Operation Goddess In Training: Yoga

Yoga is something I got into back in college.  Life back then (when I had that miraculous thing called FREE TIME) meant taekwondo three days a week, weights, running, and yoga twice a week with Gigi (oh how I adored Gigi–who, despite being blonde, was not the perky cheerleader type her name suggested).  That was the best shape I’ve ever been in, certainly the most flexible.  Since then, I’ve done classes and videos and I am a particular fan of New U Yoga and Pilates for my Wii–and I’ve practiced off and on enough that I don’t actually need an instructor or video to tell me what to do, but I like having one anyway, especially in the morning when I’m not conscious enough to make decisions about what pose to go to next (and would otherwise settle into child’s pose and fall back asleep–it’s been known to happen).

I’ve seldom been long-term consistent with yoga.  It falls into the same category as super healthy eating and avoiding all sugar.  I feel so much BETTER when I do it, but I inevitably fall off the wagon and then don’t go back for a good long while.  So I’m all the time thinking “I need to get back to yoga” and doing nothing about it because I have a tight schedule as it is, and if something needs to slide…that’s likely to be it.  But they’re adding an open mat practice on Saturdays at my taekwondo school, so with the added (longer) session of that, I feel comfortable foregoing the running (okay, I’m 35, let’s call it what it is–plodding+jogging=plogging) in lieu of adding back in some yoga twice a week interspersed with my three days of weight lifting.

A few weeks back, I saw Reese Ryan talking about this particular energizing yoga routine, so I decided to give it a try this morning before I walked the dogs.  The instructor, Adriene, is charming and adorkable in the best possible way (she totally reminds me of Ren from Even Stevens).  She’s sunny without being obnoxiously so (to we non morning people) and I dig her positive attitude as a start to the day.

I can’t say as I felt energized when I finished (there was a lot of that thing where I had to stop what I was doing to look up at the TV to see what I was SUPPOSED to be doing–which is a common problem with yoga instruction of ALL varieties until you get accustomed to a particular teacher).  Mostly I was aware of exactly how tight pretty much my entire body was.  Which just highlighted how much I need to get back to this practice (and also maybe that I should walk the dogs first and then finish up with yoga).  I bookmarked her gentle morning yoga routine to try next time, which is a bit more my speed just at the moment, I think.   I was also doing a prowl through her channel to see what else she had on offer, and I came across this very brief office yoga routine that I tried this morning and loved so much, I think I’ll be doing it daily at work.

In the course of the rest of my browsing, I saw that she has a 30 day Yoga challenge.  Yoga for 30 days is something that I’d definitely like to try, as 30 days is a good way to establish a habit, but again there’s that whole fitting it in thing.  Three days a week I’m up and out EARLY to get to the gym for weights.  There’s no time to add yoga then.  And the routines are a bit longer than I’m ready to commit to after work.  But I found another Youtube channel that also has a 30 Day Yoga Challenge with routines less than 20 minutes.  It takes me that long to settle my brain after work ANYWAY, so I’m giving serious consideration to trying that one.   Maybe starting next week (as I like starting things on Mondays).

What about you?  Do you do yoga?

Original article: Operation Goddess In Training: Yoga

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This steel magnolia is the poster child for successfully Doing All the Things, smart phone in one hand, sword in the other. Author of action-packed PR/UF for adults and teens. You can catch up with her at Pots and Plots, her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.