Passport to Yoga Adventures

In June, I bought a Passport to Prana through BuyWithMe for 40% off, or $20. The passport allows me to take one class at each of 33 participating studios in Massachusetts. I figured, even if I only went to 4, the pass would totally pay for itself. Many of the studios are a bit further afield than I want to travel, but so far I have been to 8 that have been very close by. There are several in Boston proper, that I will go to in the future. I have until 1/31/2012 to use the pass so I'm not too worried!

My goal for this pass was to try out a range of types of yoga so that I could learn about all the types that are out there, even if I would never do it again in the future. Any time I looked at a weekly studio schedule, I would aim for classes I was interested in, rather than ones I was already familiar with.

As I took each class, I took notes in an excel document (obviously.) and will essentially paste those notes here verbatim followed by ad-hoc commentary.

1)

Wellesley, Laughing Dog Yoga Studio, June 29th 12:45pm

-Intense, severe ballerina woman teaching

-Good work out

-Didn't explain anything

-Focused on the newcomers, myself and "Beth"

-My tailbone sticks out too much and it's going to cause me back problems later in life. "I can't fix it in two minutes but if you come back I can help you with this".

-Angry at all of us for not working our core muscles, "I hate to tell you all this but not a single one of you are using your stomach muscles to do these exercises".

-No Barre? What is a barre anyway?

What a class to start my expedition with. Totally the opposite of yoga. Not that I was expecting yoga. I just wanted to try out this new workout I've heard so much about. The teacher was strict, humorless and non-compassionate. Hilarious, but never again. Not what I need. And seriously, why wasn't there a ballet barre? We just did all the exercises that one would do at a barre but...Without one. Lame.

2)

Brookline, Inner Space, July 7, 2011 12:00pm

Kripalu Hatha Yoga

-Meditative

-Good new hip stretches and I always need that

-"You have a beautfiul practice"

-Very, "do what your body wants to do today"/compassionate

-Bought a $4 iced tea afterwards, oops.

This was a very relaxing class that made me like myself. The studio was a little industrial, i.e. like in a garage, but it also had beautiful, huge skylights inside and you could see clouds streaming by as you yoga'd. And yeah, I wasted my money at some cafe next door afterward and was so mad at myself. But then I was inspired and started brewing really fancy iced tea at home for free...So, you win some you lose some.

3)

Sudbury, Walden Wellness, July 11, 2011 9:15-10:45  Vinyasa Flow

Meh, not really feeling it today. Kinda bored. She wasn't a very compelling teacher. Run of the mill vinyasa flow. She did end with singing and that was actually nice.  Some of the flows seemed awkward.

Also, she ended the class by saying, "We did a lot of twists today and this may cause heat inside your body depending on your diet because we have squeezed the toxins out . Be sure to drink a lot of water so you can pee out all the toxins". I'm sorry but this is pop/pseudo-medicine and it makes me angsty.

Yeaaahhh. This place basically only offered basic vinyasa which is why I took it. Meh x 2.

4)

Millis, Yoga at the Ashram, July 12, 9am-10:15am.

Only one in class

Beautiful facility with resident apartments. Studio looks like heaven.

I REPEAT, ONLY ONE IN CLASS.

Teacher told me some weird stuff about seeing the Yogi Leader in her mind during her third-eye meditation (???).

There was a "laughing" exercise which is extra hilarious when it's just two people.

It felt like I was there for hours, in a good way.

Felt relaxed and happy afterwards.

This one was my greatest story. I literally had to force laughter for a solid 5 minutes and it never turned into real laughter because there was no other people sharing this experience with me. Besides the teacher. My laugh literally turned into a whimper by the end. Pretty sure that's the opposite of what's supposed to happen. 

To be honest though, I really loved this experience, I felt good during the class despite being the only one there and felt good afterwards. This was not a challenging work-out type yoga and wasn't just still meditation. I really enjoyed the benefits it had for my mood and relaxation. And the teacher was a doll.

5)

Dedham, Stil Studio, July 15 2011 12pm-1pm

Mega Body Fusion

I was expecting a workout class and that's what I got. The teacher was good at instructing and good at encouraging you to not give up when she made you hold horrible positions. Typical quad, core and arm exercises influenced by yogas and pilates. Arms and legs were shaking afterwards. Would do this again. If drop-in rates at this joint weren't $17.

 

6)

Somerville, Be. in Union Yoga, Monday July 25 4-5:30pm

Ashtanga Flow

Really liked the teacher, very good at instructing, good at explaining benefits, a sense of humor, good pace.

