Nothing...

I've been absent from my blog because I just have nothing interesting to blog about.

I went to Zenergi today for the 4:00 hot yoga class. It wasn't hot at all (the thermometer said 89 when I walked in... we keep the house at 80, though of course the studio is all kinds of humid) but I was sweating like crazy.

Can I be un-PC and say I really dislike having men in the class. It's distracting. During one pose- at the very BEGINNING of the class- we wrung out hands together and a waterfall-like cascade of sweat poured off the man a few mats down from me. Ewwww... it doesn't stay on their mats, it pools all around them. And men rarely wear shirts in class, and some even wear speedos. It's never in shape men who don't have shirts on. I'm out of shape, I wear a shirt to hide my stomach. Yeah, I know I'm not supposed to be looking at other people, but I'm encouraged to watch myself in the mirror, if I'm seeing myself in the mirror, I'm seeing- even if I'm not focusing- the people around me too. And while I don't care what other people's postures look like, except maybe to try to correct myself to look like someone awesome- it takes me out of my practice to see waterfalls nearby.

My other rant- what the hell is wrong with my left calf. Everytime the instructor said "this should be a nice hamstring stretch" or "do xyz if your hamstring is tight" I felt NOTHING in my hamstring, but instead felt like my left calf was burning with the fires of a thousand suns and being torn open with a dull serrated knife. It usually does this, but tonight was particularly bad.

Maybe yoga is not for me. But neither is ballet, or skating, or cycling. What the heck am I going to do?

I finished my Tiger Socks quite awhile ago, but never took pictures (so they sat in the living room waiting for me to take one...). I finally asked Kevin today to take them for me (so that I could put the socks away!) and he took a few- with Elsa's help :)

I am really loving these socks. They practically knit themselves, besides the fact that it took me quite a few tries to get the right gauge. They aren't as thick as I thought they would be -the yarn is at least sportweight, and possibly DK- but they are really warm and cozy. The calf increases went well, but I probably should have decreased more at the top, and yet they stay up. (A constant problem with my handknit socks is that they fall down and bunch.) The pattern breaks up once the calf shaping starts, but I still think they look really good. One of the two socks has a gigantic pool of black on the back, but honestly, no one will ever see these- they are just for me. People might see the feet of them, if I wear them with pants, but I'm not a knee-high with a skirt kind of person. I wish I was. I love knee highs.

I've made the best progress on my sock yarn blanket as I could have. You'd think the huge amount of socks I've made I'd have lots and lots of leftovers, but without duplicating them (because I don't want to so early in the blanket) 15 or so squares is nothing in the grand scheme. I took a yarn blank and made it into mini skeins and dyed it up all different ways so I could do more knitting while I'm waiting for swaps. So far I've finished knitting 22 small squares and 1 large square (that takes up the space of 4 squares). I'm estimating the need for 800 (small) squares to make it large lap blanket size.

I went to Yoga yesterday, so won't be going today. It was a different instructor this time- the owner of the studio. She teaches a good class. I felt really badly because through her talking through the class she suggested I sink lower in ackward pose, and well I was already fighting the knee pain so I shook my head "no" and she kind of added "and she says no" and kept moving with the class. As I left class she asked if I had injuries (which I detailed to the other instructor) and I told her I felt so badly and had meant to say something to her (which I was planning on doing before she started the conversation) I felt SO bad ignoring a sugestion in the first class I've taken from her. I appreciate critiques and don't want instructors to be hands off - because I want to do this well, but I can't squat as low as most of the people my age do in ackward pose, and I can't even do camel pose. I'm really enjoying the classes at this studio. My 7-day pass is over and I went ... twice. (And wouldn't have except I replaced my Sunday class with Saturday because it was "free") I just can't go all the way across town on weeknights- I'm too tired. I think what I'm going to do is get a 10-class card to this studio and the one I like less here in Coralville, then I'll do one during the week in town and one during the weekend in Iowa City.

Yoga!

