Greg Perry did a nice job manning the cameras (still and video) at this morning’s Show-Me Yoga Center event. You can learn more about 108 Sun Salutations from this earlier post. There are about 75 images in this flickr set and I’ll be working up (in iMovie 09) the video this weekend. But this shot captures my first 108SS perfectly. A picture is worth 1,000 breaths.
In case you’re wondering. I did about 104 of the 108 sequences (assuming you don’t count really shitty form). I got a blister on my big toe at about 30 and it broke around 40. I missed a couple when I made a band-aid pit stop. We go again in 6 months.
Surya Namaskar, the Sun Salutation, is a series of 12 (yoga) postures performed in a single, graceful flow. Each movement is coordinated with the breath. Inhale as you extend or stretch, and exhale as you fold or contract. The Sun Salutation builds strength and increases flexibility.
On Saturday, the Mid-Missouri Show-Me Yoga Center holds a semi-annual event during which we attempt to complete this series of postures 108 times. I’ve never done more than 5 or 10 so this should be interesting.
One of the instructors has asked me to bring a video camera to capture some of this so, between working the camera and doing the postures, it’s likely I won’t get my 108 this time but I’ll be ready in 6 months.
Renowned mathematicians of Vedic culture viewed 108 as a number of the wholeness of existence. This number also connects the Sun, Moon, and Earth: The average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters. Such phenomena have given rise to many examples of ritual significance.
Amy Poehler and friends celebrate "girls who are changing the world by being themselves." This is a very well done program (?). You'd expect nothing less from Mattel (the program is "presented by Barbie") but the producers hit just the right note. I can see girls watching and sharing this.
I believe there are many futures for advertising (including 30s and 60s and roadside billboards) and ideas like Smart Girls at the Party is going to be one of them.
Oh, and this episode is about yoga (for my Show Me Yoga pals).
You’ve heard of dog parks? Places you can safely take your pup to run free and play with other dogs. In the frozen tundra that is Madison, Wisconsin, they have indoor dog parks. Bob is taking his dog Dusty next week and reports the place has a webcam so you can watch Fido sniff Sparky’s butt. Note the plastic floor for easy clean-up. Looks like an industrial strength pooper-scooper and a big bucket next to the door. And don’t miss the beat up old couch in the corner. Are there 3 or 4 dogs on that thing?
During the brief time I watched, the yellow lab and the golden retriever were having a great time.
I’d love to have a facility like this for Ripley and Lucy.
PS: Yoga students will note the near-perfect example of Downward Facing Dog.
That I’m going to yoga classes while on vacation is testament to how much I enjoy them. With kids back in school, there was flood of moms at last night’s class. And one other guy. We did the should stand.
Apparently being upside down is good for you because it allows the blood to flow in the other direction. And, I confess, I did experience some mild euphoria from the exercise.
And I can assure you, this is exercise. By the time we were finished I was sweaty and panting. If you don’t feel as good as you would like to, try a yoga class.
Last night’s yoga class focused on the forward bend. We spent almost 90 minutes stretching, loosening muscles and joints, learning a little about body mechanics.
Kevin, the instructor, pointed out that touching our toes (or the floor) wasn’t really the point of our exercises, but merely a small measure of our progress.
It’s been a while since I touched my toes without bending my knees. At the beginning of the lesson, I was a good 6 inches from the floor and my lower back went to Defcon One. But by the end of the lesson, I was able to touch the floor (while making sounds that would shake a Gitmo guard).
At one point I was looking back between my legs at a middle-aged woman, bent double with her elbows on the floor. Oh my.
Last night’s lesson erased any notion that yoga is not exercise. When it was over, I hobbled down the stairs to my car and had a good long cry.
Webcast hijinx at the Coffee Zone this morning. I chatted briefly with Kevin and Sally from the ShowMe Yoga Center; George and I shot the breeze with Jefferson City Mayor John Landwehr; and finished up with a visit with the Coffee Zone’s own Taisir Yanis.
Audio much better than previous efforts. Still need to work on framing the shot. This clip runs long (15 min) because I thought I had stopped recording when I had not.
Feeling a little stiff these days. Muscles don’t have the elasticity they once did. So I decided to take a yoga class. A couple of the volunteer instructors are regulars at the Coffee Zone. So I decided to check it out.
There were only five of us in tonight’s class and the other four were too polite to laugh out loud when I made little mewling sounds. But I must say I enjoyed the hour and plan to go back. My Christmas card will be me touching my toes.
