Category Archives: Yoga

The Process of Letting Go

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I wrote a post all the way back in 2009 that still serves me. And the life changing yoga teachings remind me about it over and over. People and places and life can get in a rut and if you fall in the rut, you encourage the rut to continue. What you allow will continue. So LET GO.

People that were causing me pain, even if they didn’t know it, got let go. And I got lighter.

Sadness and pain and suffering can have a minute, but it has to let go. You have to let it. You can’t be angry with something you’re allowing. Don’t allow pain. Don’t allow bad behavior, yours or anyone else’s.

Another stunner of a read on the subject here.

 

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Digital ## Days

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I signed up for Digital 40 Days at the beginning of January and attacked it full force. Like, for four days or so. The hardest part of doing something everyday? Doing it. So I failed. But the greatest thing I can learn from yoga is how to fail better.

Now it’s mid February and I finally came back to the mat. Not judging, not forgetting I’m a work in progress. The things I love change and fall by the wayside occasionally. Writing here used to be the most important thing to me. With adjusting to a new job and a new lifestyle, work and sleep have been winning over writing and exercise.

But it took today to realize you have to fight for what you want. Passion is making the time. And as far as yoga goes, today reminded me that the thing you bail on or put off might be the very thing you need the most.

I have the emails and podcasts saved, I have the commitment to just do the best I can. To take the failure as part of the lesson and to know that just what I needed was just what I got and what I will get as I recommit to my practice and better use and management of my time. I’ll finish my 40 days eventually. I’ll be late, but I’ll accept what it was, what it is, and where I will be soon. I’m guaranteed a transformation every time I get back in to my practice, and I plan on fighting harder to not let it go again.

What is something in your life that you want to commit to improving?

Yoga Inspiration

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I didn’t write this – but it has moved me profoundly.

 

Part of the philosophy of yoga is that we can’t always change the world around us. No matter what we do, bad things will happen and stressful situations will arise. The only thing we have control over—the only thing we can change—is ourselves. We can decide how to react to situations that challenge us. Will we allow them to throw us off center, or will we take them in stride?

Yoga teaches us how to respond to stress patiently. We must experience the physical challenge of the postures without fear, and use deep, calm breaths to move through them. If we can take that lesson off the mat and into our daily lives, we will move closer to the goal of responding to stress in a careful and considered way.

Yoga For Skiing

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I spent most of the summer (and every day during month of September) doing yoga. Nothing but yoga.

I have read over and over this works, yoga can be all you need. And I have seen people that do nothing but yoga. They have perfect, strong bodies.

I went to the gym and ran. I hated it.

I did huge weight lifting sessions. I hated it.

I walked through countless sets of lunges. I almost opened wine it sucked so bad.

So I went back to yoga.

The ski resorts are opening. I have skied three days. I already know I am at a whole new level of strength, comfort, and light-footed-ness. The yoga worked. It has transformed my body, to respond and react to the snow. It has changed my mind, the totally let go and trust that I can do whatever I try.

I’m not going to end up breaking any world records, but yoga helped. No question. It wasn’t the miserable workouts. No question.

The poses I have learned have so much to do with balance, like skiing. I feel like I’m skiing a new way, that yoga found for me. My core is stronger and my mind and body are centered.

I gained a little bit of grace, and it’s going a long way.

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Skiing today also reminded me of my happy place. I love being on my mat, but I ADORE being on the mountain. Nothing makes me happier. I’m calm. My mind is quiet. Everything is right with the world.

I came home and did some stretchy restorative yoga, and I’m hooked. I want to make everyone I know that is a skier a yoga junkie. And my yoga buddies skiers.

I feel better, stronger, and ready to take on the challenges of a new season, and hope it will be my best yet!

National Yoga Month Update

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As of today, I have done yoga 14 days straight.

Indoors, outdoors,  and even one time in a bar. Videos, classes, and instructions out of a book I taught myself. Morning yoga, late afternoon yoga, and one super late night I-almost-forgot yoga.

I figured at this halfway point it was time for some introspection. What did I learn? I love yoga. I can have an off day and it restores me. I can come to my mat stressed and the stress will leave me. I can even hate the video I start, end it, laugh, and find a new one. Yoga is my center, and my balanced poses and giving me a more balanced life.

I am eating less. Yoga curbs my appetite, for real. I am eating healthier. Yoga has made my subconscious grab an apple instead of crap food. I am drinking less, more than zero, but when you remember it was the first regular season weekend of the NFL, way less than I normally would have. 😉

On the other hand, I’m a little sore but don’t feel more flexible, thinner, or like I’ve made any leaps and bounds.

