.
DAY 11
In looking at the calendar, I've missed two days this week, so I feel motivated to go today. Today was also the team day for the Ladies Social Tennis Club out in Prospect Park - four hours of play between the different members. I already woke up to sore shoulder muscles from sailing the day before. Tennis today was going to be challenging. Luckily on Sunday nights there is a restorative yoga class at Om. I love restorative yoga. Its a series of poses where you're propped up on pillows, blocks, or bolsters, and you rest for 10-15 minutes in a pose.
I head out to Brooklyn at around 9:15AM en route to Heidi's. This was the weekend that the MTA had decided it would be a good idea to do work on just about every single subway line. Instead of taking the normal route of the A to the F, I just take the A one more stop to Hoyt/Schermerhorn. I discover that although its a slightly longer walk from that station to her apartment, its a shorter trip since I don't have to wait for the transfer at Jay Street/Borough Hall.
Do I thank the MTA for this little bit of transit knowledge? Hell no. That's a small victory in the confounding set of options that I'll have to deal with for the day. We ended up driving out to Prospect Park and avoided MTA pain. For the morning at least.
The tennis wasn't so bad considering that the soreness in my shoulders in the morning was only the beginning of the pain that was surfacing from the day before. In the end, it was my whole back, as well as my sides and abs. Basically, the whole torso. Strangely, my legs were unaffected. I needed a massage.
At 5:00PM, I headed to Union Square for the restorative yoga class. As I was hoping, it was just what I needed. Although I did fall asleep in some of the poses. Really, what do you expect?
DAY 12
Ah Monday. Columbus Day. My office does not take this day as a holiday, so I'm in the office with about five other people. It was a slow morning, so I checked out Om's schedule for the day, and there is a stretching class at 7:30PM. Sounds good, hopefully they will concentrate on the back of the legs where I have the most trouble.
The slow morning turned into a slow day, and it seemed like it was days before I could leave my desk. I get to the yoga studio for the class, and all the students are waiting on the instructor. I'm anticipating a slight man to walk in - most of the teachers are either women or men of small stature. In walk
s this guy who is about 6'-4" and he's just big. Except he has a small head.
He starts off the class with us in Vajrasana. I hate this pose. It's a seated pose, where you're legs are bent underneath you, and you're sitting on your heels. My knees just don't like being bent that long. We're in that pose with different variations for about 10 minutes. I'm somehow able to unbend my legs afterwards.
Then we moved into downward facing dog. He decided that this would be a partner pose where people would pair up, and one person would place a strap around the other like a harness and help the person get deeper into the pose. Cue the S&M images of someone getting lead around like a dog on a leash. Hilarious.
A while later, he directed us into a pose where we were kneeling with one knee against the wall with the shin against the wall, and the foot of the opposing leg on the floor in front of us. We were expected to be able to sit up straight from this position. Sort of.
All in all, it was a very challenging class.
DAY 13
Took a break. Chey came over after work to do laundry.
DAY 8
No yoga. Again, didn't quite get up in time to do it in the morning, and I was getting together with Christopher for dinner so no yoga after work. We met for dinner at Rice, and then I got to experience the frustration of parking woes one encounters when living in the East Village while a film crew takes over your neighborhood. Needless to say, we had a side trip in the middle of the evening to Williamsburg to deal with the parking dilemma. Due to the fear of finding a spot, it was a short adventure.
DAY 9
My day of the week off due to the current paycut situation. Carrie was in town for work, so I was planning on meeting up with her and Kathleen in SoHo after having lunch with Roberta in Leffert's Garden. Or is it Manor? I forget. Either way, I had to be in Brooklyn around noon and SoHo around 3PM. Yoga, yoga, when can I fit this in when I've got plans for the bulk of the day? Plans included:
- A viewing of The September Issue. Fantastic fashion documentary of the production of the Vogue 2007 September Issue. It's right up there with Unzipped, the Isaac Mizrahi documentary. Although I still can't believe Anna decorated her townhouse with that shabby chic furniture.
