The Poor, Starving Student's Workout

So I titled this the poor, starving student's workout, but really it works for anyone. It's especially useful to those without funds, access to, or simply interest in a fitness facility.

Today, my workouts were simple. First, this evening, I did a 50-minute aerobic workout on the Rail Trail and in the arboretum with John. This consisted of a couple minute walking warm-up, about 42 minutes of running (with a break to iron out a creaky knee and calm an upset stomach), finished with a 5-minute walking cool-down segment. The perks to this workout are multiple:
1. Get to be outside
2. Works well as a partner, group, or solo activity
3. Change of scenery
4. Excellent fat burn (running is like the uber-torcher of fat among many cardio workouts)
5. Great for my heart, lungs, legs, and mind.
6. Cost = $0.00 (Well, it's good to have a trusty pair of running shoes, but that's a once or twice a year purchase, and then they can double as your casual shoes.)

So basically, anyone can go outside and run. Things to keep in mind are basically just yourself. If your body is screaming at you about something, like mine was about my knee, take a minute... walk... and then go. You can go at your own pace, so start from walking and build your way up to running. No stress, no fuss, just free exercise that's good for body and mind.

Workout #2 was a 20-minute yoga session right here in my own living room. I did a variety of stuff- balance poses, arm balances, vinyasas (mostly focused on upper body strength since I gave my legs a workout already with the run), and some basic seated stretching. Of course, savasana was used as a closer.
Benefits of this workout:
1. Again... it's free.
2. Creative- I'm not in a class, so I can do whatever poses I want to or feel that my body needs.
3. Strengthening
4. Improved flexibility- strong focus on the most overlooked component of fitness
5. Better balance- also an overlooked component of fitness
6. Calm mind, a moment to be with oneself before bed.

So for zero dollars today I helped my heart, lungs, blood lipid levels, blood pressure, muscular strength, balance, flexibility, and mind. Hmmm... seems simple to me.

Bottom line is, you don't have to have a big bottom line to move your bottom... anyone can move for free. It's great to have instructors and professionals to help you if you can afford these aides, but if not... your body is pretty amazing and intuitive. Start moving it and see what it has to say.

And let your love fly like a bird on a wing

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love." -Mother Teresa

I was sitting in the parking lot of Kroger this evening while John was inside purchasing sausage, eggs, and other breakfast items for tomorrow. It makes sense... and my dork brain drew a graph where "hurt" is the x-axis and "love" is the "y" axis. As love (y) approaches infinity, "hurt" levels off... love continues to increase beyond the graph, but hurt tapers off and goes no further.

So I like the quote but think... it's thrown around a lot popularly. And when it's drifted into the processing part of my brain before, it hasn't actually gotten processed. It was more like, oh well... it doesn't matter the pain because love triumphs. But I don't think that's what Mother Teresa was saying at all. She doesn't suggest any cessation of or relief from love-induced hurt. (For clarification, I'm not talking about the love-hurt when someone breaks up with you or doesn't reciprocate your romantic feelings... I'm talking about connecting with a soul and then feeling the pain that soul experiences, aching for someone else's sake.) She just says, that if your love hurts you, and you choose to continue in the way of love... your love will grow while the pain just stays the same. There is no consolation in the quote whatsoever. The hurt won't stop. It'll still be there, always, no matter what, but you'll just love more and more. So the love increases, but the pain just stays the same. Perhaps you can learn to deal with it, but you won't be free from it.

This quote has always stuck with me because I tend to be fairly empathic. I don't just sympathize with people, particularly people I really love closely... I actually feel their pain. It's like little hooks in me that I can't get out from under my skin. There have been times, many times, in my life where I've actually wished that I loved less. I want to forget about a loved one's pain for a few minutes and just enjoy my own life. But then I catch myself and think, Girl! Don't you dare think that. Don't you ever, ever wish for less love.

And I guess my whole point with this is, if you're someone who's loving until it hurts... keep on loving. It won't stop your hurting. You'll probably carry that with you always. But there's something larger than your particulate little self to consider... there's a whole universe of people needing that love, so if it flows, just let it flow. Bear with the pain. Acknowledge it. And just... carry on. Keep on loving. Dance even while it hurts. Laugh. Dedicate your dance and your laughter to those upon whom you wish more joy.

