Renewing Yoga

I remember watching the instructor float down in her chaturanga, seemingly weightless. She would transition between postures without skipping a beat. Meanwhile, I was struggling to understand how I could get the feeling of pushing away from my mat when all I wanted to do was lay down on it and give up. Now I find myself offering similar suggestions to practitioners in my classes; I encourage them to inhale and imagine inflating and lifting right up off the ground. I let them know that a few years ago I was struggling with the same pose, and although I may be comfortable with it now, there are still countless others I'm working on. There is so much growth available in Yoga, which is one of the reasons I love it so much. It's been so rewarding to tackle new postures and revisit the old, familiar ones with renewed commitment. Having friends over to practice has given me just the boost I need to try bringing my practice back to the level it was at before moving from Ogden. What have you been working on lately?

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breathe life

original graphic by me

30 day Yoga Challenge

I've been doing a 30-day Yoga challenge via DoYouYoga.com and I've really enjoyed it so far (I'm about a week into it). Every day, DoYouYoga emails subscribers a video with a targeted practice, and they range from just 10-20 minutes in length. It's not a comprehensive practice, but it's a nice complement to whatever you may already do (or don't do!). For me, I've found it beneficial to do my usual (eight) Sun Salutations as a warm up before attacking the DoYouYoga video. Sometimes I continue my personal practice after a video, or I just do my warm up and the DoYouYoga video and call it good. It's a free service and you can also access the videos at your own pace HERE.

It may seem silly, but I really love that when you sign up you give them your name (or nickname) and when they email you they say, "Hey Liv!" A little component like that can be just the motivation needed to try a challenge like this. This weekend I'm having another Yoga practice in my backyard, so come on over and join me! All of my extra mats are spoken for already, but you can purchase one super-cheap at Walmart, Target, or even Ross.

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Moving

The last time I remember having a real running routine was the summer after I graduated from High School.

I'll let that sink in for a moment.

So here I am, 11 years later, running on a treadmill in my basement. I don't really know what I'm doing, but I think I kind of like it. With Kev working a lot of hours again, I can't get outside to run in the cooler hours (because he's not here to be with Aspen) so I run at night while Aspen sleeps. My only problem with running is that EVERYTHING JIGGLES. Let's be honest. Even with the runner's high afterward, there's nothing that makes the jiggling enjoyable. Places that used to be toned thanks to teaching 6 Yoga classes a week are no longer toned. And that sucks.

But I'm doing what I can to keep moving this body. Aspen and I are biking a lot. I'm still hosting the occasional Yoga practice at my home (in addition to personal practice throughout the week). I'm running on the treadmill 20 minutes a few nights every week. And I guess it's good to get used to running on the treadmill first. Otherwise being stuck on it during the winter would be even worse. I just wish Maddie wouldn't stare at me warily the whole time I run. It's very unsettling. What are you doing lately to stay active? You can join me tomorrow at 730 for a Yoga practice in my backyard if you'd like!

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Yogis United

On Saturday I had the privilege of hosting Yoga at my home. I have a shaded patio in the mornings and I miss teaching so much that I decided to have some free classes outside while the weather is still good. Four women came to join me in saluting the sun while listening to the neighborhood birds waking up (and a little bit of Mumford and Sons playing on the iPod). It was the perfect way to start the day.

It felt so good to be leading a practice again. I mentioned to the ladies that in my year away from teaching, I've still had personal practices during which I mumble the cues just so I wouldn't forget. I'm grateful for the chance I had to share my love of Yoga with others, and hopefully I gave them a good experience that opened them up to future encounters with it. As long as I can keep coordinating childcare responsibilities with Kev, I hope to keep offering free classes (he not only did his dad duties during Yoga, but he made pancakes for me and Sophia to stuff in our faces when we were done!).

So let me know if you're interested in coming and we'll see what we can plan for the coming weeks. And just for fun, you could click over to Freeport Yoga Company's Facebook page and "like" the photo I submitted this week. They give a pose for the week and ask fans to send in photos, so I gave it a go. I have a really cute little helper with me so you at least need to click over to see her ;).

Namaste.

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Yoga Meltdown

I had a brief moment of solitude last week so I took advantage of it and pulled up a yoga video on YouTube. I happened upon a 35-minute Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown and decided to try it because she's like, a fitness Goddess or something. As soon as it started I realized it would probably be a great workout, but not necessarily a great practice.

If you're not familiar with Yoga, I don't recommend doing Jillian's Yoga workouts. She does a lot of great variations of postures, but not once did she offer a restorative pose for any of her inversion/back bend postures (like Locust and Camel Pose). I actually had to stop the video so I could do a counter-pose to relieve tension in my back. In the video, she said Yoga is great exercise, but it's not going to help you lose weight unless you bring movement into all the postures.

I think that further perpetuates the misconception that Yoga is not a good workout unless it's modified. She rarely used the names of postures until you were already supposed to be in the pose so I always felt a little behind the whole time (and I've been doing Yoga for 8 years!). Jillian obviously knows a lot about exercise and I think she's amazing at what she does, but she's also a little scary. And I don't think Yoga is her thing.

You're not going to learn anything about form or alignment from her Yoga videos, but you are going to get a good workout. I did enjoy a lot of the sequences and I did sweat a lot in those 35 minutes. But maybe the next time you want to do Yoga you should come to my house and I'll do it with you!

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Yoga print

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