Published on
February 15, 2010 in
General.
With apologies to
Pat for stealing his
youtube series title, today on
Islander Day the mail was still delivered and I got this boxed set of Yoga Zone for beginners for Laine and I. Yes Laine
and I…
Laine has been after me for years, basically since we met, to try yoga with her. This fall I finally relented and did a set of Conditioning and Stress Release yoga on her old Yoga Zone VHS tape. After two sessions it made such a difference in my back and shoulders and overall well being that I was converted.
Unfotunately, the VHS version meant if I wanted to do a set early in the morning I’d have to use the noisy VCR, and since Laine had lost the other tape in the series she owned I thought it’d make a good gift to get it on DVD.
The man behind the Yoga Zone series is Alan Finger, talks about Hatha Yoga here on youtube, and I think it’s his clinical and scientific approach to Yoga that comes through in his videos that really converted me from thinking it was fluffy mystical bull! There are meditations and what not, but as he points out in the youtube vids, they are done for a specific purpose.
Anyone who wants to improve there posture, flexibility, overall health and wellbeing should at least give Yoga I try and the Yoga Zone series is a good place to start! Then if you want to try a manlier version why not try mountain biker/trials rider Ryan Leech’s brand of yoga?
This Saturday the first annual Winter Classic is scheduled to take place at our place in Emyvale. The genesis of the Winter Classic took place in Souris at Chris’ house in early November when he invited the folks and Laine and I out to his place for an afternoon of fun contests of skill, a bonfire and some good eats. It was dubbed the Fall Classic and Laine ended up winning the day and the trophy that day, and we had such a good time we decided to do one every season, Fall in Souris, Winter in Emyvale, Spring in North River and an as yet undetermined location/host for the Summer Classic.
The games lined up so far include:
Oudoor:
Biathlon: snow shoe to stations to shoot icicles with an air pistol for a point each. 4 possible points.
Ice putting: Four putts from the edge of our ice “green” for a point for each “hole in one” 4 posssible points.
Snow shoes: get a point for knocking over a shoe with a snowball. 4 possibl points.
Bomber run: target downhill enemies with snowsled, four shots at targets with a point a “hit” 4 possible points.
Indoor:
Crokinole: Four attempts at the “button” for a point a piece. 4 possible points.
Wii Party Games: details to follow. 4 possible points.
Trivial Trivia: randomly assigned 4 trivia questions about Canadian winter, 1 point for each correct answer. 4 possible points.
Hit the sauce: Bring a wing sauce and get 4 points, if a couple brings one sauce they each get 2 points, or 4 each if they bring two. 4 possible points.
Feeling pudgy and lazy I am trying to get back into shape again after the last 6 months of letting myself go. I had thought I’d be able to use the UPEI gym now that I am a student however only full time students have a gym membership included in their tuition and I’d have to pay a fee (a reasonable one) to use it. Not being a fan of indoor exercise anyway I started thinking of alternatives.
This morning at 6:00am I got up, put on some thermals, sweater and pants, jacket, hat, boots and gloves and strapped on some snowshoes and set out for a long walk in the fields around the Shire. I was accompanied by Rosie and the sweet sweet voice of my new musical obsession Ariana Gillis in my headphones. 40 minutes and 2.5 kilometers later I arrived back home my heart rate up, jacket open and feeling great.
The really nice thing about snow shoeing is that your route is pretty much whatever you want it to be. This boundless type of exercising appeals to me even more than my morning runs on the Mill Road did and is definitely something I want to continue year round, snow shoes and maybe x-country skis in the winter and trail/x-country running possibly paddling in the summer.
When I was a kid I remember one of the joys of being in the woods was getting off the farm/logging trails and just scrambling cross country in a straight(ish) line finding ways through around and over obstacles. I’m sure it also is a more natural way to exercise with a full body component that jogging down a road could never match. It speaks to me like rock climbing (also on my to do list) and tree climbing (which I miss!) do. So here’s to a more natural year of activity and enjoying the woods and hills and fields all around me!
With apologies to Pat for stealing his youtube series title, today on Islander Day the mail was still delivered and I got this boxed set of Yoga Zone for beginners for Laine and I. Yes Laine and I…
