Salute the Sun

Image from Women's Health online

The Yoga classes I've been taking the last few months don't do Sun Salutations. I think they're an integral part of practice, so always feel weird doing one without them. I know some teachers avoid it because they think it will bore the students, or perhaps they don't want to "waste" time on this standard warm up when they have other ideas in mind. Also, some teachers don't do it because it can be a struggle to encourage correct postures in this sequence. So they figure it's easier to skip it.

When I had the opportunity to teach classes, I started each one with 8 Sun Salutations. Four of Series A, and four of Series B. It was also optional to do additional Salutations between a vinyasa (if a practitioner wanted the extra upper-body workout). Yes, to some it may have been overkill, but it was just a part of my style. I always offered modifications in case someone wasn't able or interested, so I never felt badly for including them.

Figure A: Mountain Pose/Tadasana
Figure B: transitional pose
Figure C: Forward Fold/Uttanasana
Figure D: Half Lift/Ardha Uttanasana
Figure E: Plank
Figure F: Hi-to-Low Pushup/Chaturanga
Figure G: Upward-Facing Dog/Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
Figure H: Downward-Facing Dog/Adho Mukha Svanasana
Figure I: Half Lift/Ardha Uttanasana
Figure J: Forward Fold/Uttanasana

Flowing through the poses, challenge yourself to inhale for one move and exhale for the next. A good rule to keep in mind is to exhale when your exert or twist. For example, as you fold forward, exhale as if the movement is pushing air out of the belly. Or while lowering down in Chaturanga, exhale as if the floor is pushing air out of the lungs. Conversely, inhales are for reaching or lifting, such as Half Lifts or Upward Dog.

When transitioning from Half Lift to Plank, you can either hop right back to your feet or walk. In the same exhale, lower the body in Chaturanga.

For more tips on Sun Salutations, visit the Women's Health article on this HERE.

Yoga print

Print created by Paul Thurlby

I checked out an Alphabet book from the Library and "Y" turned out to be for Yoga. Check out more prints by Paul Thurlby HERE.

Getting my groove back

I worried that Aspen would not adjust well to attending the daycare at the gym. I imagined going to class and being pulled out by one of the care-givers so I could tend to a screaming kid. That fear is what kept me going to late-night classes while Kev was home instead of going to classes during the day.

Our first day there together, I explained to Aspen that it would be a lot like going to nursery at church. There would be nice teachers, toys, and other friends to play with. At first she resisted, saying she wanted to do Yoga with me. I suggested that instead we do Yoga together at home, and she seemed to like that idea.

I took her to the bathroom in the daycare and I'm pretty sure that's what sealed the deal. When she saw the toilet was just her size, she was ecstatic. There was also a set of stairs for the sink so she could clamber up and down all by herself to wash and dry her hands. After seeing that bathroom, she was psyched to be in the daycare. It's one of the first things she mentions when I ask if she'd like to go back with me again.

That was a few weeks ago, and she gives me the same reaction every time I pick her up after my class- whining at me to go away so she can stay and play longer. As annoying as it is to haul my screaming kid out of the daycare after an hour, it's way better than hauling my screaming kid in to the daycare.

The care-givers there are wonderful and I appreciate their hard work to keep the place clean and fun. I love how inexpensive it is to attend this gym and have Aspen go to the daycare twice a week. I'm grateful she has fun there and is excited to go. Since moving to WJ we've been much more isolated than we were in Ogden and I have felt so guilty about Aspen's limited exposure to other playmates. It was hard to go from having at least three play dates a week to only having one (with SueAnn before they moved). And now we're so sporadic with the bad weather and all the plagues everyone keeps getting.

And, maybe more importantly for me, I'm grateful I'm getting the structured exercise that I love and a chance to do something that makes me feel amazing. Challenging myself with Yoga again (and learning to not feel silly shakin' my thang at Zumba) is so rewarding. My body responds extremely well to Yoga and I've seen a significant change since starting classes just two months ago. It's like reconnecting with an old friend.

It's been a huge relief to know that I can not only go at night when Kev is home, but during the day as well. It makes me more consistent when I can go first thing in the morning instead of at 9pm.

Looking for a job in a new city

I picked up an application for the rec center in my neighborhood and eagerly filled it out at home. When I first moved to WJ, I created a fitness-only resume to hand in to gyms when applying to teach. I figured gyms don't care about my experience working at GAP in high school... so I pared it down to relevant jobs and my education.

The following day, I went to the early-morning Pilates class as usual. I yawned through the whole thing (545a is not my best hour) and was startled from my drowsiness when the teacher came up to me afterward to ask about my flexibility.

Although I've kept the information from my instructors until now, I decided to go ahead and tell her that I've been practicing Yoga/Pilates for 8 years, and that I'm certified for both. I didn't want to be treated differently in my classes, so I hadn't said anything the last two months.

