Savasana

Savasana...
I lay flat on my back, arms out beside me and palms facing the ceiling.
The ceiling is plastered with a "popcorn" finish indicative of early 1980s construction.
A shinny speck... a sparkle catches my eyes.
It's glitter that was mixed with the plaster. I've always hated the look.
My body is sweating profusely as I lay here doing nothing but breathing.
Then I see him; three shinny speckles in a row like stars in the night sky. Orion's belt.
Two more speckles above and two below the belt...
Strange it is to see this "hunter" of Greek mythology and well known constellation staring down upon me from a popcorn ceiling of a 100+ degree Bikram Yoga studio...
If one believes in signs then what could this mean???


HELLO HUMP DAY!
This week is shaping up to be quite interesting. Here's a random breakdown of the highlights so far just as random as my intro and exit to this post!

On Sunday, after sleeping nearly 11 hours after my 16.5 mile long run, I woke up feeling like a million bucks! Yes, my legs were sore as I expected them to be, but I felt so good I decided to do my 3 mile recovery run first thing. Two miles into the run my body said F*ck this! My left knee started hurting and I decided to call off the last mile to play it safe. After all it is a recovery run not an injury run.

On Monday I went surfing after work. There was a strong onshore wind and a moderate chop on the chest to head high surf at New Smyrna Inlet. I only brought my 9'8" noserider. This is the worst board decision I think I've made all year. I should have brought my thruster as the waves were peaky with lots of sections. I paddled out anyways and even elected to wear a leash. Seaweed was everywhere and I kept seeing either bluefish or tarpon in the water. Larger sharks like to eat bluefish like bluefish like to eat mullet. I was alone and after five or six rides I opted to paddle in and call it a day. Just as I walked back to the Jeep a friend pulls up in his truck so I decide to surf with him. We paddle back out. The tide is coming in stronger than before and the waves are jacking up more and more. My board could use some more rocker. I take a closeout on the head and get pushed into the impact zone. The periods are short. Wave after wave rolls over me, but with a little technique and strength I fight my way back to the outside. My friend is also caught in the impact zone and unfortunately stuck there in a vicious cycle of paddling, duck diving and taking beating after beating by the relentless surf. After 10-15 more minutes I take a left and as I'm exiting the wave my back foot slips causing me to rack my balls on my board. A paralyzing pain that only a male knows overcomes my body. Luckily, I get a boost of adrenaline that temporarily subsides the pain and I'm able to get back on the board and take a wave to the beach. A few minutes later, my friend walks up and tells a similar story. Apparently, after fighting to get back to the outside he racked his balls on his board too! What a ball racking day!

Tuesday was a strange day at work followed by a relaxing but difficult 90 minutes of Bikram Yoga. In today's age of real estate it really is like going to WAR to get deals to close. All the stars, planets, constellations have to be aligned just right and perhaps throw in a solar eclipse and the deal just might close. Part of getting stuff to work out is having people work together. It truly amazes me how lazy people can be sometimes. I'm working on several deals right now and sometimes I feel like I'm the only one that really wants everyone to get what they want; seller sells his house, buyer gets the home he wants, real estate agents, title companies, surveyors, appraisers and loan officers get PAID! You'd think with so many people's paychecks depending on the deal closing that they'd all be going above and beyond to get things done. Why does it feel like I'm constantly doing other people's jobs just to get things accomplished? On a funnier note, a fellow agent representing a buyer that had made an offer on a short sale (a seller getting approval from their mortgage lender to sell their property for less than they owe) three weeks ago got this email:
"Over the weekend my wife and I found a lovely home on the Suwannee River, made a cash offer on it and it's been accepted. Please tell the bank (of the short sale) to PISS OFF. They shouldn't have sat on their asses for 3-weeks to make a decision on our offer."
Wouldn't it be great if we could all tell the banks to PISS OFF?

Hope you all have a great HUMP DAY... tell your banks to PISS OFF. Remind them that YOU are the CUSTOMER and you have the freedom to take your business elsewhere! Sorry about the random blog, but I'm in a most random mood!


Savasana...
90 minutes since Orion appeared before me.
My body is drenched as if I've run 15-miles.
Heart rate elevated, Smart Water drank, I rest, breath and stare at the ceiling.
Where has the "hunter" gone? I cannot find him.
There are hundreds of pieces of glitter within the popcorn ceiling,
But none resemble the constellation Orion.
How could this be? I have not moved. The ceiling has not moved like the night sky.
The lighting in the room has not changed.
Puzzled I am?
Namaste...

