hippies
Tuesday Project Roundup: Namaste!
Around Christmas, I was talking to my yoga teacher and it came out that I knit. And she asked, “Can you make me some legwarmers?”
Because I feel the same way about my yoga teacher as I did about a few early grade school teachers (“You’re so pretty! And so calm! And you’re good at so many things I’m not!”), I said of course I would (“Teacher asked me to do a special project! Yay!”).
I’m using this pattern but left off the foldover cuff, as you can see. I left it off because I wasn’t sure I’d have enough yarn for it, but now I’m pretty certain I will. So do I go back to the first one and add it? I don’t know if the drawstring would be fiddly during yoga or if it would help with the fit.
Maybe the legwarmer needs to live its way into the answer….
(And no, that joke still hasn’t gotten old. If you couldn’t tell.)
3+1 Things Wrap-up: Thing 1
Yes, it’s time for the week-long wrap-up of this year’s goals. The first thing?
1. Walk, bike, or do yoga once a week.
Final verdict on this one: I like exercise! It makes me feel good! Anyone who hasn’t spent her life reading and/or in an office chair already knows this, but I’ve finally realized it. So what have I been doing? A weekly hike (even in the cold! although I’ve only made it out twice this month so far) and yoga once or even twice a week.
Yoga, of course, lets my inner hippie go wild; but I’m really seeing a lot of mental benefits, too. It also comforts the worrier in me, knowing that being old and alone holds a lot fewer terrors if you have muscle mass and crazy flexibility.
As for hiking, buying a house by Millcreek wasn’t planned but I’m so glad I did. There are plenty of shorter trails that fit into a weekend schedule, but because the canyon’s pretty steep, you get a lot of exercise for your time. The terrain is varied, the views are great, and you get to see lots of happy dogs and generally nice owners. (Another bonus for solo hikers who worry: You can believe a dog will sniff you out pretty quickly should you fall off a trail or something.)
I haven’t ridden my bike much but I can always add MORE exercise in next year.
Friday Unrelated Information
1b. I’m happy to report that the “Yoga for the Winter Blues” video was really helpful. I got farther into a backbend than I ever have before (which is still not very far) and realized that if I can do that, I can easily survive onerous meetings or a weather inversion.
1b. I’ve turned into one of those sports people. I think I get why they run marathons now.
2. Happy birthday to Jane Austen and Arthur C. Clarke today.
3. Here’s another MST3K Christmas song, because it’s absurd and because Christmas is next weekend:
“Hey, you keep Christmas in your way and let me keep it in mine.”
All I Want Is Another Vacation
Convincing Myself
As I’ve let my inner hippie free, I’ve caught myself, say, doing yoga and nodding when the teacher says this will help the solar plexus chakra–which is then followed by the thought, “Carl Sagan would not approve of this.”
However, this is Carl Sagan we’re talking about. This is the man who contributed an essay to Marihuana Reconsidered, who approved that theme music* to the Cosmos series, and who famously said:
Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return. And we can. Because the cosmos is also within us. We’re made of star-stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.
That last line is what makes me think Carl would be all for letting the inner hippie out.
*Sometimes I just leave that site open and let the music loop. It’s great for irritating days at work.
Tuesday Project Roundup: Active Active Active
In my new incarnation as Active Girl, I’ve discovered that active wear companies sell more than the actual active wear–they also sell comfy knit dresses that you picture someone even more active than you pulling on after yoga, or wearing walking around a ski town and drinking beer after an active day. (I am a sucker for marketing, no matter what lifestyle it’s promoting.)
The issue? The dresses are all at least $80, and they are all in earth tones. So I decided to try copying this one:
I used the basic t-shirt pattern in my trusty Built By Wendy knits book, then added length and width by tracing a Lands End polo dress I wore all summer. Add a length of fabric to make a cowl and blammo: a pretty good copy of the dress, not in boring gray.
I may go back and add a kangaroo pocket to the front, since pockets are always useful and that would make it look more (wait for it)….active.
Proof
I went hiking with another person over the weekend (hi, Mom!) and got photographic evidence that I may actually be The Outdoor Type. At least a little.
Do I look like I’ve started using things like Dr. Bronner’s and bar shampoo? Actually, that’s just bed head.
I think the color in Millcreek peaked this last week, but it’s supposed to be nice again this weekend. Be sure to get out and get your hippie on.
The Outdoor Type
Not to give you another emo post today (sorry about that), but I’m going to share another coping strategy I’ve discovered this summer: Exercise. (I know–who am I?)
I’ve always been pretty sedentary, beyond an occasional hike or an easy bike ride, but as I said Monday I’ve been exploring Millcreek nearly every weekend–and that’s in addition to going to yoga once a week. I’ve bought actual active wear. I’m attending a “yoga retreat” at the Cliff Lodge this weekend. I replaced my old hiking boots. Last Sunday I even woke up and did an hour of yoga with an online video. (Needless to say, my inner hippy has never been happier.)
But as active and outdoorsy as all this hiking and yoga is for me, I still am nowhere near the trail runners I see, or even the backpackers, which is why this song made me smile.
(And yes, I heard it on KRCL while driving home from yoga this week.)