20 minutes - strength and toning
my strength and training exercises today were a bit beyond my ability. my sister was a personal trainer for a long time and sent me a 3 days of workouts to start building strength and toning my body to look great in a bathing suit this summer.
advice from my sister: cut out sweets, dairy and alcohol.
for me, sweets and dairy aren't a problem. to be frank, i'm still going to enjoy a glass of wine. but, i'm doing my best.
i did the second day this evening instead of waking up to practice early this morning. i was supposed to do 4 sets of each exercise and i just couldn't. i did 3 and my arms were so tired i thought i might not be able to do much of anything tomorrow if i pushed past it.
still building strength.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
on-site yoga: round 2
60 minutes - kripalu
tonight, we started the second 4 week series of on-site yoga at work. i know that i prepared the instructor to meet the varying degrees of comfort and familiarity with yoga as well as very diverse ability, but i felt like i was doing a beginner class. i guess i just felt like my practice has evolved beyond the level this fellow was teaching, but the rest of my group liked it.
it moved a little too slow for me and we ended up in triangle pose which if i had known i was in triangle pose i would have moved my body into triangle. instead, i thought we were in some variation of side angle pose. i didn't know where to put my arms. it was kind of bizarre.
this morning, rather than have a lie in, i still got up at 5:15am, but instead of practicing yoga i did 4 sets of some strength and toning exercises my sister sent me. she sent me the list of exercises and then after she explained them to me, i finally started today. the intent is to do a series of 3 or 4 exercises of 20 reps each with no breaks between sets. i went out and bought some little 2 lb hand weights and a resistance band.
the thing that had me laughing was that the second exercise was to hold plank position for 30-60 seconds. i thought after 30 days of yoga this would not be a problem. i think i purposefully counted a fast 30 seconds because my arms were shaking.
i guess i'm not as strong as i thought.
tonight, we started the second 4 week series of on-site yoga at work. i know that i prepared the instructor to meet the varying degrees of comfort and familiarity with yoga as well as very diverse ability, but i felt like i was doing a beginner class. i guess i just felt like my practice has evolved beyond the level this fellow was teaching, but the rest of my group liked it.
it moved a little too slow for me and we ended up in triangle pose which if i had known i was in triangle pose i would have moved my body into triangle. instead, i thought we were in some variation of side angle pose. i didn't know where to put my arms. it was kind of bizarre.
the thing that had me laughing was that the second exercise was to hold plank position for 30-60 seconds. i thought after 30 days of yoga this would not be a problem. i think i purposefully counted a fast 30 seconds because my arms were shaking.
i guess i'm not as strong as i thought.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
days of rest
yesterday was my daughter's 5th birthday party and we had house guests as well. rather than try to fit in a practice, i decided to take a shower and enjoy the day.
this morning, i had planned on going to the 8:30am yoga class as my mother's day gift to myself, but instead we had a lovely second breakfast of blueberry pancakes and sausage hot off the griddle and onto my plate with me not cooking and just eating.
happy mother's day to me!
this morning, i had planned on going to the 8:30am yoga class as my mother's day gift to myself, but instead we had a lovely second breakfast of blueberry pancakes and sausage hot off the griddle and onto my plate with me not cooking and just eating.
happy mother's day to me!
Friday, May 10, 2013
day 30: we did it!
30 minutes - going with the flow
i book-ended my practice yesterday and today. literally less than 7 hours between them and most of that time was spent sleeping.
i started with sun salutations today and then just did more of what i felt like doing. i figured as my reward for 30 days of practice in a row, i could just do what felt good. the backs of my legs were really tight so i did a lot of forward bends, both standing and sitting. i tried to do a standing balance, but kept tipping over so i stopped. in the sun salutations, i managed to hover over the floor instead of plopping my belly down for each series this morning. usually i get tired and give myself a break, but not today.
i cannot believe we were able to find time to practice for 30 days in a row. i feel so accomplished and also like i shifted my mind to look forward to practicing. i'm going to continue but i'm also going to give myself a break if i need rest more than motion.
my secondary goal of getting my heels down in downward dog was not met, but as i'm going to continue to practice, i'm going to keep it as a goal.
congratulations to my good friend who i couldn't have done it without. even from half-way around the world, having that support and accountability kept me going.
i book-ended my practice yesterday and today. literally less than 7 hours between them and most of that time was spent sleeping.
i started with sun salutations today and then just did more of what i felt like doing. i figured as my reward for 30 days of practice in a row, i could just do what felt good. the backs of my legs were really tight so i did a lot of forward bends, both standing and sitting. i tried to do a standing balance, but kept tipping over so i stopped. in the sun salutations, i managed to hover over the floor instead of plopping my belly down for each series this morning. usually i get tired and give myself a break, but not today.
