DAY 31- I'm feeling a little better today, well... I can at least breath through my nose! I wasn't up to doing any asana (postures) today and just wanted to do my own thing, which was mainly pranayama (breathing) and savasana (relaxation).
I grabbed my Vicks Baby Rub (a combination of lavender oil, eucalyptus oil, and rosemary oil) and rubbed it into my neck, behind my ears, and on my chest. This helped to clear my nose and relax me. Then I turned on my Nature Sounds to "Australian Beach", an App on my iphone. I started in cross-legged pose, closed my eyes, and tuned into my breathing. I did some simple belly breathing and alternate nostril breathing. Next came a cross-legged forward fold with my forehead on the mat. The pressure of my head on the mat helped my sinuses. I didn't want to move from here, so I stayed here about 5 minutes. After this I covered myself with a blanket, put my flax seed eye pillow on my eyes and went straight to savasana. My own little sanctuary... Ahhh BLISS!!! I stayed here until my son woke up (maybe 20 minutes). This was much needed "me time!"
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Yoga Everyday for a Year - DAY 30
DAY 30 - I feel like a train hit me today! My son caught a cold over the weekend and now I have it. I can't breathe, my head hurts, and I have a slight fever... So now what to do about Yoga? Who wants to do Yoga when you feel like this!? I Googled "Yoga for a cold," and found an article from Yoga Journal called Feel Better with 6 poses to do when you feel sick. http://www.yogajournal.com/health/117
First the article tells you to wrap your head with an ace bandage, which I did not have. I used a scarf instead, which I had to double around my head and tie in the front. I looked a little ridiculous! Even my 6 month old son was laughing at the fringes in front of my head. Anyway, I kept it on the whole time and the pressure did help my head feel a bit better while it was on. I did the 6 poses and stayed in them a few minutes each. The sequence helped me to take some time out for myself and I know it is a small step closer to helping me to feel better.
If you get sick this Winter, be strong and try a Yoga sequence to help you to feel better!
First the article tells you to wrap your head with an ace bandage, which I did not have. I used a scarf instead, which I had to double around my head and tie in the front. I looked a little ridiculous! Even my 6 month old son was laughing at the fringes in front of my head. Anyway, I kept it on the whole time and the pressure did help my head feel a bit better while it was on. I did the 6 poses and stayed in them a few minutes each. The sequence helped me to take some time out for myself and I know it is a small step closer to helping me to feel better.
If you get sick this Winter, be strong and try a Yoga sequence to help you to feel better!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Yoga Everyday for a Year - DAY 29
DAY 29 - YJ Challenge Day 21!! Last Day of the Yoga Journal Challenge!! I'm SO glad I followed through with this because the videos were awesome and I got a lot of great sequence ideas. I will go back and do some of these again for sure. I liked having a chosen video to do each day so I didn't have to think about picking one; but on the other hand there were some days where I didn't feel up to a specific sequence. Overall it was really good and I would highly recommend giving it a try!
A few things I learned from the Yoga Journal Challenge: 1) I don't have to do an hour or more of Yoga a day to reap the many benefits of Yoga. Many of the videos we did were only 20-30 minutes long. This is a more realistic amount of time for yoga everyday, especially for a busy mom like me! 2) It's ok to slow down and do simple, basic sequences. This can help me keep my "beginners mind" and make sure I am doing a pose correctly. 3) Make sure I do a gentle and relaxing sequence a couple times a week, or just simply sit and breath or meditate. This will ensure that I am getting some "rest" during my year of yoga. 4) Lots of new ideas for poses and sequences!
A few things I learned from the Yoga Journal Challenge: 1) I don't have to do an hour or more of Yoga a day to reap the many benefits of Yoga. Many of the videos we did were only 20-30 minutes long. This is a more realistic amount of time for yoga everyday, especially for a busy mom like me! 2) It's ok to slow down and do simple, basic sequences. This can help me keep my "beginners mind" and make sure I am doing a pose correctly. 3) Make sure I do a gentle and relaxing sequence a couple times a week, or just simply sit and breath or meditate. This will ensure that I am getting some "rest" during my year of yoga. 4) Lots of new ideas for poses and sequences!
