Author: Suzanne Jolly

 I’m at it with the yoga again!  Thanks to UBC Rec for a great Shopping Week last week (don’t miss the next one in the Spring!).  I’ve really wanted to try out the classes that UBC Rec offers, and Shopping Week gave me that option on Friday.  So yes, I finally went to a yoga class again.  It had been a while and it very nicely kicked my butt.  In fact, Naomi (the instructor) should be happy to know that on Saturday and Sunday, I had problems moving out of bed, into bed, out of chairs, into chairs, and I even showed my friend how hard the Bow position is for me (http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/yogapractice/thebow.asp)… which kicked my butt some more (and I will point out that I can’t do very well at all).

 It’s ALL a Matter of Perception

 Honestly, if you had asked me about how my back was feeling before I rushed over to the Student Rec Centre for the yoga class, I would have said, “Fine.”

 But once I sat down on that mat, I realized how locked up I was.  How I couldn’t have noticed was beyond me.  I could barely breathe properly- it felt like there was a belt done up around my ribs and the bottom of my shoulder blades- refusing to let my ribs fully expand when I breathed. 

Yoga In the Student Recreation Centre

I thought the class was pretty challenging, and it included a lot of moves that I hadn’t done before.  It seemed Naomi focused a lot on spinal twists (which was great for me!), but it was pretty intense stuff!  Naomi was a great instructor, and I was surprised to find that there weren’t all the 19 year old lululemon girls there (there were some, but there were other staff/faculty members like me, so that was nice!).

The cost of yoga at the SRC is a good deal at 36 sessions for $444 (for staff/faculty)- which is better than a lot of other yoga providers.  I have to admit that the Student Rec Centre is not my ideal venue for yoga.  There’s none of that warm, comforting feeling that you get from other studios (especially as Shopping Week is a crazy time over there!).  I was very glad that Naomi played some music during the session, or else I would have been very frustrated listening to the machines banging away in the Bird Coop.  I was surprised at the end of the time that we had done so much in such a short time, and that I felt a lot better.  It had been a hectic Friday, so that time to relax was such a delight for me.  But I know that I feel so much lighter and at peace, when I’m not rushed out the door by the next incoming class, and I don’t feel like we’re just around the corner from the workout gym (which, I might add, is just not my scene- I personally can’t stand fitness gyms-  I just don’t like working out on machines [my body is a machine to work on all by itself!]).

Sorry, I’m Not Sold

My apologies to my friends at UBC Rec, but I won’t be taking that class this fall.  They’re doing their best with the centre they have, but I would rather go to a yoga class in a different venue, even though the class for a term only costs about $12.50 a class (which is better than a drop in rate at a lot of studios).  I’ll happily consider a yoga class with UBC Rec when there’s a space there that is better designed for yoga and the like!

Another Class Option?

I think I might see if I can wrangle a free class out of UBC BodyWorks and see if maybe they might be a good fit for me.

My Best Thing Today (Sorry I missed this last week!)
Leaving early today to see my naturopath (as opposed to leaving at 6 pm like I have so often lately) and then going to climb at the climbing gym tonight!

Vacation time means you have a little more time for reflection.  So with only 10 weeks away from our end goal, I thought I’d do a little check back to see how I’m doing (both as a motivational tool, and a kick in the bum!).  I’ve taught in college and elementary school classrooms, so here’s the report card that I’d issue to myself (and note: I don’t believe in personal health changes as being Pass or Fail- there’s way more grey area than that!):

OVERALL GRADES
Drink More Water and Quit Drinking Coffee: Pass
Headaches: A
Visits to the Chiropractor: A
Stretching and Yoga: C

OVERALL GRADE: C+

COMMENTS

Drink More Water and Quit Drinking Coffee: Pass

Suzanne, you haven’t really dedicated yourself to this goal.  Everytime my back is turned, you’ll make up another excuse as to why it’s ok for you to have a cup of coffee, despite knowing that you simply aren’t going to benefit yourself by doing that.  With that being said, I am pleased to see that yesterday, despite your tremendous fatigue, you managed to find energy by eating healthful foods.  I am also pleased because you have actually increased your intake of water, but there’s a lot of room for further improvement.  With a little more dedication, you could bring this up to a C or B by the end of this.

Headaches: A

Suzanne hasn’t had a headache in a few months.  This is remarkable progress, which seems to have been simply natural, as opposed to due to a lot of extra work.  Whichever way, I’m pleased to see your progress.

Visits to the Chiropractor: A

It was great to see this past month that you were able to last three weeks without a headache or a lot of pain, before you needed to see the chiropractor again.  I’ll be interested to see how well you do in the next three weeks.  Keep up the good work! (Way to go Suzanne’s Spine [and thanks to Dr. Robin for her excellent care!])

Stretching and Yoga: C

It was interesting to see how immediately inspired Suzanne was by yoga, but in recent weeks, her enthusiasm has slackened.  In fact, I believe I caught her sleeping during one of her yoga sessions recently. [It was just during corpse pose, but still!].  I hope Suzanne will rededicate herself to her yoga, as it is obvious that this exercise really helps out.  In terms of stretching at the office, Suzanne, you would receive an F on that.  Get your butt out of your chair more often and stop leaning so close to the computer screen as if you have the eyesight a 104 year old!

