Today, I woke up determined to do some yoga. After reading about all the good it’s done for Jenna at Eat, Live, Run and about Meghann’s success with the 20-minute sessions from yogadownload.com at The Inner Workings of a College Graduate, I came to the conclusion that yoga would be an excellent complement to my half marathon training. Sure, yoga and I have had a bit of a spotty past, but I’m not one to hold a grudge, and today’s a new day, right?
When my computer finally managed to download the Morning Flow #1 and the Yoga for Runners #1, I cheerily unrolled roommate’s pilates mat, enlarged the yoga pose guide on my computer screen, and settled in for a life-altering experience. The Morning Flow class started with child’s pose, soothing music, and a pleasant-voiced instructor. I thought to myself, Oh, this is lovely. Yoga and I are going to be fast friends.
Very quickly, however, I started to feel like the instructor was speaking Spanish — I could sort of understand her words, but by the time I deciphered them and the pose I was supposed to be doing, I was five steps behind. I started to look something like this:

This photo may or may not be from a less-than-sober moment in my younger days ...
Not one to be discouraged easily, I switched over to the Yoga for Runners class. But the same thing happened. After seven total minutes of yoga practice, I decided I’d had my fill for the day. Yoga, please don’t take offense. Maybe we just weren’t meant to be. We can try again another day when we’ve both had time and space to think.
With the yoga disappointment behind me, my next task was clear: BREAKFAST! Another slice of carrot cake (I cut this slice into 3 so it would look like more) and Nutcracker Sweet tea with unsweetened Silk (so excited to have my soy milk back!):
This was even better today — the cream cheese frosting was super thick because the cake had absorbed a lot of the moisture:
I’m such an artiste:
I spent the morning finishing up some homework for my internship and dreading the re-start of classes tomorrow night.
I got my work done a little after 2:00 and dove into a yummy yummy lunch. My roommate Tara was making butternut squash soup the other night, so I had her save the seeds for me:
I topped the seeds with coarse sea salt, sugar in the raw, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon:
I put them in the oven at 425 and proceeded to forget about them completely until I realized that the weird popping sound I kept hearing was the seeds exploding in the oven. Whoops:
But I’m not going to let a little bit of char stop me! I heated the rest of my red lentil-peanut soup with 1/2 cup of sofrito rice/barley/cabbage combo (that I’ve been eating all week) and sprinkled some of the still-delicious seeds on top with a dollop of Greek yogurt and two basil leaves for color:
So pretty I can’t stand it!
For dessert, I had 1/2 cup of zucchini-lime cheesecake oatmeal and more tea:
With more cream cheese frosting and squash seeds, of course:
And now I’m off to brave the outside for the first time today. Girl needs some fresh air!
hahaha i’m the SAME WAY with yoga… we just weren’t meant to be!! that carrot cake looks freaking amazing, thick frosting is the BEST. have a great night!!
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lol- looks like we had similar oven experiences this weekend! 🙂
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That picture is hilarious! Sorry the yoga didn’t work out for you. Maybe try the Gentle Hatha I 20 minute program first. Even my husband likes that one after his runs! 🙂
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have you ever been to a class at Park Slope Yoga? The hatha classes are what got me hooked. give it a try sometime if ya feel like it . . . it’s a great complement to running!
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It takes a while to understand the poses. The guides come in handy!! Trust me you’ll get it with some practice. 🙂
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I love the carrot cake.
I think yoga has something to offer everyone, but I don’t think everyone will fall in love with it. I think beginners should go to a class with a teacher to help get you feeling the correct postures and to make adjustments.
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i can do wii fit yoga… that’s about it. and i usually lose my balance trying to do the tree pose. you can try it out when you visit!!
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