Thirty Four

Today is my birthday. In years past, my birthday morning usually began with sleeping in, then coffee followed by a parade of sweets and sugary treats. One year I ate an entire box of chocolate covered cherries and two years ago I ate half of a red velvet sheet cake by myself. I can't even imagine doing that now.  Okay. Who am I kidding... I can TOTALLY imagine eating half a sheet cake. But I'm a stronger person now.

This morning I broke with tradition and awoke when the house was still sleepy and dark. I dressed and left the house for a 6am yoga class. I've decided to add a once or twice weekly power yoga class to my 3-day-a-week boot camp routine. Its important to stay grounded and lose with all the strength training and running!

The class is taught by Christi Jiannino at Postiviely Fit Lake Highlands. Its T/TH from 6-7am.  This was my second class and I absolutely love it. A sunrise power yoga class was the perfect way to begin my thirty fourth year on Earth. Tonight, I've asked my husband to take me to a raw/vegan restaurant for dinner. And maybe I'll find my way to a little treat - but just a little one.

Oh...

And new birthday shoes!
I've been in need of some cross trainers and these little pink gems are perfect.

Reciprocity

I attended a yoga class on Wednesday at Sage Hills Healing Center - my third class in a week.  Melanie, the instructor, had the practitioners doing a physical gesture that looked like a swimming stroke. We all imagined that we were swimming in a Pranic Ocean. While we were "swimming" our little hearts out, she asked a series of questions that I've never really considered before.  She said, "Your heart works for you, but have you been working for your heart? Your liver and pancreas work so hard for you, but do you work for your liver and pancreas?" 

I was dumb struck. Then as I "swam" my mind carried it further. My bowels work for me, keeping me free from poisons and toxins, but do I work for my bowels?  My skin works for me, keeping me at a perfect temperature and eliminating dead cells.  But do I work for my skin?  My circulatory and nervous systems work so hard for me, but do I work for my systems? 

Certainly, I am working more for my body that I was a year ago.  However, I still continually put my health in jeopardy with day to day choices. We all do. I guess my time in the yoga studio with Melanie simply awakened me to the many ways in which I can better care for my organs, my systems and my physical body. Maybe one martini is enough. Perhaps a few french fries is sufficient. And when I do consume a food or imbibe a beverage, why not take an extra moment to thank my body for absorbing the nutrients, transforming the energy and eliminating the toxins. Because when you get right down to it - its a fucking miracle.

Early Morning Yoga Class

I bought this yoga deal - 10 dollars for 10 days of unlimited classes.  And being the Scottish Cancerian that I am, I want to get my money's worth.  So this morning I woke up at 5am to make a 6am Vinyasa Flow class at Uptown Yoga.  To say that I'm not a morning person is putting it lightly.  I'm like a zombie before 8am.  So in this pre-coffee, zombie-like state, I drove downtown so that a chipper woman named Maria could stretch me up, roll me down and ring me out.  Again, I heard my inner Sarah saying, "Excuse me, where am I and what am I doing to myself?"

Fortunately, somewhere between 6:20 and 6:25am, the blood started flowing, the brain started responding and I felt my spirit engage.  And now, here it is, a quarter to 8am - I've played with my sons, had a cup of coffee, and am happily blogging away at my computer.  Wow.  Performing a sun salutation when the sun is actually rising might actually help me be more present throughout the day.  Will I go to another 6am yoga class?  Ha!  Fat chance. We'll see...

Deep Stretch

I went to a yoga class tonight - my first since July. It was the Deep Stretch class at Uptown Yoga (Lakewood) with Cheryl Johnson. I was feeling a little bunched up from two days of ear infections and missing boot camp.  Sometimes my body just needs to be rung out a bit and tonight's yoga class did the trick.  Tomorrow, back to boot camp!

Yoga - The Sun Salutation

This is by far my favorite EVER exercise!  It reinvigorates my mind and body, while giving my muscles a great stretch.  I repeat it as many times as I have time for.  If I want an extra strenuous workout, I slow it way down and move through the positions in slow motion.  Doing it out of doors in a park or in my back yard only improves the experience. Here is a quick depiction below:

Burn Fat with Yoga

I love yoga.  I've been doing it off and on for about 15 years.  (Obviously more "off" in recent years.)  I find that yoga is easy on my joints and tough on my fat stores.  I've just started doing yoga again - not in a class, but at home in between bouts of laundry and wiping poopy baby butts. This is what I usually look like when I'm doing yoga.  Fat, happy and flexible!

As with most exercises, some yoga poses burn fat better than others.  So I did a little research: here are some beautiful poses (asanas) that will invigorate my spirit and, according to nameless online yogis via You Tube, help me take off the extra weight.  I usually do these poses within the confines and flow of a Sun Salutation.  But since I now know that these are fat-burning poses, I tend to linger in these positions. 

Downward Dog

Chaturanga

The Bow

Warrior I

The pose below seems deceptively simple, but let me tell you - this burns and works!  Root your feet to the floor and sit back as far as you can as if sitting on a chair.  Arms stretch up in alignment with your spine,  I hang here for 10 full breaths and then continue through my sun salutation.

Utkatasana

At first glance, most of you will look at the pose below and think, "Yeah right".  I certainly did.  I do the handstand up against a wall for full support.  At my current weight, doing this pose unassisted in the middle of the room would be ridiculous.  Can you imagine?  I performed this pose last week for the first time since nursing two babies and my boobs slid out of my bra and flapped onto my chin. So I recommend that you sweethearts with large bosoms wear protective gear.  I do this after my sun salutation series.  I stay here for 10 full breaths and then slowly lower my feet and then my knees to the ground.  I always feel invigorated after this pose.  I switch this up with a headstand if my arms feel like baloney from the other poses. 

Adho Mukha Vrksasana

I always finish with a resting pose.  This helps my body decompress and process what it just did.  It's also a deeply meditative pose.  Sometimes I fall asleep in this position, which is no surprise for a mother of two little ones who are up every morning at 5:30am.  So Jack, if you're reading this, don't be surprised when you come home from work and I'm on the floor in the middle of our living room doing this pose.  Don't worry.  It's intentional.  I'm doing yoga.  The kids are fine.  At least... they were fine before I fell asleep.

Shavasana