I Did It!!!

Yes, I did it today! I managed to stand up from my backbend! Woohoo!

I rocked my body when I did my fifth backbend and with Iiling’s help, I found the ‘momentum’ and stood up! She was very pleased with my progress and I was absolutely delighted!

Also, when I do both Utkatasana and Virabatrasana A now, I can have my arms up straight. I don’t know if it’s just me or it’s quite normal, I found it hard to keep my arms straight until I discovered a trick – if I regulate my breathe when I jump in from Adho Mukha Svanasana, then it is a lot easier to get into the posture.

Anyway, I am definitely one happy bird today and I of course made sure everyone in the office was aware of my achievement as they are convinced all I do at yoga classes is lying on the mat, and relax!!!

नमस्ते

Breathless

Despite the incident on Monday (somehow I managed to injure myself by practicing yoga at home and it was a silly one really – I thought I was ready for it: standing up from backbend and of course I wasn’t and my whole body just collapsed onto the floor and now my right shoulder is painful as hell) and also the dreadful weather today, I was in the yoga class the usual time. In fact, I was 10 minutes early and had time to do some stretching.

I never had problems using Ujjayi breathe but today I just couldn’t seem to get into the flow. Although I was able to practice as usual and actually did Chaturanga ‘properly’ all the way through (which is amazing since I’d never been able to do it), plus the shoulder pain didn’t appear to be as problematic as I anticipated, I simply couldn’t use Ujjayi breathe. My breathes were short and irregular; I didn’t sweat at all and I did not feel the ‘heat’ within.

Um, don’t really know what happened there but I shall keep up the progress I made today and not try to be ‘clever’ again in case I hurt my self again!

नमस्ते

Pig-Out Session

Here comes the second May bank holiday - another pig-out session! The weekend was filled with work, food, and more food. We wanted to go to Bath but unfortunately the weather did not permit, it turned cold, windy and continuous irritating rains! On Saturday, we went to one of our favourite restaurants in Knightsbridge for some grubs. We only managed to take a snap of the delicious humus as we couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

We don’t call ourselves pigs for no reasons! After lunch, we went straight to the Fifth Floor restaurant to have afternoon tea. I know it doesn’t look particularly appetising, but it wasn't really that bad. At least I wolfed down a whole scone on my own; J had some finger sandwiches and a half scone only because she didn't have lunch with us. T was bewildered by my appetite; he only had a fruit tart, but minus the tart, just the fruits!

I slept very well over the weekend, which is something I longed for a while. I think I had almost 12 hours of sleep on Sunday!! I haven’t had a good sleep for quite some times and I have tried all different ways to sleep all the way through without waking up in the middle of the night but haven’t had any success. Therefore I was in a much stable and better mood this weekend - having had my beauty sleep eventually!
While there were still some works to do and I dread to think the morning meeting on Tuesday as there are just so much to do in the coming weeks.

I enjoyed and really appreciate this bank holiday. The three of us had a laugh together; ate like pigs collectively and I had some girly chats with dear sis.

The next bank holiday is in August and I am starting to count the days!

Mad Moroccan Lamb

I'd never been fond of lamb even when I used to eat meat and so I never even tempted to cook it. However, we bought one of Jamie Oliver’s cook books, Cook with Jamie Oliver last week and thought we’d be adventurous to endeavour new dishes.

I decided to give the ‘Mad Moroccan Lamb’ a go. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought especially I’d never cook lamb EVER! According to the ‘tester’ - it was divine! (yes, he might be lying but he did finish the WHOLE dish, which was quite extraordinary considering the amount) The mister says the meat really melts in your mouth and the intense flavour was just delicious. The whole cooking process could be a bit of a nuisance particularly the time required was around three hours.

Although I didn't get to taste the dish but the smell of this wintry-feel combination of lamb, couscous and the herbs was incredible.

The reason why I used to enjoy cooking is because I love my food and I take pleasure in the course of action; making food from scratch. Nowadays, I feel almost more at ease when I cook. I can totally relax (well, almost) and I seem to be able to let go of whatever I have on my mind. Talking about stress, eh?

Happy cooking, everyone!!

Progress

There were some progressions during today's yoga class.

First of all, I could hold my wrists when I was in Marichasana A and B, instead of my hands. However, with Marichasana C, it still depends on the day of how further my body wants to go. Today I was able to grab my wrists. Also, I still need help with Marichasana D, but I was really close to getting into it without Iiling's assistance today.

As with the finishing posture, I was able to do yogamudra with both of my hands on toes!

As always, it was a good class and I felt revitalised throughout the afternoon.

However, Iiling is off to Mysore in June for three months and therefore she is getting one of her friends to take over the class. Um, we were rather anxious as we’ve always had Iiling leading the class and now when I come to think about it, we never had any replacements, which is remarkable. Iiling is good like that, she is always on time and never lets just anyone take over the classes even if it was a 45-minutes class. Anyway, we should see!

