Alternative methods

Last night I went to a free yoga class held at a spa in Greenbelt Center. There is a small studio attached and they are offering free classes this entire week to draw people in. So, last night I took my first hour long free yoga class. While I’m not quite feeling the spirituality of the practice, the stretching and body relaxation was pretty good. I was amazed at how flexible I still am and the general relaxation felt great. When I left the studio I felt much more relaxed and calm then when I went in. I think I’ll probably buy one of the passes and try it a few more times.

Saturday morning there is a free Pilates class from 9 to 10 that I’m planning on going to. I’ve heard good things about Pilates as a core strengthening program so we’ll see how that goes. After that I’m planning on hopping in the truck and heading out to Shenandoah National Park for a quick one night backpacking trip to try out the new gear. I can’t wait to get out there, though hopefully the forecasted Sunday rain holds off until later in the day, after I’m out of the park. I’m heading to REI this evening to pick up the last of the essentials such as fuel for my stove and the footprint for my tent so I should be all good to go. Not too sure about bears right now as I’m assuming they’ll all be in hibernation, though I could see the unseasonably warm weather causing them to come out of their burrows for a little midwinter snack. I’ll hang my food just in case.

I had been hoping to hit the mountain bike trails in Patapsco this Saturday but with all the rain and no freezing temps in sight they'll be too muddy to ride without tearing things up too badly. One of these days I'll get out there and hit the trails again. In other news, while I’m still forcing myself to hold off on getting a dog for a bit longer, there has been a proposal at the shelter for a weekend foster care program for animals that need home environment exposure. If that were to go through I’d be able to pick up a dog on Friday’s to take care of over the weekend but then wouldn’t have to leave it alone in the house for 10+ hours everyday during the week. Awesome! Still not the same as my own dog, but awesome.