327: and i'm back

life caught up with me recently and while i have been practicing, i haven't been posting. the best practices i've had recently have been with my daughter, V. she is nearly 6 and approaches yoga very energetically. i recently gave my girls a new yoga deck which has game ideas and partner poses as well as traditional poses. one sunday, they played and play with the cards for hours.

then, while my little one napped, V and i laid out a sequence and she went through the whole practice with me.

after we finished our little practice, V showed off her fierce dragon:

now, we're going to peanut yoga with a local instructor on sundays. V loves it. we also learned peaceful gorilla at last week's class which has come in handy as my girls have gotten over excited lately. we just do peaceful gorilla for a couple breaths and start again. parenting with yoga isn't too bad.

peaceful gorilla, credit des moines parent

349: forrest with a friend

75 minutes: forrest yoga in the studio

tonight, a new friend from our new-ish neighborhood joined me for yoga tuesday. i got there *really* early, she got there right at 6pm. we didn't manage to practice next to each other, but i'm still glad to have had company.

credit: yoga outlet

last week, i felt so powerful after my practice and proud of myself. tonight, i felt tired. just really wiped out. the instructor, J,  read a poem about holding onto life with a clenched fist and choosing to let go and move forward with an open palm.

i tried to be active in my poses, but i got tired. i got into side angle pose and felt so strong and long and reached my arms into the bind and then my legs shook and my foot cramped and i had to come back out. this felt like a practice of fits and starts.

as i chatted with my girlfriend and J after class, she mentioned that she sees students who practice forrest yoga progress very differently than students who practice primarily vinyasa flow. i was laughing at myself for being so exhausted tonight and she said, well, you just don't know what you did yesterday that could have affected your practice.

ah! just now am i realizing that the fact that i was up until 11pm last night and didn't sleep well and ran a 4 hour meeting today might have effected my physical ability this evening.

have you had a moment like this? it certainly helped me this evening to share the experience with my friend, but also with the instructor. it feels good sometimes to know that progress comes in pieces and there are a million reasons why one could not be operating at 100%.

351 + 350: restful weekend

meditation, continued

credit: huffington post

you would think that with the time change and a random playdate at nana's house that more yoga practice would have fit into my day yesterday, but then there was the laundry and the dishes and some minor spring cleaning that took precedence.

since i started my 365 days of yoga, i've found that not only have i started to look forward to getting onto my mat, but i also really like making space at the end of my day to set an intention and settle in for the evening.

last night, i decided to focus on being kind. i can be sharp with my language sometimes and unthinkingly say something that can be perceived different from what i meant. i went to sleep with that on my mind and woke up with that intention for the day.

today, i have to work all day and then attend a class this evening from 6p-10p. ugh. it's an important class and it seemed like a good idea when i signed up, but i was literally asleep before 10p last night. fitting in an evening practice is not in the cards.

i read an article that highlights 3 ways meditation helps you deal with adversity. it's not to say my life is full of adversity, but the 3 points can be applied to lots of situations. the author writes:

1. mind over matter: reversing the stress response

2. eye of the hurricane: calming the emotions

3. seeing the big picture

everyday, i have moments where if i pause to take a deep, even breath, i can move forward in a calmer state of mind.

 

 

 

353 + 352: meditation and a surprisingly brief practice

353: friday night, date night. ultimately, i missed my window to practice and chose to meditate before bed. the cool thing is that i slept really well. i have a Fitbit Flex now and it's actually kind of cool to monitor when i mediate before sleep and when i don't. last night, i slept 8 hours, 25 minutes. i was up once and restless 3 times. more typically for me is being up at least once and restless between 4-16 times.