- Drinks....somewhere. Fancy new hotel on Crosby was not accepting 'non-residents' until the following week. We ended up at Sweet & Vicious.
- Dinner at MacBar. Now that I am ok with gluten, a macaroni and cheese fest was in order. I felt as good afterwards as any normal person ingesting massive amounts of processed cheese.
DAY 10
Woke up to a rainy but somewhat warm day. I was scheduled to sail the morning Harbor School sail from 1100-1500 hrs and then the 1600-1800 hrs public sail. The wind was perfect for sailing. Unfortunately, it also made me complete exhausted and not able to do much of anything for the rest of the day. No yoga.
I was however able to drag myself to Brooklyn for dinner with Heidi and Carrie. Heidi had gotten her share of the CSA bounty that morning, and made a great dinner (with Tom's help on the fish). Halibut, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, and bok choy. Ice cream for dessert.
DAY 11
In looking at the calendar, I've missed two days this week, so I feel motivated to go today. Today was also the team day for the Ladies Social Tennis Club out in Prospect Park - four hours of play between the different members. I already woke up to sore shoulder muscles from sailing the day before. Tennis today was going to be challenging. Luckily on Sunday nights there is a restorative yoga class at Om. I love restorative yoga. Its a series of poses where you're propped up on pillows, blocks, or bolsters, and you rest for 10-15 minutes in a pose.
I head out to Brooklyn at around 9:15AM en route to Heidi's. This was the weekend that the MTA had decided it would be a good idea to do work on just about every single subway line. Instead of taking the normal route of the A to the F, I just take the A one more stop to Hoyt/Schermerhorn. I discover that although its a slightly longer walk from that station to her apartment, its a shorter trip since I don't have to wait for the transfer at Jay Street/Borough Hall.
Do I thank the MTA for this little bit of transit knowledge? Hell no. That's a small victory in the confounding set of options that I'll have to deal with for the day. We ended up driving out to Prospect Park and avoided MTA pain. For the morning at least.
The tennis wasn't so bad considering that the soreness in my shoulders in the morning was only the beginning of the pain that was surfacing from the day before. In the end, it was my whole back, as well as my sides and abs. Basically, the whole torso. Strangely, my legs were unaffected. I needed a massage.
At 5:00PM, I headed to Union Square for the restorative yoga class. As I was hoping, it was just what I needed. Although I did fall asleep in some of the poses. Really, what do you expect?
DAY 12
Ah Monday. Columbus Day. My office does not take this day as a holiday, so I'm in the office with about five other people. It was a slow morning, so I checked out Om's schedule for the day, and there is a stretching class at 7:30PM. Sounds good, hopefully they will concentrate on the back of the legs where I have the most trouble.
The slow morning turned into a slow day, and it seemed like it was days before I could leave my desk. I get to the yoga studio for the class, and all the students are waiting on the instructor. I'm anticipating a slight man to walk in - most of the teachers are either women or men of small stature. In walk
s this guy who is about 6'-4" and he's just big. Except he has a small head.He starts off the class with us in Vajrasana. I hate this pose. It's a seated pose, where you're legs are bent underneath you, and you're sitting on your heels. My knees just don't like being bent that long. We're in that pose with different variations for about 10 minutes. I'm somehow able to unbend my legs afterwards.
Then we moved into downward facing dog. He decided that this would be a partner pose where people would pair up, and one person would place a strap around the other like a harness and help the person get deeper into the pose. Cue the S&M images of someone getting lead around like a dog on a leash. Hilarious.
A while later, he directed us into a pose where we were kneeling with one knee against the wall with the shin against the wall, and the foot of the opposing leg on the floor in front of us. We were expected to be able to sit up straight from this position. Sort of.
All in all, it was a very challenging class.
DAY 13
Took a break. Chey came over after work to do laundry.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Challenge Interupted?
Trying not to. But it is a challenge.
