Leo doesn't workout.

I know what you're thinking.  

You're thinking "How's your new job going Leo?  Are you enjoying it?  Are you still the Queen Bee of Faxing?"


Thanks for asking guys!  

Work is going great.  I really, really like it.  And yes....I am STILL the Queen Bee of Faxing.  One of the other girls tried to steal my title last week, but no luck.  She has no clue how fast these fat fingers can fax.  (say that 5 times fast!)


Anyway, somehow, I am balancing all of the aspects of my life.  Work ($), kids (cuteness), house (ughh), court (ew) and personal (yay).  

I'm not managing them perfectly.....but I'm still managing.  


But the one aspect of my life which I have totally neglected and put on the back-burner since I started my new job is working out.  

Wait....Leo doesn't work out.  Let me re-phrase...."the occasional walk and yoga class".


You all know my love of yoga right?  Well, I have not been able to squeeze it in anywhere.  My original goal of waking up 1/2 hour early to do a couple of downward dogs and cat/cow poses before breakfast is unfortunately not happening at all.  

In fact, the only animal that is present before sunrise is the chicken......or the egg....I'm still not sure which one comes first.


Anyhoo....after a month on the job, I noticed that with each morning that my alarm went off, I woke up with more pain and more stiffness in my body.  I wasn't quite sure why?  I guess one could assume that this was due to age....but let's not be ridiculous.  After all, I'm only 30'mrph years old.  

And it couldn't be the way I slept....on my stomach with my hands under my pillow and head cranked to the right side only.  This was the most comfortable way to get a perfect night's rest.  Everybody knows that!!



But regardless, everyday I wake up and everyday my body aches.



Today was especially bad.

I practically swung my body out of bed, painfully cracked my neck on either side and zombie-walked down the stairs where I threw myself onto the couch head first.  

With my face buried in one of the throw pillows, I groaned as I realized what my body needed.  


It needed.....(gulp).....activity.

But I didn't want to be active.  Instead all I wanted to do was rest and relax and be inspired by PVR'd episodes of Oprah's Super Soul Sunday.  

Isn't a healthy and positive mind enough??  

Sadly, I'm afraid it isn't :(



I knew what I had to do.


After a very healthy pancake breakfast, I threw on some runners, a toque, some mitts and took my furry friend Bruce Lee for a walk.

But something interesting happened on our 1 hour nature hike.

As the walk progressed, my muscles seemed to loosen up.  And with each hill Bruce and I climbed up, I seemed to gain more energy.  

Before long, I was running!  

I know!!!   I was shocked too!?

Even Bruce looked back at me in amazement at one point.



Once we got home, I had so much energy, that I ran right into the kitchen and found my yoga schedule.  The next class was in 1/2 hour.  Perfect!

I ran upstairs, switched outfits and jumped in the car.



Within 15 minutes I was stretching and putting on my anti-slip yoga socks when the young instructor approached me.

"Hi.  I haven't seen you here before.  Is this your first yoga class?"

"Oh!  No no!  I do yoga all the time.  Like ALL THE TIME.  I guess I've just never had you as a teacher before?"

He smiled and said in a quiet, sincere voice "Ok. Great!  Well let me know if the poses are too challenging or if you need to modify anything."

"No no....I won't need any modifications!"  I said confidently, "But thank you!"



Twenty minutes into class and my heart was pounding out of my chest.  

I had never been to such an intense yoga class in my entire life!!  Even the woman beside me started laughing while attempting to get into one of the  poses.  

Now that I think of it, she could have been crying....?



The instructor had fooled me with his quiet demeanor and soft voice.  He totally made it seem like this was going to be a peaceful relaxation class.  What are those classes called?  Restorative or something?  This was NOT restorative.  This was the opposite of restorative.

And because I was so cocky with the instructor at the beginning of class, now I didn't have the option of modifying the more difficult poses.  

Why did I have to go and show off??  Dammit.


But although class was insane, I had pushed myself and gotten through all of the animal poses and completed the entire hour.

Who would have ever thought that a pigeon could be so deadly??





By the time I had come back home, Bruce was patiently waiting by the door for another walk.

Clearly I had spoiled him with such a fantastic experience earlier and he wanted more.



Typical man!



So, I pulled off my boots, put my runners back on and began activity #3.




 ------------------------------------

It is now 8pm.  And I'm very tired.


But I must admit that my body feels good.

No aches and no pains.  

I actually feel young and quite strong again.

And I'm pretty confident that today's workouts have significantly minimized the size of my thighs and even added definition to my stomach.  

I also feel like I might be taller.


Wait a minute......

Maybe this whole "workout" thing may not be such a bad thing after all.  And perhaps it ISN'T just a fad.  

And maybe....just maybe....it IS something that I should be doing at least a few times a week?


Hmmmm......




No.


I'm pretty such that's not necessary.

I'm pretty sure that being active 3 times in one day means you don't have to workout again for like at least another.........month.




Right????





;)