Over the past seven days, taking advantage of vacation time from work, I've tried to balance my yoga practice with daily trips to the gym to get in aerobic exercise so that I can increase my stamina and to burn off some of the pounds gained over the Holidays. I've included 30 minutes of stationary bicycle and another 30 minutes of either jogging/walking or elliptical trainer. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue this routine through the weekend. Next week, I am probably going to have to cut back the gym time to 30 minutes because I'll be back at work and unable to spend so much time on conditioning. The other objective is to get back into jogging and running, which I dropped after my knee injury. Running really helped my hips.

I've also tried to combine vinyasa with hatha, yin and restorative yoga, trying to cultivate more relaxing undertows in yoga to counteract the muscle activation in the flow. I wanted to acquire awareness and suppleness as well as muscle strength. In the past I've tended to harden around a partial flexibility in certain poses so that I could not deepen the postures. I don't know if I've succeeded. Last night, Susan Bowen led a hot vinyasa flow class at Thrive Yoga that really tested my physical edge. I had to stop repeatedly to catch my breath and my mat had puddles of sweat. I don't think she aimed to have an exceptionally difficult session, but the sequencing hit me where I feel the most vulnerability now, in the hips where I seem to be accessing a different combination of muscles.

At my age, the drop off in conditioning is unexpectedly sharp. For most of the last quarter of 2009, I could only grab practice sessions a few times a week, with no routine, and I even lost entire weeks because of family matters or travel. I do not have a home practice that can maintain a kind of physical and flexible foundation. Now I am paying the price. It's not something you can reverse in a week or two. I had been hoping to use my vacation time but weather and family matters kept me getting into a routine until this week. I also can't discount that my conditioning may also be a result of the lack of physical exercise following my knee injury, convalescence and recovery two years ago. It's only been a year since I really got back to yoga, and I've been treating myself gingerly over that time.

I have to find a way to create a full home practice, with active, yin and nidra yoga, as well as pranayama and meditation, while not being anal-obsessive about the whole routine. Understanding this need and taking action is probably what differentiates a beginner from an intermediate practitioner. It's not being able to achieve a certain level of difficulty in postures; that can depend just on hereditary traits or athleticism.

Labels: class, conditioning, running

There was some spillover from New Year into today as I could not get to sleep early last night and did not wake up in time for my yoga class. Bummer! So I punished myself by going to the gym and putting in 30 minutes on the stationary bike and 40 minutes on the treadmill, alternating between a brisk walk and jogging. I tried out my new Asics GT-2150 that I had my daughter give me for Christmas. I had been using Brooks Beasts, which are the running shoe with maximum support against pronation, for my running for the past two years, but I wanted to get something that did not get in the way of running. The new shoes are much lighter and fit my feet like gloves so I really enjoy using them. I will have to see how my feet and legs hold up under the renewed challenge of light running. I am not expecting to get back to what I was doing before my knee injury and surgery, but I want the option of jogging and running to supplement my yoga. It will also allow me to back off a bit and take my yoga with more ease and stamina.

On my trip to Miami in late November, a heel spur on my left foot became irritated and inflamed. In fact, I first notice the problem when I was doing savasana (in other words, lying flat on my back), and my legs rolled out and put pressure on my heels. I noticed a shot of pain on the heal and had to avoid putting weight on that spot. It did not bother me after class. But when I went to the airport for my flight to Miami, I wore my Brooks Beasts and those shoes irritated the heel spur even more. By the time I got into the hotel, I was limping from the constant pain. I started taking non-prescription anti-inflammatory drugs and putting ice on the heel and sole when I could. The other lucky break was that for the rest of the week I wore dress shoes that did not allow my heel to move around, and that allowed the inflammation to decline gradually. By the end of the week I no longer had to limp. When I got back to Washington, I decided to see a podiatrist since I could see the little knot on my heel and knew that it could be inflamed again. But the first available appointment was not until December 17 so by the time I got to see him, the worst symptoms had disappeared.

