Sunday 26 February 2012

Spin certified, wha?!

It's been a while since this happened but I just realized I never blogged about it but... after a day of sitting, and learning, and riding, I am now an "indoor cycling coach", certified by Schwinn! Whoohoo!

This is really exciting because spinning was one of the first things that I got hooked onto when I started my weight loss journey in 2005 and joined the Central YMCA. Chris' Wednesday night 5:45pm classes (for which I'd line up to sign up for and rush to set up my bike, get my core work done and fit in a strength training workout) were a way for me to get lost in another world (usually one involving Abba music!) and really giv'r without the physical impact on my body. I enjoyed the dark room and the loud music as it was me and my heartrate and I felt so strong that I always won the race!

Now that I'm certified, I hope to maybe start teaching but I'm in no rush to do so. I'm just excited to be able to create playlists I've always dreamed about creating. I have for a long time spent workouts dividing songs that come up on the iPod as a good rolling hills song, a great "sprint to the finish line" tune, or an amazing standing climb beat. If you've got a favourite studio, let me know, I'd love to check it out! Or if you have killer playlists, feel free to share them with me!

Saturday 25 February 2012

NYC, 2012

Of course, I come back every time, more in love with NYC.

This trip was definitely not as whirlwind as previous trips and I could have fit more in. But it was nice to just feel not rushed and to be able to do things on a whim and to have part of my routine as per usual.

In terms of documenting, it was a hipstamatic trip - that was fun! I decided to take all photos from my phone, on my favourite app - and so I've compiled my trip into little highlight reels (in no particular order)... hope you enjoy!




Moksha Yoga NYC! I was so excited to get to stop by there and feel the energy and vibe of the space. On 6th avenue and 10th street, MYNYC is a second story corner studio with lots of natural light, great energy (because of the uber amazing co founders!), and is an extension of the amazing Moksha sangha that's growing. It was so inspiring to leave so much sweat behind in a christening of sorts in this space and I can't wait to go back!


Yoga was on my mind a lot while I was in NYC. In particular because I was/am injured and needed to find my peace with this and keep up the walking, the sightseeing, and all the fun stuff you do when in the Big Apple. I'm a big fan of striking my yoga asana vogue in different places I travel to and what I love about doing it in NYC is that everyone is too cool to even do a double take. So what if that lady is doing toppling tree in front of Flatiron? Boooring. So when visiting "The Treats Truck", whose location you find via Twitter on a daily basis, owner and founder Kim and I struck a pose in front of her truck. After the photo was taken, I ate an amaaaazing peanut butter jam sandwich cookie in about 4.8 seconds. Deelish.


Total highlight of my trip - because there's something so magical about running in Central Park - were my runs in NYC. They *almost* made the pain disappear! On the Sunday, I ran a 23km for my LSD marathon training. It's cool because Manhattan is so small square footage wise that you get to cover a lot of ground on a long run. I started in midtown east and headed over to 1st to try to do a bit of the route that is done for the NYC marathon. I went through East Harlem, Harlem, Central Park, Upper West Side, down through Times Square, Chelsea, over and down to Union Square, Gramercy Park, headed east to the East Village and back to the Waldorf-Astoria. On my Tuesday run, I went through the Park again, going the RIGHT direction this time (etiquette is to run counter clockwise through the park and around the Jackie O. Reservoir)!



The New York City Library is such a great piece of architecture. I could spend hours touching stonework and woodwork, staring at ceiling art, and recounting the scene from Ghostbusters in the main hall. The lions guarding the library (Patience and Fortitude, or as I for some reason always remember them - Charity and Chastity!) are gorgeous and I always kick myself for not buying the book end replicas in the gift shop when I go. This time, there were replicas made entirely of LEGO in the Library (top left). Super duper cool!



Cool eats: The top photos were taken from the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station and really, I was excited about going because there's a scene in Mad Men with Sterling and Draper in this place. We sat at the bar and ordered fried oyster po boys, crab cake sandwiches and oysters on the half shell. At Big Daddy's Diner, I was shocked at how many things on the menu could have over 3,000 calories. The guys next to me with the 4 waffles and 4 pieces of fried chicken with butter and syrup had the winner I think. That was not a prize I wanted to take! While I don't have any pictures of the delicious Ukrainian birthday dinner I had, I recommend Ukrainian East Village restaurants while you're in the city.



