Marichyasana C on both sides!!

Back in led class, and I had the best Surya Namaskara As ever.  They felt so smooth and clean.  I don't know why, I think it's because it was very warm in class, and so I was already sweating like crazy by the time we started.  I felt more mobile and warmed up than ever before.

Karla adjusted me into Maricheyasana C on both sides, and I bound twice.  It felt soooo good.  I don't think I've ever bound on my right before, only on my left.  It's a good bit of inspiration to take into my next class.  I think the improvement can only be from the change in diet.  I feel very strong, and very flexible.  Both of these feelings after having a full month off from yoga, and then Monday's class.  Coco once told me that changing my diet to raw would have a big impact on my yoga, and it looks like she was right.
She also gave me a good push in the paschimottanasana that comes after urdhva dhanurasana, and I was really able to relax down further than I have ever done before.  I really really love the feeling of being pushed forward into that one.  It's bliss.

Another advancement was that a couple of times, I managed the jump-through.  I'll admit that they weren't pretty, but still, I managed to get my legs in front of me before hitting the deck.  The only problem is that my feet catch the towel, and drag it forward, needing me to clean it up behind me.  That's annoying.  Hopefully with a bit more practice, I'll be able to jump through without my feet dragging along the towel, then I won't have that issue.

Reblogging photos

This blog is almost totally bereft of photos.  From looking around the web, most yoga blogs have pretty pictures of pretty people doing pretty asanas in pretty places.  The occasional pic would really liven up this blog, so I'm going to do some reblogging.  Most of the pics I'll get from fuckyeahyoga.tumblr.com (I love that blog) but also some from other places.  I'll tag each of the posts <photo reblog> and hopefully I'll remember to credit them correctly.

Raw

Since coming back to Mexico, I've been on a mostly raw food diet.  My diet in Canada wasn't so good, so I thought I'd make some slow improvements.  The ultimate aim is to be 60% raw, with another 20% paleo, and then the final 20% anything.

My plan was to introduce one raw meal at a time, keep it up for a couple of weeks, then depending on how I'm going, introduce another raw meal.  I have four meals a day usually, so this makes six weeks if I'm going to make three out of the four raw.  Then I have one meal for if I'm heading out to eat, or if I want to eat meat, or if I want to eat chocolate, or lollies, or a big mac...

I started with a raw breakfast, but since then, I've been virtually all raw straight away.  I'd say that since I arrived back in Mexico, I've been 70% raw, 20% paleo (mostly lean meat and cooked veges) with about 10% other.  I've virtually stayed off processed foods completely.  For example, I haven't had dairy once, I haven't had any wheat, rice, pasta or corn, and I haven't had a single can of soft-drink.

At the moment, I'm not sure whether this will continue, because I'm not tough on myself or anything like that.  I just happen to be buying raw fruit and veg at the moment, and so that's what's in the house.  I don't go out that much, so I eat what's in the house.

I think I'll keep it up for about 8 weeks, but every week, I'll assess how I'm feeling.  If it's not working, then I'll ditch it, but for the moment, things are going well.

Surfing!

Today I went surfing :)

It was with my friend Greg, and his girlfriend let us borrow her car, so we drove up the coast to pick up some really fun choppy three foot waves.  There were a mix of A-frames and sandy closeouts, and a whole lot of duckdiving to be done on the short period swell, but really, it was paradise.

I was going to do a class with Anne tonight, but after the surf, I'm knackered.  My shoulders and arms are completely destroyed, and I need to recover.  hopefully we get another swell before I leave town, so we can have another go.

On the mat in Mexico

Finally I made it to my first class since arriving back in Mexico.  It was a shock.  I had no idea quite how much my body had regressed.  I can nolonger touch the floor with my hands in a forward fold, nor straighten my legs in adho mukha svanasana.

It's probably good.  I'm sure my body needed a break, and it'll be nice to see the progression back to where I was.  I'm sure it'll only take a month, and I'll be back to where I was.

Classes were with Karla.  She's seems to have taken Coco's spot while Coco's away in Bolivia.  Her classes are a lot faster, and there's a lot less Sanskrit, but they're still cool.  She pushed me forward in one of the paschimottanasanas, and I really enjoyed that adjustment.

Oh Canada!

Well somebody hasn't posted in a month.  That somebody is me.

I have just spent a month in Canada, and did no yoga for the whole period.  It was just too cold.  At times I tried to do a few stretches, but that was as far as i got.  It was as cold as minus 31 degrees at times, and I wasn't in the right environment either.

Canada is a beautiful place.  While there I got to see Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City.  I snowboarded, cross-country skiied, and dog-sledded.  I saw a huge amount of history, and beautiful places.  I met interesting people, and saw a close friend who I hadn't seen in six or seven years!  It's a beautiful place, and I'm sure I'll be back one day.

Back in Mexico, and I'm just taking some time to adjust to the heat before starting up on the yoga train again.  At the moment I'm still standing up to quickly and getting dizzy, a typical sign that I'm not used to the heat yet.