So what are you training for?

My friend Jenny's photo of me in 2008

So the other evening as we began our fall yoga class, we were asked what our intentions were for our practice.  It's a version of a question I often get when someone hears that I work with a personal trainer -- "what are you training for?"

I have a number of professional goals for the rest of this year, and I know that each of them is enhanced when I am physically fit.  After all, I started this blog in 2007, and its name is "3daywalkcountdown," because I set it up to chronicle my ups and downs as I learned to walk 60 miles for a cause larger than any one of the walkers.

Today, my intentions on physical fitness can be handled inside a goal of 4-5 hours each week of training, rather than the 17 or so hours of training each week before the 2007 and 2008 walks. 

Work with my personal trainer twice a week = 1 hour
Warm up for the trainer twice a week = 1 hour
Jasyoga, Monday evenings = 1.25 hours
Morning walks = 2 hours
Restorative yoga = 1 hour
Stretch yoga = 1 hour

I won't always make all these sessions each week because I'm sometimes I am working with a client or on the road.  But if I can hit a minimum of 4 hours  each week then I will consider myself as having significantly ramped up my fitness. 

I started wearing a pedometer a couple of months ago, so I am also able to clock how many steps I get in each day, which is another way to measure how I've spent my day. 

There's two more reasons to throw in three opportunities for yoga each week:  you learn how to breathe, and it quiets the mind.  Less chatter, fewer distractions, more focus.  Stress reduction.

So the answer to "what are your intentions in these months?" is actually the same as "what are you training for?"

I aspire to balance and flexibility in my body as well as my mind.