The second cake of the weekend, made to prove that the first cake’s flop was due to expired baking soda and baking powder, was also a flop. Sigh. I’ve sent away (yes, to Amazon) for an oven thermometer so I can check the temperature calibration of the oven.
The Cop and I ate some of the second cake, mostly because we wanted to have some of the yummy cream cheese frosting I made. So all’s well.
Later on in the evening we went out for dinner. It’s a tradition that we ask each other every so often how we feel our relationship is going. The answer is always that we are grateful for each other and happy for the life we have. He asked me if there is anything I’d like him to do/change, etc. I said no. Then I asked the same question. He mumbled an answer.
“What did you say?” I asked.
He demurred, and even as I was pressing him to repeat himself, my brain was slowly understanding what he’d said.
And then I laughed my head off.
He’d said, “You should improve your baking skills.”
He cracks me up.
***
This morning we practiced together. The Cop regretted the ice cream he had last night. Now he’s starting to see why I am such a weirdo about what I eat, especially in the evening. His half primary is looking good. Urdhva dhanurasanas are coming along nicely. He noted that he still has panicky breath in backbends. Good thing to note.
Usually as he does some backbend prep, I go ahead with bhujapidasana and kurmasana/supta kurmasana before I help him with UD. Today was no different. I transitioned out of supta k with a nice tittibhasana into bakasana. Yay! It’s really starting to be smooth! And then I kicked back into chaturanga except I totally blew it and fell over sideways and cracked the outside of my knee on the floor. The TILE floor. I didn’t realize the knee has a funny bone.
***
On Saturday I had a nice massage with Lydia the disgruntled masseuse. Tried a new massage place, one of those ones where you have a monthly membership. Lydia let me know that the massage therapists are not paid for time they’re not working (i.e., time when they don’t have a customer booked). I was a little wigged out by her energy — the massage started off at a breakneck pace, no doubt due to her irritation with management practices, but once she settled down, she really gava a very good massage. I suppose I need to find out more about the massage business. Lydia made me feel like I was a customer at a sweatshop.
I did kind of wonder if it was bad policy to be worked on by an angry bodyworker, but as it turns out, I woke up the next day feeling quite good. Lydia did some funky and intense work under my shoulderblades, and some great work on my traps.
I wonder if most yogi/nis get deep tissue massages or Swedish?
Filed under: ashtanga yoga |
donutszenmom 
Funny—I had the same experience yesterday when going back to chaturanga from bakasana, except both knees slammed into the (wood) floor. It’s the first time that’s happened, and it HURT!
It does seem more likely that oven temp being off is the culprit than expired leavening. (I can’t even find a date on my baking powder and it’s a big bottle that’s been around for a long time, but it doesn’t seem to affect the baking.)
I’m all for deep tissue. I want to be totally pummeled 😀
I’m with V. Deep tissue all the way.
Hi Karen
I love your stories about yoga with the Cop. He’s such a good sport. Regarding massage, I tend to confuse the terminology. At first glance I thought that Swedish and Deep Tissue are synonymous. But I’ve received both. I think that the one that made my practice most bendy was Deep Tissue. The therapist was a yoga practitioner and a student of contortionism for the circus. I know that sounds like a joke, but it is true. I guess he understood where to put pressure in the muscles to make them bendy. He also used oils that still felt present in the skin in the morning.
I have taken accupressure and Thai massages. This last one uses yoga positions, so it helps a lot. Some of these therapies I did as research for a spa I helped design. I tried more, such as watsu, hot stone and vichy shower, sometimes called scrub . The last two are nice, but don’t necessarily help yoga practice. Watsu puts you in a super meditative state. You think you’re regressed to childhood.
Cheers,
Arturo
I’m intrigued by this angry masseuse. Did you ever read the comic, “The Angry Milkman?” For some reason I’m thinking it was a comic drawn by David Lynch. Anyway, did it end up being an OK massage?
Oooh, nice opportunity to check out all of the different spa services, Arturo!
Armani, it did end up being a good massage. I was worried at first, but as it turned out, she did a really nice job. I’ll look for the comic. David Lynch is a trip.