Yoga Everyday for a Year - DAY 28
DAY 28 - YJ Challenge Day 20- A late night practice tonight with Jason Crandell's Arm Balance sequence again. This sequence prepares you for Crane pose by deeply opening your hips, warming up the arms and activating the abs. I did this sequence last week and enjoyed it even more tonight. I'm definitely feeling more open and stronger after almost a month of yoga. One more day of the YJ Challenge. I can't believe how fast the 3 weeks went!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Yoga Everyday for a Year - DAY 27
DAY 27 - YJ Challenge Day 19 - Happy Friday!! A nice and gentle Shoulder Opening sequence for the end of the work week. A perfect way to let go and relax from a busy week and get refreshed for the weekend. I started swimming again this week, so I was happy to release some shoulder tension. Plus I always welcome arm stretches from carrying around my little man.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Yoga Everyday for a Year - DAY 26
DAY 26 - YJ Challenge Day 18 - I didn't get around to yoga until almost 7pm tonight, so I was feeling a little sluggish once I did. It was one of those nights where I wish I could pick my sequence instead of doing the chosen YJ sequence. If there wasn't 3 days left of the challenge, then I would probably have switched the class tonight.
The YJ sequence tonight was a "lead up" sequence to Wheel Pose. Once I was half way through the sequence, I really wished I had done a different sequence tonight. I just wasn't up to this type of class today. I needed a relaxing evening sequence to ease my soul instead.
We did many sun salutations, with an emphasis on Cobra, Upward Facing Dog, and Locust. These are all gentle backbends to warm up the back for the more intense backbend, Wheel. I can do wheel fairly easy and normally welcome it, but I started getting a little headache. That was my cue that it was time to finish up. I went down into Child's Pose for 5 minutes, then called it a night. ALWAYS listen to your body!
The YJ sequence tonight was a "lead up" sequence to Wheel Pose. Once I was half way through the sequence, I really wished I had done a different sequence tonight. I just wasn't up to this type of class today. I needed a relaxing evening sequence to ease my soul instead.
We did many sun salutations, with an emphasis on Cobra, Upward Facing Dog, and Locust. These are all gentle backbends to warm up the back for the more intense backbend, Wheel. I can do wheel fairly easy and normally welcome it, but I started getting a little headache. That was my cue that it was time to finish up. I went down into Child's Pose for 5 minutes, then called it a night. ALWAYS listen to your body!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Yoga Everyday for a Year - DAY 25
DAY 25! YJ Challenge Day 17 - I'm feeling more rested today. How I sleep depends on how my son sleeps at the moment... Since I felt better today, I started the day off with a run! I joined the gym the other day and now I can run indoors, go swimming, and take classes. I am eager to try the yoga classes of course!
After my run I felt energized and warmed up, so as soon as I arrived home I did my YJ video. (It helped that my son fell asleep on the way home). The sequence was Backbends: the one I skipped yesterday. We did this same sequence last week, so I was familiar with it already. It was nice doing yoga after my run because I felt even more excited about it. You know how it goes when you haven't done any exercises for the day yet, or just woke up...it can be harder to get motivated. The Backbends felt great today, but I really really really enjoyed resting at the end!
After my run I felt energized and warmed up, so as soon as I arrived home I did my YJ video. (It helped that my son fell asleep on the way home). The sequence was Backbends: the one I skipped yesterday. We did this same sequence last week, so I was familiar with it already. It was nice doing yoga after my run because I felt even more excited about it. You know how it goes when you haven't done any exercises for the day yet, or just woke up...it can be harder to get motivated. The Backbends felt great today, but I really really really enjoyed resting at the end!
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