stretch

yeah..I know.  My friend Kelly even sent me an email with just *kick* in it.  You stop working out and it is twice as hard to get it up and running again.  

Happy New-ish Year to you.  I have missed you and hope that you are living an extroidinary life in 2011.  At the moment I am conjuring up things to write about while Anthony Bourdain is enjoying the French countryside...eating lovely brie and drinking wine from the vineyard that he is visiting.   I hope you are doing the same.  He was just served an enormous scary French looking fish..with the head..and teeth.   I think I will turn off the Travel Channel now and get that image out of my head.  I hope you are not eating a large fish with teeth.  Maybe some nice smoked salmon with a French Chardonnay or perhaps Champagne.  Champagne sounds good right now..but that huge fish freaked me out and I am a bit afraid to walk into the kitchen.  I have the TV on mute, so I couldn't hear any of the quipiness that Anthony Bourdain is so good at.  I bet he had a good line about the fish that I could have ripped off..but alas..now I am just stuck with the grey ghost of a perch.  OK  TV is off.

Wonderful happenings here in Wilkinsland.   We had a beautiful end of 2010.  Celebration after celebration and virtually no one got hurt.  A few hangovers and perhaps a few Chimays too many at The Auslander in Fredericksburg, Texas..and maybe some of our friends showed an interesting side to them when they kind of..well yes..they drank to  to the beat of thier own drummer and fell on a family of 4 in the front row.  Other than that..it was quite nice.  Ok and maybe our son got one of the scariest looking black eyes in history while playing indoor baseball with a ping pong ball and paddle at 1 am with a bunch of kids.     Oh yeah and maybe some of our friends thought they were 19 again and did not stretch before the big birthday wiffle ball game and pulled some random  muscles.  Other than that..it was pain free and pretty.  In order,  here is our last 2 months:  ( this is not my excuse for not writing..just a journey of a very busy life...)  ( Lori McKenna has 5 children, a husband a home and still finds time to write new songs and play gigs and be a mom) (just been busier and fell into the fluffy bed before I could actually even think about writing)  (I know..5 kids)

Ah forget it.  Lost my fuel and need to explain my absence.   Let me just tell you that it has brought me to this place right now.  This place of renewal and exuberance.   This zest for art and the creation of it.  This jumping off of sorts, into new territory.  This whole amazing..hey..is that cake?  I would love some cake right now.  I am seeing cake in the corner of my eye.  Some people see spirits in the evening when everything is quiet..but for some reason I just saw a piece of chocolate cake with rasberry filling and a light mocha frosting.  If I wasn't still so apprehensive about getting out of my seat and missing the opportunity to engage you in a life altering oratory..and if I still wasn't afraid of the scary perch, I would go and find myself something that resembles cake in our house.  I think if I put together some old Christmas candy and a donut, I might be satisfied.  Might just wash it down with some champagne too.

So I tried Hot Yoga.  Bekam or Berkahm or Berkshire or Berkrim or Bleeker Yoga.  Something like that..a week ago.   This new year I decided to "stretch".  Go beyond my comfort zone.  Turning 45 last year really bummed me out.  Turning 46 this year really fired me up.  So I signed up for a new adventure.   I was totally shocked that Cedar Park, Texas..proud home of  Chilis and Walmart had a Yoga Studio so hip and on the cutting edge.  I had to try it.  It was either belly dancing with Zelda or Bekrim yoga.  I decided yoga.    Plus they were running a special.  I read the waiver, payed my month in advance and signed up.  I then walked into the dressing room..feeling quite zen-ny..and prepared my mind and body for something new and cleansing.   I then walked mindfully to the door of the studio.  Looked inside at the fit and shiny people quietly stretching and I slowly opened the door.   I stepped insi...holy HELL it is f ing hot in here.  It feels like Houston.   Then I remembered that is was indeed HOT yoga..not sweet falalalalla stretchy- stretch and find oneness yoga.  No.  What the..Who the..Where the..WHY?  Why why why why why why are we doing yoga in 105 degrees?  Then I was informed that the lesson will last 19 minutes.  Whew.  19. I can do that.  What???  90?  Pretty sweaty yoga lady..did you just say 90 minutes?  

I really tried to open my chakras and find balance.   I really tried to go beyond my limitations and push my body to the limit.   I was peaceful and fainty all at the same time.  I counted 12 times in 90 minutes that I thought I was going to pass out.  I heard a voice say..quietly.."Work through it"..."It will take about 5 classes is a row to get your body used to the heat and the stretch"   "You are doing great"  "Tina..can you hear me?"  " Tina, you look like you are really connecting with your body"  " Tina..you are supposed to stay the entire 90 minutes to get the full effect" "Tina..please do not disturb the other students with your cussing" 

  Oh sure I felt fabulous after the 90 minutes.  Who wouldn't when one walked outside into 60?  I was A LIVE!!!   Needless to say I have not gone back.  Check mark.   Tried something new.  I am sure that I would have reached enlightenment after one month of study..but maybe it would have erased all the funny out of me.  I didn't want to chance that.

So onto the next adventure.    Maybe we as non hot yogies are living in a fog.  Maybe we will not ever feel the clarity of oneness with our spleen.  I for one will stick to TV yoga, imaginary chocolate cake,  champagne, the goodness of friends and the ever healing power of music to get me to the next level.   I promise you that I will put my hands together and make a stirrup for you to put your foot in to help you too. 


January 24th 2011
11:08 pm

* spell check was not working..sorry for the errors:)