नमस्ते

Drishti

Before we started the class today, Iiling asked if we knew how many Drishti (point of gaze) there were and everyone was throwing different answers: 2, 3 (which is the one I thought), 15, 20 etc….

And the answer is NINE!

-Tip of the nose
-Third Eye
-Navel
-Thumb
-Hand
-Big Toe
-Right
-Left
-Up to the Sky

It is all very well and good to practice Ashtanga Yoga but we tend to forget about other equally important techniques and they are the true vital techniques to transform this demanding physical exercise into a spiritual practice and they are Ujjayi breath, Bandha and Drishti. At the moment, I find it difficult to remember the Drishti with different poses so this definitely will be the next stage to progress.

Apart from that, I am now trying to get my Chaturanga right. I still find it a bit of a mission to do each Chaturanga ‘properly’ during primary series, and I am working hard on that without doubt.

नमस्ते

Oops......

I’ve been looking for a bag for a while and I had told myself that I didn’t need all those branded, expensive sh*t. I can do with the high-street ones just as a lot of people do and there is absolutely no point of spending a fortune on a bag especially when most of the time I just end up carrying some really futile stuff in it. I can also definitely save the money to buy something else, like shoes...hahaha! Anyway, with whole other lot of reasons that I came up with but just can't seem to think of what they are now.....but you get the idea, I had my heart set on that notion and I was positive that it would remain firm until, until, um....
No seriously, I do need to start saving some stern amount of money. BUT before I do, perhaps I can just splash out a little, if not, just one last time...

Anyway, so I was bag-hunting and yet I didn't find any that caught my eye until I saw this dazzling baby but unfortunately the price tag isn't as alluring as the look of the bag and it is completely against my very own 'ground rules'! (yes, rules? what rules? there are rules? I can't seem to recall any?!)

Having said that, I am not an impulse buyer and therefore I shall spend some time to assess this little beauty - just as what I did back in February when I almost splurged on another splendour. I still very much adore the one I saw back then but I just need to make a wise decision here! You now can see how serious I am, can't you?

A Good Start of the Week

I wasn’t feeling particularly energetic today but I was really surprised with myself in today’s yoga class. Not only I can do Vinyasa In well, I could also do Utpluthee for full 10 breathes, which is something I hadn’t been able to do for a while.

I think one of the reasons is that I actually used my bandha (it’s amazing the significant difference it makes and as I am still learning about my body and trialling various techniques it's quite exciting to discover what works for my body since everyone is different & it really is important to listen to your body and not stretch it too far) which I know we should engage it at all time when practicing but it really is a matter of ‘getting it’ or actually ‘realise’ that we’ve got to utilise the abdominal muscles.

As with Vinyasa In, I made good use with my upper arms’ muscles (probably from the two body pump classes I’ve been going and I think it helped!) and also bandha to jump in and I now could land fully on the top of my feet, not just on the edges. Hopefully I will be able to sustain it and progress.

One thing I still struggle is Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana. I have long and tight hamstrings and I just can’t get my legs straight at all. My left side is slightly more flexible but it just seems that I can see progresses with all other postures and not this one, which is rather frustrating. However, I am certainly not giving up, I will try to get there one day!

नमस्ते

Happy Birthday Mr H!

well well well, It's T's birthday today and it's also his last twenty something birthday! Though I don't think guys are that hung up about turning the big three-0 especially he has an exam coming up in less than a month. To be precise, there are 19 days left to cram in all the notes. Therefore we had a simple birthday celebration.

We had lunch at the Spread Eagle in Greenwich and it was surprisingly pleasant. Mr S has suggested the place a few times,where he goes for special occasions with the missus and therefore we decided to give it a try.

Tao's starter - tender steak with rocket salad and mustard dressing

My starter - scallop consommé

T's main - Rump of lamb with Swiss chard gratin, crispy potato and French beans

My pan fried salmon with vegetables barley risotto

I am not a salmon fan but I was feeling bold today and I am glad that I ordered it! It really was delicious. It had to be the best salmon I ever had - it was tender, moist, full of flavour and simply just melts in your mouth. The consistency of the barley risotto is also perfect.

We ended the meal with cheese platter - we opted for the savoury version since there is a chocolate cake waiting for us at home!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TAO!

please excuse the photos which are clearly taken in a rush: in fact we were so hungry and couldn't wait to dive in, we only realised it after having a few bites!

Cymbidium Orchids for Dearest Mum

It's another year that I can't be with mum on Mother's Day and it's kind of depressing.

However, I've always sent mum flowers on this special day and this year I've I decided to go for something slightly unconventional. It's normally lilies, tulips, or various kinds of roses but never ever carnations - I've never been fond of carnations. I remember we had to make paper carnations when we were at primary school and I just hated doing it. Don't get me wrong, I was good at origami and I loved it but I just didn't like the flower and not to mention the idea of making them from paper?! noooo, never ever, especially not the red ones! So I would try to make my carnations look different but then still kind of 'carnationy' (believe it or not, they all had to be marked!!! talk about the REAL spirit!) and then present them to mum.

