Rob - Days 33-35: Patterns

I'm beginning to figure out where I tend to fall off the train. This week, and last, I missed practice on Thursday and Friday. See what I've come to realize that while an evening practice is possible, it's tough. I'm best served by making sure that I make it to Mysore in the morning.

Thursday is the toughie. I sign in the Mysore class at the studio and then head straight to work. By the time I come home I'm exhausted and have no strength or motivation to practice. I think I'm going to hold on to Thursday as my optional day of rest. I mean, it's not completely keeping with the original intent of this project. However the MAIN intent of the project was to observe the process of a consistent practice. With that being said I've observed that I really need that day both for the sake of my schedule and my body. But Friday is another matter. If I'm going to take Thursday as rest I'm going to need to be vigilant about making it to Friday Primary class.

So what does this all have to do with patterns? Well, I've realized that my challenges with those days (Friday specifically) have come from my complacency with my diet. Now many would argue that I'm healthy, and sadly by American standards I'm way healthier than the rest. I maintain a Vegan diet and try to avoid processed food, etc. However since this experiment began and my schedule's gotten booked I've really fallen back into some bad habits. This has created a drag on my system which makes it hard to wake up in the morning even when I go to bed early and thus miss morning practice.

Mainly I've stopped cooking and have relied on prepared foods. Now this isn't necessarily all bad but its expensive and greatly increases my chances of eating crap. Confession: I've been eating at Burger King (GASP!) more often than I would care to (which is not at all). They have a Veggie Burger and my roomies go there a lot so it's an easy choice. I've also been neglecting to eat enough fresh veggies mainly due to my not preparing my own food.

So what am I going to do? Well, the cooking is going to be a bit of a challenge but it's something I'm going to work towards fitting into my schedule. In terms of prepared foods I'm going to stick to the least processed, highest quality foods I can get. Probably mainly from TJ's and Whole Foods.

I'm also making a conscious effort to eat less. It's so easy when we follow a Vegan or other healthy diet to go out of control with portions. Now I'm not trying to lose weight. It would probably be really unhealthy for my weight to drop any lower. What I am going to work greatly on is eating smaller portions of healthier foods. I've really come to realize how much big portions of caloricaly dense foods slow me down. The past few days I've been monitoring portions and only eating till I'm full. I already feel much better.

I may expand on this as I progress but I think those two steps are a great place to start.

Now what does this have to do with my practice? Well, EVERYTHING! I have forgotten how instrumental the entire diet and outside life is to a successful practice. Sure, I've been doing my Asana and getting great results. But I know deep down that by implementing these bigger changes my other practices will be greatly assisted. I'll feel better and actually have the energy to practice every day (or almost every day at least).

Just to check in. Asana is going swimmingly. I'm progressing very steadily I would say. This is the first time I've ever been so consistent for so long and I can definitely tell. I won't go into too many details, I'll save for a later post.

Another project: renewing my Dharma Practice (It's also going great but I'll also save that for another blog entry)

Final Project: Get back to writing on here every day! I have so much to talk about and it really helps me check in and keep focus.

Stay tuned for the continued evolution of this process. And if you're one of my friends, either real life or online, please help keep an eye on me! One of the main reasons I started this blog was so that I would have public accountability. I love hearing from you guys and appreciate all your support!

Heather - Day Two

Today may have been the hardest day of all. I just DID not want to practice after working all day. Mostly because I found out that my license has been suspended for five years now unbeknownst to me due to a speeding ticket I don't even remember getting. It was a VERY expensive ticket! So after spending almost three hours trying to figure out what happened and get it all arranged, I was a little down and definitely in the mood to pacify myself with episodes of South Park or phone conversations with friends and family rather than practice even thirty minutes of yoga!

But I did it. My hamstrings and quads were begging me for attention - being a little sore from the day before and after all, I had made a commitment: I wasn't about to call it quits on the second day for goodness sake!

So I put on a short dharma talk by Ajahn Sucitto which was really more of a guided meditation centered in the breath and proceeded through about thirty minutes of yin yoga. Honestly? It was a relief. Physically, mentally, emotionally, I felt better, more at ease afterwards. I think I slept better as well, though I usually don't have problems with sleep anyway. I was glad I did it regardless of the trepidation and laziness I was feeling so strongly at the time. It is amazing, how, even when we know it to be true from past experience, we can forget how much better healthy habits make us feel. It is so seductive and easy to fall back on the little habits of mindless TV, a cigarette, or a hot fudge sundae we have or have had to lean on in the past for comfort or convenience when it seems like too much effort to address the true needs of our bodies, minds, and spirits.

WishinG you happiness and metta from a little dot in the universe called Boston,
Heather