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Monday, May 07, 2007

exhaustion has set in

the backbends are terribly intense for me. apparently it is a heart chakra thing. ahhh. the past two days have been like a little tornado of asana, namely backbends, chakra focus, and many at their most exhasted state. and we continue the backbend asana practice the rest of the training. i'm sure i'll have some interesting insights to share.

confession: yesterday i had a sugar meltdown. in the middle of our 4-hour backbend assist practice, david gave us a 10-minute break. i ran (literally) to the cafe and collected soy chips, ginger chews, dried mango, and a vegan peanut butter cookie. i ate most of the soy chips on the short walk back and began offering them to fellow yogis when my assist partner whispered, "they have cheddar cheese on them. remember this whole animal liberation thing?" gasp! i might as well have been offering people bacon. i quickly finished them off in the corner and consumed my vegan peanut butter cookie while doing backbends. ahhhh, finding everyday goodies without animal products is tricky.

i'm still terribly weak. my muscles feel like they are constantly shaking. it is either sugar withdrawal, low electrolytes, overused muscles, or lack of sleep - or a combo of them all. it's interesting that yesterday was my most tired day yet (and a few others that i've spoken with). must be the cycle in the training. over half-way done, yet still acclimating to it all.

i loved yesterday's scripture from the yoga sutras and want to share YS 1.33:
to preserve the innate serenity of the mind, a yogin should be happy for those who are happy, be compassionate toward those who are unhappy, be delighted for those who are virtuous, and be indifferent toward the wicked.
this sutra gives us permission to let go and sweep out. it holds additional insights that i leave to you to ponder.

off to take my mid-term. i hope you're thriving, learning something new about yourself, and taking good care of yourself (even through a simple cup of tea or yoga pose) and others (even through a simple smile to by-passers). toodles and much compassion . . .

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Kimberly --

Becareful with you diet and going low with your blood sugar. I have struggled with this for years (and passed out a couple times). I have found that more protein in my diet helps stable me out. When you are feeling the shakes drink Orange Juice -- it will increase your blood sugar faster than anything else.

It's not fun, take good care of yourself!
--Shelley

Sharon Tessandori said...

Wow, hours and hours of backbends. Makes my back achey just thinking about it! I think I would have slept in child's pose that night ;-)

And that's my most favorite Sutra. I think it completely sums so much up, in just one statment.

Anonymous said...

I'd be careful with the white sugar if you're going to go vegan... most white sugar is processed with animal bone char, so sugar is not technically vegan.... one of the many reasons I am not and will not a vegan!

Anonymous said...

It may be that in an effort to embrace all things vegan you are using sugars as a substitute for animal products....and if you already have a sweet tooth to begin with...and add to it lots of exercise and a changed schedule then your blood sugar must be swinging. I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia a year ago. What helps.. and sometimes I am more vigilant than others.. is to try and eat at evenly spaced times...instead of tea or coffee when I get up ...then a big meal 6 hours later then lots of sugary (even fruit) snacks. I would avoid eating any fruit (juice, dried, raw) all by itself. That is part of what gives you the shakes ....you eat sugar (even fructose)...you feel better as your blood sugar elevates ..but because sweet treats leave your system fast...you have the shakes an hour later. Try to mix the sweets w protein. Fresh fruit with yogurt, nut butters with fruit, cheese with fruit or crackers, a cup of soup, yogurt in your smoothy, an apple with a 6 almonds. Good luck. I love reading about your experiences.

Anonymous said...

Your month of training is fascinating to me...