I think this post's mostly filler...

Not really. 

Wednesday night was brilliant.  Simply brilliant.  YogaQuest has been a delight at every turn, but this week's class took us to a whole new level of cleverness and inventive fun.  As a special event, our fearless leader choreographed yoga moves to the Buffy musical episode, "Once More, With Feeling," and after she demonstrated a few poses and sequences for us, we dove right in.  The combinations of specific poses with certain songs was so right, so amusing, so much fun to witness, so delightful to perform.  I laughed so many times at the truly awesome choices in yogi-ography (for instance... the poses best described as "hip openers" were prominently featured during Spike's big song, "Rest in Peace").  Even people who had never watched Buffy before were drawn in and had a fantastic time.  We had several first-time YogaQuest attendees, which was exciting and gratifying.  It's neat seeing other people discover the fun we've been having these last few months with this!

This week's YogaQuest was a great example of something I've observed and enjoyed week after week at these events -- this isn't something I have to force myself to do.  This is exercise, and at times it is challenging -- I feel it the next day, let me tell you-- but it never feels like "bleh, off to workout now."  It's a workout, but it's genuinely fun, and I'm carried along by the story, and the camaraderie, and the ever-changing landscape of yoga poses, so I don't have time to wonder how much time is left.  When the end of the evening's session draws to a close, I'm always surprised that the time flew by so quickly.  I love that.  I love that I'm not even remotely tempted to check a clock while we're doing our quests.  It's that entertaining, and that great an exercise in truly being immersed in the moment. 

I can't wait to see what's next!  So many possibilities!  So many stories to tell, and poses to learn, and geeky things to explore!

"All right, Pooh, you're not Overstuffed. You're Physically Superfluous."

Things have been in a bit of a lull lately with Geek Physique.  We were one of the sponsors/coordinators for the Steampunk Ball and Fete at CONvergence 2011, so there was a lot of work to be done to prepare for that.  Fortunately, we got through that with flying colors, so we're ready to dive back into YogaQuest and other activities again.  Yay!

CONvergence was great.  I had a few goals for the week: stay active, don't eat too much garbage, and maintain my weight.  I managed the first two -- I definitely stayed active, and kept the junk food to a bare minimum.  I didn't maintain my weight this week, though.  I actually dropped 4.6 lbs.  WOOT.  That, my friends, is a successful week for me.  Add to that my participation in the Aikido demo at con (in my Renaissance Festival garb, no less!), which was just plain FUN, and my introduction to a few more members of the dojo, and I have to say, this was a really amazing experience.

Piglet's going to give us all a song...

"Let's find a Way
Today
That can take us to tomorrow--
Follow that Way,
A Way like flowing water.

Let's leave
Behind
The things that do not matter,
And turn
Our lives
To a more important chapter..."

I've found myself thinking lately about the things that matter, and about the things that don't.  I tend to do that from time to time.  The more I've explored new and challenging activities over these last several months, the more I find I'm enjoying what I'm doing.

"I'm still here," said Piglet.

"Wisdom, Happiness, and Courage are not waiting somewhere out beyond sight at the end of a straight line; they're part of a continuous cycle that begins right here. They're not only the ending, but the beginning as well."-- Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

Last night, we concluded "Season Two" of YogaQuest, with a special "yoga in the park" outing.  Despite an extraordinary number of caterpillars creeping about, on and around our mats, it was a great experience.  The weather was perfect for spending some time outdoors, and the camaraderie in the group after two "seasons" of questing is a genuine pleasure.

One thing this "season" brought me was a much better sense of balance.  I'd struggled with that during the first season, but have begun to see some definite improvements in that area.  Much of that can be attributed to the frequent use of Half-Moon as our "space" pose (we were traveling in Time and Space, in a blue box... hee hee).  The first time we did it, I didn't think I'd manage to stay balanced in that pose, but we've done it so many times now, I'm able to do it without wobbling around all over the place.  It's nice to have appreciable gains to report!

I've been very focused lately, and have been making great progress on several fronts.  My evening bike rides with Xena are part of my daily routine, and I've actually been enjoying them again (for a while there, it was a struggle just to get on the bike -- the seasonal allergies threw me for a loop, and I just wasn't feeling it).  Even on the days when I have yoga or Aikido, I still make room in my day for that bike ride, because I know I feel so much better on the days when I do.  My sleep is much more productive, and restful, and I wake up ready to kick ass all over the place.  I've also dropped about 10 pounds in the last couple of weeks, and I'm sure the uptick in consistency in my physical activity has a great deal to do with that.  Here's to keeping that going...

