Yogi mommies

One of the things I've really been enjoying (and hopefully, so has Baby) is my weekly prenatal yoga sessions. It was wonderful practising yesterday especially on summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Summer's finally here in Ann Arbor and the heat radiating through the studio mirrored the heat radiating through our bodies as we went through our modified downward dogs and warrior IIs. Warrior mommies, Heather my instructor called us, posing strong and rooted for the little cargoes we're holding within us. I love how refreshed and energized I always feel after, but also relaxed and calm, if that makes sense...

And a large part of it is also about being with other would-be moms in various stages of their pregnancy, sharing their stories, and allowing me to look both at how far I've come and also to look forward to the couple of months ahead. There was this one mom who's clearly where I was a couple of months ago in terms of shopping frantically for baby clothes- I was totally onboard with her mania :) She shared with us this website that's designed specifically for yogi mommies (and babies): yoli-poli started as a website selling yoga accessories but now also specializes in organic cotton clothing for children with a particular yoga theme. Check out these cutie tees for slightly older children: triangle pose and tree pose for girls, and warrior II and crow for boys. But my absolute favorites are actually the tees for infants, and all you yogis out there should know exactly why, for instance:


and

Can someone just say TOO PRECIOUS?!! :)

Happy thoughts

Finally, Ann Arbor is quiet again- Commencement is over, the undergrads are slowly moving out, and today, I drove into the parking structure with 219 spots open (unheard of at 9.30 in the Fall or Winter semesters). While I love October and November, I really do enjoy these few weeks of cool, breezy tranquility before it gets too hot or the Summer Festival or art fairs start to bring droves of people from the area into town. It's also a time to really appreciate the perks of being in a place that enjoys four very distinct seasons- everything's suddenly so green and trees and shrubs are blossoming like there's no tomorrow :) While just a month ago, we were experiencing snow storms.

Yoga this week was about renewal- it's the beginning of May and Spring is in full bloom (pun fully intended) and it was wonderfully calming to be practicing while feeling all that breezy, sunshiney energy spill into the studio as I focused on the tulip bulbs outside during Vrksasana (tree pose). I'm feeling really good these days-- hopeful and inspired-- and on a beautiful morning like today's, no matter how your day or week has been going, I hope you're blessed with some positive radiance as well :)

And we'll collect the moments one by one
I guess that's how the future's done...
-Feist, "Mushaboom"

Namaste

As I'm typing this, the Ann Arbor sky is turning an ash gray as we prepare for the winter storm that's coming out way- complete with rain, sleet, snow and all. Yes, it's April and we're expecting 5 inches of snow by tomorrow. That's a Michigan spring for you, folks... And as testimony to how schizophrenic the weather can be, when I woke up this morning, it was all beautiful sunshine and crisp breeze. Which was a wonderful way to start my prenatal yoga practice. I had been putting it off for a while because I couldn't find a studio I liked or a time that fit my schedule. The school gym I used to go to for my regular yoga practice doesn't have a designated class for would-be mommies and many other studios have their one prenatal yoga session at strange times like Friday mornings when I sometimes need to be in school. So I finally settled on A2 Yoga, which comes highly recommended from many friends (even my adviser!) and about which I've heard really good things for the past few years.

It's a beautiful place- calming and warm without the whole new age incense-burning, water-trickling, patchouli-smelling atmosphere you sometimes get at other studios. And truly, it was a lovely morning to be practicing yoga of any kind, prenatal or not- the sunlight was streaming in through the day curtains, one of the windows was open so there was fresh air breezing in, and we did a lot of shoulder openers that made me-- corny or not-- feel like we were embracing a kind of new-season energy on this Palm Sunday. Prenatal yoga is fairly different from the Power Yoga I'm used too. The props for one- two blankets, two blocks and a bolster- it was initially a little intimidating, but I can see how they'll become indispensable once I can no longer see or touch my toes... Prenatal yoga is also less about sustaining a pose than it is about loosening and stretching those muscles. And the breathing is a lot more calming which helped me focus more as well. One particular pose-- it's not even a pose at all, really-- touched me in a way that made me decide that I will be coming back to A2 Yoga weekly from now now: we were supposed to just sit simply and practice our pranayama (yoga breathing). To help us be aware of whether we were breathing right, the instructor told us to put our right palm on our heart, and our left palm on the core of our stomach (or where the baby is). To feel the intake of breath via the lungs/heart and then the slow pressure of its release around the core area was at once refreshing, calming, centering, and strangely moving. It felt like the baby was a real part of my yoga practice today and it was a beautiful moment... :)

Halfway to the Half

...which also means I'm trained for a quarter marathon, as someone astutely calculated ;)

So it's just under a month to the Detroit Marathon, and I'm only halfway in my training. I'm running the half (for no other reason than it stretches across to Canada over the bridge and under the tunnel, making it the world’s only underwater international mile) so it's actually not too bad. I ran 11.5km today (Jenn and I adapted this route a little) and I figure if I can hit 19km the weekend before the marathon, I should be able to run that last 2km on adrenaline alone, if nothing else. I'm at that stage in my running where the first 3km or so is the hardest and then by the time I'm at 6km, I'm completely zoned-out (or in, depending on how you look at it) and some strange inexplicable force takes over my body until the voice via my iPod+Nike tells me it's time to stop. Yoga has helped my breathing a lot too so I hardly get out of breath which has also helped my recovery heart rate. The only part of my body that isn't faring too well are my legs- specifically my knees. They don't hurt while I'm running- the hours after a long run is when they bother me most. Thanks to Dark Orpheus though, this pose has been helping a lot.