Since I knew that I wanted to get back to running, I asked the podiatrist multiple questions about my feet. First, the heel spur (a calcium deposit at the end of my plantar factia) is not something that will prevent me from running if I keep it from getting inflamed again. Second, I should not fear running because of my knee surgery. Third, my arches had not fallen as badly I thought. Getting fitted with a new pair of running shoes would get ahead of those three points, and he suggested JnR Sports in Rockville. I also learned that I was developing peripheral neuropathy in the sole of my feet. I had noticed some numbness as well as tingling sensations and pin pricks in my feet. This condition can be due to multiple causes -- I can immediately rule out some of the more obvious ones, such as diabetes and side effects from certain drugs. The doctor wanted to see how I respond to increased exercise so I'll be seeing him again this month.

At JnR Sports, I tried on Brook, Saucony and Asics shoes in multiple sizes and support levels, narrowing my choice down to the Asics GT2150. I got them in size 11, double E width, which is the first time that I've purchased a wider shoe. I got them in black because I am a bit tired of how most athletic shoes are decked out in swooshes, stripes and logos, in multiple colors and reflective surfaces. I also learned a couple of useful tricks to ensure that the shoes held my heels snugly, thus preventing any rubbing of my heel spur.

Labels: feet, injury, running, therapy

I missed vinyasa class tonight because of a heavy workload and a boss who's traveling tomorrow. When I got home, I had a choice: either watch the Trudie Styler DVD to write the review or go running. I choose running. I put in nearly two miles at a slow trod.

I used to run a lot until my knee injury and surgery. A few weeks ago, at the gym working on the stationary bike and elliptical trainer, I felt an impulse and jumped on the treadmill just to see what it was like, maybe just a quick walking pace. I did not feel anything bad. I stepped up the speed. At the end of 15 minutes, I was trotting along without any pain or complications. The following day, I felt no adverse consequences. I started jogging again, gingerly, at the gym and at a high school track near my house, first with a mile, then, adding a quarter of a mile gradually, until I am up to two miles now.

When I was recovering from my surgery, I focused on getting back to yoga because the discipline had a ripple effect throughout my life. I ruled out running because I did not want to overstress my knees. But running had never been the cause of my injury: it was actually yoga, an over-agressive moment when I put too much weight over my bent knee.

What pushed me back to running was my yoga practice: I've been doing one or two sessions a week of hatha yoga with Marylou McNamara at Thrive. She's trained as a Anusara teacher so she works a lot on alignment — long, repeated holds of fairly simple poses (lunge, Warrior I, II, III). I feel that I am able to access key muscles in my shoulders, back, core, and hips for the first time, and her instruction helps me focus on those areas. But a hatha class does not get much into aerobic conditioning, and I've noticed in the vinyasa classes that I've been getting winded. If I was going to continue going hatha yoga classes, I needed to add some aerobic exercise, either at the gym, the yoga studio or elsewhere.

So that's why I started running again. My short-term goal is to get ready for the Brian Kest weekend workshop at Thrive coming up on October 23-25. He teaches an Ashtanga, power yoga style that's going to test my limits over four two-hour sessions. I knew I had to step up conditioning.

Labels: conditioning, knee, running, yoga

For the past week, I have been concentrating on getting priority tasks done at home. They had been piling up since I got back from Spain, and I really needed to focus on them. I had to force myself over and through some mental obstacles. That's why I have not been posting here, even though I have more to say about the Rumbaugh workshop.

It's now undeniable that I have a gimpy knee. It has been bothering me for the past week, with no improvement, so it will be hanging around for months to come. I don't even know when it happened. There was no sharp pain from injury, no sign of tearing a ligament. I just woke up after the Rumbaugh workshop and had a pain in my right knee. Now, it is a steady problem and I walk with a limp, with stiffness and tenderness above the kneecap. I don't see or feel any swelling. The right side is my least flexible. It's frustrating because I had not been trying to force myself in Lotus or anything crazy. I have a sneaking suspicion that my condition is due to a realignment of my leg muscles (quads and hamstrings), which resulted in new cartilage in my knee being rubbed and it's caused inflammation. This is probably connected with my overpronation, poor mechanics and excessive sitting.

This injury means that I will not be running or jogging for some time. I will try to get my aerobic exercise at the gym on an elliptical trainer or stationary bike. I have kept up with my yoga, getting in two sessions of Forest Yoga at Thrive. The injury does not affect me in most vinyasas, and I am careful in any pose that stresses the knee.