"Just let your love flow like a mountain stream
And let your love grow with the smallest of dreams
And let your love show and you'll know what I mean it's the season
Let your love fly like a bird on a wing
And let your love bind you to all living things
And let your love shine and you'll know what I mean that's the reason."

Namaste, kiddos.

Plotting Soul Particles

On nights like tonight when I can't sleep, I come out here sometimes and sit on the porch. The cool night air sucks the heat from my body, leaving me calmer. And more than picking up a phone or texting a friend or even the person beside me in bed... the rhythmic insect sounds and clouds passing overhead remind me I'm not alone- I'm part of something bigger. And even though in this moment my head is so fast and I can't keep up, there's a certain sense to it. That's not to say I'm out here thinking that things all work out just fine with a little faith. I don't believe in an intrinsically beautiful plan made expressly to delight our souls. Rather... I think, because of the stars and the crickets and wet grass... I can hang on until I'm once again in a season of... of what? Not joy, not order, not rightness 'cause it's right even when it's wrong... just of knowing where my soul is without having to come place it in time and space here, deliberately, under the stars like this.



I promised I’d sit with you

under the moon, drinking wine,

figuring it out.



But sometimes it’s easier to stop

a speeding train

than to move someone’s sorrow.



I couldn’t roll the stone away from the tomb.



Tonight it’s just me and the creepy crawlies

hidden beneath blades of grass

hatching out a plan-

frantically-

before the sun rises.

The Evolution of Cat Ladies

I can't believe I just bet John 100 dollars (although he's being gracious and letting me off with buying him some shrimp tomorrow night at Red Lobster) that this was complete bullshit. Please follow the link, and read this psych PhD's post about toxoplasm, which is a parasite that can reproduce only in the small intestine of felines. I was going on and on about how much I love my cat and- gee, I wonder why that is- why does he make me so damn HAPPY??? Friends, here is your answer to why we become old cat ladies (and sitting here writing this in my robe and relishing in John's piano music... I am well on my way)!

http://psychpundit.blogspot.com/2007/07/feline-parasite-alters-human.html
(I hope he doesn't mind I'm linking him here... but this is out of control nuts.)

So potentially I have a parasite lodged in my brain triggering a series of hormonal reactions that are causing me to be ever more fond of my cat. The likelihood is low- I don't normally serve up a heaping helping of litterbox mess and pour milk on in it in the morning- I probably just love my cat to a "normal" degree. Don't freak... there aren't really any ill effects if you contract the parasite. If you're a girl you just get smarter and nicer, but you might wreck your car... but I've been out driving like Nascar just for fun lately and haven't had any problems so I think I'm OK. It's like a sweet ass xanax-ritalin combo... awesome!

What I love about this is how it reflects how intricate evolution can be. This isn't a single species making adaptations for only its own survival. This parasite helps everyone but the mouse. It helps itself get into a cat intestine (doesn't that just give you the warm and fuzzies thinking about that awesome home?). So it adapts itself to drive the mouse nuts and basically deliver itself as lunch to the cat in order to get into the cat. Check. Then it accidentally enters a human host, where it can live but not reproduce. This in turn ingratiates the cat to the human. The human cares for the cat, loves it, feeds it, puts up with its heinous shedding, and this improves the survival rate of the cat, thus ensuring further perpetuation of toxoplasm. I really love evolution. Natural selection rocks!

"Fun" Run(nin') in the Rain

This morning John and I ran in the annual Paden City Labor Day 5K Fun Run. I've run that race and done others before, but this was John's first- so that was exciting! He's been running a lot this summer, and I've just been running a little bit. For me, running will always be just another part of my overall fitness regime. I'll never be a top finisher, because I'm going to keep lifting, doing Zumba, kayaking, swimming, biking, yoga, and everything else. So I'll never run every day, but I will run sometimes. Last year at this time I was going out and doing 6 or 7 miles at a pop. Now I'm doing right around 4, which is fine since I'm getting plenty of exercise from other sources. Of course, specificity is important in athletic training, and today's time of 27:20 reflected that. Last year, when I was running further, harder, and more frequently, my race time for the same course was 26:01. Still, today's time wasn't bad. I was OK with it.

