Final Cool Runs, Yoga Anus Confirmation, and Brunch!

Welp, it was nice while it lasted.  The whole ‘arctic vortex’ came and went.  We had a glorious few days of record low temps in North Texas…and I took full advantage.  I ran every day of it.  Here’s what my week looked like:

Sun – trail run + yoga.  Tues – run + weights.  Wed – track work.  Thurs – run + weights.  Fri – run.  Sat – run + yard workout.  Sun – run + yoga.

Oh, and guess what?!?!  In Sunday’s yoga I learned more about the whole ‘anus clenching‘ thing.  It’s called ‘Mula Bandha‘.  I won’t get into the details today, but it’s supposed to have many benefits.  I guess it’s a big deal.  Who knew?  That’s the thing about yoga, you’re always learning.

Anyway, after yoga, we we knew the cool weather was going buh-bye, so we squeezed in one last outdoor fun time – patio brunch!

She loved the black bean dip so much she decided to save some for later on her face and clothes and hair.

Of course the autumn-y weather is gone now and we’re back to 90% humidity and near triple digits temps.  Return of the sweatfest!  I’m not complaining though – last week’s break was such a nice surprise!

How bout you?  Been working on your mula bandha?  Who else loves patio brunches?  Anyone else get to enjoy a weather break?

-Scott

Yoga Anus Strengthing Part II

This past Sunday I continued my recent pattern of going for a morning trail run followed by yoga.  The trail run was hot, but fun.  I was especially stoked because my GPS watch actually latched on to the satellites!!!  It usually has some issues under a thick tree canopy.  It’s good to know exactly how far I’m actually running!

After the run I met up with some friends for yoga at Lululemon.  They took a couple pics of us yogaing.

More bonus points if you can find me. (click to enlarge)

We had the same instructor as last week.  And if you saw my post about it, then you know she occasionally encouraged us to tighten our anuses.  Her words, not mine.  She said it helps with injury prevention.

This week she said it again.  She said it’s how real Yogis are able to fly.  Again, her words, not mine.

Learnin to fly.  Can you find me?

I’m not sure exactly how clenching your anus helps you fly uninjured, but she’s the expert I guess.  Anyway, after two sessions of anus-tightening yoga, I’m really feelin the burn!  Oh wait, that may be the hot wings I ate last night.

How’s everyone doin?  Can you yoga fly yet?  Have you been practicing your clenching technique?  Do we need to create a run/yoga duathlon? 

PS.  Bummer – I forgot to write down the yoga name for it, but I’ll try to get it.

Injury Prevention – It’s all in the Anus

OK, 1st off, you will not see any photos in this post.  I hope the title gives you a clue as tow why.

2nd off, I’m not being vulgar.  I’m repeating a term my yoga instructor said the other day.  Here’s the skinny…

We were doing some pose or another and she said we need to tighten our anuses.  OK, first she said the yoga phrase for it…then the English translation.

I googled it and it does exist.

She also said she’s a medical professional in her day job and the most common injury she sees is the back. She then said if we practiced tightening our anuses, we wouldn’t get hurt.  I’m not talking clenching the core or booty cheeks…She meant anus.

Now I’ve been practicing yoga for like 8 years now.  I’ve heard a lot of unexpected stuff from instructors.  But this one caught me off guard.  I’m not complaining.  I’m open to whatever.  But the comedian in me was all in.  This lead me to imagining a bunch of questions…

Will my anus be sore tomorrow?  Will it eventually get ripped?  Will I finally be comfortable enough to show it off at the beach?  And so on…

Anyway, I have some more sessions coming up with this particular instructor, so we’ll see what she brings next.  Until then, keep your booty hole tight!

Any yogis out there have advice on this?  Any other unique yoga terms you’ve heard?  Any advice for mastering this technique? Any other comedian questions?