Civita di Bagnoregio

So technically, we spent the night in Orvieto. But we were really only there to do laundry and sleep. Our day trip out to Civita was breathtaking. It is literally coming up out of the ground, raised up, with nothing around it. The sight of it is inspiring. 

I chose wheel because there were many arches in this city. The one at the main entrance is actually the original arch built 2,500 years ago. This pose represented the history of the place to me. An arch can hold so much weight. And when I look at one, I'm still amazed that the formation stays in place without a pillar stretching to the ground in the middle for support. But like the pose, if the sides are strong and find firm placement in the ground the arch - or rather, the back - will be held upright.

Assisi

Well, we hopped on a boat to the train station and from there left Venice. As we traveled inland, what came into view were my favorite country landscapes. There was grass and dirt again.

Assisi is my favorite city so far. Being in a smaller town set on a hill just makes my soul happy. The streets are narrow and the ground often uneven, but the buildings here aren't so high that they block out the sun, and so the town seems very light and welcoming.

I chose tree for this town in honor of returning to the mainland, also for all the upright churches and bell towers scattered throughout it. This pose represents the balance of the town set in the hill where the structures are built above one another, but don't compete for attention.

Venezia

We flew into Venice and spent three nights here. It was so strange coming from Washington state which is known for its blending of mountains, water and evergreen trees that Venice is an arrangement of stone and water. Water is everywhere, but not to nurish anything; there is no dirt. Any trees seem to sprout from pots, as does any other botanical thing. In all our walks around the city, we saw one 10x10 garden consisting of grass (the only dirt we saw not in planters) and surrounding rose bushes. It was a little unsettling.

In each town we visit I'm going to attempt to represent it through a yoga pose and post it here, with a brief explanation. I chose dancer for this first city. This is because architecture of the town and the river canals flow so seamlessly together, it's like a dance.

Venice has a unique beauty to it. Generally, I'm drawn to rolling hills, mountains and water. I like my smaller towns in the country and so I was a little apprehensive to start off the trip in such a city. But once we got there, I was entranced by the carefully cut canals and slightly rounded brides stretching over them. By the end of our three nights, I was ready to leave and get back to my greenery, but only because I'd had time to soak up this unique city and all it's incorporated history.

Yoga Around the World

On a whim, I thought it would be a fun idea to incorporate yoga into a trip traveling around Italy and France with my mom. Yoga has been in my life since I was little. I may not have a consistent practice, but as I get older, it becomes more important to me. It seemed only appropriate to incorporate it into this trip, not only for the relaxation, but also the spiritual aspect. Through yoga, one quiets the mind and it's easier to become in tune with the world around you. On a chaotic trip that sounded appealing. Especially if it meant being able to connect more with the places we planned to visit. This blog will be a place to reflect on the cities and see how yoga can be incorporated into each.

Sun Salutation

Here is the sequence I've been practicing this week:

It's a simple sun salutation and has been a great way to wake up in the morning and to do before going to sleep in the evening. It can be found in the magazine Yoga Journal (this was a special edition for beginners). The poses they chose are basic and there are many variation to make this flow more challenging. This sequence leaves me feeling peaceful and flexible.
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Wheel

I will always be the first to admit I have little to no arm strength. Growing up I was an Irish Step dancer (think Riverdance). The only arm strength needed in this practice was to hold your arms firmly at your sides. Later, when I got into team performance we would have to hold our arms up for minutes at a time, but this worked our backs more than our arms. All this is to introduce why I chose wheel as my first challenging pose.

This fall I attended some Yoga classes at the college rec center. At the end of each class we would do an inversion pose. I finally worked up the courage to try plow:

but I was still terrified to try wheel and not be able to do it. Turns out, I can do it, it's just staying in the pose which is hard. To prepare and gain confidence in this pose I have been doing arm exercises and bridge pose:

to strengthen my back. My goal is to hold wheel pose for 10 full breaths.

I'll update later with the sequence I've been doing this week!
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New Beginnings

I'm not calling this a New Year's resolution because those are notorious for gaining more weight and pressure in one's life than needed. So, this is just a blog of lifestyle changes that just happen to be occurring in January.

Yoga has been in my life off and on since I was very young. Throughout the years, it has remained a great outlet for stress relief. I feel wonderful when I walk away from a class, video or just a simple sun salutation sequence. Thus, with all this positivity from Yoga, why wouldn't I include it in my everyday life? From now on I'm hoping to do just that. This blog will be a place to post weekly sequences and discuss development of more difficult poses.

Another thing I've learned from Yoga is that you cannot contain it to a class; it seeps into the rest of your life. This winter I'm determined to spend more time cooking real meals, instead of just throwing something together at the last minute. I'll try to post favorite recipes on here as well.
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