Don't think it was straight up Ashtanga because she said "In Ashtanga you do more of this", etc. Some Sun A and B flows plus certain twists and a few inversions that I've done in other classes. I liked this one a lot. Probably mostly a result of the teacher.

Oh I found free parking, also!

7) 

Newton, Samadhi, Wednesday, August 24, 9-10:30AM "Flow Yoga",

Pretty studio, though under construction. Easy drive into Newton Center from my new apartment, big empty metered parking lot across the way. Did certain twists  and holds that I had never done before, kept me interested the whole time, never bored or confused. Teacher very good. Did my first hand stand with his help. Ultimately fell over  the bad way, like, onto my back. I'm cool with it.

Challenging. Not hot yoga but was sweaty and difficult but also very focused on breath and mediation (a happy medium).

8)

Waltham, Tri Yoga Boston, Thursday, August 25th 10-11am, NIA

The teacher is a practicing psychotherapist which I LOVE, obviously. She also teaches the Nia class at Laughing Dog Studio in Wellesley which is where I took the horrible Barre class. The lady at the front desk had actually said "You really should come to the Nia class on Friday", a premonition regarding how horrible and mean the barre class would be.

Nia is part interpretive dance, today's theme: Passion. Most moves are directed by the teacher but allows for your own movements AND various times it's basically just a free for all dance party. There were some kicks and punches that were more martial arts-ish. It ends with this "cool" down where you spend time in fetal position and move around to the music, then go to "lizard" position and move around, then crawling and then standing. I.e. Developmental stages. AMAZING. Would legitimately pay for this and follow this teacher around in the future.

Totally about body image, loving yourself, movement. "A sensory based movement practice". Totally what I love in the world. I can see how it would foster self-love and improve body image and I'd totes recommend it to both friends and clients. 

OMG BEST YARD SALE EVER

Adam and I have had a good 3-year run here in Natick. We have enjoyed the neighborhood, with it's nice nature trails, ice cream shops, mini golf, and peddle-boat rental facilities. We have also enjoyed the vast spaciousness of our apartment that included a finished attic and a basement.

With space comes accumulation of junk. Plus, the result of generous wedding and holiday gifts of new household items breeds a growing disdain for the old outdated hand-me-down housewares of days past. Since Adam and I are moving at the end of August, we had the perfect opportunity to hold the best yard sale ever.

As this was my first yard sale ever, I went bat shit crazy making awesome signs with my friend Jamie (naturally.)

Important Lesson: Do not hang signs with packing tape. Hang signs with Duct Tape.

Adam and I also spent several days compiling all the shit neat stuff we wanted to sell and then began systematically pricing them. Red circle equals 25 cents, green circle equals 50 cents, yellow circle equals $1, blue circle means $2 and everything else was marked with a more specific price.

While sorting through our treasures, we found some hidden gems.

Who doesn't love those capsules that turns into a sponge shaped like an animal? Before throwing these in the free pile, we tested one out. I sure hope it's a cheetah!!!!

Wow...I am shocked that a 15 year old capsule spongey toy is not working properly....

K....

After pulling the capsule open in a rage, it turns out it was sort of like a giraffe ... Sort of

Like I said, free pile.

Important Lesson: Your free pile will be taken before you sell a single item.

We did a double day yard sale to increase the probability of getting rid of everything.  We set up in the side yard and put some additional signs at the bottom of our driveway.

Important Lesson: Early birds do indeed come to your home at 8:30am even if your yard sale begins at 9:00am, just as the legend states. They will then say "What are you selling" and you will say, "Like, some stuff. You will see when it's out of the boxes". They will then begin rummaging through boxes that are not yet unpacked.

On our first day, we had a steady stream of customers and some of our lovely friends came to keep us company. We made a total of 116 diddies that day! Success!


Day two, a Sunday, a total of maybe 6 people came all day and we made $3. And I watched Glee on my Ipad.

Important Lesson: A yard sale day without early birds bodes poorly. Never have a Sunday yard sale.

I had firmly decided that anything that doesn't sell is not coming back inside of my house, so at the end of Sunday, I packed all remaining items into big boxes and donated them to Savers.

Important Lesson: The goal of a yard sale should be more about getting rid of things than making big money.

Despite Adam's best efforts, The Fan did not sell.

Now I am keenly aware that everything inside our current apartment is officially our own and here to stay and must therefore eventually make it's way over to our new apartment. Our next segment: Sweaty, bruised and lacerated: When Jessie moves big boxes.

Happy Birthday to Amurrica/My Blog

While I was at the July 4th Parade in my town--And by that I mean strolled out my front door in my pajamas  with my high fiber cereal--I became aware that I had a similar running commentary in my head about the various parts of the parade as I did last year. Why does this matter? Because I have an increase in running commentary in my head when I'm thinking about blogging about something.

