Day 27 - A Yoga Mentor

Today I got a chance to meet up with Karen Herold, an extraordinary woman.

I was telling my friend Derek that I want to open my own studio someday, and he mentioned that he met this woman in his massage therapy class who's a CFO of a company, is a certified yoga teacher, and is planning on opening her own studio as well, so maybe I can get some advice from her.

A couple emails later, Karen gracefully agreed to meet up with me, and I am so grateful for Derek for having introduced us.

The amazing thing about Karen is not only that she's highly accomplished in her professional career, and has managed to follow her yoga ambitions (she's a Forrest trained teacher, and is opening her own studio in Redmond), but she also has three daughters, and she coaches on their volleyball teams, so she's an awesome mom too. (Oh yeah, did I mention she teaches yoga during lunch @ work?)

Me? I have lucky bamboos that require watering once every six months, and they still die under my care (or lack thereof).

What's different, and super inspiring about Karen is on top of being a yoga teacher, she has a day job. That gives me confidence that I can use the same drive and passion for yoga and maintain that in other areas of my life.

I also realized how cool it is to have a Yoga Mentor, not a Teacher, but someone to gently guide and inspire you.

*update* btw, the web site for her studio is up, check it out: Om Yoga Redmond.

Day 23 - Yoking

"If you are spending quality time with someone you love, you are doing yoga."

That's what Vidal, my Bikram yoga teacher at Hot Yoga of Issaquah told me once when I apologized for missing class because I was having dinner with my friends.

Today, I spent the whole entire day with my boyfriend. It was a very good day.

Day 6 - The Five Tibetans for Chinese New Year

I'm running, I'm running, I'm running.

I was racing to finish up before 5 to catch the bus home from work. My phone's battery was dunzo. I needed to call my boyfriend. I needed to get this document sent out. I needed more time.

My left shoulder is burning. I've been carrying too much stuff around, and now I can feel it flaring up. I'm unbalanced. My load is too heavy on the left.

I got home, plugged in my phone, called the bf. Communications problem due to battery. My batteries suck!!! I apologized.

We went out to the burb to see my parents. It was New Year's Eve, the year of the Rat according to the Lunar Calendar. My mom was ecstatic to see us. I was ecstatic to see her. After dinner we went ice skating at the skating rink up the street. I had not stepped on a sheet of frozen ice since middle school. I felt so out of my element. I can put my legs on my shoulder while balancing on one leg, but gliding along on two blades? Ha! I'll cure cancer instead.

When we got back, it was too late for me to do my usual hour-long practice, and I had been practicing these Five Tibetans exercises, which promise to align the spine and the moon and the stars, and a smashing good time with your house guest, so showed mine how to do them right.

As I do more reading and researching on The Five Tibetans (I accidentally came upon the book @ the Seattle Public Library), I didn't realize it has a pretty big following, there's even a Facebook group!

I will write more about them later.

Day 4 - Breaking Point

I came home to do my Baptiste DVD instead of going to class. I didn't really want to go to hot yoga today anyway, and that was the only class offered at 6:30pm, the only time that I was gonna make it. Plus, my boyfriend was coming over, and I needed to clean my place. He called to say that he wasn't gonna be around until much later. I was bummed.

I just read in the Feb 08 issue of Fit Yoga that our bodies and lifestyles should be in tuned with the seasons. It's winter, the days are short and the weather colder, so we should take it a bit easier. The ancient science of Ayurveda says it's time for rest, regeneration, and introspection. I definitely have not taken this wisdom to heart, and after some introspection, I've realized that I have taken my Summer lifestyle right straight through Fall and now Winter.

Sleep. I needed sleep.

So I folded up my sticky mat, unplugged everything, put my phone on silence, and fell in a deep Savasana.