Practice yoga regularly

in these past two weeks, i’ve only been doing yoga about once a week. i suppose starting nightclass, has needed me to shift my schedule around.

i did some yoga last night, starting out with a new dvd…

before i knew it, i realized i was doing ashtanga yoga.

and i’m just so not ready to be doing ashtanga yoga!

so i did as much as i could but when it progressed to more difficult moves, i did myself a favour… i stopped and started my sun salutation and hatha yoga poses.

however, it felt like a double workout. and my muscles are quite sore today.

while visiting my in-laws in thunder bay, i was pleasantly surprised to find that they had a dock with a big enough platform, facing the a gorgeous view of the lake.

two days in a row, i found myself doing my hatha yoga routine. it was fantastic. to breath in the fresh air, feel the warmth of the sun, and to be surrounded by trees and the stillness of the lake.

i love the warrior pose. i think it’s my favourite from the little that i know (as i only practice several poses – combination of deep stretch and standing poseS).

i can do warrior pose I and II over and over again! the challenge of holding them for a long time, while breathing deeply, is exhilirating.

at the end of a horrible day after numbers and numbers of horrible days…

yoga has become my friend late at night. soothing me and comforting me.

i didn’t do as many yoga sessions last week. i had planned to do a couple after getting back from our camping trip, but was ill with the stomach-bug for a couple of days.

yesterday, was the first time getting back into it.

aside from a much longer needer warm-up (as my muscles lost a bit of flexibility from the break), i was confused as to why i performed better. my balance and strength, in particular was bang on. so yeah… i don’t get it.

i actually did one session of yoga while camping. it was while doug cooked dinner over an open fire.

:)

kind of neat… doing yoga in the middle of the woods.

the best time to do yoga, i find, is first thing in the morning (especially before everyone else is awake – undisturbed yoga is the only awy to go).

i woke up this morning before 6am, snuck down to the basement while both my husband and daugther were sleeping, and started my morning exercises.

i began first, with a 20 minute, circuit routine of upper body resistance traning. immediately after that, i went barefoot and began my 30 minute hatha yoga routine.

the success of today was that i finally was able to do the sun salutation (six times) on my own. and it was the best six i had ever done. i felt more fluid and matched the movements to my breathing.

as always, my favourite standing positions were the warrior pose and the tree pose. i end off with the tree pose – it’s my best move. and i always believe in ending a workout with a positive experience.

i’ve started to do yoga about two times a week. just 30 minutes for each session because that’s all i can handle.

my breathing is becoming more steady. and there’s a bit more flexibility in my limbs. though i still have a hard time straightening my knees completely when bent over… it’s almost straight, though.

i’m still just doing hatha yoga. my milestone is to learn how to do a modified version of the sun salutation (as i’m not flexible enough to do a full down-ward dog and not strong enough to balance myself on some of the advanced moves) all on my own, with steady breathing and no help from my dvd.

once i’m able to do the sun salutation, i’ll be able to do it anywhere.

and ideally, i want to be outdoors when i do it.

except i’m changing it to just yoga – not pilates. one thing at a time.

i don’t know – just all of the sudden, i’ve become completely disinterested in either yoga or pilates.

so i’m putting this one hold. why chase a goal if it’s not that interesting?