January 28, 2018 LOST BOY

Really enjoying yoga and learning A WHOLE HELL OF A LOT TOO. First of all--I am NOT FLEXIBLE ENOUGH. I think this is a common problem for runners. We spend TOO much of our time getting in the MILEAGE OR THE HILL WORK--then we are too tired to do anything else. I'm learning that deep stretches--relaxation--mindfulness are JUST AS IMPORTANT. I NEED to pay more attention to my form too-- keep my shoulder blades in  and my arms up when I running.  This sounds SOO easy--BUT IT'S NOT. I have to keeping reminding myself to pay attention to my stance --because it changes my whole gait and takes the pressure off of my back. CORE strength is also CRITICAL too--another thing I've been neglecting--so I've been focusing on core while practicing yoga too. It's all a work in progress but I can say that I DEFINITELY FELT BETTER when I ran this weekend and I KNOW IT'S BECAUSE OF YOGA. Namaste.

Susan Humsinger, practices yoga as a way to cope with her husband's declining health in Alice Lichtenstein's moving book Lost. Lost is essentially the story of three people brought together during a search and rescue mission in up-state New York in frigid January.  Corey, a young boy rendered mute after starting a fire that killed his brother, is wandering through the woods one winter morning when he spies a man lying on his side. While Corey doesn't know if the man is dead or alive, he is afraid to speak up because he fears he will be blamed. Susan Humsinger and her husband Christopher, who is suffering from dementia, are new to the area.  Needing a reprieve one morning, Susan ventures outside for a few minutes while Christopher is sleeping. When she returns, Christopher is gone. After Christopher goes missing, a search party brings Susan together with Jeff, a Vietnam vet with a cheating young wife, who also happens to be a search and rescue expert. Throughout the search, the trio reflect on their own lives and question the choices they've made. Find out what happens to Susan, Christopher, Corey and Jeff when you read this well written book for yourself. It's not a huge commitment--at only 240 pages or a 3 mile run--it's worth the read and hard to put down.