I thought: About exercise, motivation, and giving oneself permission. I had a yoga teacher who used to say that all you had to do was roll out your yoga mat every day. You could just sit on it for a minute, or you could do a full series (this was Astanga), or anything in between. The important thing was to be consistent in committing to your mat.
What I took from that, though, was not just a message about consistency, but also about honouring what is right for you in the moment. So, today, when I put on the Cathe Friedrich DVD, I gave myself permission to do as much or as little as I liked. In theory, I wanted to do more than one of the premixes (about 45 minutes each), but I wasn't sure I was up for the whole thing (70 minutes). And around 17 minutes in I did think about stopping... But I carried on a little, and then really got into it, so I only skipped one blast - 3 minutes. Still, it was important to me that I could skip that, that I could choose not to do it all.
What I took from that, though, was not just a message about consistency, but also about honouring what is right for you in the moment. So, today, when I put on the Cathe Friedrich DVD, I gave myself permission to do as much or as little as I liked. In theory, I wanted to do more than one of the premixes (about 45 minutes each), but I wasn't sure I was up for the whole thing (70 minutes). And around 17 minutes in I did think about stopping... But I carried on a little, and then really got into it, so I only skipped one blast - 3 minutes. Still, it was important to me that I could skip that, that I could choose not to do it all.
I slept: 6 hours in 4 chunks :(
I worked out: 67 minutes of High Intensity, Low Impact Step from Cathe Friedrich's Low Max.
I ate: 106g choc brownie, 50g choc biscuits. Not great, but given I had a seriously stressful conversation over dinner with a friend, I was quite pleased I didn't have a total blowout :(
I am grateful for: Equanimity.
Well done! I've often wondered about these sayings, surrender to the mat, commit to the mat. Are they modern? Or is it just a shorthand for 'the practice'?
ReplyDeleteHmm, after the whole chandala/chant-dala mistake, I'm guessing you may be better placed than me to say if these sayings are modern or not ;) I'd only ever heard it from that one teacher, but he was one of the early westerners who went out to India to learn from his guru, back in the 60's...
DeleteAwesome that you pushed through a bit but also honored yourself at the same time. Tough call sometimes! I really should start one of these blogs. Of course I wouldn't have much to write in it at first--but I guess that's part of why the accountability is nice.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the stressful conversation...
Studies have shown that accountability and community support are both really helpful in sticking to good habits :)
DeleteAnd you'd have plenty to write about - how well/poorly you slept, what you ate, what you felt and thought, or whatever else you feel like writing about!
Hugs,
K