So I’m going to take the plunge.
Next week. Hot Yoga & I will meet to see if we like each other. As much as I’m obsessed with Yin right now, I want to try to stay open to other practices.
I’m a black girl, so me and excessive heat have little to do with outside of a flatiron, but let’s see how it goes.
Since I did my first real doubles workout yesterday, wanted to give you a feel for what it looks like thanks to this great post & video from Girl-Heros.com
Full Moon Yoga and Meditation
Experienced a great full moon yoga class (even though I still struggle with fast yoga flow sequences I survived it!) followed by a wonderful 30 minute meditation.
I’ve always felt a strong affinity for the moon and the idea of a yoga sequence devoted to grounding myself and showing respect for the Moon’s impact on our bodies and minds drew me in. The meditation that followed focused on blessing and grounding the Earth to share peace and love during the somewhat turbulent time of the full moon. Our meditation leader called it a great benefit we give to the Earth and all who live on it. I loved that idea of giving back to the Earth and sharing my energy with others. If you have a chance to so something like this one month, I would recommend it.
I know I’m sounding a bit “new age-y” lately -I’ve felt a strong impact from my recent yoga experiences. I believe it will be a wonderful balance to my more traditional training, and a major boost to my spiritual and mental growth as I go forward on my journey.
Amazing day of fitness yesterday! 2 hours of spin, a yin yoga workshop and a full moon yoga and meditation session.
Yin and yang. It’s all about balance.
As you may have noticed, Yin yoga is now added into my fitness training. Simple postures held for 3-5 minutes at time to focus on opening the joints, ligaments and connective tissue-as well as unblock the flow of energy through the body. I’m in love with it! And it is the perfect compliment to my more “yang” activities of cycle and strength training. Not to mention the intense meditation that Yin provides.
I’ve tried other forms of yoga, the more intensive yang-styles like vinyasa, but to be honest, I literally hate it. Maybe I just need more practice, but it is excruciating for me to do one of the more power flow intensive classes. I’ll get on the bike and spin like crazy for 2 hours, but I can barely survive 45 minutes of Vinyasa. One thing I’m learning is to listen to my body and doe those activities that I actually enjoy and will push myself for further accomplishment.
Until finding Yin, I was dreading putting yoga into my regular training plan, but now, I’m excited! Increased flexibility, mobility (my hips are atrociously tight after years behinds desks) and the mental spiritual benefits of Yin have me so enthused I can’t wait until my next yoga class.
I will also take some more basic yoga classes that are slower and more focused on learning technique and form. I don’t want to give up on learning to like the more muscle-intensive yang yoga styles, but I’ll ease into that. Now I have the luxury of learning while still getting some much needed benefits from my Yin practice. Yin is part of my life now I think!
It’s the exercise paradox. The more you work out, the greater your chances of injury: a throb in your knee as you jog, a sharp twinge in your back when you twist for a serve. Your muscles are toned and strong, yet there you are, benched by your own aching joints.
But a rising form of yoga aims…
Good morning all. I’ve been MIA for a while due to an unexpected family emergency. Sadly, my mother passed away last week, and I’m finally getting home and trying to adjust to this feeling of something being missing. It almost feels like I’m forgetting to do something, or I’ve overlooked something I need, but then I take a moment and realize it’s my Mom that’s missing. We lived in different cities, so I didn’t see her terribly often, but we talked basically every day. She was an amazing woman and I miss her very much, but I take great comfort she is not in any pain and in a much better place.
That said, I’m blogging about it here because losing my mother is now part of my journey. How I choose to deal with it emotionally and physically is up to me. My Mom wasn’t in good health, much of it driven by not taking as good care of herself as she got older. The usual culprits, weight gain, diabetes, poor diet…. One thing I can learn from this is just how important it is to be healthy and take care of my body. Our health is precious, and it isn’t until it is taken away that we realize it sometimes.
Now with so many lessons learned from my mother throughout my life, one more thing I will add to it is the need to be healthy. I have been on that path already (on and off of course) for several years now, but this in some ways just reinforces that now is the time to make this a permanent and unwavering part of my life.
It would be so easy to wallow in sadness and food right now - especially after being back in my hometown for almost a week and not being able to adhere to my usual guidelines. However, when I got back home yesterday, the first thing I did was go to yoga and pick up a salad from the gym cafe. And this morning, I started planning my workouts for the rest of the week. Feeling good about myself now seems to start with treating my body the right way. I think I would actually start to feel more sad and depressed if I was sitting in my bed eating doughnuts and take-out right now.
I feel better knowing I’m doing something good for my mental and physical well-being, especially during this time of stress and loss.
God gives us what we can bear, helps us and wants good things for us. While I am selfishly sad for myself, I am happy for my mother being at peace and free of pain and struggle. I will love her always.
How I manage this is part of my journey, and a test of my ability to cope.
I am choosing to be positive, strong and keep pushing forward. I think that is what my Mom would want for me and expect of me.
Whatever your own personal losses or setbacks may be, take time to process, grieve, cry and shout if need be, but don’t let it derail your plans to be the best you can be.
Blessings to you all and enjoy the day!
I’m officially back in my 100s!!! (Just barely!)
It’s been well over a year since I was under 200 lbs, and given that I was at my all-time highest weight of 229 lbs just over 3 months ago, I’m taking it as a big accomplishment.
Almost 30 pounds down and still much more to go, but a day to celebrate and prepare to move forward to reach my goals!
