Spa(ish) Week: Day 3 Recap

From July 22 through July 28, I’m going to make it my job to be as fit, healthy, and well-rested as I can be. Because I’m curious… How much time does it really take to make health and well being our number one priority? And how much awesomer will I feel if I do it?

Read all about my Spa(ish) Week 2012 plans here.

Day 3 Recap

I had trouble falling asleep on Day 2, then I woke up way too early on Day 3 and spent the day longing to take a nap. It was less than awesome, but then I went to kundalini class, and everything suddenly felt Good.

Movement
1. Four-Mile Walk
Done! I spent most of the time having a lovely phone conversation with my dad. I could almost pretend he was walking around the lake with me, and it was pretty badass. There is nothing like a good talk with my dad to get my head on straight.

2. Kundalini Yoga
Done! My favorite instructor Robin was away for a month, and today was the return of her awesomeness to my groovy world. We did challenging kriyas with breath of fire the entire time: straight leg lifts and alternating straight leg lifts on our backs for forever (or, ya know, 3 minutes each). Then on all fours, we did alternating rear leg lifts and alternating arm+leg extensions. Then we had to do frog pose (like a squat with hands on the floor), then extend our legs into a forward fold. Robin said, “Do them at your own pace and repeat anywhere between 20 and 52 times.” So I did 51. Finally, we had to sit in easy pose, hold our arms in a V shape overhead, and rapidly squeeze our arms together overhead, then back into the V… like we were trying to fly away. That lasted 3X forever.

But the meditation/mantra was all the sweeter after that sweaty, muscle-screaming breathlessness. We did a fast version of the Miracle Mantra of Guru Ram Das, which is kinda nutty in just the way I like it. The mantra is GURU GURU WAHE GURU GURU RAM DAS GURU. We chanted with a recording that was pretty fast, and we repeated the entire mantra 5 times on a single breath, which meant my tongue was dancing in my mouth and my diaphragm was working like a bellows. You can hear it here, if you’re curious. The kundalini meditations work really well for me because there’s plenty on which to concentrate, so the pesky, swirly thoughts that usually fly through my brain are crowded out by repeating the chant, focusing my gaze at my third eye point, holding the mudras (hand postures), and watching my breathing. Whew!

3. Meditation
Done at Kundalini! It’s like a freebie!

Food
Breakfast: diced chicken breast, broccoli, sweet potato, coconut oil.

Lunch: grilled chicken thigh, zucchini noodles with pesto, carrot, cucumber, blackberries

Dinner: a giant salad with lettuce, cucumber, onion, red pepper, and grass-fed ground beef, with vinaigrette and homemade mayo, plus half a fresh apricot

General Well-Being & Random Thoughts
I was hoping Spa(ish) Week would make me feel calmer, but I feel the same, so far. Perhaps there will be some magic tomorrow. Bring it, Day 4!

On deck for Day 4:
4-Mile Walk
Meditation

plus… cooking (Chocolate Chili, Beef Stew Provencal), writing