But as soon as I shared, the teacher asked if I've ever applied to work at the rec center. I told her I just got an app and was planning to hand it in after class. She. Was. Thrilled. She said they're always looking for more teachers, especially since it's currently really hard for anyone to get a sub.

And not only did the teacher seem thrilled that I was considering employment with the rec center, but she announced it to the whole class as we were packing up our mats and props.

No pressure, right?


When I showed up for the Power Yoga class the next day, the instructor came over and introduced herself as the coordinator of aerobics. She asked me to stay after class and talk with her about my work experience.

She admitted they don't currently have room in the schedule to give me a new class, but once I fill out an employment packet I can go on the sub list. And she has connections with other fitness centers in the area and will help me get in touch with coordinators here and there as well. I've found that in this business it really matters to know someone. Otherwise, you apply online to a gym and your information just gets sucked into a vacuum and never acknowledged. While I'm nervous to be teaching again, I'm also really looking forward to it.

Yoga Love

I've been practicing yoga off and on for the last nine years or so. Since moving to WJ, my practice has been limited to at-home-only. Which really means I've basically stopped doing yoga. There are a number of excuses- cost, timing issues, a weird pain in my shoulder, laziness... But now I'm finally saying ENOUGH. So I found a rec center very close to our neighborhood that offers a screamin' deal on passes for unlimited attendance to monthly drop-in classes (LESS THAN $25 A MONTH!!). They also have very inexpensive childcare and do not require a membership/contract. I'm having trouble talking Aspen into letting me leave her with a bunch of strangers for an hour while I do yoga, but I'm working on it. When I first started attending (yoga and Zumba classes) I went to the late-night classes and the Saturday morning classes so Kev could stay home with Aspen. We'll see how things work out when Aspen gets left, screaming, in the daycare room. It can't be too embarrassing to leave class to attend to my hopeless little one, right? Having a regular practice again makes such a huge difference in my life. I feel better physically, obviously, but I also feel so much better mentally. I get to feel like I'm doing something 100% just for ME and not feel guilty about it.

And I can't wait to teach yoga again.

Yoga Triumph

So, I mentioned that while in Maine I took a yoga class that was totally wrong for me. Regardless, I committed to two additional classes the following week at the same studio.

I attended a one-hour Power class and absolutely loved it. The practice was led by the owner of the studio and she gave me the challenge I needed. I sweat so much I had to flip my mat over halfway through the practice. It's not that I don't appreciate the emotional and mental aspects of Yoga, it's just that I prefer to incorporate them into the physical aspect at my own pace. I don't like having those elements forced on me when I'm not open to them. When the instructor asked us to set an intention in the Power class, I chose to open my hips up throughout the hour. By the end of the practice, I felt it. I was there. I stayed on task and got the mental workout I also needed.

The Power class was so awesomely intense I could barely move the next day. So I headed to the Slow Flow two days later to work that out. Again, this class was more my pace. It gave variations and while it wasn't as physically strenuous as a Power class, it did offer a challenge. Which was good, because remember how I could barely move? Oh man.

What's my point, you ask? Well. I want you to know that even after 7 years of practicing Yoga, I occasionally attend a class I don't like. But I don't let it discourage me from continuing my practice. I understand that on any given day, a teacher could be "off." That might mean my practice suffers because s/he didn't deliver for the students. And just because I don't like one style of Yoga, it doesn't mean I won't like another.

Yoga Fail

Before my trip to Maine, I looked up Yoga studios in Freeport so I could get some practices in while there. I wanted to take advantage of Kev being available to watch Aspen, and once I found out there's a studio almost in my parents' backyard, I got really excited. I walked over on Friday morning and it probably took three minutes.

The studio is built in what used to be the local market, which was recently upgraded in a neighboring lot. It's amazing to go into the old market and see it 100% transformed. Freeport Yoga Company now has an open reception area and a huge studio where the checkout lanes used to be. So weird.

The class that morning was definitely not my favorite. It was actually the most boring class I have ever attended in my life. I always feel sad when people tell me they don't do Yoga because it's boring. But now I get it- too many people attend the wrong kind of class. For me, the wrong kind of class is one that focuses on vishudda, or the throat chakra. Actually, any class on chakra awareness is probably going to be one that I hate.

I have no interest in breathing into my chakras (energy points in the body). I also have no interest in back bends when I already have lower back pain. I had to keep doing my own modifications for poses because the discomfort was so great in the traditional versions. Maybe as an instructor myself I'm expecting too much, but I was also disappointed that hardly any variations were offered to the class, nor was there any inquiry from the teaching regarding what any of us needed in our practice that day. It seems that this particular class is on a schedule, and they're methodically going through chakras, following the outlined practice the instructor had with her. While that kind of preparation is awesome, it just meant I was totally unfulfilled after a 75 minute class.

Also? I realized my bladder was extremely full after the first 20 minutes. I think my body absorbs the humidity and immediately turns it into pee. NOT COOL!!

So yeah. Disappointing class that day. Still, I put on a brave face and planned to attend a completely different class (with a different instructor) the next week.