Days 360-363: The End of an Era

Day 363: After two and a half years at lululemon, I am sad to say that last Sunday I put in my two weeks notice to leave the company.  The part-time job  took me from an HR world filled with Fenway Franks and a lonely heart to a world filled with deep breathing, living with intention and more black luon than any one person should ever own.   The job has filled my life with more love, friends and happiness than I could have ever imagined.  It was one of the hardest decisions that I have had to make, however I felt like all the signs in the world have been pointing at me to go coach full-time.  Although it’s incredibly hard for me to do, I knew it was time.

Now I am filling my mind with how to get through the transition by filling my home office with as much happiness as I have gained in the last 2.5 years.  Hopefully I can send that on to my future clients.

With that being said, I went to my last staff meeting on Thursday morning and started with a 45 minute yoga flow led by my amazing co-worker, Jessica Lapham.  She led us through lots of community breathing and inspirational messages that made me teary-eyed for the newest transition in my life.

After work was done that day I came home and went on a quick 20 minute run to make me feel more at home in my home.

Day 361: On Friday I went for a 30 minute run in the snowy morning and was wondering the entire time what happened to Fall?  We seemed to have skipped that season in Denver this year!

Day 362:  Yesterday morning was another one of those, “how the heck am I going to fit in a workout?” type of days.  It really rattles me to the core when I feel stressed about how I will find the time, however, it always works out.  I took Mike to work at 6 a.m. and then went straight to Pura Vida gym for 45 minutes of cardio, followed by 15 minutes of weights and 10 minutes of abs.  Phew, got it in.

Day 363:  This afternoon my friend Katie and I went to my favorite Core Power Yoga on Broadway for a C2 class.  She introduced me to yoga five years ago by taking me to Pura Vida, where I fell on my face attempting crow pose in my first class.   After I let go of my ego, I eventually came back to the practice and it’s now changed my life in a way I never would have thought possible.  Namaste Katie, Namaste.

Days 250-252: Vipr’s

Day 250:  lululemon athletica in Cherry Creek celebrated their new store opening this Sunday by closing down the streets and hosting an inspiring yoga class led by Billy Potocnik with DJ Roger Martin-Pressman (both awesome instructors from Pura Vida).   I settled myself in next to a woman who practiced with Billy on a regular basis and prepped for a nice easy Sunday flow.  I was so so very wrong.

Nice?  Yes.  Easy?  Far from it.  I am estimating that there were over 100 chaturangas in the 75 minute class, along with crow, side-crow, birds of paradise and something called a “crocodile,” which scared me too much to try on a cement street with new veneers.   Although it was incredibly challenging, I realized it was the most fun class I have ever had outside.  I was able to tune out the sounds of the streets, the comments of my neighbors and the dirt all over my mat in order to get deeper into my practice.

It reminded me a lot of when I wait for things to be perfect before I make a move.  The noises, wind, smells of nearby restaurants and my filthy mat were far from perfect, but it did not keep me from practicing my heart out.  It made me realize that things do not have to be perfect in order for the experience to be great- it’s the experience itself that holds perfection.

Day 251:  Yesterday my friend Sarah and I started the day out with a five-mile walk in Washington Park after a stop at Washington Perk.  I am starting to sound like a broken record.

Onto something new…

After months of relentless coaxing my friend/newest enemy/Bonza Bodies owner, Jamie Atlas, finally convinced me to take one of his classes.  He started off the class by asking me when I was getting married and followed that by a “good, we still have time” comment that made me want to throw my newest workout instrument, the vipr, his way.  Noooo, well kind of.

The class is like a bootcamp on steroids with a little bit of Australian humor sprinkled on top.  We did an hour of circuit work using trx-like bands, viprs (video demo here)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWuD7D1IdUw, railyards, planks with sliding weights, squats, sandbells, running, more planks and lots of other things that I have partially blocked out of my memory.  I was sweating more than I sweat in a hot yoga class and woke up numerous times last night after rolling onto sore body parts.  In short?  The class was fantastic and I am hooked and hoping that the intensity of the class preps me even more for our wedding in two months- to the day.  #backfatisnotafriend

Day 252:  With an incredibly sore body, I decided on another long walk.  I walked for an hour this morning before it got too hot out and plan on pulling out the TRX a little later in between clients for a quick pick-me-up.

*A note for Ohio readers:  On Thursday I will be back in Columbus for five days and am looking for workout partners.  If anyone is interested, please shoot me an email! 

Days 151-153: Saving Sunlight

Day 151:  On Saturday morning my gal pal, Jenny, and I went to Kindness Yoga in Cherry Creek for a “kinda hot” yoga class.  Thirty minutes into the class the instructor asked me if I had ever practiced that type of yoga before (I have, lots of times), after that, my ego clouded my mind with thoughts of doubt in my practice.  I have been practicing yoga for two years and my ego felt defeated.  I had to hold back my thoughts and remind myself that yoga is not about skill level, it’s about being able to quiet my mind and look deeper inside.    Realllllll deep….. 🙂

Day 152: Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of a horrific event that shook my life, the lives of my friends, co-workers and a close-knit community.  There were feelings of extreme sadness, fear, doubt, bewilderment and every other emotion on the spectrum.  March 11th would now be marked as a day that changed the lives of many loved ones and my own self.

I walked two miles into lululemon and thought about all of the emotions that I felt one year ago.  The fear rushed back into my body quicker than I imagined, but it was replaced with a sense of peace in knowing that this year has come to a close.  Regardless of the closure, there is no manual on how one should feel when going through a traumatic event.  The feelings still overwhelm me to think about, so I tackle them one by one…at an incredibly slow and manageable pace.

