The Mystery of the Thinning Enamel: Case Closed

I previously blogged about the state of my teeth. Some cavities, a cracked tooth, and thinning enamel on my front teeth. I had a deep cleaning done last month. Yesterday was the filling. And somehow I hadn't really realized how big the cavity was. Either that or it grew really quickly (which they say it can once it hits the dentin). They shot me up with Novocaine and dug out the cavity. And given the sensitivity and the fact that they had to give me two shots of Novocaine, they thought the decay might have hit the nerve and I'd need a root canal (I never really knew what a root canal was, but now that I do, ugh!). Thankfully, I narrowly escaped that.

In any event, they drilled out the cavity, then as they were preparing the filling, I explored it a little with my tongue. I had a hole nearly the size of my tooth in my tooth! Seriously! It was like a hole with a tooth shell around it. I couldn't get over how big it was, I still can't, it was nuts.

Anyway, during this whole cavity and filling process, I asked the doc about my thinning enamel (indicated by some yellowing of the teeth. Sometimes this means staining, in which case whitening is called for. Sometimes it means thinning enamel, which lets the yellow dentin underneath show through. In my case it's the later. And what sucks is that enamel doesn't grow back). I asked her why it might be thinning, and she went through the same things that the lady who cleaned my teeth mentioned - acidic stuff like juice, soda, possibly tomatoes (though they wouldn't be that bad). I rarely drink juice and infrequently drink soda. So I was still at a loss. Continue the filling process.

Then a lightbulb goes off in my head.

I eat a lot of fruit. My breakfast every morning is a fruit shake, something like this:

1 banana
2/3 of a half a cantaloupe or 1/3 container of defrosted strawberries
1 nectarine/peach/handful of blueberries
dash of water
2t flax seed oil
scoop of whey protein powder

I drink this (and it's usually a glass and a half worth of shake), then I brush my teeth and head out. Basically, the problems are twofold. The acid from the fruit gets on my front teeth as I drink the shake and sticks on the enamel. Then I go brush my teeth and the acid works as an abrasive to wear away the enamel. So I think I'm being so good and having fruit for breakfast and brushing my teeth, but really I'm wearing them away. You can't win sometimes, can you?

Or wait, maybe you can! The dentist then provided a solution for me, because she acknowledged that fruit is a very healthy option. Buy straws. Drinking my shake through a straw will send it right to the back of my mouth and bypass the front teeth completely. On top of that, rinse out my mouth with water before brushing my teeth just in case any of the fruit acid stuck on there. Woohoo, easy solution!

Fitness Fun Makeover

So fitness sometimes tends to gets the bad reputation of being "that thing you have to do to be healthy but gosh-darn-it wouldn't you rather be eating cupcakes!" Given the amazing gym disappearing act that goes on in March of all the New Year's resolution people, I'm thinking that a lot of people view exercise this way - you have to do it to be healthy, but it's so hard to fit it into the schedule, and anyway it's not all that fun so you have to get some serious motivation on to Just Do It.

So this post is all about the fun and enjoyable side of exercise. Not all the points are going to be relevant for you (my theory is that there are two kinds of exercisers - solo exercisers (runners, bikers, etc) and social exercisers (group fitness, social sports), and so I'll try to list fun aspects of both. However, this might be social exerciser-heavy, since that's what I am...). Especially now that we're going into the crazy busy holiday season, we need some way to make exercise fun and motivating so we'll actually get there and do it, instead of just meaning to.

1. Music

- if you're a solo, then great news! You get to design your own workout track. Choose songs which resonate with you, which will get your heart pumping. If you're sitting still and have to move when the song comes on, that's a good one. Also pay attention to the cadence - if you're running or cycling, it's easier to stay with a challenging pace if you run/bike with the speed of the music.