352: 20 minutes, yoga journal home practice

today got all out of order. or not really, but it felt rushed somehow. V went to dance. we came home. it was NICE out!!! we played outside. we went for a walk. N wouldn't settle down for a nap. i couldn't decide if i had 20 minutes or the hour i wished for.

ultimately, i went with a 20 minute practice from a magazine i found on the desk. i thought i would make up my own, but couldn't focus. i have found that having a guide when you're just not feeling like being creative can make or break my practice.

today, i felt like i could have practice for an hour, but with 2 kids and a husband intent on running for an hour on the first warm day of the year i made my choices. not the most satisfying practice, but better than no practice today.

355 + 354: tree pose, inside, outside, upside down

355: i'm going to be honest. i totally forgot to practice and/or meditate. i woke up late and went to bed early and it wasn't until this morning that i realized i had missed a day. while i'm not giving myself a pass, i do choose to accept the fact that establishing (or breaking) a habit takes time and attention.

354: 30 minutes - vinyasa flow

credit: google images

tonight, i really wanted to be active. i thought about choosing a restorative flow, but i kind of wanted to re-center. the class i chose (on yogaglo) focused on tree pose. standing, in down-dog, on my tummy, on my back, on my side. literally inside outside upside down.

and i fell over about 5 times. usually, i'm solid in tree pose. i find my focal point and i balance. i just couldn't find my balance this evening. but, after my practice, i could re-do the flow and probably not fall over at all. i feel more centered and i'm really glad i focused my intention in on myself and embraced my wobbly balances.

356: ostrich and arm balance

75 minutes: forrest yoga

last night, i went to the studio for yoga tuesday. the class i chose had my usual instructor, but she changed the format from being a vinyasa 1/2 class to forrest yoga.

forrest yoga was developed by ana forrest. the forrest yoga philosophy begins:

Forrest Yoga is renowned as an intensely physical and internally focused practice that emphasizes how to carry a transformative experience off the mat and into daily life.  The practice challenges students to access their whole being and to use Forrest Yoga as a path to finding and then cleansing the emotional and mental blocks that dictate and limit their lives.  Students cultivate an acute awareness of their own practice and life process, creating a unique and powerful opportunity for them to make practical life decisions based on their own experiences. 

 the intention, in my understanding, is to overcome adversity and build power through yoga. the intention for our class last night was self-acceptance. i had read an article in yoga journal earlier in the day that talked about slowing down and not using momentum through transitions, but to focus on proper form and then adjust. i kept that inside as my own intention. to move mindfully through transitions.

in this class, i found two new poses that i've never done (or have never been able to do) before.

first, ostrich. it's called ostrich because you look like you're putting your head in the sand.

credit: the joy of yoga

from warrior 2, you turn to face your open side. then, interlace the fingers behind you and being careful not to stick you butt out for balance, lean into a forward bend and let the arms pull away. the tricky part is staying balanced over your legs and not tipping forward or back. amazing.

second, an arm balance.

starting again in warrior 2, plant your hands on the open side like you would in plank pose. then, lean into the hands like pulling into plank position. on the first side, i had to stay here. but on the second side, i was able to balance on my left hand and right foot and grab my left foot with my right hand and balance for a moment or two.

my first arm balance. i am so proud of myself right now!

357: evening practice

30 minutes: evening flow

credit: women's health magazine

yesterday felt like a whirlwind. i got the kids up and to school and managed to have a super productive day at work. but, then the evening routine took over. dinner, homework and settle down all had to happen and suddenly it was 8pm.

rather than give it a miss, i searched for a 30 minute evening practice to settle myself down. i found a great class that still required effort and focus, but moved nice and slow. through my practice, i found my breath and eased into the evening. the flow included a handstand, but as that's not part of my normal practice and i didn't want to wake the girls by kicking up against a wall all by myself, i chose to sit quietly for a minute instead.

the pose above felt amazing for the giant knot in my lower back. it came near the end of the 30 minutes so my body had warmed up and my legs were nice and loose. i breathed in and stretched my back long and breathed out to sink deeper into the pose.

after i finished, i was so glad i made time for myself instead of watching random tv or just going to sleep. namaste.