DAY 4
I got up and thought about what I needed to do for the rest of the day, and when I'd be able to do yoga. My first thought - I should have gotten up an hour early. I was scheduled to play tennis, had to run over to Prospect Park for the rescheduled Pioneer picnic, and then work on the boat for the last two sails.
Things seemed to be working out when David called to work for me during the 4-6 sail, and Dan had already offered to work the 7-9. I thought I may be able to leave the picnic early and make the 5:30 restorative class. Then my mom called.
Mr. Fagan had died. Mr. Fagan was one of my parents' closest friends who had suffered from Prostate Cancer for nearly 6 years. He was the first to die from what has been referred to as the "Irish Mafia", the group of people that have been in and around my life for as long as I can remember. I told my parents that I wanted to go to the funeral, which was on Tuesday.
I really wanted to go home and be alone, but felt that I needed to stay at the picnic. In hindsight I should have just left. Hours later, I did enjoy the fireworks though. After the fireworks, I went home, and did one of the shortened versions on the yoga DVD. Although it was not a concentrated effort, I was glad to continue on the challenge.
DAY 5
I had decided the night before that I would get up early and do my practice in the morning. Since I had to head up to the compound right after work, and didn't quite get up early enough to head to the 7:30 class at the studio, I did one of the programs on the DVD. I got through the day, and headed up to Grand Central for the Hudson Line to Peekskill. Since I don't have a car, I had to head upstate to meet up with my parents. The funeral was the next day in Colts Neck, NJ at 9AM, and there was no way my parents were going to come into the city to pick me up before headed out to Jersey - the traffic was probably going to be a nightmare anyway.
DAY 6
I'm awakened from a banal dream where I'm on Pioneer during a crew meeting signing up for sails by a knock on my childhood bedroom door. Its my dad, telling me that it was time to get up. It was 5:30. It takes me a couple of minutes to get up, get to the bathroom, and jump in the shower. I had realized the night before that I forget to pack my bag of toiletries; I had nothing with me, but at least there was a new toothbrush in the bathroom that I could use.
As we were getting ready to leave to house, both my parents mentioned how they were having a really hard time dealing with his death. They knew this day was coming, but it was still somewhat of a shock. There is always the hope that something will work out, some drug will be discovered, somehow the person will beat it. Mr. Fagan is the sixth person I've known in the last eight years who was diagnosed with cancer - 2 of them prostate, 1 brain, 1 melanoma, 1 pancreas, and 1 a rare form of abdominal cancer. Other than my cousin's wife who had the pancreatic cancer, they had all either gone into remission or had stabilized and seemed like they had a chance. They have all succumed to the disease, two of them in one week back in 2003. Its awful having to decide who's funeral you're going to go to - the one in New York for your old boss or the one in Denver for a very good college friend.
The Irish Mafia were the group of people that we grew up with in New Jersey before we moved to New York in 1980, and Mr. Fagan and his wife Ita were my favorite parents out of the group of my parents' friends. Most of the Mafia were from Ireland, some of them - like my father - had married an American. There was a core group of four couples, and all these couples had at least three kids, and we were mostly within eight years of each other, with most of us settling within a four year age difference. Between my family and the Fagan's, there was my sister Erin, then Brian, then me, then Erris, then Tara, my younger sister. A couple of years later the Fagans had another daughter, Orla. We all grew up together, our fathers belonged to the Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh, and we learned Irish step dancing.
After we moved to New York, my parents remained close to the Jersey crowd, and we would continue to go down there on weekends for all sorts of festivities. In recent years, the men had joined the Sons of St. Patrick, and both Mr. Fagan and my father have been honored by this group.
After the funeral, the family hosted a brunch at the same hotel that my sisters and I had thrown my parents a party for their 40th wedding anniversary, which is the last time I saw most of the Mafia back in 2004. Although my family had moved to New York nearly 30 years before this, my parents' close friends were still centered around this Irish community in New Jersey, and we decided to invite these people to celebrate my parents dedication to each other. Even outside of the core group of four families, there are many more people that are a part of this group. I was reminded of how close this group remains as I was speaking to friends of my parents, and its truly an amazing bond of friendship these people have formed, mostly due to having a culture in common. This group lost a vital member this week.