- if you're a social, then try to find a class with music you like (or if you play social sports, bring a boom box to the game with your favorite songs). Every instructor is different and has a different style, and music has a big impact on class (especially with spinning). If you try one class and it was ho hum, try a different instructor because the music (or their teaching style, that too) might just make the difference. Here's an example for you of the music tracks from one of the spinning classes I teach:

• Bang (Eve6) – warm-up (easy, still able to breathe with mouth closed), 3:35 minutes, 60rpm
• ATB Hold You (ATB Lyrics) – hill (start seated, add gear every 15 seconds until standing, don't drop below a cadence of 60, by the end of the song, you should not be able to breathe with your mouth closed), 3:29 minutes, 70rpm
• Untouched (The Veronicas) - sprint (seated, add as much gear as you can while holding the cadence of the music, don't sacrifice speed for higher resistance. If you get tired, reduce gear. Challenged, completely uncomfortable, starting to breathe hard by the end of the song), 4:14 minutes, 90rpm
• Falling On (Finger Eleven) – jumps (in the saddle 8 beats, stand 8, adding gear periodically until near breathless), 3:07, 80rpm
• Little House (The Fray) - recovery (bring your breathe back down until you breathe with your mouth closed again), 2:32, 60rpm
• Ici Maintenant (Marie-Mai) – sweet spot hill (stay out of the saddle, increase resistance to the highest possible without sacrificing cadence to kick your heart rate up), 3:00, 70rpm
• Seventeen (Jimmy Eat World) – jumps (same as Falling on, challenged and breathing hard), 3:36, 75rpm
• Forever (Chris Brown) - spring interval rolling hills (out of the saddle, every at every 30sec mark, give a 10 second spring (doesn't have to be fast, just faster than the base cadence), after the sprint, pull back to the music cadence and increase resistance a bit), 4:41, 60rpm
• In My Arms (Plumb) – recovery (bring your breathe back down until you breathe with your mouth closed again), 4:04, 60rpm
• Les Secrets (Dumas) - 20sec seated, 20sec standing (option to add gear on standing, push breathing back up until you can't breathe with mouth closed), 3:49, 80rpm
• How Much Longer (Eve6) – sprint (same as Untouched), 3:06, 95rpm
• Lips of an Angel (Hinder) – rolling hills (start with moderately heavy resistance at the cadence of the music. When you hit the chorus, pick up your cadence between 90-100rpm. Come back to cadence on the verse. Add gear (every chorus is a new hill and each hill is steeper), 4:23, 70-100rpm
• Je te Vends mon Ame (Kyo) – recovery, 3:32, 60rpm
• Breath (Breaking Benjamin) – sprint intervals (like rolling hills without the added resistance. Be sure to set a challenging resistance to start with, and don't go too fast. Cadence in the sprint is twice the cadence of the music, cadence in recovery is faster than the music), 3:38, 70-100rpm
• Change Your Mind (The Killers) - sprint (this is a slower sprint than previously, but that doesn't mean you're recovering or that you're working any less hard. Just turn your gear as high as you can and push through it), 3:11, 75rpm
• La Prochaine Fois (Marie-Mai) – cool down (stay on the bike for the entire song to bring your heart rate down), 3:50, 60-70rpm
• Cuor Senza Sangue (Emma Shappelin) - stretch (be sure to stretch hamstrings, IT band, quads, back, neck, and calves)

2. Join a team - when you're having fun, you're less likely to realize you're exercising, or it won't seem to be a chore. Granted, many team sports aren't quite as high intensity (kickball for one, is more social than exercise, as I maybe get up to kick once or twice a game). So it depends whether you're looking for more social or more exercise. Dodgeball is definitely higher heart rate, as there's lots of running and ducking and throwing (given you can dodge dip dive dodge duck).

3. Try a bunch of different classes - so you went to a step class last year and felt like you stuck out like a sore thumb, going left when everyone was going right? You're not alone. Step, especially, is very high complexity and lower intensity (basically, lots of choreography that makes it confusing to the newcomer). It's like being dumped into a foreign country with a whole other language that you don't know. You could stick it out and pretty soon you'll be fluent in the language, or you could try another class. And to keep interested, go to a variety of classes, not just the same ones all the time.

4. Avoid boredom - has your workout become 30 minutes on the elliptical followed by a couple weight exercises? Been going to the same class every week for ages, and only that class with that instructor? Running the same distance at the same speed? Some people find doing the same kind of workout all the time soothing (if that's you, more power to you). I get seriously bored, so I have to change it up. Try a new class, a new weight machine, add an extra set, add some intervals, run a different route, you name it. Your mind will thank you. Your muscles will also work harder, as the new exercises won't be running on muscle memory.

