Strike a {yoga} pose

(I'm sorry about the formatting in this post. Blogger was being wiggy. Luckily, thanks to my recent yoga practice, I was calm and centered enough to let it go, and only cursed at my computer a few times. But I refuse to salute the light within Blogger. Harumph.)

Last week, I was walking into the yoga room and two girls about my age were looking at the class schedule posted outside the door. I smiled at them and they asked how long the class was. I honestly don't remember if I answered them...I just started rambling about how awesome!yoga!is!

I talked about the fact that it's a great workout, and that they'd be sore the next day. I told them that it's downright addicting because of the way it makes you feel. And I even explained that it's good for your insides...your digestive system, kidneys, adrenals, immune system. I encouraged them just to try it. To come in right now.

And I totally scared them away. For real. They actually scampered off, afraid.

They don't know what they are missing.

I have been working on this post for a while. I've had several people email me and ask me to talk about yoga more. I've tried... I write, I delete. I try again, I erase. It's hard to explain yoga.

(Scattered through this post are some of my favorite poses, just to give a visual if you are clueless regarding my favorite workout.)

{tree pose}

I can tell you what it's not. It's not a bunch of dirty women eating granola sitting around chanting "ommmm." It's a tough workout that may make you sweat, but is easy on your joints and feels amazing while you are doing it. Feeling a stretch the whole way up one side of your body...there's nothing like it.

{camel pose}

It's not competitive. A big rule of yoga is to refrain from comparing yourself to anyone else. Reminders are frequently given that some days, your balance/strength/focus is better than others, which is totally normal and okay. I hear so many words of encouragement given to and from newbies and advanced yogis alike. The energy in a yoga room is truly filled with peace and calm.

{wheel pose}

It's not the same in every class. From restorative yoga to power yoga, there's a type for everyone. I personally like power yoga, but a good, slow, restorative class feels phenomenal from time to time.It's not easy. Well, unless you want to make it easy. It's as hard as you want to make it. I've been sore after a gentle yoga class and have seen amazing changes in my body since practicing yoga on a consistent basis.div>{plow pose}

It's not hard on your body, though...inside or out. I'm healthier, happier, and endure less headaches when I practice yoga a few times a week. I'm happier, more centered, and less apt to go into fight or flight mode when I get upset.

{triangle pose}

It's not for everyone. I've seen people try the class and walk out in the middle several times. I've brought guests who never returned. The light in me salutes theirs and all, but I can't say I get it. It's so good for you! It feels amazing! Your whole body will change! But I (reluctantly) understand that some people need something different.

But if you're curious and have an open mind, clearly, I urge you to try it. I've seen men, women, and children of all ages, shapes, sizes, and flexibilities try and love yoga. One day, I'll get my teacher certification and hopefully open my own studio. Until then, I'll keep practicing and raving about the pure awesomeness of yoga to anyone who will listen...or read.

If you have questions, please comment or email me at namastebyday@gmail.com.

Namaste'.

The Key to Life

I really like the Word of 2012 Train. I don't usually follow the internet/bloggy trends, but I'm a word nerd (hello, speech-language pathologist) here and I love the idea of something to focus on. God knows anything to help my distractability is a good thing.

But as I read other people's eloquent posts on their Words of 2012, I wasn't sure what mine should be. I'd love to say it's focus. Or calm. Or something along those lines.

However, I am one of those people whose minds never.turns.off. Ever. I prefer to go to sleep listening to mindless chatter on television because otherwise my mind races, scanning my to-do list, coming up with new worries, and just thinking-thinking-thinking.

So as much as I'd like to say I'm going to have a quiet mind; a focused life...let's be honest. It's not gonna happen. Yet. We'll shoot for that in 2013.

But as I struggled with every single balance pose in my Power Yoga class the other night, it hit me. Balance.

