Scientific Ink

Author: Dunrie

  • My blogs about work and walking elsewhere

    Now and then I post on Pure Visibility’s internet marketing blog – typically posts about our culture, our process, our clients, and events. Recently, the GetDowntown blog featured profiles of folks who, like me, love walking to work. I’m included in the group. But I’m particularly proud of my “Curb Your Car Month Citizen Blog” I curbed my elevator car in May.

  • Rope Yoga at Vie in Ann Arbor

    Rope yoga, or Russa yog, started here in Ann Arbor. I have seen the studio on S. State Street (between Washington and Liberty) and the Ann Arbor Observer recently profiled the studio/founders. For some reason I never made it to the State Street studio, it’s one of many Ann Arbor yoga studios I have on my list but never seem to visit. This week, Vie fitness studio on S. Ashley is starting to offer classes, and I went to a free class on Tuesday night.

    Now, when I was a kid, and we had the “climb the rope” activity in gym, I was always one of the earthbound kids, watching with a mixture of awe and jealousy as some tiny, wiry kid got to the ceiling and back on the rope. Maybe it is because I’m tall (and therefore heavy), maybe it is just because I’m weak, but pull-ups, chin-ups, and any kind of rope climbing have always been something to shun for fear of embarrassment or worse.

    Still, my yoga classes at the Ann Arbor YMCA often featured “rope work”. The old Y had all sorts of pegs in the wall, and we’d essentially tie ourselves to the pegs to get different stretches than normal. For instance, downward dog when the wall (or a partner) is pulling back on my hips is an altogether different stretch. I get a little less hamstrung and a little more stretch elsewhere. So, I knew ropes + yoga = good.

    I overcame my fear and signed up for a free course. All I had to lose was a little dignity and an hour of my evening. The yoga class got me into Vie’s upstairs studio (previously I’d been in the downstairs spinning studio). They have weights and other fitness equipment upstairs, and a glassed studio with about 8 ropes hanging from anchors below the ceiling.

    Fear snuck back in as I approached the rope. It was kind of rough, and I wished I’d brought my cycling gloves. But, I started the class by hanging from the rope and stretching my side closest to it in a gentle C-shape, nice. There were some moments where I struggled to pull myself up (or push myself up), but doing Virabhadrasana III (Warrior III) using the ropes was lovely. I got the same feeling of flight that I have achieved for a moment here and there in previous attempts, but the ropes stabilized it and let me absorb it. Power! Joy! Balance! Yoga!

    So, I think I still will try to make a class at the “mother” studio on State Street, but I’m happy I tried Rope Yoga at Vie and will probably try again, I have to keep working on my core and my upper body strength, after all.

  • The perfect guest (gratitude #22)

    Maik in kayak on Gillies Lake 2
    Dave invited a visiting colleague from Austria to come north with us for a long weekend. I think he might be the perfect guest.

    He likes long walks and is interested in the flower and local history lore we share (even when we’re wrong about the details). He was game to purchase a fishing license and then game to spend most of a day cruising around Isthmus Bay near Lion’s Head not catching fish. But, what sealed the deal was after a long walk, when I was about to wonder how to entertain him, he decided to go off on a long solo paddle across and around Gillies Lake.

    Here are my “perfect guest” criteria:

    • Happy to be here.
    • Curious about the area – interested in the flora and fauna (bear stories, etc.)and the rocks and the water.
    • Independent. The highest compliment is when the guest takes some time for himself (leaving me a moment or two to myself) to explore. Currently he’s out riding Dave’s bike.
    • Likes long walks.
    • Enjoys good food.
    • Tells entertaining stories.
    • Lets moments of silence stay.

  • Ann Arbor in Bloom (gratitude #21)

    It’s the time of year when everything is bursting open – while my tulips have faded, the redbud in the back has finally decided (after several years of skipping flowering and going straight to leaf, just to spite us) that it is, in fact, a redbud. We’re thrilled it has deigned to bloom in our backyard, joining a host of other redbuds planted throughout the city. The neighborhood’s Forsythia are greening up now, after their show of yellow flowers. And, perhaps the best of all, the lilac just over the fence from our deck has gone crazy with blooms.

    We have a cat, and the cat lives for being outside in the summer time, especially in the evenings. In a moment of weakness, I let him outside this evening. This means that I have been outside calling for him several times, one time I spotted him under the car in the driveway and he moved out of sight to snub my attentions. Cats!

    Likely it will take a few more trips to the deck to call into the night to convince him to join me inside. Well, at least tonight the dizzying scent of the neighbor’s lilacs are rewarding me for each otherwise fruitless visit to the back deck to call a cat who hears me and chooses not to listen. I have a special relationship with this lilac. It lives on the other side of the fence, but bends its boughs into the sunlight on our side too, and I’ve set my compost pile at its feet, nourishing it quite accidentally, because it is close to the kitchen door. So. perhaps I share just a small bit of responsibility for its the frothy blooms and the fragrance. Now if only I could get my cat inside, all would be about perfect.

  • Curb Your Car Month – Kick off! (gratitude #20)

    I love that I live in a walkable city. I love that May is Curb Your Car Month in Ann Arbor. This morning I joined other Curb Your Car Month Ambassadors at City Hall to kick off the month’s activities. How nice to meet up with like minded spirits and celebrate walking to work!

  • Local Ann Arbor treats power party (gratitude #19)

    A photo of people attending a party.
    The group at the bridal shower.

    Jointly with the mother of the bride, I hosted a bridal shower for a friend this Saturday. The bride’s mom called me from New York and said she wanted to throw a party, but needed “support on the ground”. So, I agreed to pull together a guest list and host.

    I had a lot of fun picking out and picking up the party food. I stopped at 4 stores, 3 of which were in walking distance of my home. Technically the 4th (Busch’s on South Main Street) was also in walking distance, but I didn’t leave enough time for the trip. Here’s the menu:

    What fun to spend a beautiful spring day walking through the neighborhood to gather treats for the party!