It was raining during the whole race, and by the end of the first mile, my feet were soaked. There was this little boy running right around where I was, and shortly after the first mile he asked me all distressed, "How far have we gone?" I said, "About a mile and a half, so you're half way there." "So all I have to do is run back now?" "No, there's a little bit more than that, but you're doing good!" He was a trooper. I'd say he was about ten or eleven, and he really hadn't grown into his legs yet. He was wasting a lot of energy flailing them behind and in front of him, but it was too cute and he did finish. I was also fortunate enough to find someone to pace with, a body-builder looking guy. We were within about ten seconds of each other almost the whole race. I got a side stitch in the second mile and was running with my fingers dug up under my ribs, and he said to me, "Just slow your pace and take slow, deep breaths. You'll do alright." Which... I know... but didn't... because you get going in race mode and you forget everything except "GO FASTER!!!" So I followed his advice, geared back, and finished the race shortly after John.

I like running this particular race because it's in my hometown. People talk about high school reunions as being these huge motivators for getting in shape, but this is that for me, just coming home and showing I'm still out there pushing year after year. It keeps me accountable to myself in some way. Also, the funds raised go to the high school track team. I went to Paden City High School through my freshman year (at which point I decided to transfer), and I know how important funding is for the kids' activities. This isn't a rich area. For a lot of these kids, if the school wasn't providing these opportunities they just wouldn't have them. Add to that the fact that the school doesn't get a lot of government funding due to the student body population (I think there are only about 150 kids left 7-12), and it's just a struggle to keep it going. I feel like a lot of kids think there is just no way out of this town, and I enjoy the opportunity to say in my own small way, yes you can. And it's not that this is a bad place to live; there are just no jobs or opportunities. So I say, run kiddos, run, to the next horizon!

(After the race I came home and ate a Bavarian creme-filled chocolate donut. I can't be good all the time, and I enjoyed every bite. Then I took a nap.)

Geologist for a Day, Visiting John's Sites

This morning I woke up stiff and miserable in a Quality Inn on the WV-VA border. Tried showering the muscle tension out only to bash my head off the handicap pull bar in the shower. This left a nice stripe of blue bruising across my forehead, lol, but all was not lost.

It was a beautiful day, as illustrated by this beautiful, all natural waterfall. The water was so blue. For whatever reason, the plates this time caught a lot more precipitate than usual, so we wound up having to rig something up in the tackle box to protect the samples. It was fun to be useful and also to just see where he's been working on his reasearch for the past two and a half years.

We visited all his sample sites. He spent a lot of time wading through streams to pull up his plates and snipping copper wire. I spent a lot of time taking photos so he would have them for his thesis presentation, and also just because there was a lot of beautiful stuff to see. If image uploading wasn't such a slow, painful process, I'd show more here. I don't entirely understand his research, something about carbon secuestration and making sure we all don't get asfixiated... but it was neat to be part of it for the day. Hey, I got to see a gorgeous waterfall, pet a black snake, try on hip waders for the first time, and finally go see what John's up to when he "goes down south."

This will be eclectic.

So I've decided to start up another blog. Zumbieyogini1, 2, and 3 are also me but I forget the password. I'm basically over blogging about the everyday goings on of my life unless I feel some point to it, but so then what to blog about? Thing is, folks. I love... everything, except when I... hate everything. But usually I like a lot of stuff.

I'm a Spanish graduate student. Theoretically, I'm leaving the country in twelve days to spend nine months in Spain. But that's pending a visa. I've got my fingers, eyeballs, toes, and tongue crossed. 'Cause if that doesn't come, well, I've just quit my latest three jobs- Spanish teaching assistant, barista/music seller at Barnes and Noble, and Zumba/fitness instructor all over the Morgantown area to hang out in a trailer park for a year, halfway through my master's degree. But sometimes you've just got to take a chance and throw it all to the wind. I'm hoping the universe will be good to me again.