That's exactly what I struggle with but what I think is a reachable goal. While balance is the hardest part of yoga for me, it isn't just me holding a perfect dancer pose. As Kim reminded me the other night, "real yoga happens on the street, not just in the studio." And that is true. Reason #206980236 why I love yoga.

Like most other people, when I make a resolution, I break it. Because I feel like I fail the first time l lose my temper or don't stay organized or religiously keep up with my workouts or floss my teeth every single day. I tend to be impulsive and dramatic, so once I screw up, I throw my goal out the window. After all, I've already failed.

But balance? That's something to strive for. It lends itself to success, because if I'm starting to get lazy, I'll allow myself those five more minutes of ridiculous reality tv, then get my butt to the gym. And I still am rocking it out, even though I sat on the couch for an hour. (And five minutes.)

Being present with my kids is something I want to work on, but I feel like the balance thing helps with that. I'm going to probably get a few judgies thrown my way for saying this, but sometimes I just need to escape to the internet for a while, while G eats a snack or L watches an episode of Curious George. I need my down time too, especially on the days when the whining is epic and I'm PMS-ing and dealing with a trying day at work. But balancing that with the presence is what seems healthiest to me.

I can apply this to everything in my life. Balance cooking with bringing home Chipotle once a week. Balance frustration with gratitude. Balance keeping my house neater with not stressing when it looks like a tornado ripped through it.

And if I make progress on the mat as well, and I learn to rock out the standing split/revolved half moon/warrior III poses? Bonus.

After all...

Namaste'.

Saturday Morning Scene: me and my little yogi.

I'm linking up with my girl Katie today for Saturday Morning Scene.

Every Saturday morning, I hit up power yoga and I'm lucky enough that my cute yogi husband joins me.

For a split second, I considered having him take a picture of me in the gorgeous yoga room at the gym, in a couple of my favorite poses. Then I realized I'd totally be that girl who had her husband take a picture of her in a pose.

So instead, I am totally that girl who had her husband take pictures of me at home instead.

I learned firefly pose this morning. I haven't quite mastered it but I was happy that I got the soles of my feet together as instructed by our teacher:




And my all-time favorite: wheel pose.

Does it surprise you that I have a tree on my yoga mat? Didn't think so.

L saw me and decided to attempt his own wheel pose. What he's missing in form he makes up for in cuteness, no?


And his all-time favorite: tree pose.
Namaste.

A weighty post (in more ways than one)

*peeks head out and looks around*

Hello? Anyone still here? Yes, I'm alive. I know my blog looks like a ghost town these days. So much for having more time to post during the summer. I'm not sure what I was thinking. I have two little boys to chase, who rarely take a nap at the same time. L adores television, so I am trying to find daily activities that will keep him from begging for "jus' one more Curious George."

Hence the lack of posting.

To make matters worse, I have a bit of bloggy block. I could post an update on L, although I really don't have one. I could post about why I cancelled his GI appointment, but that'd surely jinx us. I could tell you about how G took seven!steps!in!a!row! three times last week, but that's pretty much all there is to say about that.

Then, I got a request from one of my favorite bloggers (Hey, Saf!) via Twitter last night about my workout routine.

It occurred to me that a lot has changed since my last postpartum body post. But if I tell you, you can't hate me, because I've gotten a lot of hateful comments from people when I explain what's up with my body.

The long and the short of it is that I've continued to lose weight. So much weight, in fact, that I've been concerned about a medical issue (I know, me, worry?) because I am now fifteen pounds under my prepregnancy weight. I'm also 1-2 pants size smaller and I've had to buy all new shorts (thank goodness for thrifting). In fact, I've been a bit self-conscious about my bony chest and chicken-esque legs.

While I think the workouts during and after my pregnancy helped, I also credit a lot of my weight loss to breastfeeding. I am still nursing G. Where my tatas went largely underused during L's first year, G has made up for and then some. Some days, he still nurses every 3-4 hours. He still gets up in the middle of the night to nurse.

