Habits

The yoga training I am currently enrolled in requires 60 hours of assisting. It's actually a total of 120 hours, because you have to take a class and then assist. This sounds easy, but it's not. With a child it's hard due to child care issues and lack of sleep. I attempted to assist and take every day for the week, but my body was so out of shape I was starting to get a little sick.

I'm never sick. I get sick maybe once a year, if that. I think all of the sugar that I consume keeps the bacteria distracted in my visceral region. That's probably why it's so large. It's from swelling, not fat.

There are only thirty more assists, or sixty more classes, that I need before I can finish my training. I love it. I don't love leaving my child to a day care of a caregiver other than myself, but it' only for a few hours a day, and I really need to finish this training before the end of the year or else it will be obsolete.

My personal yoga practice has improved greatly, while my teaching has suffered. The original flow and command I had for my class was affected by the new influences of yoga that were introduced. Finding my flow is not as easy as it was when I didnt know as much. Now I do yoga daily, not as long as I'd like, but I do it. I'm trying to increase the 15 minutes to 30. The sequence is faster, and requires more poses. This is my planned thirty minute Yoga sequence:

 Surya namaskara A 5x

1. Tadasana
2. forward fold
3. half forward fold
4. forward fold
5. chaturanga
6. updog
7. downdowg

Surya namaskara B 5x

1. tadasana
2. chair
3. forward fold
4. half forward fold
5. chaturanga
6. up dog
7. downdog
8. warrior one
9. chaturanga
10. updog
11. downdog
12. warrior one other leg
13. chaturanga
14. updog
15. downdog
16. half forward fold
17. forward fold
18. chair
19. tadasana

vinyasa

Warrior one

warrior two

reverse warrior

warrior two

triangle

warrior one

high lunge

vinyasa

repeat other side

vinyasa to standing

chair

eagle

chair

tadasana

dancers pose both sides

squat

crow

vinyasa

table top

half bow pose right leg/left hand

cat cow

half bow pose left leg/righthand

cat cow

come down to seated

marichi pose both sides

butterfly

forward fold

fish

five minutes of savahsana

I will attempt this daily and see how it goes. It's a little different from the shorter sequence but it includes more arms. 

The assessment has been scheduled for next month. Lets hope I lose a little fat before then. Crossing my fingers!

Body Composition Assessment

Running every day is impossible! I don't really want to run in place in my apartment, either. Having a sick toddler doesn't help with these simple goals. 

One of my friends just let me know that there is a clinic that gives you a body evaluation. They assess your lean body mass and body fat percentage. I know I should run to the clinic especially since my body fat has increased by 100%. But, I'm going to take my time first and try to lose as much fat as I can before I'm evaluated. HEHEHE. 

I've started to make myself protein shakes. I still consume too much sugar even in the shakes, but I will decrease it after a week. The daily sugar intake a woman should consume a day is only 25 grams! WHY DID I READ THIS?  It used to be 72 grams! I go over this limit every hour! The shakes are primarily composed of fruit, yogurt, chia seeds, almond milk or coconut water and protein powder. The protein powder I'm using is:

It's very helpful. I didn't find myself looking for food after

four or five hours. I've also started using the application 

"Lose It!" It's very helpful, It keeps track of my sugar, protein and fat intake. It set me up on a 1200 calorie a day diet.  I'm not sure I can keep with the low calorie intake due to the fact that I'm still breastfeeding. But, since I have been eating over my allowed intake, I'm sure it's fine for right now. I'm just making sure that my protein intake is maintained.

After this week, I will sign up for the Body Composition Assessment, and let you know how it went. 

Reiki

A year ago, I was trained by a monk to be a Reiki practitioner.

Reiki is a practice that heals using universal energy. A practitioner uses their hands or learned characters to heal a person. The learned characters will heal a person in a distant location.

The monk had to recalibrate my energy using water and his own enlightened energy. I was able to feel the heat from his palms even from a few inches away. It was remarkable. Never in my life had i experienced anything like that. The more you practice the more healing power you possess.

Because I was an avid massage client in the past, I believe in the power of touch. So when he mentioned that he could cure with his hands, I did not second guess him. I was very reluctant to believe that Reiki would work from far away, though. Can a person feel your healing touch or presence with out you knowing them from miles away?

This article explains how a certain kind of touch therapy is effective. Distant healing was studied and found to be effective 57 percent of the time. Now, these are only two articles that found touch healing and distant healing to be effective, primarily touch healing. I'm still skeptical of the distant healing but continue to believe that touch and love can cure a close relative or neighbor.

Reiki is a wonderful practice that is not invasive. My practice has to continue so that the energy in my hands can become as strong as the monks! I'm glad to know that I don't need to shave my hair or wear a robe to increase my universal energy.