Nice girls like us, have a hard time feigning toughness. Without my pencil, I could barely get my fingers to flip the bird (even for the sole purpose of this picture).
It’s not a bad thing. It’s just a thing.
Some call it “Art”
Some people call it graffiti, and some call it art.
While out running, [yeah, I said “running”]…
While out running, I came upon this cement structure completely covered with paint. I had to stop for a photo or two. I also took the opportunity to stretch and gather up a bit more motivation to keep going. I’m not sure if it was the heat or the little bit of pavement we pounded along the way, but this was not an easy one for me. It was, in fact, ugly. Thankfully, I had the good company of my friend, Cindy.
Speaking of ugly, the artwork was not the only mark left behind here. Unfortunately, there were also several empty cans of paint, discarded pizza boxes, paper bags, and an insane amount of broken glass on the ground all around it. That is not called art. That is called WRONG.
downside UP
Not long ago, theMan shared an interesting piece written on headstand pose (also known as salamba shirshasana). The writer described the pose as one that can lead to a symbolic upheaval in perspective. Anyone who has ever explored this inversion will agree; headstand does have a way of turning your world upside down.
And who could argue? Things do look quite different when you see them from the downside up.
Snakes & Switchbacks
It’s been too long since I’ve been able to write about running. I don’t mean the posts that talk about my want to run, or say why I am not running. I mean the posts where I actually say that I have run — successfully.
This is one of those.
Running, I must admit, was the farthest thing from my mind when I woke up yesterday morning. With all of the “stuff” with my sciatic nerve, I was sort of afraid to chance it. But as my chiropractor casually asked what events where up next on my race calendar, I kind of laughed and said that I had none other than the Nike Half Marathon, which wasn’t “until October.” He actually stopped his work to look at me and remind me that “October is just around the corner.”
GULP!
I decided to take advantage of my last day freedom from all mom related obligations and actually see what would happen if I were to run. It was exciting and, at the same time, a little scary. Okay, A LOT scary.
I don’t like hurting. I think I put up with a whole lot more of it when I was younger. These days, I’m somewhat of a wimp. Still, I wouldn’t know unless I tried.
Instead of choosing to run the flat, somewhat soft railroad tracks, I planned a trip to The Ranch: my favorite open space for running, hiking, and play. Instead of choosing the short 3 mile loop, I decided to head to the 5 mile switchbacky loop with the pretty view at the top. If I was going to run, I was going to do it up right!
…until something gives
These days I am drawn to the wide-legged forward folds in the ashtanga sequence almost as much as the heart opening backbends. Sometimes they complement each other, other times they fight against each other. Our ashtanga instructor described the practice as “Like a paperclip that is pulled open, bent, opened again, then re-bent….until something gives.”