After the brunch, my parents drove me home into the city. I felt that I needed to do something to get my mind off of the events of the day, so I looked up the yoga schedule. There was an open and restorative class at 4:30. Fantastic. It was just what I needed.
DAY 7
Back to work. At least it was snack day. I was going to go to a yogaCORE class at 8PM, but once I was home, I really didn't feel like leaving again. I did the full practice from the DVD. I really need to work on that preparation for forearm stand.
I feel like I'm making some progress. Although my legs are still really tight - don't know how much that can really improve - I am starting to get the Sanskrit names for the poses.
DAY 4
I got up and thought about what I needed to do for the rest of the day, and when I'd be able to do yoga. My first thought - I should have gotten up an hour early. I was scheduled to play tennis, had to run over to Prospect Park for the rescheduled Pioneer picnic, and then work on the boat for the last two sails.
Things seemed to be working out when David called to work for me during the 4-6 sail, and Dan had already offered to work the 7-9. I thought I may be able to leave the picnic early and make the 5:30 restorative class. Then my mom called.
Mr. Fagan had died. Mr. Fagan was one of my parents' closest friends who had suffered from Prostate Cancer for nearly 6 years. He was the first to die from what has been referred to as the "Irish Mafia", the group of people that have been in and around my life for as long as I can remember. I told my parents that I wanted to go to the funeral, which was on Tuesday.
I really wanted to go home and be alone, but felt that I needed to stay at the picnic. In hindsight I should have just left. Hours later, I did enjoy the fireworks though. After the fireworks, I went home, and did one of the shortened versions on the yoga DVD. Although it was not a concentrated effort, I was glad to continue on the challenge.
DAY 5
I had decided the night before that I would get up early and do my practice in the morning. Since I had to head up to the compound right after work, and didn't quite get up early enough to head to the 7:30 class at the studio, I did one of the programs on the DVD. I got through the day, and headed up to Grand Central for the Hudson Line to Peekskill. Since I don't have a car, I had to head upstate to meet up with my parents. The funeral was the next day in Colts Neck, NJ at 9AM, and there was no way my parents were going to come into the city to pick me up before headed out to Jersey - the traffic was probably going to be a nightmare anyway.
DAY 6
I'm awakened from a banal dream where I'm on Pioneer during a crew meeting signing up for sails by a knock on my childhood bedroom door. Its my dad, telling me that it was time to get up. It was 5:30. It takes me a couple of minutes to get up, get to the bathroom, and jump in the shower. I had realized the night before that I forget to pack my bag of toiletries; I had nothing with me, but at least there was a new toothbrush in the bathroom that I could use.
As we were getting ready to leave to house, both my parents mentioned how they were having a really hard time dealing with his death. They knew this day was coming, but it was still somewhat of a shock. There is always the hope that something will work out, some drug will be discovered, somehow the person will beat it. Mr. Fagan is the sixth person I've known in the last eight years who was diagnosed with cancer - 2 of them prostate, 1 brain, 1 melanoma, 1 pancreas, and 1 a rare form of abdominal cancer. Other than my cousin's wife who had the pancreatic cancer, they had all either gone into remission or had stabilized and seemed like they had a chance. They have all succumed to the disease, two of them in one week back in 2003. Its awful having to decide who's funeral you're going to go to - the one in New York for your old boss or the one in Denver for a very good college friend.
The Irish Mafia were the group of people that we grew up with in New Jersey before we moved to New York in 1980, and Mr. Fagan and his wife Ita were my favorite parents out of the group of my parents' friends. Most of the Mafia were from Ireland, some of them - like my father - had married an American. There was a core group of four couples, and all these couples had at least three kids, and we were mostly within eight years of each other, with most of us settling within a four year age difference. Between my family and the Fagan's, there was my sister Erin, then Brian, then me, then Erris, then Tara, my younger sister. A couple of years later the Fagans had another daughter, Orla. We all grew up together, our fathers belonged to the Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh, and we learned Irish step dancing.
