Anemia - Week 19: skiing

"Hocke" 

base lodge 

Now that spring is definitely around the corner, I finally found time to finalize this post I had drafted during week 19 which was back in February: We sneaked away for 2 days of skiing in VT as has been our tradition for about 15 years. I used to ski often until I left home in the Alps when I was 21 years old. Then for a couple of years I barely skied at all.  Instead I was exploring roller blading, biking, walking city streets, some weight lifting, and ultimately yoga, swimming, kayaking, hiking - the first 10 years it was all about exploring New York City, a new home, new culture, a new life style, new everything including a new me - yes, New York recreates you.  Now it is skiing once a year; I still have that gene in me, however.  This time, I barely had time to prepare myself properly so I was a little nervous - on the way up north I received a text message from a colleague who said she broke her ankle snowboarding.  And R's ankle was still a bit off.  We had reasons to take it easy this time, even R. agreed.  I did my usual basic DC protocol every day once or twice and worked on my hands during gondola/chair lift rides to keep them warm.  
The day started with a 20-minute walk on the Appalachian Trail with Mowgli - it was level at first - perfect for warming up then it got steeper - there was about 3 ft of snow, at times I sank in which made Mowgli nervous - he does not like not seeing my feet for some reason I have learned.  That was a good preparation for the slope.


The first day I felt very weak and when we got back to the inn that afternoon I started doing yoga first on the carpeted then tile floor - neither one my preferred choice of surface - I once almost hurt myself that way, so I knew better.  I could not believe I forgot my yoga mat; usually it is the first thing that I pack.  I made lemonade out of lemons and did standing joint release work as taught by Nehemiah Bar-Yehuda followed by a chair yoga routine, followed by my usual breath work routine as taught by Dr. Richard Brown.  The next day I was amazed how much stronger I felt - I got into skiing, had regained confidence, but I decided to be wise and continue to not get too aggressive instead I was playful - skiing is part of my national heritage.  We either skied or watched ski races in the winter; skiers are national heroes in Austria.  Even my grandmother who had not ever skied in her life had the fever.  She kept track of racing results and was up to date on the sport.
Back to the US.  When I get into it, I worked on my technique - I challenged myself a bit.  When I ended up in "Hocke" on the Great Eastern I channeled my inner Franz Klammer (lol) due to many downhill races watched on tv in my youth - sometimes I sit all the way down (beginners, stay away from this), but only on rather flat areas when one needs to gain speed to make it past the flatness without coming to a standstill.  It's so much fun, it is the child in me. Naturally, you can only do it if no one else is around. Doing a little search on Youtube I came across a downhill video which is amazing in that sense that it provides a 3-D experience, it provides an amazing view of the Swiss Alps; and yes, I got a little homesick; sorry for straying so far...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JComHfqE0a8&feature=related