BEHOLD…HOT YOGA…
…on a budget! hahaha
It works, seriously. Oh my muscles felt so warm and loose. Mmm.
Costco heat lamps rule. We barely turn on the heat in the house (we keep the thermostat around 65F) and we just use the space heaters and it saves so much energy. The only thing that sucks is leaving the room and you realize how cold it is in the rest of the house! ;)
Anywho, back to yoga talk.
Yesterday something inside me sort of clicked and I fell in love with yoga!!!
It was like I was running in a grassy field and I saw yoga off in the distance. We both began running toward each other, arms outstretched. It was in slow motion, running, and more running, and finally a twirling, loving embrace.
Yes, it was that good.
Monday’s Lunchtime yoga:
I did Crunch Yoga on my lunchbreak for about 25 minutes. I went back to work energized and ready to roll.
Sarah Ivanhoe is a good instructor. She explains things well. I really enjoy the Crunch yoga DVD because it is great for beginners. I can do the entire 40 minute DVD!! Amazing I know. It is a real confidence booster for beginners. They also offer modified movements in case you can’t do the ones that Sarah demonstrates. The first 30 minutes is yoga and the last 10 focuses on abdominals. And let me tell you the ab stuff is HARD!!!
I did 25 minutes over my lunch break and it was just lovely.
This block is probably the best purchase I made, in addition to my Green Lululemon Biodegradable Align mat.
It is a yoga block and it is great for beginner’s who find they can’t do certain poses. You can put your hand on the block instead of the floor and it gives you a few extra inches! I can maintain my form much better when using the block. It is a real confidence booster! I love it.
The only thing I have been a bit disappointed with in both the P90X and Crunch DVDs is that I find I can’t really zone out and relax because the instructors talk the whole way through the DVD. Does anyone else find that? I guess when I get used to the DVDs I can mute it and put on my own music! Nothing against the instructors, but it is just a bit distracting. I prefer silence or soft music.
Monday evening, I found myself craving more yoga!!
Because I wasn’t in the mood for another instructor-talking DVD, I decided to just print some poses and try it on my own!
Of course, I posed the following question on Twitter:
“Does anyone know where I can find yoga poses to download and print?”
@Janine9148 said to check out yogajournal.com
@balanceisbeauty said to check out yogadownload.com
I checked out Yoga Journal’s pose guide. I love that website and used to frequent it last winter when I was doing yoga a lot. Yoga Journal has something quite fun and unique; you can create your own sequences and print them. I selected about 8 poses and printed it off.
Next, I went to Yoga Download. Another awesome website. I clicked on Yoga Download Printable Guide. It was exactly what I was looking for!
It is 2 pages…
I glanced at all the poses and I was surprised that most of them I could do! No super advanced stuff here.
I simply put the guide in front of me and follow the poses in order. It was SO much easier than I thought!!!
The best part of it was that it was quiet! I totally zoned out. This was the first time I have ever been able to really zone out and feel like I was truly relaxing. No voices…no music…nothing.
The child’s pose is SO amazing for my sore back and shoulders. It is unbelievable how stiff I get from baking all day.
Sketchie makes me giggle. He is definitely the weirdest yoga instructor around!
hahaha!
For whatever reason, when I do downward dogs, he HAS to walk underneath me. It’s like he’s challenging me to stay up longer! I warn him that I could fall and crush him at any given moment, but he doesn’t seem to care.
Might I add that my body is sore from yoga? It most certainly is a hard workout. My arms are really sore this morning from all the downward dogs I did yesterday!
Demonstrating the yoga block!
It adds a few inches to my arms and allows me to keep a better form than if I had to put my hand all the way on the floor. I wish I knew about these blocks last winter! They are a real confidence booster for beginners like moi.
I finished off my evening yoga by really challenging myself- I tried the CRANE!!!
I have only done the crane successfully 2-3 times in my life. It is the ultimate challenge for me. I knew I had to try it out after seeing Alex and Krissy rock one out the other night.
After a few attempts, I did it!!!! I guess I found the ‘right’ spot because I held it for a good 8-10 seconds. I yelled for Eric to take a picture but he missed it. :( You’ll have to take my word! It was awesome. I felt so good and I was just beaming with pride! The only thing is this crane pose really hurts my wrists. Is this just because I am not used to it, I wonder?
I highly suggest printing the pose guide and trying some poses out on your own. It was so calming for me. I will certainly be doing some solo (DVD free) workouts today and this week.
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Do you use any fun yoga equipment?
I am so happy I bought the Align mat and block. For one, I was slipping all over the carpet with no mat, and two the block helps my form so much. Both worthwhile purchases in my opinion!
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See you later for a GLOWING and energizing lunch and the winner of my 1st year Blogiversary giveaway!
Enjoy your Tuesday everyone. :D Make it glow…
Don’t forget to enter Krissy’s Glo bar giveaway! Last chance to enter!
“Keep these concepts in mind: You’ve failed many times, although you don’t remember. You fell down the first time you tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim. . . . Don’t worry about failure. My suggestion to each of you: Worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.” Sherman Finesilver
ahhhh isn’t that amazing? Gives me chills!
