This morning's overheard conversation....

As I was arriving at my ayurvedic counsellor's apartment building to do yoga this morning, a young man in a wheelchair was saying to the the cleaner: "See, I think she likes younger men." I couldn't tell whether he was planning a harassment suit or pleased about it.

Back at the fitness centre....

I made arrangements to take a late lunch today, so I could go to the fitness centre and try out their Friday yoga class, still on the week week that I won for free.

It was listed as being scheduled for 1, but actually didn't start till 1.15. This gave me enough time to try out one of their cardiovascular machines - not a treadmill, but I thought of it as a running machine - and this time I also figured out how to access the CD player and the televisions, though I didn't bring my headphones with me. Tomorrow.

Anyway - I really liked that one.

At 1.15 I caught the last few minutes of the weight class, which was fun, and then the yoga class started.

It was hatha yoga, as one might expect. The woman in front of me was a dancer and I'll swear she had three-hundred-and-sixty degree swivel hips. The guy in font of me was almost as agile. They could both lie flat on their stomachs with their legs extended to either side.

As I warmed up, I realized that wasn't the norm - some others had more normal levels of flexibility, like me. The teacher, Jeannette, took us through a graceful serious of postures, some of which were strenuous and some of which I haven't done for years. She didn't name any of the postures, just led us through them all.

I'm used to taking yoga from the Iyengar teachers, whom I think are the best. My current hatha yoga teacher, Barbara, is terrific; she identifies all the postures, explains them carefully, and says their names in Sanskrit. This wins her bonus points, in my opinion. It makes me feel part of the historical tradition that reaches right back to Mohenjo-Daro: I put in that much extra effort.

The fitness club class felt like an exercise class that happened to feature yoga postures, but no more. I felt great afterwards, but then, I always do feel great after a yoga class.

Jeannette did one exercise just at the end that I've never done before. We had our hands raised over out heads, arms straight, and did some full breaths. Then we broughts our hands slowing down over our faces, pictures the energy flowing through our arms and over us, over head, face, torso, internal organs, and full body. I felt like the Ace of Cups in the Rider-Waite Tarot deck.

If I hadn't had better classes, I'd have thought it was excellent - and it was certainly good. But the kundalini yoga I'm doing with Aliya in the mornings and the Iyengar-style hatha yoga I'm doing with Barbara on Tuesdays are better.

Happy birthday Destina

To destina:

May your spirit continue to flow through your beautiful writing which has brought such pleasure to me.

May you thrive and prosper and gain your heart's desire in the coming year.

I wish you good health, freedom from typos, and lots of inspiration.

Happy birthday, birthday girl!

Trash

I just watched the Firefly episode "Trash".

Oh what a wonderful show.




Firefly is just so good and if anything it gets better as it goes. Brilliant characters, brilliant lines, excruciatingly funny, but not at any loss of suspense.

My favourite bits - spoilers follow - ( Read more... )

Octagonal

Challenge 13: "Lost!" "Someone in Smallville has lost something important. It's up to you whether you want it to be found, but show us who, and what!" (144 words)

~ ~ ~

Octagonal

The Ross boy feels no fear. He doesn't know he is living on borrowed time. He thinks he stole my kryptonite key with impunity, and that I don't know what he did.

True, I have no idea how he took it, since it was not on his person when he left the caves. Nor do I know why - perhaps to protect his friend Clark Kent, thinking that I planned to use it against him. Perhaps he stole it for some more subtle reason of his own.

He mocked me.

How merciful shall I be? His luck will disappear. Misfortunes and accidents will fall upon him and his family, none of them traceable to me. His marks will fall, drugs will be found in his locker, he will contract a mysterious lingering illness.

He will never guess I caused his pain.

Only I will know.

~ ~ ~

(no subject)

The Friday Five, from fizzabith, among others.

1. What's one thing you've always wanted to do, but never have?

To learn to speak Arabic. To attend an Universala Kongreso. To get a PhD in either English or history. To see the Isle of Skye, and the Isle of Man, and the Shetland Isles. To visit Macchu Picchu and Luxor. To write a historical novel an get it published. Oh, what, was that one thing I was supposed to say?


2. When someone asks your opinion about a new haircut/outfit/etc, are you always honest?

Yes, but I like to think I'm honest in a tactful way.


3. Have you ever found out something about a friend and then wished you hadn't? What happened?

Yes. Three friends were actually involved, and I was sworn to secrecy, and found the situation extremely uncomfortable.


4. If you could live in any fictional world (from a book/movie/game/etc.) which would it be and why?

I'd like to live in Dorothy Dunnett's version of 16th century Scotland, so I could know Lymond.


5. What's one talent/skill you don't have but always wanted?

The ability to draw. Art fascinates and delights me, and I particularly admire illustrators.