Emotionally,at first old me showed up and those thoughts got me down. I acknowledged them, but instead of falling into them I tried to see where they were coming from. It made me realize I was going about it wrong. I’m not doing this to lose 10 pounds. That will be bonus. If I haven’t leaped, I have learned, I have made progress. I’m on a journey.

During the “crazy late night yoga sesh”- I broke through and I have no idea how but managed to hold this for quite some time:

shared through trueyogainc.com

I set down smoothly and thought, yeah, the past 14 days have been worth it. It’s not just doing extra laundry and getting frustrated. It’s work inside and out, and it has been really rewarding.

National Yoga Month

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Continuing Yoga has been a struggle. I’m not a huge fan of the classes at my gym. The outdoor free and fun lululemon classes are over now that it’s turning to fall. After a month in San Diego, I had to charge back up and think about getting in shape for the start of ski season (it’s right around the corner!).

Then I discovered that September is National Yoga Month – and just in time – it was the first of the month!

I’m not good at sticking to things – I never even finished the 21 Day Challenge because some of the videos started repeating and that made me mad. I hurt my back.

But fortunately I found an amazing chiropractor in SLC and I’m all “back” (ha) to normal.

I found this silly show called “Yoga Zone” with free workouts on Hulu, and as of today I’m 5/5 with a yoga routine.

I hate to jinx myself but I’m hoping to keep it up. Wish me luck!

And feel free to recommend yoga sites, videos, ideas if you have any. I need all the help I can get! Anyone I know trying anything new for national yoga month?

Vino And Vinyasa

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We have a great group of people in our community, and the programs offered in Park City throughout the year amaze me. For a small town, there are organized ski groups, hiking and climbing clubs, bike groups…I mean, people are ACTIVE here. I love it. I’ve been provided opportunities to enjoy passions and explore new outdoor hobbies.

Yesterday, Lululemon and the St. Regis at Deer Valley gave us the (free!) opportunity to take a yoga class outside on the Fire Deck, followed with a glass of wine and a little socializing.

Words defy my first outdoor yoga experience. It was revitalizing, beautiful, serene – sense-ful, if that were an expression…sense-heightening, maybe? There was a huge turnout of men and women of all ages, and our instructor was a student of Baron Baptiste, not too shabby!

Vino and Vinyasa, gorgeous view @StRegisDV. #yoga on Twitpic

(click to enlarge)
 

I loved the chance to meet new people, work out, and enjoy a new setting for my yoga practice.

Leaving, I was wishing I could head up there and spend some time on my mat every day.
Fortunately, Lululemon has (free!) classes outdoors at City Park on Tuesdays.

The next Vino and Vinyasa at the St. Regis will be July 28th. Mark your calendars!

Mountain living this summer – even if summer took a long time to show up, as you can see there’s still snow in the picture! – is superb.

Yoga Challenge Update

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Each time I stop and restart something, I start from scratch. It’s a weird character flaw.

Anyway, I had started the first few days of that Yoga Challenge, then stopped, then restarted…and wanted to share my thoughts – as the lessons are online and it’d be cool for you to know what to check out if you wanted to give it a try!

Day One of the Yoga Challenge I’ve done now three times. The first time I thought it was dumb. The second time I couldn’t make it through it without pausing since it’d been a while. The third time was after another day that wasn’t challenging and I was fired up and ready to work it.

I don’t love squats OR circling around if I don’t know what I’m dong so by the third time it was easier, I wasn’t trying to stare at the computer monitor (sometimes I hook the laptop to the TV but mostly can just listen from the computer now). It really is a good whole body workout. For fair warning, it isn’t really any type of intro to yoga.

That came on Day Two of the Yoga Challenge. I don’t get why it was suggested as a morning thing, I like it way better late at night, before bed time. The slow breathing practice doesn’t wind me up, it winds me down. It is just breathing. Anyone could do it.

Day Three of the Yoga Challenge was even more funny to me. I think I’d have started with two, then three, then one. The core workout was just what I needed to wake my body up again and not feel like I was struggling with the ideas of yoga poses again.

So maybe try it my way? Since I’ve been doing yoga for a few months and they are the experts I’d just follow their plan. But whatever, just my feedback!

The good new is I’ve kept up with it all, doing even more than one a day if I have time to calm myself down, I’ll do the breathing more often.

I also have added a full weight lifting workout pretty much every other day. Next is getting back on the treadmill, my least favorite thing in the world.