Jamie

I read your goals - yoga is awesome, and it won't take as long as you think to make progress, especially if you start in a beginner's course or with a beginner's DVD. Classes are great for motivation and DVDs are excellent for feeling comfortable. I started practicing yoga in July of 2005 - It truly changed my life. By December of '05, I was pretty darn flexible. Unfortunately, I stopped practicing for a little while this year (working full time and taking 3 college courses is pretty time consuming), and I regret it a lot! I started taking voice lessons last week and the posture made me think of and miss yoga. So, I started practicing again week, whoohoo!

Cassandra, that is encouraging. Will you recommend a good DVD?

Jamie,

To answer your question from the other day, yes I did run with the Sojourner's a lot. The guys that I ran with are mostly non existent anymore (Damon Cox, John Harmon, Jerry Henley, Kale Fisher, Ron Greenwood, and Golden Harper) We were big on all of the trails in Utah County. I ran L.A. Freeway a lot because it was close to my house.

James, I know three of the men you mentioned...Damon, John (he ran with the Sojourners two Saturday's ago), and Golden. Anyhow, good to know.

Wow, that is the definition of a "true runner". Anyone who runs an "easy 10".

That is so cool that you just started piano! Sounds like you have a lot of interests and passion. Awesome.

You may not know this, but Tom plays a mean piano. You should hear him sometime.

Hope you are starting to play some fun Christmas music! Are you taking lessons?

BTW, I love ballroom dancing, reading, and riding horses too! My hubby was on the BYU ballroom dance team.

Lybi, I'm really enjoying the piano. I really am very green though. I've just finished the Piano Adventure (Basic Method) Primer book. I'm starting from scratch. No lessons, just me. In your opinion, is it a bad idea not to have an instructor? I'm just wondering if I'll develop some pretty bad habits, without knowing it, that are hard to break. I knew that Tom is musically inclined, but was unaware that he plays the piano. I'll have to ask him about it.

It's awesome that you husband was on the BYU ballroom dance team, I'm super jealous. I danced for UVSC's ballroom team, but never toured with it. I miss it so much.

My dad is a horse trainer and riding instructor. I grew up riding. I deal with some pretty nasty allergies and asthma at times, but I truly love it. I ride once a week (usually every Friday). Anyhow...good chatting!

Gee Lybi thanks for the plug! However I have to confess that Lybi has never actually heard me play and I don't know if "mean piano" quite applies. More likely my playing has been known to make those listening a little angry and maybe even 'mean'.

FWIW I think a good instructor is invaluable, especially with helping to avoid learning the bad habits like you mentioned. Alot of my playing is self-taught and I'm a like a poster boy for playing with most every bad habit there is. I suppose learning as an adult vs as a child you have more discipline so perhaps you could do fine going it alone but my feeling is that a good instructor is still the best bet if you can afford it.

Good to know, Tom. Thanks for the info.

Hi Jamie!

I would recommend any DVD with teacher Rainbeau Mars. She has a 4-set series:

Sacred Yoga Practice with Rainbeau Mars: Vinyasa Flow

1. Beginners

2. Pure Tranquility

3. Pure Power

4. Pure Sweat

There are also many yoga DVDs designed for believers in Christ and you can find them by doing a search on amazon.com.

Hope this helps!