Cultivating My Inner Tree

Flexibility - 1 hours - 06/25/2008

gardenmentor — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:15:53 +0000

Logbook Activity Type: Flexibility Date: 06/25/2008 Time: 17:00:00 Total Time: 1:00:00.00

Yoga!

gardenmentor — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:21:24 +0000

Based on my posting history over the last several months, it looks like I stopped exercising. Actually, I just ran out of time to post. I also had to cut back on my yoga to make way for work. But, work entails a lot of gardening, so I consider much of it to be exercise. Try lifting a sopping wet 6′ tree into the back of a pick up truck. My doc was happy to hear that I’m doing a lot of this — will help with my questionable bone density!

I did make it to yoga on Sunday and again yesterday evening. Yesterday’s class was wonderful. It was hard work, but for as much as I’ve had to back off on yoga over the last few months, it was great to realize that I’m still strong and have pretty decent “muscle memory”. I was feeling lethargic going in and felt great coming out.

A new teacher took the class with me and taught a bit. He’s really going to be an interesting addition to the studio. He’s actually lived in and run a monastary in Korea. His strength and flexibility were astonishing. Clearly the body of someone who has been doing this diligently all his life.

Oh, that reminds me of a great quote I read in “The Friday Night Knitting Club”: “…it’s better to loosen up as you go or you risk turning brittle.” Those are words to live by!

Logbook Activity

Type: Flexibility
Date: 06/23/2008
Time: 17:45:00
Total Time: 1:15:00.00

Almost 2 Months Since My Last Post

gardenmentor — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:51:29 +0000

Yes, I’m still alive. Its been a busy spring in the gardening world, so much so that my yoga practice has dropped to about 1-3 classes a week (usually 2). But, I’m out in gardens, on farms and at nurseries almost every day of the week. I spend very little time in front of the computer these days. This is all good! I’m getting loads of fresh air and lots of outdoor exercise. I’d like to get more yoga classes worked back in and I know that will come eventually.

For a while now I’ve been meaning to turn my other blog link back on. I just did it. Several months ago I turned it off because I was planning to bring in other bloggers. That hasn’t happened — yet. So, I thought I’d share my gardening tips, tricks, observations and experiences with all of you again. So enjoy!

MIA

gardenmentor — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:32:12 +0000

I haven’t been posting here lately. Something(s) in life had to give, and keeping this log of my exercise program made the cut list for a while. I haven’t stopped walking Shiloh & I haven’t stopped going to yoga. I did cut back on yoga for a while during heavy pruning season, but I’m back at it 2-5x/week now. As well, Shiloh gets a daily walk. Often on Fridays she spends the work day with me, driving from nursery to nursery in the truck. Some of the nurseries even allow her to run and play amid the trees and shrubs while I pull plants for clients. Those are her best days — our best days.

Buying all those plants means I’m spending a lot of time taking plants to clients and often teaching them about laying them out and putting them in the ground. This means I’m doing a lot of outdoor labor carrying, digging, lifting, pruning, mulching, etc…

As well, I helped a friend install his path and patio earlier this spring. And, Bob and I are working on our front flagstone patio now. And the stones are enormous. I’m surprised sometimes that we can lift some of them…visualize a piece of iron-filled slate 4′ x 3′ x 3″…1, 2, 3…lift. The front path is laid out and filled in. The main patio is almost patterned out, and hopefully we’ll fill it this weekend. Then two small paths to go, and most of our hardscaping will be finished. When we’re 80 we’ll be glad we did this — no mowing, no watering, built-in seats. And, the blueberries, lettuce, peas, and brussel sprouts mixed into the ornamental beds around the granite seats are filling in nicely. It will be lovely this summer to munch on fresh vegies as we watch the sun set from this new western garden space.

So, that’s the update. I’m glad the tools here seem to be running a little better…faster…for a while there my machine was grinding to a halt when I posted here. Maybe the machine…maybe not? At least I’m no longer at a halt! Happy spring all!

Logbook Activity

Type: Flexibility
Date: 04/30/2008
Time: 17:00:00
Total Time: 1:00:00.00

Yoga Monday

gardenmentor — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:45:36 +0000

Easy, much needed restorative yoga. Good leg stretches and lots of passive heart openers. Love it!

Logbook Activity

Type: Flexibility
Date: 04/14/2008
Time: 17:30:00
Total Time: 1:00:00.00

Balance Restored!

gardenmentor — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:02:30 +0000

I think I’ve finally found a good balance between too much and not enough. Between working with clients in gardens for days on end and then trying to fit in a regular yoga practice, I kind of over did it in late March. My hands and forearms hurt all the time — and not in a “I’m building muscle burn” kind of way. I was exhausted and my joints just plain ached. I backed way off on yoga and the weather began to turn warmer, which also helped.