i cannot believe we were able to find time to practice for 30 days in a row. i feel so accomplished and also like i shifted my mind to look forward to practicing. i'm going to continue but i'm also going to give myself a break if i need rest more than motion.
my secondary goal of getting my heels down in downward dog was not met, but as i'm going to continue to practice, i'm going to keep it as a goal.
congratulations to my good friend who i couldn't have done it without. even from half-way around the world, having that support and accountability kept me going.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
day 29: at the end of the day
20 minutes - nice and easy
i didn't get out of bed this morning to practice. which means that i went through my day understanding that i needed to find time this evening for myself.
well, 1 trip to the shoe store, 1 trip to the grocery store, 4 dozen iced cupcakes, 1 baked birthday cake and 2 glasses of wine later i found time to practice. i consciously decided to wait until after all of my evening activities were completed otherwise i wouldn't be able to focus on my breath and my body and the whole practice would be wasted.
tonight, i made up my own little evening practice. i held each pose for 10 breaths which allowed me to actually focus in on myself instead of getting distracted by the things to be done tomorrow. i also managed the full lotus position tonight. believe it.
now, however, i'm ready for bed. to end this 30 day challenge, i'm apparently going to bookend my practices.
i didn't get out of bed this morning to practice. which means that i went through my day understanding that i needed to find time this evening for myself.
well, 1 trip to the shoe store, 1 trip to the grocery store, 4 dozen iced cupcakes, 1 baked birthday cake and 2 glasses of wine later i found time to practice. i consciously decided to wait until after all of my evening activities were completed otherwise i wouldn't be able to focus on my breath and my body and the whole practice would be wasted.
tonight, i made up my own little evening practice. i held each pose for 10 breaths which allowed me to actually focus in on myself instead of getting distracted by the things to be done tomorrow. i also managed the full lotus position tonight. believe it.
now, however, i'm ready for bed. to end this 30 day challenge, i'm apparently going to bookend my practices.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
day 28: trying to get taller
25 minutes - balance and alignment
the balance class i took at work stuck with me and this morning i tried to recreate that feeling of getting taller and creating space in my middle. i'm not sure i quite managed that in my 25 minute practice, but i feel longer. (at least a little)
i should have thought this one through a little more rather than trying to rely on my memory early in the monring. but, here we are.
today is the 4 consecutive week of practicing every day. i am super proud of my good friend who joined me on this. and i'm super impressed with myself that i've developed enough discipline and motivation to get up early just about everyday to make time for something that's important to me.
the article i read in the beginning talked about creating a habit. i hope i've created a good one.
the balance class i took at work stuck with me and this morning i tried to recreate that feeling of getting taller and creating space in my middle. i'm not sure i quite managed that in my 25 minute practice, but i feel longer. (at least a little)
i should have thought this one through a little more rather than trying to rely on my memory early in the monring. but, here we are.
today is the 4 consecutive week of practicing every day. i am super proud of my good friend who joined me on this. and i'm super impressed with myself that i've developed enough discipline and motivation to get up early just about everyday to make time for something that's important to me.
the article i read in the beginning talked about creating a habit. i hope i've created a good one.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
ashtanga and the ego
i just read a blog post called ashtanga yoga - the mighty ego crusher which rings fairly true to me. as a young person, i learned ashtanga at the gym. i totally thought it was just gym yoga, but the advantage for me was two fold. first, the teacher was excellent and really took time to break down the poses and offer encouragement and adjustment to meet my ability and fear. second, the class sizes were generally quite small and sometimes i was the only person practicing. i got tons of individual attention.
through the year, i've practiced off and on, but never realized how much i had learned in my first introduction to yoga. last year, i took a formally led ashtanga class at a studio. the other participants were tiny, fit and young. i felt old and out of practice. the teacher was a man who literally wore a tank top and what appeared to be boxer briefs. being a little softer in the middle, i felt completely out of place.
i got adjusted. i got called out. i got thoroughly exhausted. but for me, it still felt like home. since i've started this 30 day yoga challenge, i have not yet done the full primary series. i feel like i'm not ready to dive in and take that feeling of not-good-enough.
after reading this post, thought, i feel much more willing to give it a try. and i'll still get exhausted. and i'll still get adjusted, but i won't let it get me down.
through the year, i've practiced off and on, but never realized how much i had learned in my first introduction to yoga. last year, i took a formally led ashtanga class at a studio. the other participants were tiny, fit and young. i felt old and out of practice. the teacher was a man who literally wore a tank top and what appeared to be boxer briefs. being a little softer in the middle, i felt completely out of place.
i got adjusted. i got called out. i got thoroughly exhausted. but for me, it still felt like home. since i've started this 30 day yoga challenge, i have not yet done the full primary series. i feel like i'm not ready to dive in and take that feeling of not-good-enough.
after reading this post, thought, i feel much more willing to give it a try. and i'll still get exhausted. and i'll still get adjusted, but i won't let it get me down.
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