Day Seventeen: First Snow

Today was the first snow in Colorado for the season.  Denver was not messing around either.  We are up to 8″ and it’s still coming down.

The general thoughts on the early snowstorm have the majority of Coloradans split down the center, they are either a. stoked because the gnar is coming early  and it’s a sign of some serious shredding to come* or b. annoyed that winter is starting in October.  I’m of the first variety.  So much so, that I awoke with little tears in my eyes and ran to my rooftop to take pictures to send to my fiance that is in a place that never gets below 90 degrees.

So what would my workout be on a day that I’m so over-filled with gratitude?  You probably guessed it.  I decided to have my cup completely overflow and go to Core Power Yoga for a class.  I honestly think it was the best practice I have ever had.  This got me thinking, was my practice so great because my mind was so clear and happy or was my practice great because my body was warm again and moving?  Either way, I was a happy girl with a crow pose that stayed strong for 30 seconds.

I feel compelled to end this entry with the words love and gratitude.  How are you loving your world today?  What fills you with gratitude?  How can you make your cup overflow everyday?   The answers to those questions continually change.  I have got mine answered, at least for now.

*I should not be able to use the words shred or gnar.  Those words are reserved for bros.  A more acceptable sentence for a blonde blogging skier would be, “excited because the snow is coming early and it’s a sign of some amazing skiing to come.”

Day Sixteen: There Are No Mistakes

I typically decide my workouts a few days before I complete them.  Today’s workout was chosen four days ago when I realized how much I missed my yoga routine while I was out of town.  I chose a class at the closest Core Power Yoga studio to my house and found a time that worked for me.  Little did I know that the class that I had chosen, “yoga fusion” actually meant “our style of Bikram.”

I walked into the studio, wanting more than anything to have a nice vinyasa practice.  I was so excited about it that I fell asleep waiting for class to start (this is happening a lot lately, uhh?)!  When the instructor came in and asked us to start out with the Bikram style breathing exercises I felt defeated.  I woke up for my slumber on my mat for this?

After my first experience at a true Bikram studio a  few weeks back, (see: Day Three & Four: Too Hot To Handle) I had sworn off trying it again.  However, the yoga guardian angel that is watching my back (primarily when I’m in wheel) must have had a different plan.  To me, giving up after trying something once is a lot like just giving up.  Giving up after trying something twice means, “I stayed open to it and tried it again.”  So after deciding that there was no way I was walking out of a class as it started, I gave it a second try.  I enjoyed it a lot more this time around.  I also realized that I happen to love everything about a vinyasa style class, this just might not be my dig….and that’s ok.

Day Fifteen: All Over The Place

This morning I was going to use the stationary bike in my Dad’s basement for my workout.  That did not workout the way that I wanted.  I could not adjust the bikes resistance, which would have resulted in a poor workout. So I moved on to the elliptical.  I got on, pedaled twice and hit my head on the ceiling.  Fail times two.

Third up?  The rowing machine.  I did this for 15 minutes and then I got an idea, “this is going to be a workout to eradicate back fat.”  I got off the ergometer, grabbed some weights and did about ten different random sets.  I was confused.  Fourty minutes had gone by and I had zero clue what I did.  I was ALL OVER THE PLACE.

This workout reminded me of something I frequently ask my life coaching clients, “are you clear on what you want?”   If you’re not clear on what you want, then how are you going to get it?  The same thing applies to working out.  I can’t just go wing it and expect a great workout (unless of course, I am at a fully equipped gym).  Emotionally, a fully equipped gym looks a lot like being clear on what you want and building it over time.

Even though today’s workout was chaotic and made zero sense, I gave myself a huge acknowledgement for realizing only 15 days in that for 350 more days I need to have more clarity.  Clarity for what I want that day and for this entire challenge.  So here are my questions for you:  What do you want?  What are you doing to get it?  How will you continue to better it?  Just a little food for thought on a day that might be just as confusing to you as it is to me.