5 Ways to Maintain Until Your Next Yoga Class

Ack! I'm antsy.

Last Sunday I took the Bikram Yoga class. I enjoyed it as I told you before.

The next day I was not nearly as sore as I thought I would be, and I have been eagerly looking forward to going back to class. The plan was to make it back this evening. Not happening. I had my last late night at work, finally completed the project, but I couldn't just pack up and go to class.

Everyone says: "Its amazing the changes you will feel." I don't know what they mean exactly, except that I have been very pleasantly conscious of my body since then. I know when it needs to breathe, eat, sleep, and especially drink water. The only way I can describe it is that my mind has been very "full of" my body since Sunday. I am amazed at how anxious I am to get back. What really happened there?

The only problem is that my body is becoming very viscerally insistent that I have to go back to "that place" to the point that I will almost do anything and shirk any responsibility to get back there. Therefore, I have decided to give myself 5 ways to maintain until my next yoga class.

1. Drink Water. Whenever I feel like I need to climb out of my skin in order to make my muscles let up on their chatter ("I'm stiff," "Are we there yet?" "Can't we just stretch a little bit?"), I drink some water and feel its chilly goodness spread through my body.
2. Take a bath. A candlelit bath with aromatherapy oils, and soft soothing music has been getting me relaxed in the evenings. I even try to do a little meditation to get my mind off the day's stress.
3. Work Hard. Do the things I need to so that when I actually do get a chance to go, I will not feel guilty about being there and not being wherever my work waits for me.
4. Sleep Deeply. I have been trying my best to sleep well to aid my body in recovery from what it goes through in class.
5. Check the class schedule. Maybe I missed a class that I could attend. No, I was right I would have to break the sound barrier in order to make it in time from my workplace.

So these tips probably aren't any more helpful to you than they are to me. But . . . Maybe, tomorrow, if I leave work early . . .

Or, maybe you can clue me in about how you maintain by posting a comment.

Whoo!! I Feel Like I Climbed a Mountain

First Bikram Yoga class today. Yay!

I actually made it through the whole thing. My goal was to pace myself and do at least one set of each posture. This turned out to be a good plan because halfway through I was asking myself if I would make it, but I was determined and actually did a fairly nice job. (Meaning: I made it through and never threw up.)(Not once.)

Bikram Yoga is a type of yoga that is performed in a room that is kept in the neighborhood of 105 degrees and 40 percent humidity. My instructor was apologetic that the room was only 94 degrees today, but there was a problem with the heating unit due to the severe cold we are undergoing in the Chicago area.

Frankly, I was happy. I'm not sure how I would have done if things were any hotter. I will find out on Tuesday night I guess. The other participants said that since we had such a large group the temperatures felt fairly similar.

I have to say, they take very good care of first timers there. I was given a very nice yoga mat to use, and after the session, they gave me a free coconut water to help hydrate me. (And I needed it.)

Mick was my instructor, and he even helped me surprise myself when he gave me a tip for a posture I was having difficulty with and the next thing I knew, I was in a position that I thought it would take me months to even begin to achieve. I'm not saying I was perfect at it, but I was in it.

I have an introductory incentive plan trying to get me back eight times in the next eight days. I think I will be able to do three or four times, but the cost savings will be enormous.

The thing I like about doing this is that I feel like I lived through an adventure. An "adventure" is something that enriched your life or gives you a tale to tell, something that you are very glad and thankful that you did. It may not have been comfortable to get through, but you would do it again in a heartbeat.

That's how I feel about this yoga class.

So listen . . . if you live in the Plainfield, IL area. I totally recommend going to Bikram Yoga Plainfield. Tell them Some Feisty Chick sent you.

Sometimes I Think My Honey has the Hardest Job of All

At times like this I drift, and I'm not sure who doesn't get it.

My New Must See Series

Ok. So my family (two young boys and my Honey) made merciless fun of me when I wanted to record this series and sample it. But How to Look Good Naked is awesome.

