8 Years of Consecutive Daily Yoga Practice

This past Saturday was a cause for celebration. Not because of that Jewish carpenter who, if he ever really lived at all, died over 20 centuries ago. It’s something else, of far less momentous import, than those old stories, if they are to be believed. This thing I’m talking about I did — every day, for eight years. That’s 2,922 days including two leap years, if you’re counting, as I obviously have been. This thing lasted for 30 minutes or more. More math:  that’s 87,660 minutes. Or the equivalent of 60.875 days. But while the numbers and math have surely have strong significance, what’s as if not more important is something Yoga with Adriene says: “Keep showing up for yourself on the mat.”

Continue reading

Book Review: Yoga and the Quest for the True Self by Stephen Cope

Naked in a hot tub with an author is not a situation I find myself in often. In this case, it was a quite a while ago when I spent a summer at a yoga center. I didn’t know it at the time, but the writer in question was about to publish a book he must have been working on during my summer there. I’m not in the book, and the whirlpool nudity isn’t germane to the review, but I thought it might be a fun way to grab your attention. Anyway, I finally got around to re-starting and finishing his work. Yoga is an ancient tradition spanning thousands of years, and I eventually got into a daily practice, so while I doubt the author remembers me or will ever see this review, if he does, I trust he will forgive me for the tardy book report.

Continue reading

1,826 Days (5 Years) of Daily Yoga: A Demi-Decade of A Downward A Dude

It’s another awesome milestone for A Dude Abikes, five years of consecutive bendy-ness!  Simultaneously remarkable and by now, just another day on the mat, it’s too momentous on occasion to not write about, even though this is predominantly a blog about bicycling.  It’s also about my health journey, and yoga is an important part of that.  A new blogger and follower who is curiously named uptightprettygirl said she found me by searching for blogs about yoga.  That and my yogaversary made me realize that one reason I keep writing about my practice is to keep inspiring myself.  Another is to inspire people who also do not fit the mold of a skinny, muscled, super-bendy young man or woman (aka fathlete) but whose bodies can definitely benefit from yoga.  Inside this post you will find a few pearls of wisdom about yoga and how it can help you  Or maybe those are crumbs.  Yes, definitely crumbs of some useful information.   Continue reading

1,096 Days (3 Years) of Daily Yoga Practice 12/6/16:  Boy Is My Assana Tired!

Biking and Yoga:  Two Complementary Practices

a-dude-at-eastside-yoga-120516
A Dude Abikes, before yoga class bliss.

Yes, you read that correctly.  Today I have completed my third year of daily yoga.  Technically I began on 12/4/06, but I missed two days right before Christmas for a medical thing, so I count 12/6/13 as my yogaversary.  Purists would say my uninterrupted consecutive practice began on 12/25/13.  However you count it, it’s a heckuva lotta downward-facing dogs, which is something worth celebrating and announcing to the infinitesimal corner of the internet in which A Dude Abikes inhabits.

Continue reading