Failure #1

Well, I have to be the first one, I guess. I missed one of my days of practice.:( I went home for Easter weekend, visiting both mine and Todd's families, which is a good thing of course. But, though Easter was a great day for Jesus and all Christians, it wasn't so good for the 60-day yoga challenge. I did do my 15-minute yoga routine in the guest bedroom at my in-laws, complete with crazy, bouncing Kundalini frog bounces (where you squat on your heels with your knees bent and hands on the floor, and then you lift your rear-end so your knees straighten out, ending up in a forward fold. You do that -- kneel, straighten, kneel, straighten -- 26 times so your Kundalini energy really gets pumping). I did two minutes of yoga bicycles (like ab-crunches) and dolphin pose to work on my belly and arms, which really, really need to be stronger. So, I was feeling good about myself. Then, Saturday night into Sunday early morning, I absolutely couldn't sleep. Technically, I could kind-of cheat and say I DID do my yoga, because the whole night, I was practicing pranayama -- yogic deep breathing -- in an effort to fall asleep, but it seems my body and mind just couldn't quiet enough to allow me to sleep.

Needless to say (but I'll write it anyway), I had a great Easter day. I went to church with my parents, spent the day with both of my beautiful, inspiring grandmothers, my lovely sister and her husband and new puppy, and my husband. We ate an amazing dinner -- my dad grilled salmon with dill and lemon, and we made and ate our Ukrainian favorite, petihe, which is like a pirogi -- and we all laughed, talked, and relished the new spring sunshine. After it was all over, Todd was a dear and drove us back home in just under four hours. We got home and my body just quit. It said, "GO TO BED OR GO CRAZY." So, I took opted for my bed. There was nothing left in me for yoga that day.

Always in yoga, we are to remember to be kind to ourselves, so I'm trying not to feel guilty. This morning, I found a cool yoga podcast, where a teacher records her actual class in LA. I downloaded 11 new 1.5 hour classes, and I'm about to slip on the yoga pants and see what she has to offer. I'm still tired, but I know by 7PM tonight, I'll be back on track, energized, limber, and at peace. I didn't do yoga yesterday, but I'm going to do it today, tomorrow, and barring another interruption, another 39+ days in the future.

Namaste.