Wayne Belles

Thanks for stopping by my new website. Please check out my schedule to see where I teach throughout the valley. If you have any questions please contact me.  Hope to see you soon!  Wayne

It has been close to five months since my ski season ending crash and things are getting along quite well. I am walking normally as long as I pay attention and the strength in my leg has mostly returned. You never know about muscular energy until you do not have it! A lot of folks have asked me if I have been practicing yoga and I’m not quite sure what to say. When you think of a yoga practice what comes to mind?  Well it could range from simply sitting to butt kicking vinyasa. I fall somewhere in the middle, I call it the Therapeutic Endeavor. When you are coming back from a serious injury every time you visit your mat it is an exploration of what the world is offering you today. Wherever you were a year ago, forget about it!

I am very grateful for all of my teachers who have taught me the basics of Anusara Alignment as those principles make up this endeavor.  I also now have every yoga prop known out on the floor. That’s right, chair, blocks,straps,bolsters and blankest. It looks more like a summer picnic or a yard sale than a yoga practice! I am so happy that I went to my first yoga class twelve years ago because it has put me on this great course of learning about myself and my body and given me the tools to heal myself when I crash out. What has your practice given you?

Might have to wait on this pose for a bit!

It is now three months after I wrecked myself on the slopes of Alta ski area.  This is the recovery time that the orthopedic doc said it would take me to recover….well….all I can say is that there is my plan and then there is natures plan and those plans don’t always come together. I am doing much better but I have this hitch in my step that I cannot leave at the hitching post. Great news is that Doctor Fix-master has given me the OK to ride bikes and ski even though I can’t imagine trying to get back on the boards at this time.

My yoga practice is also coming back with new and interesting surprises of tightness and pain that I get to explore.  One side of my body is weak from non usage and the other is super tight from relying on it for so long.  One of the most amazing aspects about yoga practice is how it allows you to get better with each session while teaching you patience.  It is also a reminder of how much work there is left to do.

I was going to order the new Canfield Jedi F1 downhill frame but then I saw this sweet rig at the St. Paddy’s parade. It might help me to go faster!!

Pin it to win it!!

I’m not a big Valentines day fan. I feel that you should always show the people,dogs, bikes in your life that you love them no matter what! We have relationships with everything in this world and part of our duty as human beings is to cultivate them to the best of our ability. Some will falter while others will blossom that is the nature of life. So today and everyday tell the folks that you enjoy how much you appreciate them!

It is now eight weeks since I wrecked my leg at Alta ski area. I shed my crutches for a sport cane and am beginning to put more weight on the repaired leg. It is hard to be patient as I get better because I want to do more things to get back to my life. Luckily pain is a good indicator and it lets you know when you need to sit on you ass. If your crafty you can use any injury to get things such as being served or getting the living room painted by your wife.(My valentine who loves to paint.) I love my wife and my dog’s and to them I add this video from the techno band Give Me A Kiss. Love the beat once you get to it.

With a couple more weeks to go on the crutches, we headed out to dinner with our best friends the Woodies( Jeff and Jeannine) and the Stiffs (Steve and Tiffy P). We had a pre game show at the Woodies where Jeff mixed up some wicked lemon martini’s. My first one was a little strong which is no surprise when Jeff is the mix master and on the second one he dialed it right in. Next thing I know I can’t feel my broken leg anymore, in fact I could not feel it all night until we got up to leave after dinner. Getting ahead of myself though, after the couple of drinks we left for Cucina Toscana with the lemony vodka sending healing vibes down my leg.

One of the many great things about Tiffy P is that she speaks Italian, so while standing and waiting for our table she starts chatting it up with the awesome owner and next thing you know we are being whisked away to our table.  The next part was a blur and I’m not sure what she said but I think it was “bring us as much food as possible” because the menus were removed and great food started showing up, and lots of it! Basically because Tiff and the owner were bonding he took over all ordering and all we had to do was shovel it in. The food was incredible and I was so full that I did not eat until 1PM the next day! Great friends,awesome food and a few martinis will just make you feel great and will heal your broken bones and I am so grateful. Here is the recipe for the lemon martini, maybe they should have served them in the hospital as well!

Lemon Martini:

1.5  Ounces Vodka

.5  Ounce Triple Sec

1 teaspoon superfine sugar

.75 ounce Fresh Lemon Juice

YUM YUM!!!

Well, here I am about six weeks into this broken leg and it is feeling better each day.  I have started physical therapy in the pool at the U of U Otho center which has given me something to do besides sit on my butt. The water takes the weight off my body so I can walk on my leg while it is still healing. The pool is warm like a big bathtub, but this tub has Pat the taskmaster who spends her time thinking of new way’s to torture you in water. Just as you get one exercise down and think your doing great she throws the next one at you making you wonder, Am I really getting better?

