Lee, Cyndi. Om Yoga Today. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2004.
I jumped to Om Yoga Today because Sunday’s sequence from Om Yoga dull to me. I didn’t relish the idea of spending time in “restorative poses” first thing in the morning, especially since Lee suggests staying in each pose for 15-20 minutes. Yikes…or maybe Yawn.
So, Om Yoga Today it was. It’s Sunday and I had the time so I jumped to the 30 minute sequence (p60). I loaded up Yungchen Lhamo into the stereo and settled in. True to Lee form every pose was demonstrated in stick. Luckily, I picked up another yoga book with photos to supplement the stick and clear the confusion (review coming later). The best thing about OYT is the clear direction for repeating certain sequences. In the 30 minute session my favorite moves were side extended angle and star pose. The poses I *still* need to work on are pigeon (I found a perfect blanket to use for support) and half moon. I know I’m not as half as I should be. I think I’m more a quarter moon, waxing or waning, I’m not sure.
Today’s yoga sequence was perfect for today. I think I’ll call it my Sunday Sequence. B+
The third looking-for-money organization to contact me of the year is the Sierra Club. They started their spiel with, “Dear friend, I write to you today with a disturbing update.” Update? I’ve never belonged to the Sierra Club in my life. Does that make me AntiTreeHugger? Since when do I qualify for an “update”? In my packet of disturbance I was sent an info sheet on the giant sequoia, a bookmark of said sequoia, a bright yellow slip of paper announcing, “Sierra Club named America’s most effective environmental organization”, a two sided sheet of paper boasting the gifts of SC (backpack and subscription), a piece of paper announcing a battle won with a conservation-friendly Congress, two sticker calendars, an 8×14 card stock quality “sign me up form”, a two page hear-our-plea letter, and let us not forget the standard SC decal, the “act now” piece of paper and the envelope to send it all back in. Oh, and the oversized envelope this all arrived in. These people may care about the sequoia but they seem to have forgotten the trees from where their 14 pages of “update” came. Oh well.
I wasn’t sure I would get to yoga today…or that yoga would get to me. The weekends are going to be a little tough, I can tell. But, we connected, yoga and moi. Today was all about inversions. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t done a handstand since…not sure when. Let’s put it this way – I’m sure my last inversion wasn’t a yoga related move! Om Yoga describes inversions as, “the king and queen of all asanas” (p.95). Okay, I’m game. Again, I’m not going to outline the sequence; it’s just way too long – four pages. Most of it is prep for the actual inversions: forearm stand, handstand, L-shaped handstand, headstand, shoulder stand, and plow. I have three words for tonight’s practice: childish, guilty and fun! Childish because getting into the poses was half the fun. I was smiling if not giggling. Guilty because I imagined my grubby footprints on the cream colored wall behind me. Fun because I found I could get myself up and even balance for a few seconds without the wall. I was encouraged. This was my first time trying this sequence so it can only get better. Right?
Then it came time to chose contacts. I wear glasses in the bedroom and when I’m sick (for those of you keeping track). “You want to be noticed” Doc intones, matter-of-factually. I do? He’s nearing 70. What does he know? It’s plastic on my eyeball. I’ve always worn colors to cover what I considered freakish not to be stylish. I’ve always wanted my eyes to blend in, not stand out. Yet, here he is,showcasing Elizabeth Taylor violet. Umm…errr…that’s not what I had in mind. Not really. Hide freak (not Show off freak) is my motto.
So, I didn’t make it to see 
I picked up a few Cyndi Lee books to ward off falling off the practice yoga wagon. It all started when I went to a yoga instructor’s non-holiday party and ended up sharing stories of insecurity with another guest. We talked about being so out of practice, so out of shape that we were too intimidated, too insecure to go to class. How did one woman describe it? “You don’t go to class because you aren’t in shape. You don’t get in shape because you don’t go to class…and on and on.” It’s that job/experience dilemma. I decided I wanted to do something outside of class that will help me in class. Enter Cyndi Lee and her easy-easy books. I bought three.
New year resolutions. Who makes them? For the longest time I saved my (im)possible good intentions for my Birth Day. To me, that was my new year, my personal day to kick my own ass. I didn’t like January 1st promises. Just the thought of making resolutions on that particular day always seemed to spell failure, as if they could be jinxed from the very start. And they all sounded the same: exercising, flossing, drinking more water, drinking less beer, whatever. It always sounded so rote, so ridiculous. Butbutbut…there is something about wiping the slate clean, starting over. I like the idea of going into that confessional of promises and being able to come out brand new. To begin again.