My Honey scoffed because reality TV is not our genre of choice. (Too much Big Brother and Real World.) We get our reality based TV fix from Joel McHale on The Soup. The boys just don't even want to think about their mom naked (Thank God. That is exactly how it should be.) They certainly aren't comfortable that their mom might want to look good in that condition. (Once again, all is absolutely correct in our little world.)

But, now that I have had a chance to watch it. All the males are gone for the evening and I don't need to worry about mildly amused testosterone sending mild whiffs of sarcasm floating through the atmosphere. I love that show.

The episode I just watched had a young girl named Marlo who had just survived treatment for Hodgekins Lymphoma trying to deal with her new post-chemo body. At first I felt awkward ever time Carson asked her to strip to her underwear, but, all the makeover girls look good with clothes hiding their imperfections. We all stand and look at ourselves in the mirror before and after showers and deal with all our imperfections constantly. The look that Marlo had on her face as she confronted herself in the three-way mirror and said out loud how disappointed she was in her body, is exactly the look that I get at certain times when I look at myself. I guess what I'm saying is it is easy to empathize. Then they get right to business, and you watch as her confidence climbs.

I really enjoyed it, and set it up for series recordings right after completing the episode.

It really is nice to see a network trying to tell women to see what is good about themselves instead of all the points that need to be tweaked.

Now, if the network can get rid of all the advertisers who are selling weight loss products and other items meant to feed on your insecurities during that time slot. It is the age old conundrum: How do you create content that asks/teaches women to accept themselves as they are yet keep the money coming in from advertisers who make money by making sure women feel imperfect?

Is there a product aimed at women that is not trying to make them slimmer, fitter, younger, or more beautiful?

Anyway, it is a great series. I also like the fact that it is not featuring foul mouthed brides or women with too much money throwing a fit because they are not getting worshiped enough.

Here's a little clip I found on YouTube that might give you an idea.

Feeling a little . . .

Melancholy to day for many reasons.

Slowing Down

My household is filled with busy people. I work a full-time job and run a brand new non-profit organization. My Honey is self- employed and works 60 hour weeks. Both the boys are in school and have friends, homework and extra-curricular activities.

But lately I have been wondering what the world would be like if we all slowed down and simplified.

The folks over at LifeHacker have the answer. Clear your mind and slow down. They link to an article over at zenhabits that really reinforced my dreams of a slower world. This article describes an exercise for setting yourself on the right course in which you visualize yourself spending a day, then a half-day, then an hour not working or rushing around, doing something you truly enjoy (not just vegging in front of the TV). It sounds good to me. It sounds a lot like the artist dates I ask my students to give themselves each week. That time is meant to be used for recharging and regenerating. I think it is a good idea.

I apparently need it because I am finding myself wanting to pick fights and create strife where their really is no basis. This is usually my indication that I am overtired.

So what am I going to do about it? Well, nothing today. I have to grade a bunch of papers and organize the work for my new class that I will begin teaching Monday night. But . . . next Sunday . . . I'm going to take a Bikram Yoga class. (Believe me the irony is not lost that I am adding an activity.) But in my defense, my Monday night dance workout class is ending, so I'm actually replacing an activity that is tight in my schedule with one that I do not have to rush to.

I'm also going to try the Bikram yoga because it appeals to my sensual nature. In order to show that I am enviro-conscious as well as frugal, I have decided to agree to keeping the house at 65 degrees this month. (I am a cold-blooded individual, so this means I am freezing all the time.) Bikram Yoga is practiced in very hot rooms. Therefore, I am believing that the heat which is meant to allow your muscles to stretch easily will also give me my fix of toastiness tha I find necessary to maintain a good humor.

Well, here's hoping anyway.

All Made Up 2 or How I Got Someone "Fired" Over the Holidays

If you will recall, shortly before the Holidays I went to Mario T's and got my makeup done. I was very happy with the results. It was all nice and polished and refreshing with a slightly smoky eye. The look was exactly what I needed. I run my own non-profit business, and I need to look polished so that I seem competent when I meet prospective donors and other professionals. Plus I need to inspire a little confidence in the teens I work with.