I am really looking forward to next week as I will begin teaching again. I have cut back on a few classes so I will no longer be teaching at the Yoga Center. Maybe another time. With a few less classes I will be able to focus on PT, I think it might take me longer to get back up to speed than I would like. And now for a random blog picture:

If I could walk on my hands I wouldn't have to worry about my broken leg!

You learn so many things when you crash and get busted up. Things like what our dog’s do all day.  Now that I get to spend all day with them I feel like I am becoming one with the four legged friends. They move from the floor to the couch and I move from the chair to the bed. At times I want to run to the window  with them and bark at some stranger walking by just to add some excitement to the day. If I could get out of the dog door with my crutches I would probably do that too.  When I watch them roughhouse I often think how much fun it would be to play like that.  Number two of the many things I have learned is how hard it is to do anything on crutches. How do I get the steamy cup of tea from the counter to the table without spilling it?  Everything takes twice as long to do so I guess it’s a good thing I have a lot time on my hands!

I had my first follow up with the orthopedic doctor yesterday and I don’t know what I thought might happen but somewhere in my human brain I guess I thought he would magically clear me to do things like drive or put more weight on my leg but no it was just to check where he sliced me open  to add some hardware. I left thinking, “that was it?” I don’t know why I expected more, because bones heal in six to eight weeks! I searched around for a “but I’m a Yoga teacher and I heal faster” pass but I guess I have been denied. Patience,patience,patience.

Really not sure why things in life are sent your way but I received an early holiday present last Sunday at Alta Ski Area. This was the third run on a new pair of Liberty ski’s and I was feeling fast! I was flying down the top of Stone crusher and then hopped over the little ridge into lower right side of the run called Christmas Tree and as I popped out of the trees into the open that’s when the gift giving began. My Right ski tip dug into the heavy snow and assisted by the super speed my ski started to return to where they were made, China. As I flew over the bars I felt like someone was trying to pull the leg out of my socket. One of the drawbacks to Telemark bindings is that you don’t release.  Once I landed in the snow I pulled my self together and sat up as best I could.  I tried to sit up with the help of some folks and that’s when I knew something was really wrong!. One nice lady called Alta Patrol and soon one then three other patrollers came down and started to scoop me into the sled for the last powder shot of the season. Lets start with this wonder full picture of the repaired version, shall we.

I think there's something wrong with my hip?

At the Alta emergency center they quickly realized that my right femur was broken just below the head or some called it a broken hip. From there I took a scenic trip down to University of Utah Ortho center where they added this great angled bracket and screws to my right hip. Now I get to lay around for awhile and heal. Thank goodness for pain medicine, wonderful doctor’s and nurse’s who take care of you when you get busted up. Most thanks go to my special wife/nurse for taking care of me!

As you can guess I will not be teaching for at least six weeks, mostly because I can not drive, but I will be back soon.  Thanks for all the support!!  Wayne

You know, there have been a lot of times in the past when I have felt guilty that I am not focused on just Yoga. This usually comes after attending quite a few Anusara workshops which I did this year. When I am at a workshop I see many folks who are fully dedicated to the spirtual path and sometimes I wonder what happened to me?  Well,  I am dedicated I just like to go fast. Ski’s and bikes are the mode and it is within those modes  and my practice that I find the spiritual challenge. Riding and skiing allow me to find that place of centeredness where all the practice comes together just like a yoga pose. I have had incredible spiritual openings while both riding and skiing, and I would not have had those without the years of my great yoga practice. So what I am saying is that everything goes hand in hand, and you could not have one without the other. One of the coolest things about this journey is that it is personal. My path is and will alway’s be different than anyone else’s and it doesn’t make me any less of a Yogi but more of one as I see the different paths that we all can take. Now is the time to rip some sweet lines in the pow and look foward to the 2011 race season while embracing a Yoga practice that supports all of my life.

Flyin to first place in Idaho

Last week we took a little vacation and went riding in Oregon. Bend was the first stop, and with the help of some great maps from the Jowmaster we rode some super buff trails outside of Bend. I have to say it was nice to ride some trails were you could just sit back and enjoy some middle ring mashing, unlike the straight up and down trails  of the Wasatch.  No trip is complete without a great espresso and we found one at a place called Thump in the old town.

Riding back on the Storm King

freestyle tree ride!

After riding there a couple of day’s we headed to Oak ridge OR to check out a place we had been reading about in the bike mag’s. A place where there are big old growth trees, moss, ferns, and tackalecious dirt. We got there just in time to catch a shuttle up to delicious trail called Alpine.

Alpine trail in Oak Ridge OR

It really was a semi shuttle which knocked off a nine mile dirt road climb. From the drop off point we climbed up to a ridge and began descending in to the thick forrest. Every now and then there would be a bit of a climb that would wet your appetite for the next downhill. Next day we rode Larrison rock just outside of town, and wouldn’t you know it, more of the same awesome downhill with smiles from ear to ear!

From Oak Ridge we headed to Newport on the coast where we let the dogs run on the beach at high speed. If only I could shrink myself and ride on my dogs back like a flea!

Wonder what dogs think of humans?