A revelation this week: I am having a lot of fun right now.  My life is pretty great.  I think as adults, we get so focused on work, and serious things, and relationships, and divorces, and contemplating our mortality, and paying bills, and wrestling with whatever else life throws at us, we forget how to PLAY.  We lose sight of the tremendous fun there is to be had in goofing around, laughing with friends, moving our bodies, making the most of the whole experience of being human.  Tuesday night, I blew off a lot of steam at my Aikido Bokken class, swinging my bokken and hearing that satisfying clunk of one wooden sword on another.  I remembered the tricky cuts that have tended to trip me up, and was able to execute them with only a couple of minor flubs.  When I got home from class (the last in this series, waah), I couldn't help but have one of those moments of intense joy and contentment as I realized, "Whoa!  This is my life!  And I like it!"  And it isn't because of anyone other than me -- I'm simply BEING, and finding that tremendously satisfying.  My happiness isn't contingent on anything or anyone.  It just is.  And that's pretty cool.

“I’m still here;” said Piglet.
“Oh – so you are.” “I enjoyed the stories.” “That’s good:”
“They helped me to – reflect on things.”
“Things?” Such as “Fear.”

“Well, I’m going out on a walk, to do some thinking. I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Right you are. Have a pleasant time.”--Benjamin Hoff, The Te of Piglet

Merry is May-time, and merry our meeting.

This week's Geek Physique activities, Bokken Aikido and YogaQuest, were a tremendous success.  There's something wonderfully satisfying about wielding a wooden sword and practicing thrusting and chopping at someone with it!  It was a much larger group than I expected to see, so apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way about those swords.

At YogaQuest, we started "season two," embarking on an entirely new adventure with the group.  We had a decent turnout for that, although several of our regulars were not in attendance.  Despite the smaller group, we had a fantastic time.  The storytelling was top notch, and the creative, clever ways our YoGeekie (aka yoga instructor) translated yoga poses into the story was delightful and lighthearted.

I don't believe I've ever laughed quite so much at any of the previous YogaQuest evenings -- partly, I think this is due to the nature of the story and the particular geek fandom it indulged, and partly, I think that may be due to the increasing familiarity and comfort of the group as a whole.  Last week, we completed the first eight-week session, and now we've begun this new session.  Perhaps it took us this long to truly relax and trust one another, and to begin to forge deeper ties. 

Spring rambling

Neil Gaiman has lost some weight, and kindly blogged about it.  I can't say I'd necessarily opt for Dickens, but I like the general idea.  Of course, what he's doing is probably very close to what I'm doing... exercising, and trying to find ways to engage the mind in something else entirely while so doing.  I heartily approve.  I'm glad to see him taking care of himself, as he's one of those people I'd like to see around for a good long while, cranking out new and wondrous things for me to read.

I'm still plugging away, but took several days off last week after a rather ill-advised encounter with lugging and assembling nearly 200 lbs of IKEA merchandise.   I spent the week rehabilitating my aggravated back, and trying not to go utterly bonkers.  I had to skip YogaQuest last week as a result, but was back in action this week, and was there for the final installment of that quest.  Next week, a whole new quest starts, and I'm eager to see what new adventures lie ahead in May.

Another new activity for me in May will be Bokken Aikido, in which I will be given a wooden practice sword (which will be mine, all mine! and I will love it,  and squeeze it, and call it George!).  I'll learn the appropriate Aikido moves, and generally go all warrior princess on my classmates.  I'm very excited about that prospect... yiyiyiyiyi!

One other thing I'm contemplating is archery.  There isn't anything offered through the nerd group that hosts these other activities, but I'm thinking I will look into my options in the area.  I know there are some archery ranges at some of the parks around here, so I'm thinking I may just get a practice bow and arrows, and go out and play around for a bit.  I took an archery class in high school, and loved it, but haven't done anything with it since then.  It's a completely nerdy thing for me to want to pursue, and yes, I think it's part of my tendency to pick Ranger personae in RPGs, but obviously, I've outed myself as a gigantic geek already, so it's not like I can make it worse by going there, right?

I leave you with this, as I struggle to remind myself that I love trees.  It's their pollen I detest.  The trees themselves are lovely... they've just made my sinuses very, very miserable this week.

Where many paths and errands meet...

I'm spending a bit of the day with this Tolkien Ensemble album of songs and poems from the Lord of the Rings.  If you haven't heard it before, it's well worth checking out -- very pretty arrangements of beloved and familiar words.



Sundays are lovely days for catching up on things, and for letting things slide.  Today is exactly such a day... a day to do a few neglected tasks, ride my bike while spending a bit of time with a warrior princess, and perhaps finish reading Gentlemen of the Road.  It's not a terribly lofty plan, but it is eminently appealing.  I spent my entire Saturday playing D&D, so a bit of manual labor and exertion followed by quiet, solitary pursuits is just what I need, to make this weekend feel truly weekendish.