Labels: injury, knee, running

In my previous blog entry, I said that I was "back in stride." I take that back. Yesterday, I went running at midday and barely got through an abbreviated 2.5 mile route on the Mall. Admittedly, the sun was strong and the temperature was several notches above what I've been running in. I was drained by the time I got back. In the evening, I had a commitment to take in a vinyasa one class with my daughter at Flow Yoga Center. Once again, I was really fatigued by the class. I got home, ate a quick, light dinner and then went to bed and slept for eight hours.

I have done this "running and yoga in the same day" thing before and been fine, just what would be expected in terms of physical fatigue. I've even had to calm myself down after a double sesison because my yoga practice frequently restored my energy levels and made me more alert.

I do have an inflamed throat that may be a sign of another sinus infection, which would explain some of the fatigue since the infection would drag on my energy levels. Just confirms that I need to listen to my body and follow its signals.

Labels: class, conditioning, running, Stephanie

Proof that I was actually in Spain (Segovia in this case), not at a meditation retreat in Nepal. My wife can take credit for this photograph.

This weekend I went to Susan Bowen's vinyasa class on Saturday and Sunday. I also put in an hour on the elliptical trainer and the treadmill at the gym so I feel that I have gotten back up to speed on my yoga and conditioning after my vacation break. It may be a while before I am up to full strength because I still feel the fatigue in my shoulders from lots of planks, Four-Limbed Staff Pose (Chaturanga Dandasana), and Upward-Facing Dogs (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana). On Saturday, it was a student's birthday so Susan made us do 40 vinyasas to honor her.

This 10-day process to get back into my exercise routine drives home a simple lesson: the mature adult's body takes a long time to adapt to more rigorous and skilled endeavors. I started running nine months ago, but seriously only less than six months ago. I should lower my own expectations about what I can achieve, both in the short and the long term. Instead of thinking about having lost training time due to my break, I should look at the two weeks as an opportunity for my body to relax and chill out. Although I can run three miles, it does not mean that I need to do it, especially given the wear and tear on my muscles after years of inactivity. I need to incorporate ample recovery time so that I don't stress my body too much. Hints of shins splits are a clear warning in that respect. It's not like I'm on a training schedule for a half-marathon (or any competition, for that matter).

I think it's been providential that I got into yoga before running. My gradual learning of yoga allowed me to ramp up the physical demands on my body gradually while enhancing my body awareness. Yoga's emphasis on breathing gives me a value instrument for measuring exertion while jogging. I've been using the ChiRunning technique of Danny Dyer to give me a training method in keeping with my yoga approach. I've actually had to teach my legs and core how to run, and that's included some minor pain as muscle groups have found new uses.

Labels: breathing, class, conditioning, photos, running

If you ever need an intellectual motivation to get you off your butt and into an active program of exercise, read Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John J. Ratey (Little Brown and Company, New York, 2008). I found it an informative read, which gave compelling arguments why you should engage in systematic physical exercise. He mined thousands of scientific research papers to underpin his work in objective findings. He synthesizes the information into 303 pages, but wrapped it in an engaging narrative around it so that you don't fall asleep due to dry scientific writing. He also drew on his own case studies with patients and a few amazing experiments in applying physical exercise to learning environments. Ratey's subheading to the title is "Supercharge your mental circuits to beat stress, shapen your thinking, list your mood, boost your memory, and much more." Sounds as if he's peddling some kind of miracle drug, but it's just plain, ol' sweat, muscles and grunts.

"The prescription ... varies from varies from person to person, but the research consistently shows that the more fit you are, the more resilient your brain becomes and the better it functions both cognitively and psychologically." (p. 247)

To cut to the chase, his formula calls for 30-60 minutes of aerobic exercise, usually running or equivalent intensity exercise, six times a week. On two days, he recommends five short sprints (30 seconds max) injected into a normal session (the max intervals seem to trigger the body's optimization). Strength-training helps maintain or build muscle and bone mass, which can be affected by the aging process. Ratey also suggests that yoga, tai chi, martial arts or other similar activities be added to improve balance and flexibility, as well as body awareness and concentration. Obviously, it takes time, discipline and effort to work up to the condition of being able to sustain aerobic exercise for such long periods, but you will be rewarded.