5. Get a workout buddy - if you're a social exerciser and you have trouble motivating yourself, get yourself a workout buddy. If you're trying to work out on your own and don't feel like it, it's easy to say "I'll just do it tomorrow." If you have a workout buddy, there's motivation built in that you don't want to derail their workout by cancelling (I've done this and gone and worked out and found out that neither of us wanted to work out that day, but both did it because we didn't want to let the other down). Plus, the chit chat while you're working out can take your mind off of how hard the workout is.

6. Go where the hot guys/girls are - if you're trying to make a connection, then this might be the perfect option for some eye candy, or possibly flirting. And you're likely to work harder if you're trying to impress someone, and to stay longer to work out. And it'll be more fun! (Just make sure that you're not staring at them, creeping them out, and if you're flirting with them, tread carefully to make sure they're open to it. Because there's nothing worse than that creepy guy/girl at the gym who just doesn't know when to stop).

Any other fun tips you guys have?

Cold Breaking

So there are a ton of home remedies out there on how best to get rid of your cold. Seeing as I've caught a hold of the latest nasty bug going around, I figured it'd be a good time to consider these. And I figure some of you might be in the same boat as I am.

Chicken soup - so it appears this isn't just an Old Wives' Tale. Sure, it's grandma's remedy, but CNN reported that chicken soup contains several ingredients that affect the body's immune system. It turns out that chicken soup and many of its ingredients stop the movement of neutrophils, which are "white blood cells that eat up bacteria and cellular debris and which are released in great numbers by viral infections like colds." Neutrophils also stimulate the release of mucous and may cause coughs and runny noses. In addition, the steam from the soup may soothe inflamed airways. I think that perhaps I should defrost some of the chicken spinach soup in my freezer tonight...

Vitamin C - you've probably heard it a million times. You get a cold, and everyone starts telling you to take C, or drink orange juice, or take Airborne, or eat oranges. So you do, because honestly, you'll try anything to get rid of the mucous invasion and body-rattling cough. I know...I had three colds in the span of four months last year. The scientists are on this one too, and they've compared studies over the last 60 years about the effect of C on the body.

It turns out that once you're sick, vitamin C isn't going to do much for you (unless you take a bunch of it the first day you're sick, then maybe maybe it might make your cold a bit shorter). However, if you take vitamin C regularly when you're well, you can help prevent colds to some extent (about 50% less chance of getting a cold). So taking Airborne isn't going to help get rid of your cold, and won't necessarily prevent it either (they actually were sued for having claimed that it prevents colds, and they lost).

But if you take a vitamin C supplement, it could help out in the long run. One thing to pay attention to with your vitamins, however, is that it is possible to get too much of a good thing. Many vitamins have 300% or 500% or whatever of daily value of a vitamin. And for vitamin C, this isn't a big deal. But for the fat soluble vitamins, the ones that build up in your system and don't wash out every day (A, D, E, and K), there can be detrimental effects to having too much. So check the specs on your multi-vitamin before taking it every day. I take Centrum Chewables, which has a max of 100% daily value, and the fat solubles are less than that due to food sources (plus, it's tasty, like eating candy).

Vitamin E - Tufts University did a study of the effect of vitamin E on people 65 or older. It turns out that having 200 IU daily of vitamin E decreased the chances of getting a cold by 20%. The effect isn't as great among younger people, and the supposition is that the immune response declines with age, so vitamin E has more of an effect on older people. It's also best to take vitamin E with a meal containing some fat, since it's a fat soluble vitamin. However, as I mentioned above, it's best not to get too much E, because it doesn't wash out of the system right away. Getting 400 IU or more per day can increase the risk of dying, according to Johns Hopkins research. Adults get about 10 IU from diet. My multi-vitamin gives me 30 IU and lists it as 100% of daily value. Long story short - don't take too much vitamin E and don't take super-doses when you're sick (because there's nothing that says it will get rid of an entrenched cold).

Garlic - this article mentions a 2001 study concluded that garlic supplements can help to prevent colds, or to reduce the length of the cold. However, that study has not been replicated. But seeing as garlic is one of the ingredients in my chicken soup recipe, maybe I'll stick with getting it that way.