After we moved to New York, my parents remained close to the Jersey crowd, and we would continue to go down there on weekends for all sorts of festivities. In recent years, the men had joined the Sons of St. Patrick, and both Mr. Fagan and my father have been honored by this group.
After the funeral, the family hosted a brunch at the same hotel that my sisters and I had thrown my parents a party for their 40th wedding anniversary, which is the last time I saw most of the Mafia back in 2004. Although my family had moved to New York nearly 30 years before this, my parents' close friends were still centered around this Irish community in New Jersey, and we decided to invite these people to celebrate my parents dedication to each other. Even outside of the core group of four families, there are many more people that are a part of this group. I was reminded of how close this group remains as I was speaking to friends of my parents, and its truly an amazing bond of friendship these people have formed, mostly due to having a culture in common. This group lost a vital member this week.
After the brunch, my parents drove me home into the city. I felt that I needed to do something to get my mind off of the events of the day, so I looked up the yoga schedule. There was an open and restorative class at 4:30. Fantastic. It was just what I needed.
DAY 7
Back to work. At least it was snack day. I was going to go to a yogaCORE class at 8PM, but once I was home, I really didn't feel like leaving again. I did the full practice from the DVD. I really need to work on that preparation for forearm stand.
I feel like I'm making some progress. Although my legs are still really tight - don't know how much that can really improve - I am starting to get the Sanskrit names for the poses.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
The 31 day challenge
I've been practicing yoga on and off since shortly after I finished college. Unfortunately, it's been mostly off. Earlier this year my therapist recommended resuming my practice and going to yoga at least twice a week, one of the classes should be a restorative yoga class. She said that I owed it to myself. I had never thought of it in that manner, and started looking for a restorative class. I figured if I could find a studio where I liked the restorative class anything else would fall into place. This took longer than I expected.
The first place I tried was Om Yoga. I liked the studio a lot, and the instructor was great. Unfortunately the class was on a Sunday, sailing season was about to start, and I usually sailed on Sundays. I figured that since that place was great, it wouldn't be so hard to find another. Again, I was wrong.
Next I tried Virayoga. Their restorative class was in their annex, which was a 100SF room big enough for two people to do yoga. The instructor started out with asanas that would be in a typical yoga class. After about 30 minutes, she started the restorative part of the session. Unbelievably, she continued talking. She went on and on, and it was in no way relaxing not to mention restorative. I nearly left, but being one of her two students, that would have been awkward.
There were other studios, but they had their restorative classes on Fridays. I typically sail on Fridays also, so I didn't bother trying them out. Instead, I decided to start sailing on Saturdays so that I could go back to Om Yoga.
Restorative yoga is one of the most relaxing activities I've ever encountered. Its very close to meditation, but you arrange yourself in different poses where you're propped up on bolsters, blankets, or blocks, and remain in the pose for 15-20 minutes. In its own way, its rigorous. 180 degrees from this are their open classes. I went to one of those today, a class run by Joe, and was invigorated. One thing I really like about yoga is that I can stay focused and my mind does not wander (at least in the open classes. Sometimes that's a little hard during the more relaxing poses). I only think about what I'm doing in the present.
This month, Om is running a challenge - 31 days of yoga. Practice once a day for every day in the month of October. Although I've been going semi-regularly for the last two months, I think participating in the challenge will help me establish a better practice. This is how its been going so far:
DAY 1
Didn't go. Planned on taking a 7:45PM Open class, but was distracted. That afternoon I was at a board meeting at the Cooper-Hewitt, and was invited to the cocktail party after. That was not the distraction, that one I felt pretty good about saying no so that I could go to yoga - one distraction avoided. However, on the way home I remembered that it was Lex's last day at the Seaport, and there were drinks planned for her. Another friend also texted wanting to avoid his own studying. I got caught up in distraction number 2 and joined some Seaport folks in wishing Lex well.
