My significant other is planning to run a marathon this year. In support of him, I will be researching and creating some class plans for runners in the upcoming weeks.

Since when can it be a wise decision to do push-ups from Urdhva Dhanurasana (Wheel) – head on the floor, lifting into full wheel, and down again – after a challenging upper body workout? My arms are still threatening to fall out of their sockets (since Tuesday) and after yesterday, my legs are sore to match. Hopefully, I will be fully pain-free by next Tuesday so that I can spend next week “challenging myself physically”, only to rest in Iceland the following week.

This morning, my body screamed for deliverance! I could barely make my way across the bedroom floor; I could barely dress and accessorize myself. And so much for checking blind spots while driving – I can barely glance over my right shoulder. I’m not sure if my workout yesterday was “enhanced” by Qi Gong and a hot tub in the evening, but either way, I’m considering crawling back into that sarcophagus from 2 days ago.

For our Karma Yoga (Good Deeds!) project, an amazing personal trainer in our class has volunteered her time to whip me into shape. After our first session, I was astounded by (both) how good and how pained I was! Physically, I felt as though I had pulled my ravaged body out of a sarcophagus, but my mental/emotional situation was elevated most considerably. With the constant rush of the modern world and the fact that antidepressants are dispensed as though pez from a candy dispenser, have we forgotten the wonder of a simple (and challenging) bout of exercise?