So how did I sweat on that dreadful one year mark?  I practiced yoga with six other lululemons and with an outstanding instructor, Roger Martin-Pressman.  Roger talked about daylight savings and the theme of our class was how to “save sunlight” in our lives.  It seemed incredibly fitting, seeing as how last year it felt like sunlight was briefly taken away.  He said that in order to bring light into our lives we have to be able to embrace the dark.  Embrace the dark- sometimes that’s incredibly hard to do.  Without the dark, the sun wouldn’t be so welcomed and spectacular.  Although there are some things that take place in life that we will never understand, I can find peace in loving the light and knowing that beautiful souls in heaven contribute to the light the warm our lives.

Day 153:  Today Mike and I skied in Keystone for two hours in the morning and then came back to the hot sunny Denver and hopped on our road bikes for ten miles.  Ski boots + riding shoes (in the same day) =  #coloradorocksmyworld.

Day 59: One Dozen Lemons

There were twelve lululemons that showed up for a 6:00 a.m. Anusara yoga class with Roger at Pura Vida.  Douc.  Douze.  12.   That’s a lot of team inspiration at such an early hour.

Whenever I was in downdog I had a full view of all my co-workers behind me.  I was in awe of all of the (upside-down) women that were breathing, sweating, practicing and uniting on their mats.  At the end of class one of my friends hugged me and said, “practicing next to you makes me feel so peaceful.”  I am writing that with the humblest of intentions because my practice still feels like just that; a practice.  I am constantly calming my heart, my mind and my body.  To have someone say that my being feels peaceful added a sense of ease to my practice and to my day.

What a beautiful way to sweat and start the day.  Thanks to all who made me smile today before I even had the energy to wipe away yesterday’s makeup.

Day 40: Lost In Drishti

Drishti means “vision” or “sight” in Sanskrit and is often used in yoga practice to remind the practitioner to hold focus on a certain object.  Tonight I practiced power vinyasa yoga at lululemon in Cherry Creek during their weekly Vino & Vinyasa.  To say that it was intense is an understatement.

The instructor, Jessica from Qi, had us doing one-legged flows, mountain climbers and more chaturangas than I thought my arms could bare.   I have gone to a few different classes at our store and have found that it’s hard for me to focus on my practice while I am in a yoga store that I happen to love working at.  Tonight was the exception and hopefully the new standard.  When the instructor started I lost myself.  I forgot my surroundings, held my focus and had an incredibly challenging practice that I did not know could happen while surrounded by thousands of black stretchy pants.

Sweat + shoulder stands + lululemon = gratitude.  My cup runneth over!

Day 38 & 39: Fartleks and Sparkles

Day 38:  Some people are blessed with a stomach of steel and others are given the short straw with a intestinal disorder at the end of it.  Unfortunately, I drew the short straw by being a part of the Salzler family.  Yesterday was one of the days when I was cursing my parents for allowing their stomach issues to be passed on to another generation.  Working out proved to be difficult.

I decided to stay home and use the only yoga video that I have in my household.  Five years ago I had a tug to complete yoga, but was too scared to try it in a studio.  In comes the MTV yoga workout with a sweet DJ and a Real World character- sold! I tried it for a few days back then and was so frustrated that I did not commit.  Yesterday I did the hour-long video and could not remember why I thought it was so difficult five years ago.  The only problem I was having this time around was keeping my cat off of me while on the floor (ex: the picture of me doing down dog and Jack’s darling butt right next to me).

Day 39:  I have been running 10 minute miles for the six years that I have been running consistently.  That is not an exaggeration, I have not become any faster over the years.  Today I ran the 6.4 mile loop from my house to Washington Park and back.  When I was about four miles in I realized that my breathing was not stressed at all.  I remembered back to my lululemon run club days in Georgetown and a run ambassador that told us we had to insert fartleks into our runs if we wanted to run faster.  What is that awesome word?  A fartlek is a sprint worked into your run to help create endurance and build-up speed.  After mile four I added in five fartleks and felt my legs get heavier.  I really hope that they help because at some point I’d like to be able to break my 10 minute curse.

As for the sparkles?  Some women wear cocktail dresses with sparkles, I wear lululemon running shorts with sparkly bling!  It’s just how I fartlek….

Day 35 & 36: Toughening Up

Day 35: Some days my heart is not into working out and some days I can get into it just by trying.  Unfortunately, the latter is true of my workout yesterday.  I went to Core Power Yoga for a C2 class and could not quite get any pose into any poses’ full expression, I kept losing my balance and could not keep a clear mind.  I left feeling frustrated and sad, but reminded myself that there will always be days like this.  Gently, I told myself how important it is not to let my crappy days carry into my other days.  So I visualized letting that workout go the second I left the studio.

Day 36: Today being a clean slate I decided to go to a lululemon “class in mass” (a group of co-workers go to a class together) at Pure Barre in Cherry Creek.  Those classes always overly beat up my hips and let me know that I am not that flexible.  They are killer workouts and I always love the way I feel the second it’s over, but I do not think that there is a minute that goes by in class that I’m enjoying myself.  I actually caught myself snarling in the mirror at one point.   However, if I do continue to go consistently I guarantee that my hips will be thrilled that they are missing some extra love and my arms will be stoked that the jiggle has stopped.

After two days of rough workouts I am going to do my favorite workout tomorrow.  Whatever workout feels like an overly joyous activity tomorrow I will complete….and love it, with every muscle fiber in my bod.