Tobbe Becomes a Yogi

[Tobbe]

29 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

What an amazing winter escape, enjoy! 

 

Thanks   First time I/we ever decided to dodge the Swedish winter. We're only a few days in to it yet, but I have a feeling this isn't the last time we escape 🌞

[KB Girl]

Sounds good! glad you arrived safe, despite the longer layover x) 

Enjoy your vacation week

 

[Tobbe]

16 hours ago, KB Girl said:

Sounds good! glad you arrived safe, despite the longer layover x) 

 

Yeah, looking back it already didn't seem that bad  I'd do it again if I had to  

 

16 hours ago, KB Girl said:

Enjoy your vacation week

 

Thanks  

[Tobbe]

The photo for day two in Thailand has to be this one

 

 

I usually don't play much with the boys. We do board games, but that's about it. Most of the time it's my wife that enjoys spending time with the kids. And I'm also not usually much for swimming or playing in the water. So I don't know why, but yesterday I just had a really good time throwing balls, swimming, diving and generally playing with my sons for a long time in the pool. Long enough for my fingers to get all wrinkly   

 

Yoga... This thread was supposed to be about me becoming a yogi... And bonus points if I could get my wife aboard as well. And it started off pretty good. We watched the first video (day 0, introduction) together on Jan 1. But then it went south from there. On Jan 2 we were too busy packing everything for our trip, and on the 3rd and 4th we were in transit to our hotel, so no time for yoga. On the 5th I suggested to my wife we watched the second video (day 1) and did the yoga together. But before she even had a chance to answer I could tell she really didn't want to. And when I said it was ok if she said no, she quickly said that no, she didn't want to do any yoga with me. She would rather sleep and/or read a book. And even though it was like 10 or 11 at night the kids were still up and required attention. So I didn't get a chance to do any yoga on my own either. But yesterday, during the day, I finally took the time to do the first day of yoga! I'm definitely not bendy enough to follow along perfectly. But I do what I can according to my abilities. And the teacher, Adriene, is pretty great about saying that it's fine to just do what you can. Just showing up is more than half the "battle" (for lack of a better word, it really isn't a battle).

 

My plan is to do Day 2 of yoga tonight. 

[KB Girl]

So you did yoga just in time for week 1 of the challenge to start, sounds good to me

 

[Tobbe]

3 hours ago, KB Girl said:

So you did yoga just in time for week 1 of the challenge to start, sounds good to me

 

Yes. Thanks for being supportive  

[Tobbe]

Kept tossing and turning all night. Waking up what feels like every half hour to check the time. Man the beds are hard! One of my sons said the chairs he slept on at the airport were softer than these beds  But thankfully I got to stay in bed long enough to feel pretty well rested when I finally got up despite the bad sleep. 

 

At 9 I got up from bed and went straight to the pool to swim a few laps. Great start to the day. I then went back in to mindlessly surf the web for an hour or so before heading out to buy breakfast. Had a freshly grilled chicken drumstick, sticky rice topped with fried onion and some fresh fruit. All very tasty 😋

 

 

After breakfast we all went down to the beach to swim and play. And then back up to the pool. And after a while it was time to eat again   

 

 

Mango passion smoothie bowl with granola. Served in a coconut shell. Super fresh and tasty! Didn't take a photo of my dinner, but it was rice noodles with veggies and prawns. Good, but not the best I've had... And that's all I've eaten today. So now I'm laying/sitting here in bed, trying to sleep, but can't because I'm too hungry 😕 Clearly that lunch wasn't big enough. Need to eat more tomorrow!

 

I did do yoga today as well. The rest of the family was playing cards in the other room, so I went in here for some peace and quiet to do my thing. Today's session was shorter than yesterday's, around 25 minutes. But that felt perfect for me. I'm used to much slower paced yoga, with more meditation interwoven with the yoga poses. So it did feel pretty intense. Next time I think I'll try adding a bit of meditation on my own before starting to clear my head a bit and get in the right mood.

 

I haven't done much YouTube yoga before, so I struggle a bit with where to place my computer to see the instructor properly, and how to place myself on the mat to see the screen without twisting my head too much... And doing it all on a tile floor with a beach towel as my yoga mat adds its own layer of challenges as well 😛  But I'm doing the best I can with what I have. And it feels good and I'm enjoying it, which is the whole point, right? 

[Echoceanic]

On 1/7/2020 at 7:52 PM, Tobbe said:

I haven't done much YouTube yoga before, so I struggle a bit with where to place my computer to see the instructor properly, and how to place myself on the mat to see the screen without twisting my head too much...