(And before you start penning your "let him CIO" comment, I am perfectly okay with his efficient nighttime nursing. I am 95% sure that like L, G has a milk allergy, so I plan to extend breastfeeding if possible. I believe that the around-the-clock nursing is helping my supply to continue this long. On the allergy note, I also believe that cutting dairy from my diet has resulted in pounds dropped as well.)

With all that being said, my belly is not pooch-free nor completely toned.

So I've gone from once-a-week-personal-training session+twice-a-week-intense-cardio+one-more-gym-class to twice a week power yoga.

I've had several people ask me to talk more about yoga. I know many people picture a yoga class full of unshaven people twisted into unhuman positions and chanting "ommmm." While I've been in some yoga classes that aren't too far from that, not all yoga is created equal.

My power yoga classes are filled with people of all shapes and sizes and ability levels. A good yoga teacher can challenge the most progressive yogi and easily modify poses for beginners. I've been lucky enough to find those this summer. The classes I take are different each week, but always intense, vigorous, and get my mat slippery with sweat. My newest class has me in headstands, downward dog with my feet up on a wall, and getting closer and closer to mastering crow pose each time. I try to practice yoga at least twice a week. The hardest part of each class, though, is the savasana at the end. Quieting my mind enough to go into a quasi-meditation is next to impossible for me.

I know I need to do cardio for my heart; for my health. Dropping my favorite spin class has been like quitting an addiction, but I feel like right now, I can't afford to lose more weight. Trying to find a balance extends outside of my yoga class, and I haven't quite figured it out.

So that's where I am in my workout world for the moment. Feel free to comment with more specific questions. Depending on what I get, I'll either e-mail you or write another more specific, less rambly post.

You know I gotta say it.

Namaste.

Silent Sunday: My little yogi

Ommm...ommmmygosh isn't yoga supposed to be relaxing?

I was absolutely craving yoga today. If you are a yoga virgin, I know that must sound weird, but I love love love me some yoga and if I go long enough without it, my body literally craves it. It had been almost a month since my last class, so I was ready. I got this gorgeous "tree of life" yoga mat with a cool bag from B for Christmas, so I was even extra excited to get to my class tonight.

B came home from work sick with the same bug that L and I have had, and he graciously agreed to watch him so I wouldn't have to pack a bag, drop him off and pick him back up at Paw-Paw's. However, five minutes before I was walking out the door, he told me he had three more phone calls to make for work. Argh.

I finally rushed out the door, way late, literally running, (with L calling after me, "Bye!!!!") and flew down the highway. I made it into the class two minutes late, which is bad yoga etiquette, but at that point, I was just glad to have made it.

My first downward dog was beyond tight but felt awesome. That is...until I felt my feet and hands start sliding in different directions. I forgot to wash my mat. I know better! So for the entire hour of class, which happened to involve many positions in which a slippery mat was a hazard, I slipped and slid all over the place. It was actually so bad that my teacher came back and asked if I was all right. Um. Yeah. Just my new beautiful yoga mat is causing me serious drama. Trying to focus on slow breathing and perfect postures was just about impossible.

Luckily, the last fifteen minutes was boat pose (a pose for abs) moving into fish, which I had never done before, but is now my new favorite pose. I felt so great after class that I was daydreaming driving back home and passed my own exit. I turned back around, got to the grocery store, got home after texts from B wondering where in the world I was, to dinner being ready! Yay!

Well, I thought it was great. L has developed a new obsession for hamburgers and french fries, which is exactly what he demanded when I put his lasagna in front of him. When I told him to take one bite, he reluctantly did, and then threw that bite right back up. Where he gets his dramatic side, I don't know. ;) At that point, I was done. L ate toast and Cheerios snack mix for dinner. I won't win the Mommy of the Day award, but whatever.

Good thing I bought a cool yoga DVD at Target today. Hopefully I'll get a more om-worthy experience tomorrow.