It's easier to get motivated to run now that I'm running almost everyday, although I'm not going to be making marathon-running a personal hobby anytime soon- it's going to hurt too much. I think the reason why I've been drawn to running is the same reason I love yoga- it's all about my body and what it's capable of doing on its own. Every run- like every yoga session- is a challenge. How much further can I run? How much longer can I hold this position? And I actually look forward to the "aloneness" of running- it's some quality Serene-time during which I can think of anything I want- whether it's something I need to concetrate and think hard about, or something I need to get out of my system. I'm beginning to do some of my best thinking- not necessarily academic- as I run and I've come to appreciate that a lot.

So there, Serene Koh, enjoying running. Just a year ago, who would have guessed? ;)

Symbiosis

It's 4 days to the Ann Arbor-Dexter run and Serene Koh ran her first ever 10K today! Yup, that's right, I rock... :) 57:02 minutes, 678 calories and 5:41 minutes/km. Not shabby at all if I should say so myself. And I figured if I can do this in the 3pm hot sun, I can do on a cool Sunday morning. I wasn't planning on running the full 10K today really, but by the time I got to 9.5K, I was like, I've come so far, what's another 500m? And so I did. I'm planning one more run on Friday- which may or may not be another 10K- and I should be ready for Sunday. Under an hour. That's all I'm aiming for.

It's amazing, really, what your body can do when you apply yourself to a task- who knew 6 weeks ago that my body's capable of running continuously for more than 45 minutes? Like my dad says, it's all about slowly increasingly the mileage. If you can do 6K, you can do 7K. If you can do 7K, 8K's a cinch, etc... The other thing that has really helped me is yoga. It's made me a better breather (yes, there *is* such a thing), and as a result, a stronger runner. It's also strengthened my calves and quads (those warrior poses kick major ass!) which really helps too. I've come to look forward to yoga a lot, and it's become more than just about toning muscles in places I didn't know I had muscles to tone in the first place. In that hour of sustained concentration and focus, I become acutely aware of my body and its different dimensions- my posture, alignment, breathing, reach, strength, center, etc, and I find that kind of self-awareness very calming. Plus it's all me- the poses don't rely on machines or weights- it's what my body is capable of and comfortable doing at that moment. I'm not into the more spiritual aspects of yoga (although I love that my instructor sings her ohms) but I have to admit that as tough as it sometimes is (beads of sweat dripping onto my yoga mat probably indicates a fairly decent workout), the deep burn that comes with yoga is actually kinda of cathartic, "cleansing", if you will- both mentally and physiologically- and that's something I find deeply alluring. The fact that my running helps my yoga (it builds the stamina I need to maintain those sustained downward dogs) as much as yoga is helping my running just makes it all the more perfect.

Namaste :)

Ouch...

How is it that at 30, I'm still discovering muscles I never thought I had? Namely in the neck, arms and thighs. I'm sitting down right now and my legs are quivering... Yup, I had my first yoga class today. It's been something I've been meaning to do for a long time, and since I'm finally done with coursework (yay!!) and have a little more time this semester, I figured this is about as good a time as any. Besides I know of people who attribute their success getting into grad school entirely on the focus and concentration yoga afforded them. I'm taking both my precandidacy exams this semester- I'm going to need as much of that mojo as I can get.

So anyway, back to the yoga. It's a form of yoga called Ashtanga Yoga, probably one of the oldest forms of yoga although it's enjoying recent popularity because celebrities like Madonna and Janet Jackson swear by it. It's very much focused on deep breathing, balance and posture. The breathing part I can do (although I think many of us ended up sounding a little like Darth Vader...); the balance and posture part... ok, not so much. The instructor hardly needed to tell me that yoga is all about concentration and focus- there really isn't very much else you can think about when you're trying your darndest to balance while holding one leg 90 degrees straight in front of you while bending to touch that raised foot (Don't ask me if I could do it, I'm not answering you!... )

I do have to say though that there is something perversely relaxing about that hour, in spite of the ridiculous amount of effort it took to contort myself into these fantastical postures. The focus helps, the stretching is amazing, and even though your entire sphere of movement is confined to only that 24 in x 68 in area of the mat, your body is getting some intensely cathartic workout.

The last time I did any yoga was about four years ago when Jude and I attended a class together. After that, we couldn't bend our legs for days, and my shoulders were so sore I couldn't carry anything on my back. Right now, there're aches and sores here and there, but I think I'll only start feeling any real pain tomorrow. The good thing is that the workout really helps generate heat throughout your body (I was perspiring so much from just standing still), which is a great thing in winter.

I'm not sure yet about the whole enhancing my clarity of thought thing- I'll let you know in April. For now, my body's beginning to feel the ache and I think the lingering jetlag isn't helping. Thank god this it's only once a week- any more than that and I don't think I'll be able to even crawl out of bed in the morning...