I tried a class at a different hot yoga studio today. This time I went to Zenergi in Iowa City. Now, all my friends who live in actual cities are going to think I'm crazy, but the major downside to Zenergi is that it is like 15 minutes away. For this area- that is a really long drive, it's about as far away from my house as it can still be in and stay in the C/IC area.

Anyhow, that's the major downside. But the upsides- the studio is much less expensive than the one over near me, and even better they also give a discount for my workplace. The other nice thing- they have 60 minute classes that I can make. The studio near my house only does 60 minute classes during the workday. The normal 90 minute class is just too much for me right now, 60 minutes is perfect.

So I tried the 60 minute class and it was really nice. The heat was lower (or felt it...) and there was a lot less humidity, though still a good amount. Towards the very end of the class, I could feel the heat on my shoulders and I felt actually hot (usually I don't feel hot, just exhausted), but most of the class was just a comfortable with a lot of sweating.

So while the last class I took at the other studio I thought I was going to pass out midway through the standing poses, this class I made it through everything without any heat related problems (had some yoga related ones... I am not good at yoga). We didn't do any downward dog which always makes me feel lightheaded, so I was happy about that. At the end of the class the teacher sung the mantra (is that the right word?) and she had the most beautiful voice I've ever heard live. It was gorgeous.

I'm definetly going to give this studio a try again. They have a 60 minute class at 6:00 am, if I shower really fast I could still probably get to work at 7:30- work is just a few minutes away. It would be a tight stretch though...

For the most part, my knees didn't give me any problems. By the end when we got to camel pose I didn't do the 2nd set- sitting on my knees didn't hurt, but I can feel them getting tired and I didn't want to hurt them. My left hip is hurting pretty badly in the poses where I pull my knee to my chest (wind removing, laying spine twist), and I think I hurt my shoulders during reclining hero pose- so we'll see how that feels tomorrow...

But overall- this yoga class went very very well.

Yoga kicked my ass...

I'm taking a break from skating. I don't want to, but it's killing my knees and my hip. Last week I barely did anything during my lesson (no jumping, almost no spinning or footwork- just walking through my program) and my knees hurt for 3 days.

So this week, instead of my lesson, I took a hot yoga class. I tried hot yoga last year and really loved it. But it was expensive, so I only did one week and didn't go back. I found cheaper yoga alternatives, but the weren't as enjoyable to me.

Well, tonight's class totally kicked my ass. First off- it was on the schedule as a 75 min class but ended up being 90 min. Ninety minutes is a LONG time. (During that time my hair puffed out about 5 times it's normal size- hitting Jessi in middle school levels. The room is very humid). But things that are relatively simple postures were killing me. I didn't feel like it was too hot (one of the previous classes it felt like my skin was burning- it wasn't like that) but my heart would just begin racing with even the smallest movement.

I took breaks and tried my best to calm my heart with good breathing. The instructor was encouraging, would walk by and ask if I was still doing okay. At one point I almost left the room- I felt like I was about to die, but instead I just sat down then (the rest of the time I tried to stay close to the position of everyone else, while resting). But I stayed.

And I'm glad I did. The floor series at the end was fantastic- really good stretching, and these "poses" I'm very good at, so it was nice to end on the high note with the instructor not thinking I'm completely horrible and should go back to beginner classes.

I'll definitely go back- I feel way energized now, last year I remember feeling exhausted and tired. Only weird thing- the instructor taught in what is essentially a yoga speedo. That's weird. The other men in the class were in similar things, but maybe a little more coverage. Most women had on full length pants and typical yoga tops (I wore capris). How are these women not ridiculously hot? And the men are practically bare...

The one gross thing about this class is my clothes feel like I've been in a swimming pool afterwards. Still, as tough as it was, and as much as I only did 3/4 of the class, I really like hot yoga.

