The Sound of the Ocean - Day 4

Beach Yoga

The main character in the novel I'm writing is a young woman obsessed with the sound of the ocean. She is a little bit autobiographical. I went to school in California looking for the sound of the ocean not knowing that the beach was a 45 minute drive away. I married a man who grew up near the ocean. Here is a blog about what I think of him. Until last week, I thought there was something about the scent and taste of him that reminded me of the sea. But I was wrong. I hear the ocean in his breathing. . . and in mine.

While I was at Hilton Head Health, I was fortunate to take a few yoga classes with Karen Verechia. She got the sense that the 4 scheduled classes were not enough for me. I like lifting weights, but I hate walking on treadmills. You don't go anywhere. It is my idea of hell. But with yoga you are always reaching for something. You are both grounding yourself and looking upward. Karen invited me to one of her beach yoga classes, and I jumped at the chance to go.

I could go on forever about what happened to me as I sat facing the water, eyes closed, and breathing like I was the tide itself. You know I'm not overly sentimental. I only cry watching a few movies: Shawshank Redemption, Steele Magnolias, and The Terminator. I cried twice this year walking the Labyrinth at my church. No one could explain what happened, and my guess is that when I speak to God as opposed to praying, I cry. I must have be speaking to God while I did my beach yoga with Karen. My heart hurt. My breathing sounded like the tide touching then withdrawing from the sand.

I have many thanks to give Hilton Head Health and a many more thanks for Karen from Studio V Yoga. She takes her yoga class onto the blinding whiteness of the beach and asks that you breathe, if only for an hour, like the sound of the ocean.

I would recommend beach yoga with Karen Verechia if you're ever in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Check out her website Studio V Yoga for days and times.

Exercise Journal

The Countdown 10. (10 sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, squats, then 100 meters. Then 9 sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, squats, then 100 meters, Then 8, 7, and so on) Time: 19 minutes and way too much sweat for 7 a.m. What we refer to as the butt-crack of dawn. My husband and I did this routine before work this morning. I had come up with about 5 excuses why we didn't have time, but we did it and I was still at my desk before 9 a.m.! I sent him an email at 10 a.m. thanking him for giving me a boost today.

2 sets of stairs at work. 12 flights total up and down. I was in my work clothes so I tried not to break a sweat (see ocean breathing above). I imagine I'm in a chase scene in a movie. Why do they run up the stairs in movie chase scenes? It makes no sense. When bad guys are chasing you, always go down the stairs.

Food Journal
090 - Yogurt

190 - 1/2 cup Flax Seed Plus with Raisins

140 - Oat bread

160 - 1/2 cup Hummus

120 - 1/2 cup Tabouli

100 - Banana

050 - 1/8 of whole Honeydew

100 - Mixed steamed veggies

100 - Strawberries

100 - Grilled chicken

050 - Cottage cheese
075 - Frozen banana and peanut butter (I fell of the wagon and had a little dessert. Delish!)

Weight Loss Tip of the Day That is Not So Weird
Don't like running? Averse to sports? Have an excuse why you shouldn't do every exercise in the book? Try yoga. It is a great exercise for beginners and advanced athletes. I think the inner focus might be useful for those of us trying to change our eating habits. Check out yoga DVDs from your local library or if you are a cool kid who has cable (unlike me) watch (or record) Inhale at 6am on the Oxyen Channel. Namaste!