Bikram Yoga Cherry Popped!

Last night was my first experience with Bikram Yoga. My friend Erin tried it a few weeks ago for the first time and has now talked her boyfriend, Joey, and myself into giving it a whirl. To be honest, I've been curious about it for a long time. I've done yoga before in the past, but never in the heated room that Bikram requires. A while back I read an article about several of the best professional surfers in the world doing "hot" yoga and how it can benefit the muscles used to surf in addition to all the other health benefits. So when I got a text message from Erin yesterday at 4:30 in the afternoon asking if I wanted to give it a try at the 6 p.m. class I was not going to let the opportunity pass.

For my first time I wanted to go when Joey was going simply so I wouldn't be the only guy in a class full of women. This worked well with Joey going. Then I was amazed that there were three other guys in the class besides us! And even more surprising; a local bartender that I also graduated high school with was the instructor! Talk about feeling instantly comfortable with your surroundings.... except for, well, the HEAT!

The yoga room is 100 degrees plus or minus a few. There are four space heaters along the back wall all glowing orange, almost as if they are a gateway to hell! The instructor said to sit near the back wall, which Joey and I did, but I found myself directly in front of one of the space heaters to hell. Sitting on my towel and mat and doing nothing I started to sweat immensely. In my imagination it was Satan's space heater's fault! It feels like an oven set to broil with the door open right behind my back. Erin turns around and tells me it won't matter once we get started, but she can see the concern on my face and decides to switch places with me. Now I'm up near the front of class.

We start off and for the first hour everything is fine. I'm actually doing good at this and the instructor gives me the "good job" shout out several times. It is all stand up and balance positions that work your legs mostly and accelerate your heartbeat. I'm guessing I can thank surfing and balance/core training for this stroke of good luck. The positions are somewhat similar, but also different than regular yoga. I watch the two girls next to me and quickly figure out the positions I do not know.

Before I know it, I'm drenched. I mean DRENCHED like when you're at Sea World and Shamu splashes you, but instead of water it's sweat. Sweat like I've never experienced, but there is no breeze, no wind, no cool air to evaporate it off your skin. The sweat is dripping off of me everywhere. Parts of my body I didn't know were capable of sweating are fully saturated. I look down at my towel on the floor and it looks like a thunderstorm just rained all over it!

Earlier when I had explained to the instructor that I had two bottles of water, one with me and one in my truck she told me to get both of them. Good thing because halfway through and I have already killed the first bottle. The class is 90 minutes long. The first 75 minutes seem to fly by, but it is the last 15 that kill me.

First mistake - I start looking at the clock every minute. This makes time stand still.

Second mistake - Trying too hard and not resting soon enough. I think Joey and I are both guilty of this. It got to the point that I felt like I was going to pass out if I stood up. Reluctantly I laid down in the resting position for the last set of whatever it was called position. The last five minutes were hell. First, I thought that if I didn't leave the room I would pass out. Then I was afraid that if I did stand up I would pass out. I was determined to make it to the end of the class even if I was just lying there like a helpless infant on the floor. I really had to trust the instructor that I would be all right in the end. I stare at the ceiling and concentrate on breathing. I try to remember the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke from my days as a CPR/First Aid instructor with the Red Cross. That was 10 years ago and I can't think straight because all I can do is concentrate of breathing. The instructor informs us that we are now done except for a breathing exercise. I think to myself, "breathing exercise? That's all I've been doing for the past five minutes lady!" I pull myself together, sit up and participate in this breathing exercise that actually helps my heat induced nausea subside. She shuts off the Satan's space heaters from hell and opens the doors. We all lay back down and I feel a breeze. Yes, a breeze! Oh thank Heaven for a breeze! Erin gets up before Joey and I and tells us both to make sure our heart rates are down before we get up and leave the room. I take my pulse. It's 64 bpm. I've always had a low pulse. Whatever, I get up and walk out at the pace of a 95-year-old with a walker. Outside the studio I wring out my towel and my shirt. At least several cups of sweat pour out. It's as if I just took them out of a bucket of water. I suddenly start to feel better. Then I feel really great! After all that I thought I'd be sick for the entire night and now I feel great!

I did however, feel the need to drink water for the rest of the night. I think I lost count at 9 glasses of water before I went to bed. Bikram Yoga was definitely a test. I can honestly say it would be easier for me to go run 10 miles than do 90 minutes of Bikram. I'm sure it gets easier as you do it more often. They gave me a free pass to come back so we'll see if I can make it through a second time in a few days....