Blessing

Last week I got back to swimming.  Every time I go I can’t believe I am not swimming every single day.  And yet, I don’t do it for a very simple reason:  I have to go somewhere to swim.

I am blessed.  I have a whole studio full of weights and Pilates equipment.  I have my very own spin bike and two other bikes.  I have mats and bands and rollers and all kinds of implements of destruction (as Arlo would say).  I also have a dog who compels me to get up before the sun and walk.  There are so many super easy ways for me to exercise that it feels like a whole lot of work to put together a gym bag, get in the car, and swim.

There are (at least) two things to learn from this.  One is that we can make stuff easy on ourselves.  Exercise can be enough work all by itself; getting TO the exercise should be as easy as possible so we don’t waste our precious energy and motivation before we even start.  The second is that sometimes it is worth it to make a little extra effort to do something we really enjoy.  Swimming makes me happy.  Catching a whiff of the shower-surviving chlorine on my skin later in the day gives me a jolt of energy (yes, I am weird like that, but hey, I’m happy!).  I like my morning dog walks, but I really feel like a whole new human after swimming.  That seems worth a little effort, if not every day at least more often.

We can do this.

Monday Workout: Four!

I love my three-round workouts, but sometimes we need to mix things up a bit.  This week, we have four rounds.  They’re shorter rounds, but just as much work!  For the minute of cardio, choose anything you like.  In the studio, we usually use the Xiser, but a jump rope or bike or just plain running around works fine.

1 min cardio
Bosu squats	20
Arnold press	10
mountain climbers	20
deadlifts	20
burpees	10
pretty princesses	10

Friday Book Report: Inside the Yoga Sutras

I began a 200-hour yoga teacher training course about a year and a half ago, but did not complete it because I got to have a hysterectomy instead.  I did get to keep the books, and the extra books I got because I am that kind of student.  I am working my way through those books.  Inside the Yoga Sutras by Reverend Jaganath Carrera is one of them.

It was a slog.

I understand that translation is difficult and I’ve been told that translating Sanskrit is particularly complex due to the way words interact with each other to change meaning.  Maybe so, but isn’t the job of the translator to make something more or less intelligible to the reader?  Especially if there is plenty of room for commentary, and the commentary is actually what the book is for?

I am sure I am hampered in my understanding by the unfortunate fact that I’m a white chick raised in a different spiritual tradition.  I don’t mean to imply that there is not something in the sutras worth finding; just that I’m not finding it in this particular commentary/translation.  It may be that I’m not ready to hear what this version has to say and I need the easy reader version for now.

It’ll be on the studio shelf if anyone wants to borrow it.