fridays in the office.

So Fridays are pretty lonely in my office. I do have two men to keep me company though.

Walker on the left and Pancho on the right.

Clearly, I had to name them so that I wasn't just talking to nameless cardboard figures. I can give them a little humanity after all. They must get lonely spending so many long hours in Zimmerman library by themselves. Anyway, back to normality...

Fridays, over this past semester, have slowly morphed into lazy days. Pretty much because after Friday morning yoga I have no energy to put on real clothes, although I can usually manage a little blush and mascara. Also, after Thursday nights at O'Niell's, I'm not sure I could fit into actual pants on account of all the queso consumed. Ideally, Fridays consist of yoga, a little work, a little reading for school, and a lot of napping. The napping part I can do without a problem, the other ones I need to work on, like, ahem, the working one. Back to Pancho and Walker...

new year's non-resolutions.

New Year's resolutions have never really worked too well for me. I always made really wishy-washy ones like, "Focus on me," and, "Be happy." Well, what was required for these goals? One day, I might feel like skipping class to go, I don't know, shopping. Well, this would not make me happy when I failed the test because I miss the essay question that was covered in class the day I skipped. Not a very effective resolution for long-term happiness. Instant gratification does not equal long term joy. Just a lot of problems which cause much stress to solve. So awhile back, I started doing something different. In September I wrote down six goals which I would like to try and achieve. They reflect different things like fitness, money, and of course, happiness. Instead of making vague steps towards "being happy" or "being fit" I know what I am actually working towards and what I need to do to get there. 

http://pinterest.com/pin/230457705901530572/

One of my goals is to hold a headstand for the entire pose in my ashtanga yoga class. This consists of holding a headstand for approximately two minutes, though it feels like an eternity. How do I do this? I practice doing it, holding it, going to yoga and doing it with everyone else. And to remind myself  to do this, I wrote down my goals on an index card and placed it in my planner as a bookmark so I can see it everyday, and keep practicing until I achieve it. Now, I just have to remember to try and do this with all my goals. It seems to be working so far, and hopefully keeps doing so in the future. I will let you know how the goals turn out, baby steps and all.

What are your ways of achieving your New Year's resolutions, or do you prefer the more ambiguous goals with many different ways to get to them?

pilates is good for you? ummm, ok.

I've been very dedicated to yoga for almost four years now and I can hardly go two days without spending some time in downward dog and various other awkward positions. I am obsessed with a certain studio and certain teachers at that studio, and I do not care much to change my routine. That is, until, one of the teachers suggested I try a Pilates class because she said, "I think it will be good for you. You can't spend your whole life doing yoga and running!" While I disagree with the last part, I took the first sentence of these sage words of wisdom to heart and went to a Pilates class this weekend. I showed up at 10 am on a Saturday morning, yoga mat in hand, ready to conquer a new activity. Conquer it, I did not.

I have several problems that prevent me from doing Pilates properly. I am not in touch enough with my "arm bones" to move them properly and I have an excessively tight rib cage. How to fix either of those things, I am not sure, but I was dealing with bigger problems than those. In Pilates, you often curve your back for certain moves. This is very confusing to me because god forbid you not have a straight back in yoga, and my mother had been yelling at me for years to stand up straight. I wasn't really sure what I was doing during "back curving" exercises, so I'm pretty sure I just looked like a turtle stuck upside-down in its shell. I also gained several new injuries for myself during this class. I now have a bruised shoulder, a broken toe, a pulled hip flexor, and a highly damaged ego, all from this class. While I did learn several things, I'm uncertain if this is something I should try again. Do I just have to learn the moves and lingo, like I did with yoga, or am I destined to be a committed yogi for life?