Water/Juice/Broth - "drown a cold, starve a fever." I've had this rattling through my head the past couple days. And while you can't wash out a cold just by drinking lots of fluids, keeping hydrated is important. Water, juice, broth, or warm lemon water with honey can help loosen congestion as well as hydrating. Avoid alcohol, coffee, and caffeinated sodas, which can make dehydration worse (oops, wasn't thinking of that when I had all that alcohol on Saturday night... maybe that's why the hangover was that much worse, with the alcohol + cold).

OTC medications - reduce symptoms of colds, but don't prevent them or reduce their duration. So they'll perhaps make your life a little easier for a few days, but don't actually impact the cold itself. And here's my take on it - you take this medicine to reduce symptoms, then you feel better. So maybe you stay up later, or you go to the gym, or basically put more stress on your body than you should, considering that you're sick. I think that sickness is our body's way to tell us to slow down for a little while, until we're better. So I don't take medicine unless I have to (for instance, if I can't breathe because of the mucous, or I'm coughing so much I can't sleep).

Echinacea/zinc - studies are mixed on this. Some of them show that they help, some that they have no effect at all. I think some of the effect is in believing that they're going to help, because the mind does work in funny ways.

Antibiotics/antihistimines - in this country, we're all about the quick fix. Why suffer through a cold if you can just twist your doctor's arm into giving you antibiotics? Antibiotics will kill bacteria, but don't do anything to a cold virus, and using them so much also leads to antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ergo the rise in resistant infections recently). So as hard as it is (especially if you're a parent and your child has a cold), better to just let it run its course.

Neti pot - otherwise called a "nose bidet," this "new" trend caught on when Oprah discussed it last year. It's claimed that it reduces sinus headaches, respiratory issues, and possibly even can affect colds and flu. I've never tried it, but it sounds intriguing (though strange and bordering on gross).

Rest - I almost put this number one on the list, but since it's the final one you're going to read, maybe it'll stick in the mind. Rest rest rest. In the fast paced city world I live in, it's hard to remember to relax sometimes, even when we're not feeling well. But I firmly believe that rest will help me get better faster. So I went home early yesterday. I watched DVDs and cross-stitched. I subbed out my classes at the gym. I drank lots of tea. And while I'm coughing up a storm, the congestion is gone (apart from a little runny nose), and I don't feel like I'm thinking through a cotton ball.

Monday Recipe - Peach Pear Crisp

I noticed last week that the farmer's market was starting to bring in some pears, and there are still the last of the peaches on hand. So I decided to get both and make a crisp (the pears were Asian pears, so they look like green apples with that nubbly pear skin). To be honest, it finished cooking last night after I'd already brushed my teeth, so I haven't tried it yet. I had so many pears and peaches that I ended up with three layers of fruit, topped with the sugar oatmeal mixture. I think if I make that much again, I may put a second layer of sugary goodness in the middle.

Note: for the quantity of fruit below, I'm really not sure how many I used, this is just a guess. I used a large casserole dish and it made three layers of sliced fruit, about half peaches, half pears (maybe slightly more of the former than the latter).

I'm making the same recipe with fresh picked apples next weekend.

Peach Pear Crisp

8 medium peaches, sliced
8 large Asian pears, sliced
1 1/2 C flour
2C brown sugar
3/4 C oatmeal
C butter, softened
t cinnamon
t cloves
1-2t minced ginger

Layer peaches and pears into the casserole dish. Totally personal preference, but I put the pairs on the bottom, then the peaches, and filled in the third layer with a little of both.

Mix together flour, sugar, oatmeal, spices, and ginger. Sprinkle over top of fruit until covered. Pop into the oven at 350 for about 50 minutes (or until browned on top).

Enjoy!

Friday Rant....and Thanks: Gym Edition

So for the past year, I've been teaching Tuesday night spinning at a small independent gym in my neighborhood. Now, I'm all for supporting the local indie business (the Evil Empires of Walmart, Costco and the chain bookstores are a rant for another day), my mother has a small independent store and I worked at an independent bookstore for a while. But there are some instances where the small indie just doesn't have it together.

The Beginning
I was hired with no audition, no references called, and while they did asked whether I was certified, they never actually asked to look at the certification. That's warning bells right there, but since they were paying me considerably more than the other gyms where I teach, I figured I'd just roll with it. I stopped by one morning to fill out some paperwork and take a tour of the gym and that was that, "show up on Tuesday to teach class." Excellent.