Exercise has an impact on the brain's neuroplasticity, creating new neurons as the building blocks. Ratey covered stress, anxiety, depression, attention deficit disorder, addiction, hormonal change (menopause in women) and aging in separate chapters. Far and away the best thing you can do for your brain power, mental health and physical well-being is an active daily exercise regime.

Ratey gets down to the complex, inter-related chemical processes and components that create and balance the neurotransmitters that fire up the brain within the human body. Ratey's conclusions are not new. There has been a steady drumbeat of stories in newspapers, magazines and on the web about how physical exercise can radically improve mental performance, ward off illnesses and aging and overcome mental disorders, like depression. He emphasized that it's necessary to engage in physical exercise every day, both to make it a consistent habit and to make the body respond appropriately.

Ratey is a researcher and neuro-psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School who earned a reputation working on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). More information is available on his website and his blog, which links to news stories and features about his new book.

Labels: brain_science, conditioning, health, reading, running

No running yesterday because I took pity on my legs after jogging two days in a row. Instead, I went to Flow Yoga Center to take a vinyasa class with Stephanie, our first class together in over a month. I'm glad that Steph picked a level-one class because my shoulders and biceps were sore from the previous evening's class. The nice thing about level-one classes is that they make you concentrate on the basics -- form, breathing, ease.

Today, I ran with a work colleague who kept up the pace and made me call for mercy two-thirds of the way through. But I put in my time, just as I show up on the mat.

I am sorry to be boring people with whining about how hard it is to get back into the swing of yoga practice and running. It just makes me feel my age and the risk of atrophy. I will try to shift into more engaging subject matter.

Labels: class, running, Stephanie

I ran again today at midday, committed to getting my stamina and wind back. I took the full three-mile route on the Mall at an easy pace, but my legs felt like tree trunks, wooden, heavy and unforgiving. I wish I had kept up a more rigorous exercise regime during my vacation, but that's asking a lot. Considering how much time I spent on my feet and walking, I'm surprised that my legs seemed so out of shape.

I finally got my first yoga class in more than three weeks, going to Thrive for a Level 2 class with Dana Cohen. She gives a very athletic class, with sensitive, deep adjustments. It was Dana's last class for a while: she's going on what she calls her "summer tour," and will be missed. When I walked out of the studio, I noticed that my body core and legs felt completely different, unrestrained and balanced. That must be one of the things that yoga does for my body, I said to myself.

Labels: class, running

I ran my three-mile route on the Mall yesterday, finally ample to sustain my pace for the whole distance while welcoming a breather at a couple of stoplights. I did not feel fatigued afterwards, and it cleared up my mind substantially for the afternoon workload. I really think that my employer should pay me for running at lunch hour (well, in a way it does). I still have gone to a yoga class yet. Too many special events (Father's Day), housekeeping tasks (how dirty a house gets in two weeks' absence), and work deadlines.

I now really appreciate the set of habits that I welded onto my daily routine to keep me coming back to my yoga and meditation practice. Vacation relieves the stress of daily life, but it also disrupts the maintenance habits. It's really taken an act of will power to start running again, and hopefully Wednesday evening I get back to Thrive.

Labels: running

Labels: conditioning, running

Labels: news, reading, running

This evening, I was suddenly inspired to stand in tree pose (Vrksasna) as a preparation for heading to bed, a different meditative pose than I usually take. I concentrated on how my feet were supporting me, serving as the foundation for my limbs and torso. It made me sense viscerally what "four corners of the foot" really means. I could feel all four points on the sole of my right feet and the tension of strength that held them together. As I moved into the pose on the left side, I became aware that I was really not standing on the ball of my foot; it was more accurately a midline of the foot, thus turning the base into a narrower and, therefore, more unstable platform. I pressed more firmly into the ball of my foot and immediately felt the shift towards a broader base. As I've been running regularly over the past month, I've become more conscious of my overpronation and literally walking and running on the outside edge of my feet. Now I walk around purposefully pressing in the balls of my feet. That refreshed awareness paid off tonight in understand a structural weakness in my tree pose.