 

I find it challenges me to not look at her but follow the voice, which for me it helps with being aware of what is happening. And I can always look up at my desk.

 

On 1/7/2020 at 8:31 AM, Tobbe said:

On the 5th I suggested to my wife we watched the second video (day 1) and did the yoga together. But before she even had a chance to answer I could tell she really didn't want to. And when I said it was ok if she said no, she quickly said that no, she didn't want to do any yoga with me. She would rather sleep and/or read a book.

 

Is she an active person otherwise or is this your attempt at that?

 

On 1/7/2020 at 8:31 AM, Tobbe said:

And the teacher, Adriene, is pretty great about saying that it's fine to just do what you can. Just showing up is more than half the "battle" (for lack of a better word, it really isn't a battle).

 

It's what i really like about her honestly.

 

On 1/7/2020 at 7:52 PM, Tobbe said:

And it feels good and I'm enjoying it, which is the whole point, right? 

 

Yup  SO much this.

[Tobbe]

6 hours ago, Echoceanic said:

I find it challenges me to not look at her but follow the voice

 

Definitely! And I prefer to do yoga with my eyes closed if I can. But it's those times I don't quite hear, or understand, what she says, that I want to look at the screen   

 

6 hours ago, Echoceanic said:

Is she an active person otherwise or is this your attempt at that?

 

No, and no   She's not very active. But this is also not an attempt from my side to get her to be more active. It is/was an attempt to find something (active or not) that we could enjoy doing together  

[Lothiriel88]

Thanks for all the updates! I'm doing the 30 day challenge, along with my husband. I love YWA, she is so welcoming in each and every video. 

[Tobbe]

1 hour ago, Lothiriel88 said:

Thanks for all the updates!

 

My pleasure  

 

Quote

I'm doing the 30 day challenge, along with my husband.

 

Ohh, that's great! 👍

 

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I love YWA, she is so welcoming in each and every video. 

 

💯

 

[Tobbe]

Yesterday we went exploring. We walked along the beach and found these tiny crabs

 

 

They're just like 10 mm across the body, and it's crazy how well they blend in with the sand! You don't see them until they start moving. And when they do, they move super fast! (And of course they run sideways, like all other crabs). They live in tiny holes in the sand that they dig themselves. I saw one crab as it was digging a hole, and it shovels up these tiny sand balls. The sand balls come flying up from the hole, and sometimes they land in pretty patterns, like below   It's really quite fascinating to watch!

 

[Mad Hatter]

Adorable! Beautiful pattern too.

[darkfoxx]

So beautiful - yay, nature!

[Tobbe]

Wifi died here at the hotel, so I only got to write half my post... So here's the second half.

 

As we kept walking the sandy beach became more and more rocky. And with that changed the wildlife we saw. First it was this very handsome looking black bird.

 

 

It was standing absolutely still, waiting for fish to catch. But I got too close trying to take a photo, so I scared it away before it found any food  

 

At one point we got to this place where there were several rocks one after the other, close enough to jump between, to get me pretty far out in the ocean. At first I didn't see anything unusual at all, but as I got further out, and closer to the rocks it was as if they were moving. When I got really close I saw what it was. More crabs! Much larger than the crabs on the beach, but still pretty small. The ones on the photo bellow are probably 2 - 3 inches across the body. You can see two of them to the left, and then there's a single one to the right. But they, too, are pretty well camouflaged, so they're hard to spot. But you could hear them! When there's just one you can't hear anything, but when there are as many as there were on the rocks out here there was no question about it. You could definitely hear them!

 

 

 

Before going to bed I did yoga. There was one pose in particular I was struggling with, and it was the one leg bow

 

 

Both with my left leg up, and with my right leg up, the raised leg kept cramping. So I had to stretch it out to get rid of the cramps. Super uncomfortable. Both the back of the thigh and the calf started cramping.

 

[Tobbe]

Today I tried to get some work done, so not as much time for exploring. In fact, I've only taken a single photo all day today. And that was of today's breakfast.

 

When we got to the restaurant they just gave us a breakfast menu. Fruit, yogurt, toasts etc. But I wanted to try a Thai breakfast, so I googled and found this page that listed common thai breakfasts. The most common one is apparently "Joke", some kind of rice congee. It should look like the photo below.

 

 

So I asked if they could make that. "Sure, no problem", they said.

 

This is what I got.

 

 

The description of joke said "If there’s one food that immediately pops into my mind as a Thai breakfast dish, it’s the thick rice congee porridge known as joke (โจ๊ก).". That thing above is definitely no thick rice porridge!

 

I think that what I actually got was Khao Tom.

