Yoga Everyday for a Year - DAY 73

DAY 73 - The weather has just been fantastic! Clear blue skies, gentle breeze, and in the 70's. Just perfect! We have opened all the windows up in the house to let in all the fresh air. I love Spring! So today while my son was napping I was able to do an afternoon yoga practice. My mat was facing out my back porch so I could see the trees and watch the birds. I chose a yoga sequence from my Yoga Journal. The article was "5 twists to Bring Your Body Into Balance." I warmed up with several sun salutations, then did the twists recommended in the article. Three of them I had never seen before and were quite challenging. I love playing with new and challenging positions, which keeps me motivated and pushes me to a deeper level. When doing these, I had to slow down and be mindful of what I am doing in each position. This helps me develop my patience on and off the mat.

Yoga Everyday for a Year - DAY 72

DAY 72 - If I have a busy day, or just don't get around to my yoga during the day; I really look forward to surrendering to my yoga practice at night. My evening didn't quite go like I had planned....being so tired and I burned my husbands dinner! I attempted doing some yoga asana in my room after my son was asleep, but I just wasn't feeling it. I decided to lay next to my sleeping son instead and watched his breathing and try to breath with him. Babies breath fully from their belly. As we grow and acquire stress, we start to breath more shallow and quicker, which in turn causes more stress. If we slow down our breathing, then we will calm our mind and promote relaxation. As I laid with him, I smelled his hair, took longer breaths, and was "present" with him in this precious moment. What a beautiful way to practice my yoga tonight!

Yoga Everyday for a Year - DAY 71

DAY 71 - Today was a day of rest for me. These days are so important for me as a stay at home mom. I need to take little bits of time here and there to rest my mind and my body. Those who have children know what I mean; and especially the ones who stay at home. When you are looking after a child all day, your mind and body need to stay alert 110% of the time. Although it is the best job in the world and so much fun, it can be so draining on your energy!

So tonight after my son was asleep, I sat in his room, closed my eyes, and did a meditation of gratitude towards my health and body, and to all my loved ones. After this I laid down on the floor for a 5 minute Savasana to deepen my relaxation.

Yoga Everyday for a Year - DAY 70

DAY 70 - Yoga with the husband! I finally got Roberto to do some yoga with me tonight! He is good at coming up with excuses not to do it...lol. We had such beautiful weather today and made it to the park to walk and play some soccer. So this evening, I asked him if he would do some yoga with me to help relax and stretch our muscles. I was proud of him to say "Yes, ok!"

We did a short 20 minute seated sequence to promote relaxation. I showed him how to use blocks for support and when you can't fully go in to a position. He seemed to like that you can use props. So many people don't realize that you can use support and that you don't have to look exactly like the instructor or the person next to you. We all look different in yoga, and we all have different levels of ability and flexibility. What's important is that we are doing it correctly and we are listening to our own body's abilities. I hope I didn't scare him away and that he will continue doing yoga with me several times a week! Good job my love! ;-)

Yoga Everyday for aYear - DAY 69

DAY 69 - I've started to run again, so I chose a Yoga for Runners sequence tonight. It was very basic and short; with a 5 minute relaxation. It was a good warm up or cool down for a run, but I would have liked it to include more hip opening poses. None the less, the yoga felt exceptionally good tonight!!

Yoga Everyday for a Year - DAY 68

DAY 68 - Happy Friday!! Tonight I tried a candle gazing meditation. You can use any object for this type of meditation, but I chose a candle. I also put on some soft music to drown out any house sounds. I sat in a dark room and closed my eyes to center and clear my mind. My mind didn't want to stay very still and I kept thinking about what am I going to write for my blog! After a couple minutes of bringing my focus back to center, I opened my eyes and started to stare at the candle. It was really beautiful and the flame seemed to dance with the music. Using the flame as a focal point really helped me keep my mind free and clear. After several minutes of watching the flame dance, I closed my eyes again. The image of flame and outline of the candle where now burned in to my closed eye view. I now had a focal point while my eyes where closed! As time went on, I stayed focused on the colors. The colors kept changing, and finally the image of the flame went black, then disappeared. Once it was gone, I opened my eyes and took a few deep breaths and finished. As someone who finds it hard to stay focused when meditation, this was a great way to help me sweep other thoughts aside and just be present.

Yoga Everyday for a Year - DAY 67

DAY 67 - This is the month of the beginning of Spring! The weather is changing, and so are our bodies. It is time to detox and cleanse ourselves of everything that has built up during the Winter months. Like Spring, our mind and bodies are rejevenated with new energy and life.

Over the next couple of months I will be picking yoga sequences that help renew and detoxify the body. Today I chose a class called, Yin Yoga for Spring: "To restore balance after winter and begin your spring cleanse, these Yin poses channel liver chi through the inner legs and gallbladder chi through the outer leg meridians." We did some deep hip opening poses to achieve this cleansing. My hips felt so stiff at first, but after the class they felt open and free. I look forward to more of these types of classes over the next several weeks!

http://www.myyogaonline.com/videos/yoga/yin-yoga-for-spring