Day 21: Catching Up!

Hey fellow PCP'ers! Glad to return to the PCP blogosphere after some days away. I've been keeping up by reading as much as I can - you all are kicking some major butt! It's very heartening to see such transformation happening - both inside and out - in the group that's a month ahead of us, and even in our little 'three-weeks-in' cohort! Change is happening, folks! Exciting stuff.

So I have a few observations to share with y'all. First, about those workouts...

Jumping
A week or so ago, I found a good new stride in the jumping - slowing down slightly so that I wasn't gasping for breath each time I stopped. Well, I've lost that stride and have been f&*@#$% TRIPPING so much!! Not getting so winded, which is good, but the tripping is a little crazy-making. Also, by the time I get near the end of our 1000 jumps, my left shoulder is killing me. I'm taking from this that I am not jumping so efficiently. Naoko mentioned finding some ease in taking her jumps to the next level by breathing differently. This morning, I tried inhaling and exhaling strongly through my nose, instead of the panting I was doing before...which did help, especially when I found a rhythm with the breath and the jumps. But I must be doing too much with the arms if my shoulder is starting to feel strained. Any pointers? Anyone??

Strength training
Even after reading Patrick's email about working toward failure, I'm not getting there in most exercises. Incline pull-ups and anything targeting the shoulders - failure. But the lunges and squats in particular are fairly easy, less easy when I sloooowww them down, but still manageable. Biceps, triceps, abs, chest - same. Am I really not doing these exercises correctly?? I'm seeing results, feeling a slight burn, but it's definitely not a BURNING->AHHHGGHGH->FAIL situation. I'm sure I'll get to that situation eventually, as I already live in fear of all these mysterious exercises I can't even begin to picture (v-sits, pistol squats, kung-fu sit ups ?!?!). But in the meantime...??

Now on to other matters...

Sarah, meet your core. Core, meet Sarah. YOWZA! This is my favorite new development of the past 21 days. I feel so much stronger in my core, and am much more AWARE of being strong in my core. My posture is better, I'm walking around more confidently and less defensively. And, over the past 6 days, I've experienced a whole new level of core strength in my yoga practice. Especially when it comes to balancing postures. I love playing with balance anyway, but now - HOLY COWMOLY! Even if my limbs are shifting to keep the balance, my core is ROCK SOLID, and there's an ease to these postures that I've never felt before. I think Virabhadrasana III is my new favorite pose:
To me, this pose is all about joy, freedom, expansion in all directions, experiencing lightness while remaining rooted to the ground. Not to get too yogi-woo-woo on you, but...may we all experience these qualities at some point on the journey!

XOXO