So... I may write about any number of things in these posts. I may write about piano, which I love to play, although poorly. (And no, I'm not being modest. I really don't play well naturally. I can practice a piece and get it going, but I can't sit down and just whip something out.) I might write about playing drums, because I used to be on drumline and still play djembe and bongos with the Morgantown Drum Circle. I may post some poetry, because I've been doing that since... a long time. Most of what I write these days is too personal to share, which is saying something because everything I've ever written is personal. I'm into fitness. I might write about lifting. I will say things like "super sets" and "circuits" and "pre-exhaustion." I might have something to say about Zumba... someday when I get that going again. I'm pretty into reading books in Spanish and English, and sometimes I can write an hour's worth of crap on a book I've read. I also reserve the right to burst into Spanish as I feel moved. Basically, I may write about anything on here.

For today... Joe occupied the futon last night. We got up this am and headed down to High Street where we found Tammy sitting all cute and lonely in her little white hat. We played some drums outside in the sweltering heat. I love drumming. Of all the things from high school (sorry to those I did theater with...), the thing I miss the most is drum line and djembe ensemble. I felt such a part of some great, moving animal that was outside and in us all cumulatively. And I get to taste that again at drum circle. Plus, it's just cool to go off the beaten path... to create the music instead of interpret it. What I mean is, in a band a lot of times you aren't really creating. You're reading something that's been already written, interpreting, and then recreating. With drum circle it's all very spontaneous, and the rhythm may be tired or it may be ragingly fast, but it can change. And you have to be so tuned into each other's rhythms due to that, ready to change on a whim. But you can choose to change or stay the same, or you can be the one to initiate the change. We had four of us today. I stayed pretty exclusively on my djembe. Joe stuck mostly with bongos. Tammy changed from djembe to dumbek (sp?... it's an Egyptian drum) to shakers, and a girl I just met and whose name I can't remember because I'm a spaz played djembe as well.

Came home and decided to have some iced coffee because I'm exhausted. While drinking that I played piano. I'm working on about nine songs right now, nothing new, but just stuff I want to have mastered when I leave in twelve days. I just want to record it and have it there so I don't forget when I get back that that's part of who and what I am. Because... I do forget. As much as I get out of playing the piano, I get busy during the academic year with reading, and writing, and grading, and lesson planning that I just... forget about it. And in those days I think... I'm an academic. But that's only half the story, and we've got to remember our stories. Plus, I'd like to post a few videos for my friend with whom I've always played piano. She's been gone from life for awhile, and mostly I miss playing piano together. Heart and Soul, this Hurry Scurry bit where we just race to see who can finish fastest, and so I'll stick the videos up online and she can have them. I'm working on "Only Time," "Everything I Do," "Colors of the Wind," "Poems, Prayers and Promises," "Leaving on a Jet Plane," and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." The "Colors of the Wind" song is beautiful. I struggle with the difficulty, but the sounds are so rich and the movement is tangible. Certain chords make my heart hurt. Unfortunately, I am missing the last page of the song, and can't find the arrangement anywhere. I've checked a lot of online sources, and I know I seem really high maintenance and particular about this... but I have to have this arrangement. I feel too strongly about the way it sounds to go with another version. So I'll have to see if Liz (Mom's friend who originally lent me the book with the song in it several years ago) still has the book this weekend when I go in for Labor Day. The other one I really love is "Poems, Prayers, and Promises." God, that song makes me lonely for the people I used to read and write poetry with, for everyone I have ever had a soulful conversation with. I feel that these days it's all nuts and bolts and talking about anything invisible is just a little too fruity. I want someone to read me a poem, their poem, tell me their prayers or what would be their prayers if they were a praying person. Wish I coulda been alive for a John Denver concert. Love his music. I'm also playing "Leaving on a Jet Plane," and I reminisce every time to that one back to the summer I was thirteen and at camp, and we were riding on big wagons covered with hay bails behind a big tractor. I was trying to memorize the shadows on the mountain and being a generally weepy, weird little thing. Because who knows when any of us will be back again. And it was so beautiful at that particular time, so happy, carefree and safe with all those loving souls around me.

So it's been a music and friendship-filled morning and early afternoon. This coffee hasn't helped too much yet, but I'm off to the gym now to lift. I am trying to put on as much muscle as possible before I leave so that I have time to find a fitness center in Spain before I start to atrophy. And then, of course, I'll bitch about clothing companies not cutting the arm and legholes big enough, but that's my prerogative.

Tonight John and I will be Virginia bound. For the first time, I am actually going to get to see his field site where he's been doing research for the past two years. I'm rather excited.