Things To Do

Sometimes I feel like I don't have enough to do. But today was one of those days when I did all the little things I should be doing, and of course, I proved to myself that I have plenty to keep me busy.

My day:

yoga
breakfast
shower
trip to co-op
prepare chicken in marinade for dinner
lunch
clean the dishes
start laundry
trip into town to get a new library book, and buy light bulbs, yarn, and a watch
take down yesterday's dry laundry and hang up wet laundry
practice guitar
write in blog

And here we are. Time to cook dinner and relax.

Small Accomplishments

My recent guitar practice has been somewhat frustrating. Having a musical background allowed me to speed through a lot of beginner stuff, but I've hit a wall and have had to slow down to what is probably a more normal pace. Imagine my dismay when I decided to move forward another page and saw F chord looking back at me! I was dreading the day when I would have to learn F. It requires that you hold two strings down with one finger, which is much harder to do than it might sound. So, instead of getting to learn any new songs (because I couldn't play the new songs until I could play F chord), I ended my practices for days contorting my poor fingers and squeezing the neck of the guitar until it hurt (my hand hurt, I haven't gotten any complaints from the guitar). And then yesterday I did it! I didn't play F chord in a song. But I did play it by itself. Progress.

Then, this morning while I was doing yoga I successfully held the arm balance I learned when I was in a yoga class during library school (to be fair, it doesn't look quite like that when I do it). I attempt it every time I do yoga and usually just waver into the pose and then come right back out of it again. But this morning I held it for five breaths. And I really felt balanced.

It can be hard to do the same thing day after day and keep getting it wrong. But the day you get it right it's all worth it!

Chaturanga Dandasana

I have gotten to really like running, to the point where I am kind of sad on the days when I can't run. The problem is that because of my flat feet, I get shin splints. I haven't been able to totally prevent them, but I avoid doing serious damage by taking days off when my shins hurt more than a little.

Yesterday was one of those days when I couldn't run. I did yoga instead. This turned out pretty well. My legs (which get stiff and sore in all kinds of places) felt amazingly good after my workout. I discovered some tight places that probably don't get stretched enough during running warm ups and cool downs. I even spent some time upside down, which is always fun.

But perhaps the funniest thing about my yoga routine is that I tend to try to do the same poses even when I haven't done yoga in a while. Chaturanga dandasana gets me every time. During my workout I may or may not actually be able to do it depending on how out of shape I am. Either way, I can hardly lift my arms over my head the next day. Running this morning was a pleasure. Washing my hair, not so much.