Revelation

Yoga is often perceived to be a calming but no-nonsense practice.  I think that people are often scared away from yoga classes because they are afraid to mess up, they think no one falls and no one laughs and it is all very, very serious. 

These people have clearly not hung out at Revelation Yoga.

Now, do not get me wrong.  Kim is very serious about her practice and the practice of her students.  And, as they should be, her gentle classes are very gentle and her power classes are very tough but Kim herself is light and fun.  Her classes always have music, from earthy and flowing to tribal to bursts of hip-hop that seem to come out of no where.  You try holding Goddess Pose with Black Eyed Peas as your background music - you cannot hold a straight face.

That to me is what yoga should be.  It should be serious as far as learning poses and pushing your body and steadying your mind, but it should also be light and fun...its so much less daunting, less judgmental that way.

Class last night was small - just three of us - and tough physically as a Power Class should be.  But it was also light and fun.  No heavy hearts, no heavy souls.  There was laughter and easy discussion of the poses and what we each needed to deepen our practice.  There was a feeling of community in the class that I truly appreciate.

Interested in practicing at Revelation?  The studio is having its One Year Anniversary on September 14th...I'll keep you posted on developments as far as a ribbon cutting or other Happy Anniversary happenings

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Just wanted to drop you all a note that Run, Lift, Chant, Breathe is going on a long weekend starting at 5:00pm today - a long girls weekend get away - WooHoo!!  See you all when I return!

New Rules Update

It has occurred to me that I have not updated you all on my weight lifting in quite some time. Remember when I was coming back from my wrist injury and was devastated that I had lost so much strength? Well I am happy to report that I was almost back up to full strength about a week later and I have gained back my confidence in the weight room. I have also officially completed Stage 4 of New Rules and I feel great.


I know that a bunch of you are following the New Rules program so I thought that I would give you an overview/list of random thoughts associated with it. Ready? Here we go!

1) When I first started the program, I was STARVING the day after lifting. I have to admit that the program still makes me pretty hungry but it has calmed down now that my body has adjusted.

2) I make my recovery/protein shake before heading to the gym, keep it in my locker, and chug it as soon as my workout is finished. I find that this aids in recovery and keeps me from searching out a pizza come lunch time.

3) In general, I crave protein more. Usually I eat vegetarian during the week (with the exception of tuna or sardines at lunch) but now by the time Friday night rolls around I am seeking out some serious meat…usually chicken but sometimes beef.

4) My body, particularly my legs, are tired all of the time. They are exhausted after lifting…then I put them through torture in power yoga…then I make them run. I do have a rest day once a week and I have subbed out a power yoga class for a gentle yoga class, but still my legs are tired.

5) Stage 3 is really boring. Really, really boring.

6) Stage 4 will destroy you, particularly if you do all 3 sets (you get a 2 or 3 option). This destroying is due in large part to the return of the Reverse Lunge with Forward Reach (I really, really tried to find a video of this torture…but couldn’t). Ouch.

7) Underhand Lateral Pull-Downs are what hurt my wrist. I must go overhand despite what the book says.

8) Planks for 2 minutes do not exist. At least not in my world.


I would love to hear any thoughts or questions those of you trying out the program may have!!

Walpole Road Races

Yesterday we (Tammy, Meri, Chrissy, Libby and I) ran the Walpole Road Race and oddly enough my time was almost identical to the Butterfly 5K.  Which means that, all course and weather excuses aside, I am simply running 10-15 seconds slower per mile than I used to...and I pushed during this race. 

I felt like I started out strong - good pace but not winded.  I hit the first mile marker in 9:30 seconds.  I was less than thrilled - I like to pass the first mile at between 9:18 and 9:20.  See?  10 seconds.  Then I passed the second mile marker at around 19:15 or so...so mile 2 was 9:45 seconds...hmph.  And really, I felt like I was going at a good little clip.  I finished up in 30 minutes and change.  Now, this course was challenging.  The last half mile or so feels like its pretty much uphill.  Really, you turn a corner and your stomach drops.  I thought I was going to puke running up that hill and all I could think of was finding an orange to regulate my blood sugar.  And the end result was a less then stellar finishing time.

Which leads me to this - So what?

I ran hard and felt that I could not have put in anymore effort - I did not quit and I earned every second of that race result.  I am slightly slower than last year but I am lifting weights more vigorously and I am spending all my free time in the yoga studio.   I am also 15 or so pounds lighter than this time last year.  Which leads me to believe that I may be a slightly slower runner but that I am healthier all around. 

This does not mean I don't want to improve my running times.  My sister-in-law and I are already cooking up big plans (HA!) to increase mileage.  I would like to get back to racing 9:30s.  But I am not going to get so caught up in shaving 45 seconds off my time that I sacrifice my weight training or my yoga.  It is not reasonable to expect to be perfect at everything you do, but trying hard at everything you do is totally reasonable and should be expected.

Congrats to Lib for taking 1st in her division again!!