Day 3: Hot Yoga

I took a yoga class last night at 5:30 (meaning I went there immediately from work). It was probably the easiest of the three classes, though the instructor was the same as the killer Friday class, and the poses were the same too- but the heat was pretty much non-existent. (Well, it was there- I still left looking like I had been in a swimming pool, but I bet it didn't break 100, and the owner was there and being very generous with the fans). Since my "trial" week is over I will be going once a week now, and I am going to try this class again- if it is always this 'easy' then it will be my regular class. I say 'easy' because the poses are still very difficult and getting through is still a challenge, I just at no point thought I would die. There are many poses where I am still stuck on the prep stage, and can't even do the correct thing yet.

I am looking at signing up for a class through kirkwood community college, but they all have scheduling issues. The first class is an "intermediate" class, which meets on Mondays and works the best with my schedule but I worry I'm not ready for it (I don't want to do inversions due to my neck) and I also worry it will be cancelled for low enrollment. The second class is a "beginner" class and meets on Wednesdays - I could still skate a bit before hand, but a shortened session- however, two of the classes are rescheduled for Tuesdays and are at 7:00- meaning I would have to either skip my lesson or would have to really really rush between the two places. The third class is Monday and Wednesday, but only for 8 weeks. The Wednesday class means I would have to miss skating entirely, and the 8 week session means I'd have to supplmenet the last month of the year with a private studio like the hot house yoga, and that would really add up. I am leaning towards the beginner Wednesday night class...

First day of work went well. I have an office with a door (but no key so I have to have someone let me in until that gets straightened out) and a window, though I can't see out of it if I'm working on the computer. It also has an AC control, though I need to figure out if that affects other rooms too, because I tend to like it warmer than most. My computer doesn't have a log on yet, so I just get an "account is expired" message- because I am a rehire, I think. They need to fix that soon, because I am currently logged in as my boss and if I let the computer sit for a few moments it locks up and it's annoying to ask her to resign in. And one of my coworkers is an Aggie :)

I finished Clapotis Sunday but have not yet had time for a photoshoot. I think it will be a perfect three season scarf.

YAWN

Isn't yoga supposed to make you feel energized? I just feel exhausted...

I did my second hot yoga class this morning at 9:00. This was a 90 minute class, so 30 minutes longer than the other one I did. I drank a bottle of water before bed last night and had another this morning at 6:30 when the dogs woke me up- so I went into it hydrated.

It kicked my ass. The heat was horrible. I didn't feel like I was hot- though I was drenched with sweat (seriously, looked like I just got out of a swimming pool) - and my head was pounding. I had to not do quite a few poses because I just couldn't get the strength in my body to move, and I felt like I was going to collapse. Usually in yoga when I need a break I rest in child's pose, but I had to just stand or sit straight up, because leaning my head down caused even more blood to rush and the pounding to worsen.

Looking around the room I wasn't the only one having issues, and even the seasoned veterans with perfect poses took many more breaks than I saw in my first class (in fact, I don't think anyone ever out right stopped the first day. Just take a second to towel off to take a drink, but no one ever laid down during standing poses). Midway throug the class a regular asked for fans, and the instructor turned them on, but by that point my body was way too fatigued. Later I heard someone telling the front desk that the class was fine but "she lost us all by letting the heat get too high"- so it seems that this instructor is new, and hopefully it is not always that bad.

I also managed to hurt myself during the "easy" part. There is a pose called locust pose that we did preperations for before doing the actual pose. This is kind of like "superman" that you do in gym class put with the hands beside you instead of in front. During the preparation the instructor had us lay flat on our stomachs with our hands under our thighs, I placed mine with my palms holding my thighs, but then realized her direction, and everyone elses hands were palms down. While rotating my right shoulder I had a painful pop in my shoulder, and had to stop the pose entirely, I couldn't even lay pain free with my arms down at my side- I had to put them out or above my head. It still hurts now, but more in my shoulder blade.

I'm going to keep trying to go- just once a week because I start work on Monday (!!!) but will probably not do hot yoga once the kirkwood yoga class starts. It probably won't have the same benefits- but is going to be a lot cheaper.