So, anyway, I thought it was perfect, and. . . high on make-up fumes or something I purchased a lot. (About $250 worth to be exact.)

About two hours later, I came down from the fumes and realized what I had done. I couldn't justify that expense to myself, much less to my Honey who is currently working 60 and 80 hour weeks. So I resolved that I would return the product (after I went to Target and looked for replacements.) Needless to say, I went to Target and replaced about $180 of that make-up for $29. Lesson #1 learned: you really can get the same look for less.

I called Mario T's to confirm that the writing on the bottom of their receipt was true. The young lady on the phone agreed that I could, indeed, return those items. However, if I had any custom blend items, I would only get store credit for those. Ok, I thought, and returned the $45 liquid foundation to my make-up box. If I couldn't get my money back, I might as well keep the product.

Then the Good Stuff began. . . .

When I arrived at the salon, the young ladies behind the counter were helpful enough. The first understood my woes, but her cash register was not set up to do returns, so she passed me off to the young woman to her left. This one got busy fixing me up. She asked me to wait a moment and came back with a certificate for credit.

"I wanted a refund," I said.

"That's a refund," she assured me.

"Are you sure? It looks like an in store credit," I said.

"No. It is a refund," she said.

I took about three steps out of the store, and had to turn around and go back.

"Ok," I said. "I'm kind of stupid about these things, but when I say I want a refund, that means that I expect to look at my Discover Card bill and see $89.00 go back into my account. Will I see that when I look at my bill? Or does this slip of paper mean I get to come back here and get $89 worth of something done to me."

"You get $89 worth of services," she said brightly.

"Look. If it was okay to spend $89 here at this time, I would have kept the make-up. I wanted a refund."

"Yeah. . . . Well, I don't know how to undo it now," she said, "and our manager won't be here til Tuesday. Can I have her call you?"

"I really want this taken care of today," I said.

By this time, the first girl I talked to was getting agitated and kept asking the second girl why she had done such a thing. The second girl looked at her and said that she was told that she was always supposed to give in store credits unless a manager said otherwise. (Lesson #2: Always deal with a manager at Mario T's.)

Tuesday came and went. No Phone call. I started calling at various times of day until I got through on the following Saturday. When I explained the situation to the manager, her first words were unlucky because she said, "Well . . . I'm not sure how we can fix that."

Aaagh! I lost it (just a tiny bit.) "Well, you better figure it out," I said. I then received a lecture about how rude I was and how my behavior was uncalled for. (I personally don't think one tight lipped snap deserved it under the circumstances, but . . . I will admit this was my first dealing with her.)

I explained my frustration, and how those particular words were not at all what I needed to here at that momemnt. Then I told her about the comment that it was policy to always give credit, not refunds, even though the store states that they do make refunds. Then the manager tells me she understands my frustration, and I should rest easy because "that girl has been fired."

(That really doesn't make me feel any better you know. Even though I'm hoping it was a line of crap, all I wanted was for "that girl" to get a firm talking to. I really don't want to think of any of my complaints causing someone to be unemployed at the Holidays. I really don't want to have that big of an impact on the world.)

Writing this reminds me that I have to check my Discover Card bill for the credit. I have been out of town and have not heard anything about the whole transaction since I was assured that it was taken care of. The nightmare may not yet be over. Dee de Dee de ... Dee de dee de . . .

(Here's hoping that sounded like Twilight Zone music to you.)

I Still Love My Heels But . . .

Click this link to see an enlarged and more complete version of what we do to ourselves when we wear heels.

Over the weekend my Honey and I went out with friends, and I was Stylin'!

Our friends really haven't seen me since I started my personal "remodeling" program. They commented quite a bit on how good I was looking. The plan fell short though when we decided that we would walk to the lake instead of staying at the restaurant listening to jazz. My three inch heels and I slowed the procession quite a bit. I just kept telling them they had to "Style" along with me. Because they are good natured people our Style was a source of great merriment . . . and two big blisters on the ball of my foot under my big toe.