My best thing today: The AAPS presentation “Challenge of Change” from Warren MacDonald.  Thanks to Warren for his uplifting presentation and to Jasmin at AAPS for coordinating him to come to campus.

You may have noticed a lack of Suzanne last week on this blog. My apologies- I was away and I couldn’t bear the idea of writing.  Shame is a powerful thing my friends. 

I fell off the wagon last week and somehow managed to land in the coffee pot… then took a few more days to swim around in there…

I visited home last week to find that caffeine addiction runs deep in the roots of my family tree.  One of my favourite family traditions, since I can remember, was to join my parents on their bed with my two brothers and our old family dog, Griff, on lazy weekend mornings, as my Mom and Dad drank coffee and read the newspaper.  A few things have changed since I was 5- now I’m old enough to drink coffee, it’s a different house, it’s usually just me and my Mom and my Step-Dad and our family dog, Horatio, isn’t allowed in the bedroom (but my dog Stogie comes in and begs to be let up on the bed).  One thing is essentially the same: coffee.  I’ve been partaking in coffee in bed chats since I was about 16.

It’s the comfort of tradition that gets me every time.  My Mom wakes me up in the morning at home to tell me to join her and my stepfather in their bedroom for a cup of coffee.  I love that tradition.  More recently, I find comfort in the {newly developed} tradition of stopping for a coffee at Gallileo Coffee.  Then last night after a nice dinner out on the seawall with my Mom, there was comfort in the cup of coffee in the twilight.  It’s started to feel like kicking coffee meant giving up on traditions.

So my friends, I have failed.  I’ve been swimming in caffeine lately and honestly, I like it!  I feel like a rebellious teenage- I even kind of resent having to consider giving it up.  But I know I said that’s what I was going to do.  I even try to forget why I wanted to quit.  The fact is, in this moment, I cannot imagine not getting to partake in the traditions.  I know I could drink something else, but it’s just not the same.

Despite all this, I returned to my comittment today already.  I have not had coffee since 7:30 am yesterday in Brittania Beach.  Even though there was someone [whom I shall not name] sitting beside me in staff meeting this morning with a very delicious smelling cup of coffee.  Even though there was lots of free coffee at the staff meeting…I managed to enjoy my wonderful cup of herbal tea… even though for some reason the hot water was in fact cold.

I know that in the long run, it will pay off.  But short term, it’s a hard one. 

So while coffee may have won this battle, I have not waved my white flag.  I will win this war.

By the way, a special thank you goes out to Ash, the owner of my favourite local coffee shop, as he introduced me to a hot drink that’s warm and rich like coffee- it’s a Rooibos Americano, made with rooibos tea [which is an herbal tea without caffeine].  I think it might get me through the winter.

Next week, I’m going to be on vacation, so I won’t be blogging.  I will be traveling somewhere, with my car, climbing gear and dog.  So here’s a little song for you, to listen to when you miss my blog entry next week (hahaha, yea right). The Road I Must Travel by The Nightwatchman

I realized that sometimes we can focus so much on our health problems, and not on our health successes.  It’s hard not to berate myself for that cookie (or half dozen) that I might have eaten this weekend. Or for not biking to work at all last week.  Or for the delicious cup of Gallileo Coffee that I drank on Monday morning on the way to work. Or for….[insert shame and negativity here]…

In contast, when I try to think about what I have been doing right, it takes a lot more time.  So I’m trying to start a Best Thing (BT) tradition for myself (and for you too, if you want to jump on the BT Train!).  

The Best Thing idea came to me because of a stranger on the bus this morning:

Since I started at UBC, I take the bus one or two times a week. On the way to and from work, I often end up standing in the aisle.. in my heels.  I hate it: it’s a precarious situation and I have trouble staying put!  This morning, for the  first time, this man realized that I was going to have to stand, and he gave me his seat without a moment’s hesitation.  I’m a feminist and I’m all for equality, but I took that seat immediately with a smile and a thank you.  It’s really touched me all day- that simple gesture of kindness to my feet.  I have never ever been given a seat like that by a stranger (and he was younger than myself, so I was surprised by the “old style manners”).

So this song is for people who better others’ health, even for strangers, through an act of kindness:

You Are The Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne

Anyways, that’s my BT from today. 

It made me think about how much better the world would be if we spoke more often of the Best Things.   I get in the habit of talking to my friends and colleagues about the worst things. It’s far too socially acceptable to complain about what part of our bodies are breaking down.

So today, I wanted to share the BT in terms of my back/neck health: I haven’t had a fullblown headache in about a month.  And from now on, this will be my new tradition- at the end of each post, I’m sharing the BT of my health, no matter what topic I’m talking about that week. 

So? What’s Your BT Today?

On another note: Thanks so much to the lovely woman who asked me today at our Healthy UBC Program about whether or not I was the Suzanne blogging about quitting coffee!  It’s great to know some other folks are reading this, and I’d like to encourage more non-HSE folks to show their faces by commenting on here!