Hooray! You mastered the crane (almost!). Isn’t the most empowering feeling?! It is normal for your wrists to be a little tender. They aren’t used to the pressure so they just need some warming up. Make sure you do lots of wrist circles before/after you do the crane pose! <3
I just came across your blog, and I’m so thrilled I did! I can relate to your story in so many ways, it’s inspirational to see the success and happiness of someone who has been there. I look forward to following your blog posts!
P.S. Hot Yoga is THE best remedy.
Have a fabulous night, beautiful!
Love the heat lamp/Hot Yoga! I’m with you about instructors talking too much.
Hi Angela,
Not related to your post, but I’m wondering if you have seen Alicia Silverstone’s new book, the Kind Diet? Just curious what your thoughts were…:)
I have heard of it but haven’t had a chance to check it out yet! I plan on it at some point next time I am at a book store. :) ~A
Is hot yoga worth a try? I’ve heard both good and bad things about it…
I LOVE Yogadownload.com’s guides. They are super-duper helpful an allow me to see what my poses should look like as I do their practice sessions. I’ve never tried a practice completely on my own (no instructor) but I think that will be one of my goals for next week! :D Thanks for the inspiration.
That is so funny everyone calls it Crane – I have only heard it called Crow around here. I used to watch everyone do it in class (or attempt) and would never even try. Now I can do it and hold for a few seconds! Such a powerful pose.
My fitness bucket list is to go from Crow (Crane) to headstand.
I <3 yoga! So glad you are feeling the love :)
When my two year old sees me doing yoga she either tries to join me (which is adorable) or she tries to hang on me- which is very distracting! love yoga though….
I think you will really enjoy this blog, girliegirlarmy.com, yummy recipes!
I’m so glad you posted this! I’ve been thinking a lot lately that I NEED to start doing yoga again and this post really felt like a push.
Costco heaters really are the best! They have totally extended the cottage season for us!
I find that if I start my practice with ‘the sweet breath’ (Nadi Shodhana – check out: http://www.yogasite.com/pranayama.htm for directions) that helps me find my center, also throughout my practice I try to not only remember to breath, but to concentrate on the breath as well.
For a great workout, try YogaToday.com they have a free 1-hour video each week… they also have a blog section that has free shorter videos (20-25 minutes). There are three instructors with different yoga backgrounds… Adi teaches Iyengar and Ashtanga, Sarah teaches Hatha Yoga, integrating Kripalu, Ashtanga and Kundalini, and Neesha teaches Anusara Yoga. I really like Neesha and Sarah. I find that Adi tends to do ALOT of sun salutations, and like you, my wrists start to hurt if I do too many down dogs.
I like that the teachers aren’t so serious when doing yoga, they make it fun and treat smiling while doing yoga as the ‘advanced pose’. :) My favorite class that I do often is ‘Happy Hips and Hamstrings’ by Sarah.
They do tend to talk while teaching, so if you know most of the names of the basic poses, you might try Rodney Yee’s DVD ‘Energy Balance Yoga’. I really like this DVD, it covers the elements (earth, wood, metal, fire and water) with different workouts that you can do as one long session that lasts about an hour or do an individual element as a session. Throughout the workout you just hear Rodney say the name of the pose in a calming voice (off screen) while on the screen you watch him and other yoga instructors do the sequence to soothing music. It is a very flowing yoga, much like a beautiful slow yoga dance.
If you are having back pain from baking or life in general, I would also suggest Rodney Yee’s DVD ‘Back Care Yoga’. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve done this DVD and felt so much better.
Rodney Yee teaches Iyengar Yoga which uses props and teaches proper alignment to reduce injury.
Hope this helps!
~nic
oops… ‘remember to breathe’ not ‘remember to breath’… haha
Hi,
Yoga is beneficial for the health in ways that modern science is just beginning to understand. Even though it has beenapplied with therapeutic intention for thousand of years, Yoga Therapy is only just now emerging as a discipline initself.
More health care practitioners are starting to include yogic techniques in their approach to healing — andmore yoga teachers give a therapeutic intention to their teaching. People who have never tried yoga before are startingto consider including Yoga in their treatment plan.
As science begins to document the importance of understanding the interrelation of all existing things, it looks to Yogawith an intrigued eye, for Yoga speaks Unity in every word. As yoga techniques are researched and new data is gathered,it becomes easier for science and the medical establishment to understand and accept the benefits of Yoga Therapy.Yet there is still not one consensual definition of the discipline.
In order to arrive to an adequate definition and tocome up with proper standards for Yoga Therapy, it is crucial at this early stage to properly address some delicateprofessional and ethical issues. At the same time it is important to educatethegeneralpublic about Yoga Therapy’sbenefits and careful use.
so this article will really helpful to me..
I’m obsessed with yoga. I’ve been doing for almost a year and a half now, I can’t believe it. There are a lot of really great podcasts out there for yoga, less instructor blabbing too. I love the ones my studio puts out (but I’m bias of course!). Check out http://zudayoga.com/Inspiration/Podcasts.html it is audio only, but that is what I like. If you can’t tell what they are trying to tell you to do you can just do what ever feels good! I travel with an ipod full of these!
Someone may have suggested it to you already, but I recommend checking our the site YogaGlo, it is a virtual classroom with some of the best instructors in the world….loving my home practice with this service. Plus, it has “Glo” in it, so you were meant to be!