Tonight I attended my least favorite yoga class that is offered at my studio – Long, Slow, Deep. In LSD you warm up with a little bit of standing flow and then move to the floor for loooooonnnngggg holds (3-5 minutes) in the poses. I think I’ve completed a grand total of maybe five LSD classes because they are so ridiculously hard for me.

That said, it’s a good thing to force myself through on occasion. If you have been following my blog for a while then you know that I have a hard time sitting still. I love to be busy and on the go. Long, Slow, Deep forces me to calm down for 90 minutes and deal with whatever is going on in my head and in my body. I like to call it, an exercise in patience.

The occasion for tonight’s LSD class was a sore shoulder. Without going into too much detail, I have been battling some discomfort in my shoulder since last weekend. This is forcing me to stay off my mat and I just couldn’t take it anymore tonight. LSD was the only class that I knew would force me to take it easy on my shoulder.

There are plenty of people who love LSD. If you think you might be one of those (crazy!) people, here is an overview of what we did tonight. Replicate it at home, should you feel so inclined! Hold each pose for 3-5 minutes and use blocks when needed to rest your head or chest. You want to find the point where you reach your edge and then back off a bit to where you can relax. A general rule of thumb…when you are ready to come out of it, stay for at least another minute or two! Things will tingle, fall asleep, ache…all normal! Just stay with it!

Warm Up
Child’s Pose
Cat/Cow
Spinal Balancing
Down Dog (three point and open up through the hip for additional variations on each side)
Forward Fold (rag doll)
Chair (with a twist on each side)
Standing Split

Seated Postures
Half Dog
Low Lunge (see photo above)
Head to Knee
Revolved Head to Knee (we did this with the knee bent out towards the glute instead of in towards the leg)
Pigeon (see photo above)
Ardha Matsyendrasana (hold for just a minute)
Reclined Hero Pose (with one leg bent and one leg straight)
Shoulder Opener (lay on your belly and extend one arm straight out to the side, roll over so that chest is facing up and bend the knee to anchor, you should feel a big stretch in your shoulder. Let me know if you don’t get this, I will post a picture!)
Dragonfly (lay on your belly and thread one arm under the other – you should be laying on your crossed arms with palms facing down and chin resting in the nook between the elbows)
Supported Shoulder Stand
Final Rest

Okay, it took me quite a while to type all that out so please let me know if you try it! 😛 This type of practice is very restorative and relaxing!

Quick overview of some of today’s food (breakfast and snacks unpictured!).

I didn’t have time to go home for lunch today so I ran to my favorite quick lunch spot, Berrybrook Farm. It’s a natural foods market with an awesome little food counter. I got a bowl of their French vegetable soup with white beans and pesto. It was seasoned beautifully and so delicious!

Dinner after yoga was leftovers reinvented.

The Rustic Chicken Pasta minus chicken and plus sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and spinach.

What kinds of activities are “an exercise in patience” for you!? I know I’m not the only one who can’t sit still! 😉