Free May Desktop Calendar

The April showers have brought us the May flowers. This months free YogaDudes desktop calendar features some of those May flowers. Just click here for a larger image of the calendar. When this bigger image appears, right-click on it and "Set as Background."

Happy Spring to all.

Green Tips for Earth Day

Go green and save. Make simple earth and wallet friendly changes to your daily routine and feel even better about the money you're not spending. Why not make Earth Day every day?

At Home
Lower your water-heater temperature 25 degrees and you can save up to $50 a year.

On the Web
Go to the free website www.catalogchoice.org and unsubscribe from catalogs you don't need. Your house will be less cluttered and you'll be doing your part to preserve the forests.

In the Car
Drive 10 MPH slower and you'll increase your fuel efficiency by about 15%. Unless you drive a MINI, in which case you're getting great gas mileage to begin with and that car just shouldn't be driven slowly. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

Kenpo Plus — A Disappointment

Tonight was my second attempt at a P90X Plus video. After getting my butt kicked by Interval, it left me a little hungry to try more. I reported back to my traveling husband that he will like Interval. He's been resisting giving the Plus videos a try because, as he said, he "didn't want to learn something new." Yes, he is an old dog and is resistant to new tricks. So I was thrilled to tell him how easy Interval was. There was nothing to it. The moves were as basic as can be. All you need to do is bring the muscle and the lungs.

I found Kenpo Plus, on the other hand, to be an annoyingly cumbersome work-out. I thought most of the moves were clumsy and awkward. Ok, maybe it was just me being clumsy and awkward, but why did it have to be so difficult? And by difficult, I don't mean physically challenging. In fact, I think it was a big waste of my time tonight. I wish I did anything else in place of this work-out. I couldn't give it my all and really put the needed uuumph into the moves because I was struggling to catch on and never felt well grounded. The traditional Kenpo is a million times better. It's controlled and precise and timed just right. I get a total body (including back and core) work-out with it. This Kenpo Plus was a joke to me. I am so not impressed and will very likely never try it again. My first P90X disappointment :-(

P90X Plus - Ouch!

Holy @$&% I thought I was ready for P90X Plus, but I guess I was mistaken. Today was my first attempt at it. Seeing as I breezed through most of the regular P90X I figured, "How tough can they be?" Well, let me tell you . . . tough!

Granted, I only tried one video and it was Interval. Actually, it was an accident too because I intended to do Total Body, but put in the wrong DVD. Since I don't yet know one from the other, it made no difference. Interval was an interesting approach. I think there are approximately 15 different exercises and you perform them at three different 20 second intervals. You start off at a nice manageable pace, then you move up to a little higher intensity, followed by (of course) 20 seconds of butt-kicking hard work.

I made it through the entire first half and was feeling pretty good about myself. But when Tony said that we were going to repeat the exact same sequence I think I cried. I was so not ready for that. I got through another 4 or 5 exercises, but with much less umph than I did the first time around. I think I was suffering from my typical problem. I didn't have my work-out buddy and I'm just not as driven when I work-out alone. Nobody's looking so I'm gonna cheat. But I still feel good, none-the-less, that I even attempted it. And based on the fact that I was sweating when I was done, I obviously worked hard. Most of the regular P90X sessions didn't make me sweat at all.

I am curious to see what the rest of the videos are like and will, no doubt, be checking them out shortly.

My Big Deput in the New York Times

I was very excited to have been interviewed by The New York Times for an article about Doga. After all, how on earth did the NYT find me and YogaDudes? After 15 minutes on the phone with the most delightful writer I really looked forward to seeing the article in print. But I have to say, I was a little disappointed.

The article made me sound much more negative than I really was. To recap, I did agree that calling the activity "yoga for dogs" was ridiculous. Being a firm believer in the very real art and science of yoga I do find it degrading and fad like to try to involve a pet. However, with that said, there was nothing wrong with a group of dog lovers getting together on a sunny afternoon to socialize their dogs. I believe that all the participants had a good time and enjoyed the hour of 'doga.' I guess I would feel better about it if 1) they called it something else that had no connection to yoga, and 2) the organizers didn't charge $15 per class. That just seems outrageous to me. After all, anybody without real yoga training could lead a doga class. I think it would make much more sense if a group of dog lovers got together and a fellow dog lover led a session on a voluntary basis. Then it would be all about the social aspect and the love of dogs and less about making an easy buck.

P90X Year Two Completed

I forgot to mention that last Friday ended my second year of P90X. Although it was a relief and felt great, it wasn't nearly as thrilling as the first time around. I guess that is obvious, seeing as I forgot to blog about it. Don't get me wrong, it's still a great sense of accomplishment. I think the reason why I wasn't quite as thrilled this time is because my husband and I are planning to continue doing as many videos per week as we can. Case in point, we came home from work today and did Back & Biceps, just because we felt like it. Sick. I know!

Last season we started P90X later in the year and ended up stuck inside when the weather was really getting nice. This year we started on January 1st to ensure we would be done before Spring really sprung in New England. It sort of backfired because the weather is still pretty darn crappy here and the streets are still filled with sand, making road biking undesirable. So now we have to continue with P90X until all the conditions are just right to go outside and play. sigh

With the big P90X commitment behind me, it's time to put more focus on yoga. I've set a goal to have my one-hour class rehearsed and performed by the end of May. And the clock is ticking—gulp!