Took a lot more subway than I normally do this trip and that's okay too. I enjoy it now that I know how not to get lost. And I like the performers in the stations. Have some great videos if you ever wanna see.



Another highlight of the trip and primary reason for visiting was the last home game of the regular season for the Wagner Seahawks! They played an awesome game, winning by 20 points and had some great plays throughout the whole game. I always say it but I find college ball so much better to watch and follow than NBA. They play to win. The stakes are so high. And they commit! This will be the last NCAA I see Tyler play in and I can't wait to see what the future holds in store for this superstar!


A few architectural shots. The Waldorf-Astoria, was so luxurious and reminiscent of a time of wealth and show were so abundant for social primacy. The clock, featured on the right above, sits in the lobby of the Walforf-Astoria and weighs 2 tons and stands 9 feet tall. It was executed for the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and features the likenesses of Cleveland, Harrison, Washington, Grant, Lincoln, Franklin, Jackson and Queen Victoria on each of the 8 sides. It rings Westminster chimes on the quarter hour and fills the lobby. I also got to visit the Merchant Museum which was educational, fun, and totally unassuming (in an old brownstone semi) so not busy at all. I recommend checking it out! (bottom left photo is the dining room).



A few documented but not featured pictures and notes from the trip:
Recycling - still hard to find, pretty much anywhere. Moksha NYC has it (yay!), as does the Tenement. All public bins I find (the few I find - I spotted 3 (Central Park, Staten Island Ferry terminal, and Union Square) are usually filled with garbage. Sigh.
Tenement - has moved its gift shop to a larger, bigger, better place. Capital project success and so happy for them!
Broadway - saw Other Desert Cities but lead Rachel Griffiths (Brenda from 6 feet under) was being understudied that day. Judith Light and Stockard Channing were gold though.

Friday 17 February 2012

March teaching and running

March! That's pretty much the home stretch before spring right?

YOGA!

Moksha Yoga Danforth (Danforth and Chester)

Friday March 2 and 30: 6:30am 75 minute Moksha and Friday, March 2: 8:30pm 60 minute Karma
Sunday March 4 and 11: 1:30pm - 60 minute Community class
Monday March 5 and 12: 6:30 am - 75 minute Moksha class

Moksha Yoga Downtown (Bathurst and Wellington)
Tuesday March 6, 13, and 27: 9:45pm - 60 minute Moksha class

Moksha Yoga St Clair (at St Clair and Oakwood)
Saturday March 10: 12:15pm (60 Moksha) and 2:00pm (90 Moksha)
Saturday March 17: 12:15pm (60 Moksha) and 2:00pm (90 Moksha) and 4:00pm (60 Moksha)
Photo by Joshua Roy - check out his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/#!/RunPaparazzo
Also, yoga conference is on March 29 - April 1! I am doing some workshops and classes on the 29th and 30th! Come check it out!

RUNNING!
Run Club - Lululemon Eaton Centre every Thursday nights at 6:30pm (approx 5-6km) and Saturday mornings at 8:45am (or meet at the North West corner of Queen and University at 9am). Various paces, various distances! Do it!

Running with Commerce Court Running Room with the marathon clinic Sunday mornings at 8:30am! Distances gradually increase! If you're not up to long loooong distances, there are other distances that run out of CCRR on Sundays! Come check it out!

First race of the season: Sunday March 25 - Around the Bay 30km! Hamilton (the Hammer) - come out and cheer!

Look up when you walk

You never know what you might miss otherwise.

Encounters in Toronto today with my head held up high made my heart grow.

Yoga for Runners

Quad burnage is GOOD!


I had me a fun time talking yoga to runners at the Queen West Lulu run club this week. We covered some strength, stability and balance principles, went for a run (except I ducked out after 4km due to pain. Bah!), and then incorporated some of the stretching, flexibility and breathing elements in a mini class post run. It was a good crew and I always enjoy teaching in a 'workshop' type setting, especially with people who have a lot of body awareness for a sport (running) and are looking to complement it with my other passion (yoga), and exploring with them, through Q&As.

As I develop in my teaching, I am working on developing a yoga for athletes class - but one that not only covers the basics of stretching tight areas and building muscular imbalances in runners and cyclists, but that incorporates core strengthening in typically weaker areas, yin, letting go of the ego, mindfulness and aspects of yoga that can allow one to reach 'zen running' and more. I look forward to working on this and gaining tips through various continuing education workshops at the Yoga Conference this year. So stay tuned for that, hopefully to be something I can have in place to offer by late 2012 (after all my training and running is out of the way for the fall season too!) - perhaps at a clinic near you.
Ahh, pigeon. A love hate for the runner near you!
One of many references to the core.