Where the Going Gets Murky
So, then I show up for the first class and there's nobody there to take class. Mind you, this is a small club which is mostly cardio and weight equipment, no frills. The small cycle room doubles as a yoga studio and triples as a stretching/personal training room. That's fine, whatever. I set up the bikes (all seven of them), crank up the music, get on the bike, and start pumping. A couple people came in to find out what was going on, I chatted with them about class, and hopefully started to spread the word.

The next week, one person came to class. Great, ok, I can work with this. It all builds slowly (they had just bought the bikes, so it was an entirely new program). Plus, the bikes have these very cool computers on them to tell you how fast and how fast you've gone. Which is great when you want them to match a particular cadence.

The following week, I show up and go to get my paycheck. And I'm paid $20 less than was (verbally) agreed. And my name isn't on the schedule. My class isn't even on the schedule. And, the only two evening cycling classes of the week are both on Tuesday night. ????

So I email the manager. Tell him there seems to have been a problem, I wasn't paid what I was told I would be. And here's what I was told - "since you only had one person in class, it's considered personal training, so you're being paid that rate." And as to the fact that I'm not on the schedule? "We're going to see how it goes."

Um, hell no.

Agreement was for a certain amount, not based upon attendence. It's not my fault he's not advertising the class (and even crazier, after a whole year of teaching....I'm still not on the schedule! Not online, not on the paper copies they give out. The only place I'm on the schedule is on the ones they post on the walls where I've handwritten my class in), and it's not my fault if the weather's nasty or people are busy or what have you. I can go along with not getting paid for nobody showing up (though the other gyms do pay me for that, since I showed up, I blocked out the time, and it was the member's decision not to come). If there's low attendence, you don't pay the instructor less, you just cancel the class permanently. Screwing with the instructor's pay just pisses them off and makes them not feel loyal to you. That issue was "resolved" by saying that if only one person showed up, I could cancel class.

I've asked him several times over the last year to change the website and schedule fliers, because if people know about class, then more people are likely to come (this seem emminently logical to me...a basic for marketing - people can't go to a class they don't know about). He usually ignores emails.

Regardless of all these marketing shenanigans, I did start to get a core group of people coming to class. Usually about 3-5 on any given Tuesday (max is 7). But again, because the two evening classes of the week are back to back, we end up splitting attendence between us.

When the Burnout Begins
Last week, the train was delayed, so I got to the gym at exactly the time class was supposed to start. Whatever. The management has never seemed to care, and the members are usually late, since it's hard to get there on time right from work. I poke my head in the spin room, but there's nobody there. I go change, set up all the bikes, and there's still nobody. I go out to the front and see one of the regulars from my class on a stationery bike. He was willing to take class, but since it was just him, that fell under the cancel-class rule. So I'm kind of psyched, now I can just lift some weights and go home. Then someone else approaches me to ask about class. At this point, it's a good 15-20 minutes after class is supposed to start. And I just wasn't prepared to start class at that point. So I told her I had to have at least two people, and unfortunately I was cancelling class that night. At any of my other gyms, where they actually have oversight (and treat their instructors well), there's no way I would do that.

This week, I had three people in class. One wanted a 45 minute class (it's technically a 60 minute class, but I give the option), the others were kind of on the fence, but would've done 60. And I was really tired. I didn't feel like dealing with it. We did 45 minutes.

The World Works in Mysterious Ways
So I've just started meditating, and a local meditation center was recommended to me. And their beginning meditation group meets on Tuesday nights. My immediate reaction to this is "damn! I have to teach." Then I think about it, and I say "hmmm, I wonder if I should try to change the night I teach, or just cancel, because dude is a hassle to deal with" (all the people and employees and business partners at the gym are wonderful, it's just the one guy who's hard to deal with, for everyone not just me). Because going to that beginner's guided meditation would be helpful...it's hard to do on my own!