And the best part of the class today- Mona, a friend from skating who I taught adult classes for was there! I knew she did yoga, but it was such a nice surprise to see her. Sadly, I won't be able to do the day time class again and probably won't see her for a long time :(

Clapotis update

This is after straight repeat #5. I THINK I have enough yarn to do all 12 repeats. Having laid this out, now I am very worried that it won't be long enough.

I'm still back and forth whether I like it, and whether I think the fabric is to lose. Clapotis hasn't ever been my FAVORITE pattern, just one I always knew was there and that some people picked really pretty yarn for it. I chose it because I knew a lot of people succesfully knit it with Wollmeise, but I'm going to wait until I finish to decide if I'm keeping it.

I keep thinking if I run out of yarn it's going to be like 5 inches and I'm going to have to go on Ravelry and beg for it. So with that though in mind it cracked me up when someone PMed me asking for 10 yards of Knitpicks Essential sock yarn in Timber- she ran out of yarn doing the second toe.

I also had a very nice person in Ravelry's Loopy Groupy group offer to sell me (at cost) a skein of purple Wollmeise- so now it turns out that I'm NOT completely out of it! It's nice to think that another skein will be waiting for me- I think that one will be socks, as this one wasn't socks just because I didn't want all my WM to be "worn out". Scarves tend to not wear out as much as socks.

I didn't go to yoga today. I am still quite sore from yesterday and I was quite hungry when it came time to go. So I decided to not go. I know I'm lazy, but it's not like I completely gave up. I'll go tomorrow, and once this week is out I'll only go once a week.

Yoga

I have been noticing lately that I have lost a TON of flexibility. My spirals are lower than they were when I started skating. For the first time since middle school I can't go into right splits. Since I am not going to be doing synchro this year, I decided that I would take up yoga. I really loved the Pilates I did in Dayton, but I have not been able to find Pilates instruction that I like/can afford here in Coralville.

When I first started at ACT, I took an "intro to Yoga" class with a co-worker. I learned basic poses and enjoyed it, but the place was not close to me, and it was a pain to get to. The only yoga studio in Coralville is a hot yoga studio. Although I swear their sign used to say Bikram, it doesn't anymore and this was not a bikram class.

I decided to start with a 1 hour class, the majority of the classes they offer are 90 minutes, and if I go tomorrow it will have to be a 90 minute class. (They have a 1 hour yoga/pilates class, but as stated before I'm enough of a Pilates snob to believe that if you are mixing the two you aren't getting the true benefit of either.)

The class went really well. The instructor fiddled with heaters, humidifiers, and heat laps the whole time, and while I was sweating profusely - (actually dripping with sweat. I have never ever dripped with sweat in my life. The instructor who was mostly talking but did some demonstrating looked like she had just got out of the swimming pool. It must be exhausting to teach, as she would frequently go and stand in the doorway barely cracking it open to cool herself while we held poses.) -oops lost my train of thought. While I was sweating profusesly, I really didn't feel like it was unreasonably warm. I guess all those years of dancing outdoors on blacktop in Texas summers makes 105 seem comfortable (of course I never used to sweat then. I was chronically dehydrated).

The only discomfort I had was coming up from positions like downward facing dog where my head would throb for a moment or so as all the blood rushed from it, as it tends to do on a very hot day when you suddenly move position. And occasionally my legs would twitch uncontrollably. Though I think that was from the stretch and not the heat.

The only pose I did not try was camel- I stayed in the preperation pose with my hands on my back arching upwards. I though I would probably injur myself if I tried to lean back into the backbend like position.

My arm still really hurts today, though it didn't hurt much during the class. At one point it felt like it was burning- on fire burning- while the heat lamps on, which was very weird, as no other point of my body felt like that. I really wish I knew what was wrong with it. The PT did not seem to help more than temporarily. When I have my insurance back again (I do have insurance, I just don't know anything about it.) I will go and see if I can get imaging done.

If my legs can take it, I'm going to try class tomorrow. And skating tonight.