Conspicuous Consumption
 
One of the best decisions I have made in a long time was to return to yoga.  At the end of last fall my body was feeling beat up by the preceding tennis season, my shoulder was hurting and I had a groin pull that would not heal.  I have taken a series of yoga classes twice before in my life and enjoyed both, but it had been a couple of years since I had last done it.   Since last October, every Sunday at 12:15 I have been in the back corner of my yoga class.  I am not very elegant and I am sure I have many of the postures wrong, but slowly and surely I am making progress.  My shoulder still has some pain, but it is definitely better.  The groin pull is totally healed.

In many ways yoga is very unnatural for me.  Unlike some people, I was never particularly flexible, not even as a kid could I touch my toes.  As I have grown older, I have gotten even more stiff and inflexible.  It is not as if yoga can totally reverse the process – I may never be able to touch my toes.  But I have found that with concerted, consistent effort, I am slowly becoming more flexible.  In addition to the benefits to my body, at the end of class, I feel centered and my mind is calm.  My mother-in-law has been doing yoga consistently for at least the 25 years I have known her.  She is still very flexible and fit and so with her good example I would like to make it a lifetime activity for myself as well.

I am sure there are those of you who say, yoga is not for dudes.  It is true that today I was the only dude in my class, and most classes there are not more than two or three.   However, a couple of years ago, we went to a Police reunion tour concert.  I could not help but notice that Sting, who I hear is a serious yoga follower, was in remarkable shape and had fantastic energy for his age.  His band mates had not fared so well with time and looked like the old men they are.   So guys if you do not trust me, take tip from Sting-a-ling-ding and get your Namaste.  I will see you next Sunday, but the back corner is mine.

Consumption:

Cheerios and Bran Chex cereal in milk
Banana
Apple
Flank steak and kale in tomato sauce
Bowtie pasta with yogurt and blue cheese sauce
Hummus and crackers
Flatbread crackers and blue cheese
Bowl of cabbage and kielbasa soup
Glass of White wine

Exercise:

1 hour of flow yoga

My Fitness Pal calculated that my calories consumed equaled my target plus the extra 250 I earned with my yoga.