Then I get a call yesterday from the gym. They need to change the schedule. They want to put both spinning classes on Monday nights (uh, hello, why move both to the same night?). I teach two classes at another gym on Monday nights, definitely not going to be able to do that. So I talk to Manager Dude this morning. They have a yoga instructor who's really popular who has to change her schedule and can only teach Tuesdays, so they need to switch the spinning. All well and good. But I can't teach Mondays. I suggest he break up the spinning classes, since members have been asking to have them on separate nights. His response? "Yoga does better for us, I'm kind of regretting getting the spinning." Well, he should be regretting not actually advertising that there ARE spinning classes, but I didn't go there. I just told him that if he ever wanted to put a spinning class back on Tuesday or Wednesday, to let me know.

And Then Comes the Thanks
So yes, I'll miss the money, because it wasn't inconsequential. But man, I feel kinda free! I no longer have to deal with the Manager Dude, I have an extra day of the week when I could teach somewhere else, or get my own workout, or go to the guided meditation at the center. I find it funny that this all happened within a week of even finding out about the meditation center. But I think it's a good development, going from stress to calm or social (or both).

Debunking the Bunk - Coconut

Coconut was one of the Big Evils when I was growing up. High in sat fat, bad for cholesterol, one of those foods that just wasn't worth it. It helped that I've never liked coconut, so it was one of those "bad" foods that I never missed. Something about the texture of it just doesn't sit right with me.

The Bad Stuff
And this post isn't to totally debunk coconut as bad, because it's never going to be one of those antioxidant superfoods we keep hearing about. It is high in saturated fat (one two-ounce piece contains more than 13g, two thirds the recommended daily limit) and delivers a higher sat-fat punch than butter, lard or margarine. Coconut oil also substantially elevates LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Given all this, you're probably asking right about now how coconut made it into my Debunking the Bunk series, right?

The Not-So-Bad Stuff
Well, it turns out that coconut isn't as bad as we thought it was. Sure, it's got sat fat, and it will raise your LDL if you eat too much of it. However, companies are now researching using coconut oil in place of the all nasty partially hydrogenated (trans fat) oils (shout out to my mother for being thoroughly ahead of the curve and teaching me at a very early age that partially hydrogenated was bad, before any of us had even heard the words "trans fat"). And the reason they're looking to use coconut oil is that while it does raise LDL, it also significantly raises HDL (good) cholesterol, whereas trans fats raise LDL and lower HDL. (Source)

The Good Stuff
So I read up on the good side of coconut at this obviously biased very helpful site. They claim that coconut is used by those with thyroid issues to increase body metabolism and for others to lose weight (wait, saturated fat helps us lose weight? Yippee!!). It's also used for soaps and they claim it's one of the healthiest products you can put on your skin (unless, of course, you're going to go out and fry in the sun in it). The claim is that the past studies done on coconut were done on hydrogenated coconut oil, which is altered from its original form (the source listed in the not-so-bad section makes no mention of what kind of oil was studied).

In studies, the medical community seems to be on board with the fact that coconut can be a powerful tool to use again immune diseases. Published studies in medical journals (mentioned at a site which conveniently doesn't link to them) list the following as some healthy applications of coconut:

- Kills a variety of fungi, bacteria, and parasites
- Improves absorption of vitamins and minerals
- Reduces certain problems associated with pancreatitis, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, osteoporosis, gallbladder disease, Crohn's disease, ulcers, cancer, periodontal disease, epileptic seizures, kidney disease (and disolves kidney stones), liver disease, psoriasis, and eczema
- Reduces inflammation and aids in tissue repair
- Helps prevent obesity and is lower in fat than other oils
- Softens skin and prevents dryness and cracking, prevents wrinkles and age spots, promotes healthy hair and complexion
- Helps control dandruff
- Does your laundry and pays all your bills

Ok, so that last one was just to see if you were paying attention.

Do I detect a note of cynicism?
Now, thing is, what with this litany of benefits from coconut, you'd think that that's all we'd be hearing about, right? Coconut this, coconut that. It would be the new blueberry, the new pomegranate, the new acai berry. Pardon me if I'm a little skeptical, but seriously, if coconut were all that, wouldn't doctors be prescribing it by the boatload? Our supermarkets would have a whole aisle devoted to coconut. And while it may have the effect as listed above on people, I tend to be skeptical about one kind of food that seems to be able to do absolutely anything. Cancer? Diabetes? Beautiful skin? Hmm.

