Legend: BLUE-open, RED-closed, GREEN-by donation
Click here to view the accidental yogist's map of los angeles yoga studios in a full-size page

Sunday, December 25, 2005

christmas break

"The phrase "obsessive-compulsive" has worked its way into the wider English lexicon, and is often used in an offhand sense to describe someone who is meticulous or absorbed in a cause. Such casual references should not be confused with obsessive-compulsive disorder; see clinomorphism. It is also important to distinguish OCD from other types of anxiety, including the routine tension and stress that appear throughout life. A person who shows signs of infatuation or fixation with a subject/object, or displays traits such as perfectionism, is not necessarily stricken with OCD, a specific and well-defined disorder..." -- wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

my sister insists that i'm very OCD. me, obsessive-compulsive? is that how you describe someone who's felt the need to take a yoga class almost every day for the past two weeks?

note that i said almost every day; since mid-december, there were just two days when i'd skipped taking a class, and it's only because i decided to break from routine so i could spend some quality time with my two daughters (the first day) and my sister (the second day). and i just realized that tomorrow will be the third day because i'll be bonding with my kids AND my sister as we trek down to san diego to spend the day. i think i'm already beginning to experience withdrawal symptoms...

"... OCD is different from behaviors such as gambling addiction and overeating. People with these disorders typically experience at least some pleasure from their activity; OCD sufferers do not actively want to perform their compulsive tasks, and experience no tangible pleasure in doing so."

hmmm... i definitely derive some pleasure from yoga, so it sounds like yoga is an addiction for me rather than an obsession. thank goodness; i'm normal after all (although i'm sure there are those who have their doubts)!

just to prove that yoga does not rule my life, i'm going to stop yoga-blogging right now and go back to spending more bonding time with my family.

merry christmas, and if that doesn't apply to you, happy hanukkah, kwanzaa, or winter solstice!