I seem to need a bit more FotC in my life these days

Outreach and learning

Giving Helping others Selfless Yoga off the mat Educating Reaching out Community Extending Engagement Open

These are all things I think about when I think of the concept of outreach. My initial thought for the "outreach" pillar Moksha project was to volunteer my time at a Cancer Society in Toronto. Teach yoga and give of myself to others, in this case, to bring yoga to a care centre that does not have yoga on a regular basis. This was proving difficult to coordinate, mostly due to bureaucracy and red tape (type of liability insurance, length of time for criminal check, etc) and as this was happening, I realized that I felt I was doing this project to complete this project, which was not at all how I’d intended this giving to be. It was a tough admission but when I took a step back, I realized that I was (and am) feeling rather loose around the edges. Like I was running on fumes for a little while and needed to catch my breath. That I wasn’t going to benefit others by continuing to give a version of myself that is not the full version of myself. And that there is nothing selfless about having any feeling of have tos.


So I went back to our assignment sheet to look at the topic ideas. One of them was to watch inspiring documentaries and inspire others, raise awareness about these causes, documentaries, etc. I immediately thought I wouldn’t want to do it as it seemed like an easy alternative. And then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized what a challenge it would be for me and how much I could actually benefit from it in order to achieve the adjectives and descriptors above. For one, I seldom take any time to sit and listen by myself. To fully engage and develop new perspectives. To form a strong opinion. By doing this project, I’d be achieving these things while also developing patience towards myself. Limiting my ability to multi-task and really opening myself up by sitting and contemplating. Second, the thought of all these communities I always want to learn more about, to engage with, to outreach to, that I don’t actually know much about – I started to think that I would be much more aware and genuine giver if I better understood their perspective. And lastly, it would allow me to learn how to develop my voice. I’m someone who (and I’ve never admitted this), dislikes taking any side other than the middle of the road. I root for the underdog, I get uncomfortable by debate, politics and anything with a strong view. I find difficulty in expressing my view point and where I stand/what I believe in. And with this admission, I hoped (and do hope), that by branching out on the perspectives I see life through, and by trusting my words and thoughts in encouraging dialogue and critical thought when engaging with others about these documentaries and other topics, that I’d be better placed to give of myself confidently and sincerely.

I ended up vlogging about these films and was really caught off guard by how disjointed my thoughts were when they weren't written down and thought through. But that was all part of the learning process. You don't have to be the best all the time. You can just be you. And passionate. And open. As long as you act with integrity, everything will fall into place. And no, I am not posting these vlogs, they were private! But I have posted a list of the films I watched below, in case you are inspired to watch.

(Most of the films can be viewed for free at the National Film Board -150 John Street) or online).

Films watched:
Hubert Davis, Invisible City - this was by far the film I was most moved by; I highly recommend it. Trailer below
This documentary is a story of two boys from Regent Park crossing into adulthood. Their mothers and mentors root for them to succeed but their environment and social pressures tempt them to make poor choices. Turning the camera on the often ignored inner city, the director aims to show the disconnection of urban poverty and race from the mainstream.
Neil Diamond, Reel Injun
This documentary traces the evolution of cinema’s depiction of Native people from the silent film era to today, with clips from hundreds of classic and recent Hollywood movies, and candid interviews with celebrated Native and non-Native film celebrities, activists, film critics and historians.
Katerina Cizek, Drawing from LifeThis documentary follows a group therapy workshop for people who have attempted suicide more than once. The film is a candid portrayal of 12 people who together, for 20 weeks, take on their fears, their behaviours and their ghosts to move towards life and away from suicide.
Mark Pancer and David Hoffert, OCD: The War Inside
In this documentary, director Mark Pancer, an OCD sufferer himself, and David Hoffert documented personal stories from several individuals who fight to survive a war inside their minds. They show us the faces of OCD. They don't look any different on the outside. But inside, as they show in the film, it is a daily war is waged for survival.
Stephanie Soechtig and Jason Lindsey, Tapped
This documentary examines the role of the bottled water industry and its effects on our health, climate change, pollution, and our reliance on oil. The movie focuses on both the“manufacture” of the water itself, and also where the bottles come from, where they go after use and how they influence our lives while they’re with us.