Less Than Ideal Circumstances

After a week without a formal yoga practice, I sat down this morning to collect myself.

(Aside: that’s because I exercised heavily at the Nightmare at Beaver Lake http://www.nightmareatbeaverlake.com/ where I acted 7 nights to scare 10,686 people. It was a great show sponsored by the Rotary Club of Sammamish, http://www.sammamishrotary.org/! All net proceeds will go toward humanitarian projects in Sammamish and worldwide.)

Two weeks ago, I had a private yoga lesson with Robin Rothenberg of The Yoga Barn (http://www.yogabarn.com/). In addition to a great set of poses that she developed just for me, she reminded me that the beginning of a good practice starts with checking in. How do I feel: physically, energetically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually?

It’s clear that acting had taken its toll. Energetically I was drained. Mentally I was wired. Physically I felt good in places and was exhausted in others. As I sat and observed my state, I let my body undulate to soothe my sore spots, awaken my sleepy spots, and relax my agitated spots, which brought me even greater awareness.

I had been working in less than ideal circumstances—as had the other hundred volunteers who put on the haunted “house.” We do this a lot in life: run ourselves to the brink for a good cause. Now it’s time to regenerate.

Even though I felt I “should” do the practice that Robin created for me, I took the poses that warmed me up and added some restorative ones as well. (Check out these links on restorative poses: www.wikihealth.com/Restorative_yoga_poses and http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaphotogalleries/ig/Restorative-Poses-Gallery/)

Afterwards, I felt more even physically, mentally and energetically. I also felt more centered emotionally and spiritually. I made a commitment to myself to check in often and put myself in more ideal circumstances before the runaway holiday free-for-all that will start in a few weeks.

Stay tuned for a future article about my favorite place to rejuvenate, the Olympus Spa (http://www.olympusspa.com/). I hope I can get there before Thanksgiving.