Navigating through my seventies

Half-moon (Ardha Chandrasana) pose

Last Sunday I had my hour-long private session with Denise, my yoga instructor. She took this picture of me, once I was able to get into the half-moon pose, with plenty of instruction. It's one I haven't been able to accomplish before. First of all, I am using the wall behind me to help. Plus the use of the wooden block is also essential. A good yogi would not need it, but as you can see, there's a lot of distance between my hand and the floor. The hips are supposed to be "stacked" one on top of the other, and I couldn't quite manage that, but it gives me something to work towards. I asked Denise to take this picture so I could see myself in the pose.

I learned so much in that session! Just to remind you how I ended up with this hour of instruction, I was the happy recipient of a raffle drawing at the party for BKS Iyengar's 100th birthday. I had taken the 100-day challenge and managed to complete fifteen minutes or more every day of yoga for 100 straight days in order to enter the drawing. One would think that it would have been long enough for me to have incorporated some yoga into my daily routine, but as soon as I had filled out the chart, I took several days off. I am taking two classes every week right now, and I manage to get some light stretching in every day, but I didn't feel I was doing the poses properly. The session has given me some pointers to be aware of as I practice in my home.

It's one thing to be one person in a class and quite another to be the ONLY other person in the room with your instructor. Denise is a magnificent teacher, and she also sent me an email later in the day with pointers to work on for the several poses that we practiced. I also learned the best ways to warm up and what to pay more attention to. I feel incredibly blessed to have this yoga studio as part of my world, with all its exceptional instructors.

As I sit here in the bed, with my partner sleeping quietly next to me, I am pondering what I will do with the day, other than the usual trip to the coffee shop. Finally, I notice that the wind has died down. We've just experienced another strong and uncomfortable windstorm, with the harsh wind coming down from Canada, cold and unremitting for days now. I forget how much that can wear on you, the sound of it, the frightening howl as it circles the apartment. We are in the far north end upper apartment, with three walls exposed to the wind, whereas the others have more protection from it. I suspect we have the largest heating bills in our apartment complex after such an event, but frankly it is worth it to have the warmth. We keep our apartment cool, never putting the thermostat above 64 (17°C) and adding more clothes instead of turning up the heat. We also use space heaters for direct heat if needed.

Yesterday the wind kept our usual Saturday walk from happening, although we did meet at the designated place, seven of us, but the strength of the cold wind made us decide to skip the walk and instead enjoy coffee together. Usually I take Sundays off from exercise, but since I did very little yesterday, I'm thinking I might take a trip to the Y for some exercise. Or maybe I'll be able to actually walk around outdoors, now that the wind has died down. It's cold outside, 18°F (-8°C), but without the wind, I can warm up quickly with a brisk walk. As has been said before, it's all a test of finding the proper clothing. I know how much better I feel after I've raised my core temperature with exercise.

And we've got more winter weather to come. Right now we are in a winter weather advisory, but I'm hoping that as it develops it will not be as bad as they predict. In the last storm, while we got plenty of wind, the areas to the south of us, like Seattle, got lots of snow. Compared to what the rest of the country (especially the Midwest) has endured, we are happy to have our relatively mild winter conditions. I can say that now, because we haven't lost power and are comfortable. Since all our heat is electric, it would be a very different story if we didn't have it. I just gave myself a shiver of anticipation of that level of cold. Brrr! Let's hope for the best.

I keep having to stop to put my cold fingers under my covers for a minute or two and am thinking that maybe I should get one of those space heaters to warm myself up a little. It doesn't help to be writing about cold; I can't seem to think about anything else other than (1) my cold hands, (2) my stiff neck, or (3) having to venture out from under my warm covers to do anything about it. The stiff neck has been bothering me ever since my session with Denise, and I think I might have overdone it just a little. Either that, or it's just another one of those annoying aspects of being old. I am rarely without aches and pains somewhere, but I mostly ignore them unless I can find a solution. Like back pains and stiff necks, which usually resolve within a short while, time is the best medicine.

What else? I am beginning to think that it must be getting to be time to get up, start my day, and warm my hands over the heater. My tea grew cold sooner than usual, and I notice that it's only 57°F here in the bedroom, and that's after I turned the heat up to 64. Time for some activity to warm me up, I suspect. Writing requires sitting and pondering, while the rest of me wants to move. Must be time.

In any event, I hope that you, my dear readers, have some wonderful exploits this coming week, filled with light and love, as we move ever forward towards springtime. Perhaps we are all ready, during the month of February, to look ahead to warmer days (or, for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, respite from the heat) on this brand new day. I hope you will be well and happy until we meet again next week. That's what I wish for myself, too.