Then it hit me; I've had this blog for at least one year and I probably missed it's Birthday! Indeed, upon inspection, my blog was birthed on June 5th, 2010 ("Calisthenics in Coolidge Woods"), making this a one-month belated Birthday retrospective.

The blog entry about July 4th, 2010 ("Bang(s) goes the Fourth") actually didn't cover the parade as much as I thought I would have, and therefore I will briefly cover this year's parade before diving into my self-indulgent tribute.

By brief I mean I will break each segment of the parade into my Favorites and Not Favorites:

Favorites:

Floats with steel drum bands

Floats with old man bands

Floats representing organic farms

Unicyclists

Yo Gabba Gabba and Hello Kitty

Super heroes

Free masons racing around each other in motorized mini trucks

A hearse

Sassy little vintage cars

Not Favorites:

The many fire trucks blaring their sirens for over 15 minutes

So many fire trucks

Politicians. Do not care.

Mixed Feelings:

Horses in general, not favorite.

Horses with braided hair, favorite.

Clowns, favorite.

Clowns dancing with bystanders, not favorite.

Lady dancers. Mixed feelings.

Now, on to my Birthday party. I will update you on how my life is the same or different by following up on some of my favorite blog entries of seasons past.

October 28, 2010: "$6 is a great deal": Amy and I hike Mt. Monadnock on a blustery Autumn day. Since then, Amy and I have been impatiently waiting for another Monadnock hike but as the weather gets warmer, the busier our schedules get. However, we will be able to sneak in a hike THIS COMING SUNDAY before she leaves on a trip. A significant change, however, is that a) I now own hiking boots b) my husband will be coming c) Adam and I are using this as a practice for our trip to the Alps in August. Amy has thoughtfully allowed Adam to be included in our adventure. Unfortunately, Adam doesn't eat PB and J and therefore will starve because Amy and I won't be packing him any snacks.

July 3, 2010: "Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose": Adam and I take an awkward and hideous stool that had been placed with a "free" sign at the end of our neighbor's driveway and turn it into a nifty little shelf for plants. The follow-up is that we will soon be having our own yard sale because we are moving at the end of August. Our yard sale is going to be totally sick and we will be selling my shoes, his clothes, barely used toys, a set of knives, and much much more! July 30-31!! BE THERE. Unfortunately, I've become money-crazy and am attempting to accumulate stuff from parents and friends to sell at my yard sale, which will ultimately lead to acquiring more things than we already have when they fail to sell.

August 28, 2010: "Raindrops on roses, harnesses on kittens": Our first-born (now age 3), Nuni, is taken for a walk on her harness and enjoys her life. Update: Nuni no longer enjoys her life as a result of this little ball of terror

We only have pictures of her sleeping because all other pictures are inevitably full of movement and blurry

Despite the well-pace introduction (January 17, 2011: "Cat intro Stage One"), Beatrix's personality is jovial, easily-excited, and bordering on hyper-active. Nuni, on the other hand, is serene, stand-offish, and prissy. A day WILL NEVER, I repeat, Never, come that these two will love each other. Correction--Beatrix loves everything and Nuni will never love Beatrix.

So what have we learned today? I'm moving out of Natick, meaning there will be new pizza places to tour (October 18, 2010) and new nature paths to walk (October 6, 2010). I'm going on a big trip to Europe meaning there will be more restaurants to review (June 10, 2010) and cultural experiences to degrade (June 11, 2011). And finally, I still have the same friends as always so I will continue to hike Mt. Monadnock (October 28, 2010), paint pottery (July 24, 2010, June 11, 2011), and eat in nice restaurants (August 21, 2010).

Rosalind, Betsey and Fritz

As usual, Mary and I drank a lot of wine on Saturday. It ended with housing a pizza and Mary going to bed to sleep off her stomach ache at 9pm. BUT, it started with a warm Saturday afternoon at the Veritas Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The wine tour is run by City Wine Tours for $56, but we had purchased half price tickets through Gilt City. Our "wine ambassador" was Rosalind Johnson, who told us this was her first tour through City Wine Tours, but that she is one of the founding members of Diva's Uncorked--Meaning, she was qualified. Not only that, she was very sweet, sassy and fun. Huge fan. Of Rosalind.

There were a total of 7 people on the tour, including us. At the Hotel Veritas, we tried two wines, the first a sparkling and the second a Chardonnay from California.

 

We learned some things about wine including ... How to smell it ("Pear!!!!!", "Vanilla!!!!"), how to hold the glass (preventing warming up your wine by holding the stem), and how the width of the legs (i.e. residue that descends) after swirling the glass indicates the alcohol content.