 

 

"Khao tom (ข้าวต้ม) is sort of like the cousin of joke (โจ๊ก), but instead of the rice being dissolved into a porridge, khao tom (ข้าวต้ม) includes rice that’s cooked on its own first, then cooked into a soup with other ingredients and broth. Unlike a smooth congee porridge, khao tom is much more coarse, and you can still see each grain of rice."

 

Ohh, well. At least it tasted good, and was filling  If I could ask for one thing, it would have been to include lots of more veggies in there. Something like spinach or collard greens would have been nice. Pieces of carrot maybe. Something like that  But with a price of like $3.50 you really can't expect much more 😛 

 

 

Tonight I again did yoga right before getting in to bed. This is the one I did.

 

 

There's this flow we've been doing a few times now that I really like from plank, to flat on the ground, to cobra, to flat on the ground, to plank, to downward dog. It's not at all challenging, but for some reason it makes me feel strong. Not strong as in 💪 but more as strong inside, resilient. Idk, it just feels good to me  

 

 

[Echoceanic]

5 hours ago, Tobbe said:

There's this flow we've been doing a few times now that I really like from plank, to flat on the ground, to cobra, to flat on the ground, to plank, to downward dog. It's not at all challenging, but for some reason it makes me feel strong. Not strong as in 💪 but more as strong inside, resilient. Idk, it just feels good to me  

 

I like that one a lot too. Especially now that I can do it without flopping on the ground.

 

6 hours ago, Tobbe said:

Both with my left leg up, and with my right leg up, the raised leg kept cramping. So I had to stretch it out to get rid of the cramps. Super uncomfortable. Both the back of the thigh and the calf started cramping.

 

Hope you find an adjustment that works for you with that.

 

Also, I really like the photos you post, it's cool to see the crabs and the way you describe things is fun.

[darkfoxx]

Good! Glad you like that flow - it’s a big part of Sun Salutation A, a foundational flow done in yoga and a great mind-clearer.

[Tobbe]

15 hours ago, Echoceanic said:

Hope you find an adjustment that works for you with that.

 

For now I'm just reaching as far back as I can. Hopefully, with time, I can reach far enough to grab my back foot.

 

15 hours ago, Echoceanic said:

Also, I really like the photos you post, it's cool to see the crabs and the way you describe things is fun.

 

[KB Girl]

Oh I'm enjoying this trip almost as much as you are Great photos! and I always like it when people try the local cuisine. 

[Tobbe]

40 minutes ago, KB Girl said:

Oh I'm enjoying this trip almost as much as you are Great photos!

 

Thank you  

 

39 minutes ago, KB Girl said:

 I always like it when people try the local cuisine. 

 

Isn't that half the point of going abroad?   

[Tobbe]

Yesterday I attended a thai cooking class. It was just me and an older French couple that only spoke a few words of English   It was great!

 

First we went to a food market to buy our ingredients and to smell/taste some typical thai herbs and spices. Then we drove to the patio style kitchen where we would cook and eat our food.

 

 

This is me preparing appetizers. Marinated chicken wrapped in pandanus leaves, then steamed and deep fried. Served with sweet & sour sauce.

 

 

The French couple with their main courses. Pad Thai and Pad Krapow Kung (stir-fried shrimp with spicy basil). My main dish was Paneng Chicken. Of the three the best was the basil prawns, closely followed by my paneng. I'm actually not a big fan of pad thai 😮 

 

For dessert we made banana in sweet coconut milk with cinnamon. And then the teacher cooked up her favorite dessert, which was some kind of sweet and salty tapioca pearl pudding with coconut milk. 

 

Awesome experience. Very hands-on. And with super nice people 👍

 

In the evening, right before bed, I did my yoga. And once again there was this pose where I was supposed to curl one of my legs and lift it up. For some reason my leg muscles don't like that at all! So after the yoga session I stayed on the mat to practice the one leg bow pose some more. And after a few tries I actually managed to do it without cramping up! Left leg was pretty easy, but my right leg has more of a tendency to cramp. The key for me was to not lift my leg too much before I could grab it. So if I kept my foot kind of close to my ass, then grabbed it with my hand, then I could lift both my leg and my hand/arm to get the bow pose without my muscles cramping.

[darkfoxx]

That cooking class sounds amazing! 

[Tobbe]

7 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

That cooking class sounds amazing! 

 

Yes, it was good  First time I've ever done a cooking class. Can recommend!

[Tobbe]

I'm all too tired to do a proper write up for yesterday, so I'm just going to leave this here, and wait with the story behind it until tomorrow