>Which yoga is right for you?

Posted on April 30, 2008 | Leave a comment

>Whether you run, lift weights, dance, or just laze around on the beach like this guy, chances are someone has suggested that you add a yoga class to your workout schedule.

To avoid disappointment, check out this MSN UK guide that matches you by your workout preferences and fitness level to one of the several styles of yoga.

The guide describes
• Ashtanga (“Power Yoga”)
• Kundalini
• Bikram (“Hot Yoga”)
• Iyengar (which makes use of blocks, straps, and incline devices)
• Anusar

Unfortunately, the guide does not cover the classic Hatha yoga or Vinyasa (“Flow”) yoga, which is very popular in the U.S.

I’ve been going around dabbling in yoga classes since my favorite yoga teacher moved to L.A., and continue to be amazed at the differences between the styles. (And I haven’t even tried Bikram yet!) I feel as though I learn something important from every teacher in terms of improving my yoga.

Thanks to Melanie Crow’s blog for pointing out the MSN article.

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>Is this "a guy thing"?

Posted on April 28, 2008 | Leave a comment

>My neighborhood newsblog, My Ballard, has a post about two local men who started a weight-loss competition that turned into a website.

At FatBet.net (“you bet your ass”) you and friends can set up weight-loss challenges. Your actual weight is kept private; members of your group can see only the amount you want to lose during the challenge time frame.

I’m wondering if (and hoping that) they’ll expand this concept to cover fitness challenges (miles biked during the summer, martial arts levels attained, miles walked per week, etc.).

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>Bidder beware

Posted on April 25, 2008 | Leave a comment

>Confessions of an online shopper: A good portion of my wardrobe comes from eBay. These are mostly items like bras or shoes where I’ve purchased a particular item somewhere at full price, like it, and feel confident about getting a second item online. In most cases, I can get the item “new with tags” on eBay for less than half price. (In fact, because many brands discontinue styles after just a few months, eBay is often the only place I can get a second item.)

So, I’d been following a pair of Corso Como shoes that sell fairly reliably for $129 online and in stores. When the eBay bidding edged up past $60 (not including shipping) I thought, “Hey, hold on here…”

I then did a quick re-check at Amazon.com and found the shoes new, from Amazon itself (with free Prime shipping) for $59. I bought them.

A couple of hours later an email from eBay informed me that someone had purchased the eBay shoes for (ouch) $89.

Speaking of shoe deals, I won’t be able to make the Onlineshoes.com warehouse sale in Mukilteo tomorrow because I’m joining my neighbor Theresa having a yard sale. She has a whole garage full of furniture and kids’ stuff she is most anxious to unload. I’ve got mostly plants, planters, fountains, and some home decor.

We start at 10 a.m. Early birds will be shot and stuffed.

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>April is the cruelest month

Posted on April 20, 2008 | Leave a comment

>I love summer clothes, fall clothes, and winter clothes, but I’ve never liked spring clothing.

I guess I remember junior high school in Virginia and all the pastel floral shirt dresses and John Meyer matched cardigan-and-skirt outfits (and, one year, a lime green polished cotton dirndl skirt with white fishnet stockings) I suffered through.

For me, spring is the season when it’s too late to stride around in my favorite black boots but too cold to start showing off beautifully pedicured toes in my favorite strappy sandals. Instead, I have to deal with pantyhose (creepy), uncomfortable shoes, and socks — and end up freezing to death anyway.

Worse, spring is the one season when I can’t wear all black, so I end up realizing that no two grays (or beiges) will ever match, and that denim doesn’t quite work for business meetings — though I’ve certainly tried to get away with it.

As it would happen, I have a client meeting early tomorrow morning with a client known for her impeccable and expensive Eileen Fisher wardrobe. I’m thinking this is the moment to wear understated black pants and tank top with the long silver-beige Eileen Fisher jacket/sweater I snagged at a thrift shop and have been wondering about. It’s an idea, but I don’t think I have a raincoat long enough to cover the damn sweater.

Oh, please. Isn’t it June yet?

The one glimmer of hope on the horizon: I have a few VIP passes for the OnlineShoes.com warehouse sale in Mukilteo Saturday morning at 9 a.m. (General public isn’t admitted until 10 a.m.) My friend Kim and I went to the fall sale and each came away with five or six pairs of the most stunning shoes and boots, and we each spent less than $120.

Interested? You know how to reach me… I’ll be happy to give you a pass.

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>Perfect popcorn in a frying pan

Posted on April 17, 2008 | Leave a comment

>I used to make popcorn in an old Revereware pan and then groan when I had to remove all the sticky residue from the hot oil. Microwave popcorn certainly bypasses the pan cleaning, but it always seems so greasy or strange tasting. Have you ever looked at the ingredients on the package? Ewwww.

Today I took out the old cast iron frying pan, put some peanut oil and three corn kernels in, turned the gas on high, and put on a lid. When the three kernels popped, I tossed in 1/4 cup of corn, lowered the flame to medium high, and popped the corn. (The little pouring spout on the pan was perfect for letting the air escape; I didn’t need to try to angle the lid.)

The batch popped very quickly (all that frying pan surface area!) and, to my shock, when I poured it into a bowl, there were no unpopped kernels. (This in spite of the fact the corn had been in a jar in the fridge for three years.)

