a study in contrasts
tuesday 4.5, blue point yoga.
andrea is teaching a power/yin combo class. i am in the zone! long crow hold? fun! side angle –> bird of paradise transition? an awesome but doable challenge. the class goes by in what seems like just a few minutes and i leave happy and refreshed.
wednesday, 4.6, blue point yoga yet again [yes, i am addicted].
sara‘s intermediate/advanced class. she is an excellent teacher [she actually owns the studio]. i crash out of headstand . . . twice. fail to do any of the multiple arm balance variations. find the bent-over-pretzel pose [okay fine — not the real name, but i don’t remember, i was too traumatized] to be a completely inconceivable for my still-tight hips and hamstrings. the class seems like it lasts forever and i can’t get out of my own [negative! critical!] head.
as i drove home after the above session in a sour mood [sad, but true!], i thought about the podcast i had listened to just that morning on flow [free shortened video version available here]. that flow state is so difficult to define, but after it happens you know you were in it — for example, tuesday’s yoga class, or even yesterday’s work day [which was busy and interesting enough without being too stressful and seemed to go by in the blink of an eye!].
and one essential element of flow mentioned several times in the podcast is that the difficulty of the task needs to match up with the skills of the person doing it. interestingly, it is easy for me to conceptualize how an easier task might be modified to add enough dimension for flow to happen — for example, focusing on perfect form during a simpler yoga session, or really thinking about the personal interactions that occur during a patient phone call.
but finding flow when attempting very challenging [even . . . currently impossible] tasks? that is hard.
[source]i guess perhaps the lesson is . . . that i perhaps should stick to easier yoga classes for a while?!
thoughts? experiences? where in your life do you experience the most flow? and has anyone achieved success with finding more of it?
list of the week
this week’s list comes from priyanka who blogs over at the healthy diary!
i definitely see parallels in our organizing styles.
priyanka wrote:
“I am a paper girl. I have a master list for the day written down in a diary, and the tasks are broken down into categories like, tasks at home, in the lab, my thesis writing etc. Since I am a scatter brain I always have a sticky note pad in my pocket to add on items to my master list, just so I don’t forget stuff.”
love these lists . . . keep them coming! just send me a shot of your list [paper OR digital] — email here.
link luv
♥ the sleepless elite, which i found via happiness project. i have to admit i am envious of these mythical-sounding creatures who are able to remain upbeat and energetic on 4 hours/night! in reality, i probably need 8+ myself . . .
♥ a piece on decluttering and ikea. i love IKEA, but found this article interesting — they propose that the swedish furniture giant just convinces us to buy MORE stuff to house all of our stuff in attempt to create a minimalist, streamlined look – a bit of a paradox, but probably with some truth.
♥ thoughts on work/life balance from healthy tipping point. while i find that my philosophy doesn’t exactly align with caitlin’s at this juncture, i thought her post was great food for thought, and i am totally on board with her destressing tips. [except replace manicure with a massage!].
♥ two articles on finding flow from . . . [you guessed it!] zen habits.
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4.6.11
workout: 32 minute run in the AM; the above over-my-head yoga class in the evening.
standard fare
not going to pretend this amy’s pesto pizza is the world’s healthiest meal, but a) it was fast and b) it was good.
i always manage to find flow when eating pizza.
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