Anyway, I ordered some cymbidium orchids for mum this year and she really loved them! To be honest, I had no idea what they were called! I just saw them online and thought they looked absolutely beautiful and elegant, just like my dearest mummy. Apparently they come in a number of varieties and the ones I ordered are the green ones, well, initially I wanted the pink ones and they come with a fine name too - Princess Molly Gorgeous! Unfortunately they were not available! Nevertheless, mum adored them and was really excited as she'd never seen this breed even though she is very keen on flowers/plants! I am quite pleased with the green variety as well as I know it's baking hot in Taipei at the moment and they seem to have a soothing visual effect! The only thing is that it comes with the glass vase as shown above and it's VERY heavy according to mum. Though she said she would probably use it as a mini fish tank afterwards! hahaha

I found a website that specialises in cymbidium orchids and I must say they do offer some stunning varieties! http://www.kiwiorchids.co.nz/
I know where to order more next time!

Moody Me

Okay, I need something or someone to cheer me up!
I’ve been feeling damn miserable since yesterday and I just can’t hack it anymore.

It’s not that time of the month in case you ask.
It’s nothing to do with work.
It’s nothing to do with domestic issues.

There is just something on my chest and I really want to get it off me but only if I know what it is and how!

I will go to yoga class today and see if it helps or else I will have to seek other alternatives before I lose it! and I am praying that won’t happen since I am collected, composed and calm…well, most of the time.

My First Blissful May Bank Holiday

Well, to be frank I don’t know whether it has been a blissful one or just a pure lazy weekend?! It was expected to be fruitful as I planned to do a bit of house hunting, birthday present shopping, exercising and watch Spiderman 3. And guess what? I did none of them! Umm… okay not quite, I managed to shop the present online so perhaps it was a bit of an achievement.

It was as relaxing as I hoped since I didn’t really want to do much apart from those things I mentioned above even though I didn’t get all of them done. However, I can’t remember the last time when I just lounged on the sofa; enjoying the sun and not having anything on my mind. Instead I just watched telly endlessly; reading and of course been eating as if there was no tomorrow. Yet, I do want to justify myself on the last point as I didn’t get to have proper lunches in the last two weeks mainly due to meeting schedules so I thought I'd treat myself a bit – perhaps a little bit too much because I can see my face is getting rounder! UNFORTUNATELY! I know I already have a very rounded one and this is definitely fairly noticeable….

It was also as slothful as I didn’t step out of the flat since Saturday and I blame the weather! Apart from it was an okay day yesterday (typical British weather, so I am sure there is no need to elaborate) and there were showers constantly throughout the day today before it brightened up towards late afternoon and by then I was already in my PJ again and all curled up in my very much-loved blanket on the sofa.

Ah, I very much look forward to the next bank holiday which is due in two weeks time! Please don’t get too green eyed, my friends!

oh and this is the 'croissant sofa' I came across. It sure looks like a comfy one to snuggle up especially in those cold winter evenings!

Declaration of Guilt

I had my first taste of the Jamaican spice bun today and I have to say it was deliiicious! Traditionally on the island they usually serve the spice bun with processed cheese (Tastee Cheese) but it was just as yummy with some butter and cheddar on them. It tastes almost like malt loaf but minus the stickiness and sweetness.

It has been a constructive day today, or rather a very good week for me as I’ve met some interesting people and also spoke with some really remarkable individuals. Hopefully I can say the same about the outcomes too.

My car is due for its very first MOT tomorrow and with a bit of luck I shall come to a decision on its destiny.

Oh, and HORRAY! It's the long weekend!

The only thing is that I've been slacking off this week that I'd only practiced yoga once and even with that one time, I was too lazy to do postures properly that I might as well not being there – yes, it was THAT dreadful! I ought to make more efforts next week.

Top of the Pops

Thanks for Mami that I now have a small collection of MC Solaar’s works!!! Well, to be fair, 4 out of his 7 albums isn’t bad at all!

Courtesy of dear Mami, I learnt a little bit more about this famous artist. The way he cunningly plays with the words, the lyrics and the whole complexity of how he makes his music. (yes, I know I’ve been saying this for a looong while now, but I am still on the case and still intend to enroll to French lessons!) I shall also keep my eyes and ears open as it is rumoured that his new album is scheduled to release in July!

Talking of music, we now Wi-Fi onto the Just Chill Station in the office and I must say that they do play some sensational music including various cool Jazz. I have to admit that music can be fairly therapeutic sometimes, especially in the office environment. Your mood kind of pick up by great lively tunes and the same goes to soothing/calming melodies. There were some disagreements today in the office and people seemed to have calmed down a bit when it was filled with tranquil tunes in the background.

Anyway, before I get carried away onto something completely irrelevant, the thought of the day is - what is your absolute favourite song/music?