Labels: balance, practice, running

Since becoming aware that I have (nearly) flat feet, I've switched my running shoes to Brooks Beasts, started doing some simple exercises to strengthen my arches and generally paid more attention to how I walk and run, feeling how my feet strike the ground and trying to correct my stride. It had gotten so bad that I gave up wearing about three pairs of shoes (Rockports so they were not cheap shoes) and switched to shoes that were roomier (wider and more toe room). The old pairs felt as if they were squeezing my feet and I frequently removed them at work because of the discomfort.

One of the exercises I've been doing over the past three weeks is what I call "tiger claws." In my bare feet, I curl my toes and then release them under for sets of 20 repetitions. Several sets of instructions called for me to stand on top of a towel and try to pull it up under my feet, but I found that I did not have the strength or flexibility to pull a towel so I just claw the ground my my toes.

Well, today I tried on one of those shoes that did not seem to fit me anymore and, low and behold, the shoe felt fine. I wore it for a day and did not have any more discomfort than you'd ordinarily have from a days of walking. The next day I tried out another of those discarded shoes and they also fit fine. I don't know whether it's my exercise that have reverse the deterioration of my arches or whether it's the supportive running shoes.

Labels: running

Last weekend I walked into Metro Run and Walk and asked to be fitted for some running shoes (as opposed to walking into a discount shoe store and walking out with a pair that seemed to fit me comfortably). After watching me walk and job around the store a bit and asking me about how much I had been running, the young sales woman told me that I showed signs of some serious overpronation and needed as much support as any running shoe could give without adding orthopedic supports. In other words, when I run, my planted foot rolls inward and flattens out the arch, which in turn puts a lot of stress on the lower leg muscles and knees. In the end, I paid a pretty penny for a pair of Brooks Beasts (appropriate name). I figured that if it kept me from getting shin splints or other injuries, it was money well spent.

Once home, I examined my feet more closely and came to the conclusion that I am heading in the direction of having flat feet. If in my early stages of learning yoga, I complained about having stiff ankles and feet, I now have gone the other direction of not having tensile strength in the arches to hold up under the stress of running. I guess this news is just another sign of aging -- the body parts will wear out over time and no amount of restorative practices of yoga will return them to their youthful flexibility.

This condition does not mean I will stop running. I will just be more careful, concentrate on keeping good form and listen closely to what my body tells me. I am going to do some exercises meant to deal with fallen arches and see what happens. I am told that it's really hard to reverse overpronation.

Labels: conditioning, health, running

I did five miles of running on the Mall at lunch time, into the cold winds coming off the Potomac. It was the first outside run that I've had since before Christmas, though I did make it to the gym for the treadmill several times. I thought I has not lost much strength over the holiday break, but I felt exhausted by the time I got home.

I am still concerned that the pounding of running will erase the benefits of my yoga practice. I remembered an interview that I heard on NPR about chi-running, a concept started by athletic trainer Danny Dreyer. I looked up his website and found his approach to be a technique that melded well with yoga and mindfulness. The technique combines "the inner focus and flow of T'ai Chi with the power and energy of running to create a revolutionary running form and philosophy that takes the pounding, pain, and potential damage out of the sport of running."

I ordered his book and DVD. Expect reviews shortly after they arrive in the mail. Meanwhile, you can check out what other people think by consulting news links or by reading a collection of longer articles. You can get a clear idea about the program by going through a few of these online resources. This NPR story is a good start.

Labels: reading, running, videos

I joined with my workmates running on the Mall at lunch hour. The four of us did about five miles in an hour, including warm-up and cool-off. Because of travel, work obligations and bad weather, we had not followed through on our two-days a week commitment. It's been three weeks since I ran so I was a bit hesitant about how much I could tackle, but I got through without undue duress. There was certainly nothing left in the tank in the final stretch. We noticed that there are fewer runners on the Mall in December than November. I had four layers of clothing on to ward off the cold — the wind on the Mall can be brutal.

Post data: the day after, I can say that my thighs and arms/shoulders are sore and stiff. I slept like a log last night. I've allowed myself to talk myself out of doing yoga and running too often recently because rational excuses are available during the holidays.

Labels: conditioning, running