Yoga

I've been reading up on these exertion headaches I've been getting, and the main consensus is that they are caused by tight neck and shoulder muscles, poor hydration, and just generally overdoing it. I drink plenty of water during the day, but the other two are probably right. So over the weekend I really tried to relax and calm down, which is harder than it sounds. But I did yoga both days, really concentrating on my breathing and form, and it was great. I have kind of dropped off the yoga recently because whenever it was scheduled it was too easy to write off because I was tired or busy or whatever. I have to remember just how awesome and hard and rewarding it is, and try to do it as much as I can. I'm going to rotate the One on One with Tony Fountain of Youth yoga and Patience Hummingbird and X Stretch for a couple of weeks, then really unwind in Hawaii, and then when I get back take a couple days off, and then if I'm feeling better and stronger get stuck into another round for the Summer. Hopefully it will have sorted itself out by then.
So I had a nice weekend, lots of time with the boys. Yesterday we went to the Kariya Highway Oasis. It's a park next to an expressway. Sounds crap, but actually it's okay. Will had so much fun playing with his friend who is a girl Kurumi-chan. He threw a tantrum at the end, but later we both acknowledged that it was just because he was tired.
The Japanese lesson on Saturday was a little disappointing. The teacher talked almost the whole time. I can't really complain because he's a volunteer, but if I was a paying customer I would certainly have a word with the staff. When I was teaching I was able to do a 50 minute lesson with only about 5 minutes TTT (teacher talking time - yes, there's an acronym). My dream was to have a deck of five or ten cards I could show the students so I wouldn't have to talk at all. Stuff like "Ask him ->" and "What do you think?". I never got around to it, but I could have, easily. And the students would have left my class thinking, fuck that was hard, but boy did I talk a lot! But this guy talked for forty minutes straight, then we had a break, and then another thirty, occasionally asking questions. My theory was, I'm an English teacher in Japan. What the fuck do I know? In my prime I could walk into a room with five students, sit down, and wait patiently for them to say something. I would not say a word. One guy who I worked with used to walk into a room of Japanese students with tape over his mouth. Once it took 17 minutes for someone to ask him a question. They all just sat there. If you don't believe me, you haven't taught English in Japan. Japanese people are quite comfortable sitting in silence with other people for as long as they need to, while us Westerners shit out pants if no-one's said anything for five seconds. It's quite a skill. Often, if I'm stuck somewhere with someone, say, an elevator or a waiting room, I'll feel the pressure. Then I think, hang on, I don't have to say anything. It's cool. But my teacher for some reason feels like he has to teach us about Japan as a whole, not just the language. He's a nice guy, and what he talks about is interesting and informative, but I don't go to listen to him. I go so he can listen to me and correct me when I make mistakes. Still, I no complain. Better than nothing.