So I'm debunking the fact that coconut is the evil is was always thought to be (at least, when I was growing up). But I'm not entirely swayed in the other direction. I'll wait it out and see whether all the happy happy coconut joy holds out (hope it does) or whether we should just put the lime in the coconut on special occasions.

In search of my yoga high

So I'm on a quest, a yoga quest. So far, I've tried three kinds: Astanga, Vinyasa, and Kundalini.

Lately, I find that I need to get back to my center, find my calmness and focus back on my breathing and inner self. And man was that weird to say, because I've never thought of myself as all that new age-y. But there you have it. So I'm trying to find the right yoga for me, and I'm learning how to meditate (and damn is that meditating hard!). The past four years has been aerobics pounding and weight pumping fun, and now it's time to balance it out.

Thus far, these are the styles I've tried:

Astanga - In one word? Lost. The movements were very fast - through the first three reps of each sun salutation, the movements flowed so quickly from one to another that I didn't have time to take a proper breath. When we were given the reins to go at our own speed, I could slow it down. Since breathing's what I'm after, this one didn't cut it. Plus, I had the feeling it was just a bit too advanced - in between every sitting pose, we were supposed to do a vinyasa (plank, hover, downdog). I just sat there and tried to look serene. It was definitely a good work out, and used muscles I hadn't used in a while (ouch!), but not a good way to get back into yoga.

Vinyasa - This is interesting...I didn't realize until just now when I went to research it that vinyasa yoga is just a derivative form of astanga yoga. The main difference I could see was that vinyasa was a bit slower and easier for me to follow (though that could've been the instructor). I was able to breathe through the moves, though the forms were definitely athletic more than meditative. And that's what many superhuman yoga guru people are looking for. But not me. I may continue doing this style every now and then, just to increase my flexibility and get more comfortable with the flow. The instructor has a tendency to be very chatty, in that annoyingly chipper more like aerobics kind of way that is, in fact, rather like how I sound in step class.

Kundalini - I got to this class right after class started, and at first it sounded like there was music on. Then I realized they were chanting. I almost walked out right then, because while I'm all for people following their spiritual bliss, the whole mystical connection has never been that interesting to me. But I sat down, figured I'd give it a chance. And man did I feel strange humming along with them. Then we got into the yoga part, which was so totally different than astanga and hatha that I almost didn't recognize it. It was basically all small movements (front-back, side-side, rotating hips, lift leg off downdog) with fast breathing. I felt myself start to hyperventilate pretty quickly with trying to match their breathing until my fingers started to tingle. So rather than find myself splayed out embarrassingly on the floor with the teacher hovering over me, I decided I'd slow it down. So I did one movement for every one of their two or three, and instead of breathing out with the out movement and in with the in, I'd breathe a full breath and just move separately. I know, not the purpose of the breathing with the yoga, but I figured the modification was better than fainting. One of the things that I really did like about class is that they had a long section at the end of meditative yoga - basically sitting with arms up (or, in my case, hands on knees) and some chanting. By that point I wasn't as self-conscious.

There's a really nice yoga studio right across the street from work that I want to try, but it's about $20 per class, which is a lot steeper than the free astanga (since I work there) or cheap kundalini (work there, but don't have a membership). I'm going to check out Kripalu at some point soon, maybe a three day stint or something of the kind. I understand they have lots of different styles there, so I can go yoga shopping!

I have this wacky idea rattling around in my head. There are some people who meditate sitting. Some people meditate while walking. I wonder if there would be a way to combine spinning and meditation? And it seems that I'm not the first to have this idea. Now, I'm not talking spinning in the same way I'd normally teach a class, which involves standing up, sitting down, speeding up, slowing down, raising and lowering resistance. But just the act of spinning is a rather meditative act, it seems to me, at a steady cadence, steady resistance, it would be easy to just "slip into the zone" as cycling instructors would put it. I think that it would be hard to do meditative cycling on the road (or bike path) because you'd have to pay attention to not wrapping yourself around a tree, or a person (though the link above says that it's not that different than walking meditation, just keep your eyes open). First step, though, get comfortable with meditation, then add cycle...Don't start thinking about it class or timing cues will be missed as I start thinking about how meditative it is (oops, too late, turn your gear! Stand up! Pedal faster!). Too bad the weather's getting so much cooler...I could start cycling outside now!