The Morgan Chardonnay was ultimately my favorite on the tour and I will probably try to find it to buy in the future. I looked it up and it's $20, so more expensive than my typical $4.99 bottle from Trader Joes, but the point is that I'm learning what I like. Right?

We then proceeded through Havahd Yahd and Rosalind pointed out the Harvard library and the statue of John Harvard. Fun Fact! The undergrads pee on John Harvard's shoe. Fun Fact! All tourists touch John Harvard's shoe for good luck.

Our next step was Casablanca, a restaurant that I've seen and been intrigued by but had never been inside of. What a treat! Here we tried a red wine which I found Just OK. Indeed, just as Rosalind said, when paired with the right food, it tasted better. Both the owner and the chef were present and were both very nice and able to answer any questions. The chef brought out a flat bread with baby arugula, mascarpone, balsamic onions, roasted grapes, and goat cheese. Um.....Best. Ever.

In addition, the wine began settling in and we all began having a little bit more fun. Mary and I finally chatted a bit more with the couple that was there, Betsey and Fritz. Fritz was just there for moral support for Betsey because he only drinks beer. They were fun and we found that we had common interests (Therapy.). Highlight of Casablanca--Betsey and Fritz or flatbread pizza? It's a toss up.

The final stop was the slightly stuffy Harvest Restaurant where it was too dark for day time and the waiter didn't stick around long enough to repeat what type of wine it was, though we eventually requested to see the bottles again. The first was Evodia Grenache from Spain. Again, not my thing, it was just OK. And next was a dessert wine, Chateau Bel Air, semillion, from Bordeaux. This was obviously quite sweet, so I loved it.

 

So the conclusion is that I would definitely do the North End version of this tour if I can do it for less than $56. On the other hand, I may just want to get drinks with Rosalind, Betsey and Fritz.

Notable artists of the twenty-first century

I should mention that both of these art-related activities were done in the company of Jamie. We like to hold a make-your-own summer camp in which we seek out activities that help us nurture our mind, body, and souls.

Our most recent activity was seeing the Chihuly exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts. Dale Chihuly is an American- born artist that studied glass as a medium to create art and now creates sculpture and installations using the method of blowing glass. His work is in over 200 museum wordlwide, but some of his pieces are also temporary outdoor installations.

My only complaint about the exhibit is that, going into it, I had no understanding about the process of blowing glass, and I left the exhibit equally uninformed. I imagine I could find out more about this on You Tube ...Chihuly glass blowing at Iittala factory.

Besides that, this exhibit ended up being my heaven. The colors were amazing and enormity of the pieces blew my mind. Blew it like glass. I thank my friend Jamie for taking these pictures with her iPhone. She loves her iPhone.

This is called the Ikebana Boat. According to the sign, this idea was spawned spontaneously when Chihuly threw some glass into a river in Finland in 1995 to see if they'd float, sink or break. Most of them floated, so he had to get some Finnish people to row over and retrieve all his glass. When they returned with boats filled with glass he says, he says to himself, "I'ma make some art!" (-Not a direct quote).

Nex, Mille Fiori, means One Thousand Flowers. I like to call it "the marsh". According to the sign at the museum, while Chihuly has created many versions of this particular installation, the one at the MFA is the largest Mille Fiori to date. Well la-tee-da.

And finally, the Chandeliers, were enormous pieces hanging from the ceiling from metal poles and looked like they could murder you at any moment. They too were in colors that made my eyes sing. The also had organic, visceral shapes within them and I found them to be a quality projective test. That is: does it look like genitals or an animal or like your crappy childhood?

Definitely an octopus

Hehe, frog hands everywhere!

All in all, I went into this not knowing what to expect and ended up loving it. It was beautiful and interesting and it inspired me to come up with this little ditty: "Chihuly, Chihuly, Chihuly preformance fleece...Chihuly, ..."

Just about two weeks before seeing this exhibit, another artist was working equally as hard in her studio. Artist = me, studio = The Clayroom. As you may do not recall, I have been here once before with the same friend. You buy a pre-made piece of pottery and you paint it. Incidentally, when I showed my father he was stunned at my ability to create such a perfectly formed piece of pottery. Then I told him that I merely painted the design on it and hadn't actually physically created the canister.

Last time I painted a calico cat bank. This time I painted a mini-canister. My initial hope had been there'd be mini-planters, but there wasn't. So instead, I stuck to the same design plan, but now it will probably hold solo earring-backings, rather than flowers.

 

 

If you were interested in my artistic process, I have created a You Tube video to demonstrate: Jessie's Creative Process