Last week I didn’t get a lot of yoga in toward the end of the week. But, I was not at a loss for exercise. I worked with a client to plant up their garden all day Thursday, Friday and part of Saturday. Have you ever moved a tree or spread mulch or cultivated soil or hauled plants uphill? Well, believe me, its a workout!

Sunday I promised to myself. I promised I would do very little gardening for my own space, and I managed to hold true to this promise. But, I did work on writing an article all morning. And, I went to mid-day Hatha yoga, which was awesome. We did a lot of ab work, and mine are a little sore (in a good way) today. Tonight I’m hoping to hit a restorative yoga class just to keep up my practice but also to give my body a little break.

So, balance seems to be back in my life. I’m even more enthused this year about gardening than I think I have been for the past few, which is wonderful!

Logbook Activity

Type: Flexibility
Date: 04/13/2008
Time: 12:00:00
Total Time: 1:30:00.00

Great New Yoga Teacher

gardenmentor — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:26:50 +0000

I had scheduled a client for early afternoon today, but he cancelled this morning due to an injury, so suddenly I was able to make it to a mid-day yoga class. Sure, I could have filled my time with office work, but I’m craving more yoga lately, so I went at noon to try out a new teacher. She was great. The class was a level II Flow class, and she definitely worked us!

My hands are still tired from all the gardening I’ve been doing, but I’m getting better at modifying and taking more breaks. Class was excellent. I feel relaxed and recharged. Now…on to a garden design…

Logbook Activity

Type: Flexibility
Date: 04/07/2008
Time: 12:00:00
Total Time: 1:30:00.00

You’re Going to Yoga, Right?

gardenmentor — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 19:05:38 +0000

When the first thing my husband says/asks me in the morning is, “You’re going to yoga today, right?”, I know I must really need it. I may not realize it, but maybe I’m grumpy. Maybe I’m stiff and making strange noises as I move around the house. Maybe I’m tired. Whatever it is, when someone else realizes I need yoga more than I realize it, I should listen up. Today I did.

I’d managed to open my big mouth yesterday and commit myself to helping a friend layout a paver path. I offered to help before I realized this would cut into the yoga class I wanted to hit. Last night I got pretty grumpy at myself for doing this. Fortunately, I helped lay out the path and still made it to yoga.

Heather asked for any requests. I needed hamstring stretching desperately. And, we worked the hamstrings a lot. She focused the class on a lot of core work and flexibility work, which was exactly what I needed. She didn’t do a whole lot of strength work, for which I was grateful.

Maybe I should clarify how core and strength work are “different” to me. Strength work is a lot of standing warrior type work. Where core work is boat and rotating supine boat variations and such. So, I guess by “core”, I mean more gut work. By strength, I mean more all over and leg work. Anyway, that’s my explanation.

So, I’m blissed out from yoga and looking forward to a trip to the farmer’s market in just a bit. Wow…an actual weekend day where I’m not doing biz work or moving trees or boulders or gravel or plants. Maybe I’ll even lounge around with a good novel for a while later on. What a treat that would be!

Logbook Activity

Type: Flexibility
Date: 04/06/2008
Time: 12:05:38
Total Time: 1:30:00.00

Yoga Restorative

gardenmentor — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:54:14 +0000

Had a great yoga class Weds night. I’ve had lot of gardening sessions with new clients, which means less of the heavier hands-on work that I’ve been doing a lot of over the past weeks. This meant my hands and arms were ready to go for class. It was a little more of a beginner class than a restorative class, which was fine. I was able to work my poses deeply. Plus, a couple of Diane’s more advanced students came this week, so she gave us some more challenging modifications to do, if we wanted. She’s such a diverse and creative teacher. I really appreciate her skill.

Logbook Activity

Type: Flexibility
Date: 04/02/2008
Time: 18:00:00
Total Time: 1:00:00.00

Sunny Walk with Shiloh

gardenmentor — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:48:03 +0000

Shiloh and I had a nice walk in the sun this afternoon. We haven’t gotten out much together lately, so I took a few moments while it was nice and while I was restless between projects to walk. Now I feel focused. Shiloh is snoozing. Good all around!

Logbook Activity

Type: Walk
Date: 04/01/2008
Time: 14:48:03
Total Time: 00:15:00.00
Distance: 1 miles
Average Pace: 15:00/mile