You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Yoga’ category.
My smart husband suggested I search iTunes for yoga podcasts today. Voila – so many free practices at my fingertips! I am in HEAVEN.
Yoga Journal has several. I did their forward bends one during Z’s nap (the audio). It felt soooo good and even included one of new favorites, the Gorilla Pose (Padahastasana). Lucky me. (I seriously had a “yippeeee!” moment when I realized that was the next asana).
The YJ ones are all mainly under 30 minutes – perfect for short on time situations or combining for a longer practice.
I’m quite yippy skippied.
Today has been a good day.
I first caught an early morning showing of Julie and Julia.
I love you, Meryl!
I have not read Julie Powell’s blog or book but the movie intrigued me anyway. And I loved it. Especially Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Julia Child (granted, that’s easy because I have a huge crush on the woman and adore her craft). Julie and Julia was exactly the right kind of movie for me to watch at this time in my life. I am definitely in the midst of figuring some shit out (I’ve been having some “what does the far off future look like” thoughts rattling around my mind this week; I’ll blog more on that another day). And my new interest in food, cooking, and nutrition.
Julia Child cooked with real foods. Whole foods. The woman adored butter, for goodness sakes. And, from the little that I know of her, it appeared she often bought her food fresh and local. She lived until 91 years of age – and her husband lived until 94. Even with all that “evil” butter. Makes one go hmmmmm….
Mastering the Art of French Cooking is on my soon-to-be-Amazoned list, that’s for sure. Plus I’d like to read Julie’s blog from start to finish.
After coming home I shopped at Trader Joe’s (although held off on many fruits/veggies because I plan to hit the local farmer’s market on Tuesday) and then the family (husband, Z, and moi) went out for a picnic. We are avid picnickers. And this was the first picnic where I did not chow down on the bread. Bread is a staple at our picnics – we spread cheese and/or tapenade all over the suckers. This time, though, I was breadless.
And I felt fine.
Good stuff.
Once Z was down for the night, I indulged in my new addiction and ordered yet another yoga practice from Yoga Download. Hip Opening Flow #3. It was a nice one (short and sweet). My only issue was sometimes I was confused as to what to do (even with the print out) and they also forgot 2 asanas (Camel Pose and Child’s Pose) on the print out as well. But those little blips were minor details and I will definitely do it again.
After the practice I treated myself to a big purchase. My mat is very old (7-8 years?) and has been showing its age for a while. I decided to upgrade and get one of the best mats out there.
Manduka BlackMatPRO
It’ll be here in a few days and I am so stinkin’ excited! Eeeeeee!
Since Yoga Download offers several free 20 minute classes I downloaded a few and tried out Lunar Flow tonight. I really enjoyed it. The 20 minutes would be nice on a night where I am short on time but it definitely felt short tonight. But it’s a good option. And I liked it enough I plan to buy one of the longer Lunar Flow sessions in the future.
Plow was a bit tough given my body size and decreased strength. I chose to do a shoulder stand (which was an option given; I supported my hips with my hands)
Courtesy of http://www.womansday.com
since that’s actually more comfortable for me (no stomach/chest crushage). It’s been a while since I’ve attempted one of those and boy is there a big difference with the added weight and soft belly bulge.
A quite nice way to end the day. Now time to feed my body with some delicious eggs over easy and champagne grapes. Yum!
…but her pants kick ass.
I tried another yoga audio tonight. It was just what I needed. Restorative.
And, in my many years of on and off yoga practice, I have never experienced the gorilla pose (Padahastasana). I LOVED it!
Courtesy of http://ashtangayoga.info
I have a sway back and boy did that hit the spot.
Now I feel all chill like this fella.
Courtesy of http://www.nationalgeographic.com
So today I drop kicked the gluten out the door. I was prepared with a well stocked kitchen and it really didn’t seem any different than any other day. It also happened to be just a 3 meal day (well, we’ll see if I have a snack before bedtime…). Usually I have to have snacks between meals to keep my energy going but I managed just fine between meals. I’m going to venture that it was the protein and fat ratio vs whatever carbs I had (veggies and fruit). We’ll see…
I also tried the beginner Forrest Yoga audio from Yoga Download. It was a great little practice. I wish they had more than just 2 on there! I do plan to check out some of their other downloads as well. I have gone to classes and have practiced with several DVDs but this was my first audio (along with their PDF cheat sheet). I really, really liked it. I also chose the one without music and didn’t miss it at all. I even paid attention to my breathing, which I usually ignore.
It was a packed vacation day. Going gluten-free, a yoga workout, plus an eye appt and 2 classes for Z (swim and dance). Maybe a cup of herbal tea is in order.
…I would have a very happy body.
I haven’t made my own hummus in years. This has inspired me to start making it again.
Even more excited to learn more about Forrest Yoga.
My face has totally reacted to the recent sugar (and, ahem, beer – I had a few good-bye Guinesses). It’s amazing to see how my body reacted in the moment and also how it rebelled on my face. I’m glad to have such tangible reminders, quite honestly. Helps keep me in reality. It also sucks that a brief treat means a few days of reminders on my face.
Gluten is getting kicked to the curb tomorrow. I’m already mentally planning for our Disneyland trip in a few weeks (and also told the cast member taking my reservation about the gluten-free meal needed at Z’s Ariel Grotto birthday dinner).
Reading Real Food prompted me to tell my husband that I wanted a family dairy cow. He said we could keep her in my closet. Heh. I also said that, in the far off future, when we have a house I would love to have chickens. He actually seemed open to that. In the mean time I will live vicariously through this blogging mama’s experience with (soon) owning a goat. How fun!
I am on vacation for all of August <insert happy dance here>. This is one big reason why I want to start my gluten-free trial then because I will have the time to focus on it and hopefully “perfect” some of it before I am back at work.
I have also, for several months now, been desiring a daily yoga practice. I gave it a bit of a go a few months back but fully fell off the wagon. For one, I was doing it once Z went to bed but hadn’t fallen asleep yet so there were frequent interruptions. Secondly, I was really frustrated that some of my fat was getting in the way of the asanas (I could tell my muscles, etc were willing to go farther if my stomach fat wasn’t blocking the way). This made me struggle with the work I have done with accepting my body the past couple of years. It was difficult to also accept that I also wanted to be more comfortable in asanas and that losing a bit of size appeared to be part of the answer.
I’m feeling pretty much over that now. #1 I need to work on letting go of ego (“yes, a smaller version of me was able to do this pose in a different way but that’s not the current me”) and #2 Just because I have accepted my body where it is now does not mean I am breaking some cardinal rule for wanting it to be a bit different to fulfill a dream (daily yoga/growing in my yoga practice). This does not mean I have to diet obsess, hate my body, desire to be some super small size, etc… It just means I have goals regarding yoga and it’s OK to want my body to shrink and strengthen a bit to reach those goals.
I’m not actively dieting and do not plan to diet. Diets and me do not get along (which I talked about a bit over at my old blog).
Anyway (hello rambling rambles!), I would also like to get into a daily yoga habit starting next month. I am going to figure out when the best time is (which may very well be when Z is up and about – either joining me or doing her own thing). I’ve done classes in the past (not ideal right now for various reasons) and several DVDs. But I am thinking this time of just putting on some music and using a book to guide me. I ordered this book today and am so excited for its arrival. I have found doing my own yoga routine to be difficult – so this is an area I want to work on. I’d like to just throw down my mat whenever and wherever and be able to lead myself through a series of asanas on my own.
Ah, goals. Good stuff.
Sugar Escape 