DAY 2
I had Friday off, but couldn't do my typical 12 noon class since I had volunteered to help out on Pioneer in the afternoon. Thursday night I set my alarm for 6:30 so I could go to a morning class. That didn't work, getting up that early on a day that I don't have to go to work wasn't the greatest plan. There were two classes at 10AM, a Basics and an Intermediate. Thinking I wasn't quite ready for an Intermediate class, I went to the Basics class. Too basic.
DAY 3
Open class at 12:30. Joe was teaching, so I was looking forward to it. It was similar in effort to his class that I took last week, but he focused on different poses. It was really enjoyable, and it was the first day of the challenge that I was satisfied with.
I hope that the rest of the month goes as well as today. To deal with days that I can't make it to the studio, I bought a DVD. There's also a cable channel that broadcasts 30 minute classes, so I'm DVRing them. When I put my mind to something, I can usually get it done.
The first place I tried was Om Yoga. I liked the studio a lot, and the instructor was great. Unfortunately the class was on a Sunday, sailing season was about to start, and I usually sailed on Sundays. I figured that since that place was great, it wouldn't be so hard to find another. Again, I was wrong.
Next I tried Virayoga. Their restorative class was in their annex, which was a 100SF room big enough for two people to do yoga. The instructor started out with asanas that would be in a typical yoga class. After about 30 minutes, she started the restorative part of the session. Unbelievably, she continued talking. She went on and on, and it was in no way relaxing not to mention restorative. I nearly left, but being one of her two students, that would have been awkward.
There were other studios, but they had their restorative classes on Fridays. I typically sail on Fridays also, so I didn't bother trying them out. Instead, I decided to start sailing on Saturdays so that I could go back to Om Yoga.
Restorative yoga is one of the most relaxing activities I've ever encountered. Its very close to meditation, but you arrange yourself in different poses where you're propped up on bolsters, blankets, or blocks, and remain in the pose for 15-20 minutes. In its own way, its rigorous. 180 degrees from this are their open classes. I went to one of those today, a class run by Joe, and was invigorated. One thing I really like about yoga is that I can stay focused and my mind does not wander (at least in the open classes. Sometimes that's a little hard during the more relaxing poses). I only think about what I'm doing in the present.
This month, Om is running a challenge - 31 days of yoga. Practice once a day for every day in the month of October. Although I've been going semi-regularly for the last two months, I think participating in the challenge will help me establish a better practice. This is how its been going so far:
DAY 1
Didn't go. Planned on taking a 7:45PM Open class, but was distracted. That afternoon I was at a board meeting at the Cooper-Hewitt, and was invited to the cocktail party after. That was not the distraction, that one I felt pretty good about saying no so that I could go to yoga - one distraction avoided. However, on the way home I remembered that it was Lex's last day at the Seaport, and there were drinks planned for her. Another friend also texted wanting to avoid his own studying. I got caught up in distraction number 2 and joined some Seaport folks in wishing Lex well.
DAY 2
I had Friday off, but couldn't do my typical 12 noon class since I had volunteered to help out on Pioneer in the afternoon. Thursday night I set my alarm for 6:30 so I could go to a morning class. That didn't work, getting up that early on a day that I don't have to go to work wasn't the greatest plan. There were two classes at 10AM, a Basics and an Intermediate. Thinking I wasn't quite ready for an Intermediate class, I went to the Basics class. Too basic.
DAY 3
Open class at 12:30. Joe was teaching, so I was looking forward to it. It was similar in effort to his class that I took last week, but he focused on different poses. It was really enjoyable, and it was the first day of the challenge that I was satisfied with.
I hope that the rest of the month goes as well as today. To deal with days that I can't make it to the studio, I bought a DVD. There's also a cable channel that broadcasts 30 minute classes, so I'm DVRing them. When I put my mind to something, I can usually get it done.
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