I wiped down the pan with a paper towel. Now I had a perfectly seasoned cast iron skillet and some of the most delicious popcorn ever — all it needed with a tiny bit of salt.

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>Step-by-step yoga

Posted on April 17, 2008 | Leave a comment

>I’ve been enjoying this website with animations that demonstrate yoga exercises (asanas) and poses. I’d never seen the Revolved Triangle pose before.

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>Harder! Faster!

Posted on April 14, 2008 | Leave a comment

>As I search for the perfect workout (am I as tiresome as my 20-something girlfriends searching for the perfect guy?) I’ve been looking at two local yoga programs.

Today I tried one. It was great. But it was wrong. (Yes, I do sound like my 20-something girlfriends searching for the perfect guy.)

The teacher is a delight and an inspiration, and explained sequences of activating muscles to achieve amazing pre-backbend poses. I learned a quite a bit, enjoyed the people, and plan to keep taking the once-a-week class. But workout value? Not much. This was the perfect warm-up for a workout. And fortunately, I’d logged a fast two-mile walk mid-day.

So, back to my workout search.

Unfortunately, what would be great workouts for lots of folks aren’t appropriate for me. The issue is risk. I need a tough workout with very low risk of injury because, at my age, recovery time from an injury is measured in weeks, not days—by which time my fitness level would be zapped. (Were it not for this, I’d be trying out for one of the roller derby teams, or doing African dancing or capoeira.)

When I got back from yoga I did some online research and think I’ve discovered something. Ever heard of “tabatas”? Stay tuned.

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>The garlic cure

Posted on April 4, 2008 | Leave a comment

>Like quite a few people I know, I’ve spent the past few weeks suffering from a mild but seemingly endless cold. Or was it two colds in succession?

It had been quite a while since I’d had colds like this, and I think I made the mistake of treating the symptoms instead of the colds themselves. I tried resting. I tried cough suppressants. I tried going about my work and workouts as if nothing were wrong. Finally, I tried garlic.

This was not just chopping up some garlic and eating it. This was the full garlic ceremony at the High Temple of Garlic, Fu Man Dumpling House.

I went there for lunch, and had a little salad of cold vegetables in a garlic marinade, followed by a cup of hot and sour soup redolent of black pepper. And then I had dumplings, smothered in the thick garlic and ginger sauce for which Fu Man Dumpling House is renowned.

Four hours later, all symptoms of the cold had vanished. I was almost sorry to see them go, because I had vowed to return to Fu Man Dumpling House for lunch every day until I was cured.

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>Boutique fashion

Posted on March 27, 2008 | Leave a comment

>I’d been toying with the idea of a fashion post yesterday, but after getting a tip about this sale in Bellevue Saturday, I knew I had to write.

The topic is boutique fashion. There are classic clothes (Eddie Bauer, J. Jill, Nordstrom, Sundance, Isabella Bird) and there are…clothes. I first got the bug for boutique clothing at a Naked Ladies party—a clothing exchange hosted by women in the area dance community. One of the items someone brought to the exchange was a tan corduroy skirt. Sounds plain, but it had details: Hollywood waist, a hidden zipper with a very slim pull, and asymmetrical ruching that brought the skirt up to knee level at one part of the front. This sounds weird; it looked great.

Boutique clothing is characterized by lush and extreme materials; lots of detailing; lots of drape; and (often) exotic colors. There’s nothing cookie cutter about it. If you like the bright turquoise crocheted sweater but want it in red, you’re out of luck. It’s often discouraging to try to mix a piece of boutique clothing into a regular wardrobe because it speaks a whole other language. Or at least talks with a very strong accent.

That skirt from the Naked Ladies party got me to venture into Anthropologie, a store of which I’d once said “if I buy anything here, shoot me.”

Shopping trips to Anthropologie are trying because only one out of every 10 or so things I try on looks good. But that piece doesn’t just look good; it looks incredibly good. (I handle the coordination issue by making sure that whatever I buy at Anthropologie, it either goes with a black top or a black skirt.)

So…I ventured into Anthropologie at University Village Thursday and found an amazing dress. However, I ran up against another of the weird phenomena of the boutique clothing world: skimpy sizing. I wear an 8 or a 10, but the manufacturer of the dress only made the item up to a size 8 (which they label a large!). And I thought I really needed a 10.

The led me to search online, where a store called Tobi carries the brand (Velvet) and has similar styles of dresses that do come in a 10. And this morning, when I came across the info on the Eastside Upside-Down Sale, I noticed that one of the brands at the sale will be Velvet.

One of the boutiques at the sale will be the intriguing Tatters from Mercer Island. I got a quick look in their window a few weeks ago, and am definitely interested. Bringing it all full circle: One of the skirts shown on Tatters’ homepage is remarkably similar to the tan corduroy skirt that got me interested in this type of clothing in the first place.

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>More brown rice tips

Posted on March 24, 2008 | Leave a comment

>I try to eat a cup of brown rice every day (from a batch I cook up on Monday morning). Staring at the bowl of rice today, not really wanting my usual cinnamon, milk and honey, I thought: Curry!

That meant sprinkling on curry powder, cumin, and raisins, mixing it up, and heating the rice in the microwave. When it was done, I added a heaping tablespoon of yoghurt and mixed it all up. Delicious! Probably could have used some nuts for protein…

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