Morning Work-outs

I have started swimming again in the mornings. It's glorious!! Yes, getting up at 4.45am to swim laps is not for everyone (see below pic) .... but for me it's AWESOME.

4 car accident in the early morning fog

On days I don't swim, I get up and jog with Reese. He usually is SUPER exuberant to go and then about halfway through he decides he's kinda done but is along for the ride..... by the time we are getting back to the house, I sometimes worry I'm pulling him along! :-)
I'm still working out in the evenings twice a week and trying to fit in a yoga or zumba class in there too!
I know, I know! This is why I have no time anymore! The laundry sometimes piles up, as do the dishes, the fridge isn't always stocked (sorry Matt!) and the days are blurry. Which is why, by 10pm, I tend to look like this:

Yep! Passed out with my shadow. I think I need to work a bit on my time management skills with the gym and home stuff. Good thing I have a 3-day weekend coming up so I can play catch-up!

Yoga Retreat: Sewall House

I took a mini holiday just for me, by myself, back in February. It came about completely by chance. I was Googling yoga places near the condo as I've been wanting to get back into it. I miss having class a few times a week!
Anyway, wonderful Google has adds that run down the side of their lovely search engine and one of them was an add for a YOGA RETREAT in ME. Maine, one of my favorite states in the whole USA! So I clicked on the link and was totally entranced by the old house, the VERY northern Maine locale, homemade food and more importantly, close to 4 hours of yoga a day.
Well! Since I was out of practice, I figured this would be a really cool way to jump start me back into it. So, I hit contact and emailed the hosts about their winter schedule and cost. I had almost an immediate response back from Donna who is the Yoga teacher and one of the hosts of the retreats. She and her husband run the house: she teaches class, he cooks and everyone takes care of the house.
Donna and I continued to email back and forth for a few days just tacking down price (they work with your budget) and when I would be there, classes to take, etc. Turns out the food is completely vegetarian too! I was pumped! And a good thing too, because the weekend kicked my butt. Literally! Turns out I was there on a teacher weekend which meant I learned a TON as the discussions were all over the place with yoga, technique, lifestyle, teaching students, etc. however, it also meant that the classes were HARD! Donna prefers the word challenging, but either way, I....was....sore....very.....sore. (Please note! Normally classes are tailored to the skills of the people in them. This was done for me too on some level but I was stubborn and until my body really complained I tried to keep going.) I ending up taking a lot of naps between classes and did restful things, like reading and I went for a walk around the little town on Sunday.

http://sewallhouse.com/

I drove home Monday and managed to squeeze in a visit with family in Topsham on the way back south, which was wonderful!

It was relaxing to get away for a few days by myself - something I don't think I've ever done! - and this was a wonderful way to do it! I hope to get back up there sometime this year for another long weekend, but they do run full week long retreats during the summer months.

Yoga is for people of all levels and strengths. There are so many types of Yoga too! Google "Yoga" and see for yourself!