My Yoga Story

On my Facebook “on this day” today I saw this…

If you’ve never heard my yoga story before, here it is. It all started on February 17, 2010 (11 years ago). My daughter was two years old and I was just thinking about beginning a fitness journey. I was athletic in a sense that I really enjoyed playing sports and doing outdoor things, but I was not a gym-goer, a runner, or “fit” in any sense of the word. A group of friends and I decided to try a yoga class and it was very important that I was with friends, not alone. We went onto the army base and attended a free class.

The class was amazing! I remember feeling calm, kind of stretchy, and very relaxed. Another very significant thing of that class was the resting pose. I know this sounds silly but keep going. The teacher made a point to let us know that any time during class we were allowed to rest in child’s pose. I left the class so excited to try yoga again, and as you can read, excited to try other classes.

The next week rolled around and it was time for my second yoga class. First thing, different teacher. Okay, that’s fine. Second, the resting pose for this class was downward facing dog. Third, this teacher loved planks like I love pizza. It was tough. And that was the last yoga I would ever do until 2014, four years later.

This story is why I teach the way I teach. This is why I am constantly making sure people have modifications for poses. This story is why just last night, I modified an entire vinyasa class to two beginners who attended, but kept it accessible to my advanced students. This is why I give the option to rest in child’s pose OR downward facing dog. This is why when people ask me for yoga recommendations, I tell them that no two classes are the same; even if the exact same sequence is taught, two teachers will give different cues, say different things, and make the class completely different. I tell people to please not give up after one class, like I did, because you didn’t like it; try different types of yoga, try different teachers, try different studios/gyms. And if you are not comfortable trying something new on your own, take a friend or two. I know that I would not have even tried the first class if I didn’t go with friends.

I didn’t know that there were different types of yoga. I didn’t know that there was a difference between a gentle class, vinyasa class, or beginner class. I didn’t know that I could have done what worked for me and been okay. Again, new mom, not physically fit, uncomfortable in the gym setting, uncomfortable in general. That first class made me feel comfortable, the second class did not.

Fun story, when I met my yoga teacher in 2014 and was asking her about what type of class she taught, I asked her, “What’s your resting pose?” She looked at me like I had five eyeballs. I said, “Is it child’s pose or downward facing dog? Because if it isn’t child’s pose, I’m not coming,”

I also tell people that “you don’t find yoga, yoga finds you.” So I think that even if that second class didn’t happen, I am not sure I would have kept going. I wasn’t ready for yoga. I WAS ready for a fitness journey. I attended the Legs, Butts, and Guts that I posted about and kept going each week. I also started kickboxing which lead to running later on. So the yoga turn-off was just a piece to my puzzle. As I look back, it all happened just like it was supposed to. I don’t get sad that I lost four years of yoga, and I am not mad at that second teacher. She taught what she knew and if I took her class today I would probably love it.

Hey, 2020!

Happy New Year, everyone!

As a yogi and someone who spends a lot of time reflecting, I thought I would share something that I have been thinking about a lot lately…

Goals vs. Intentions.

First, I am not much of a goal setter. I used to be the one who always set a goal to workout more in the new year but we all know how that goes. So for the last few years I haven’t set any goals. I might set a small goal here or there but not on the first of the year. I am more of the person who starts a new goal or routine on a random Wednesday, lol. But something I have done more this year is set intentions. And I wanted to explain why I think setting intentions is way better than setting a goal.

The definition of GOAL from the trusty internet is “the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.” The definition of INTENTION is “a thing intended; an aim or plan.” The first thing I notice as a big difference is that in the definition of goal it says “object”, as if it has to be a thing you get, something tangible. With an intention, it’s more of the idea that you are going to to work towards something but not a specific THING. I like intention much better and I think it’s easier to not give up or feel like it’s a failure if it doesn’t happen exactly how you thought. Because you know what happens? Life. Life happens.

No matter what your philosophy on life is, fate, grand design, free will, you canNOT predict what is going to happen day to day. You can make a plan to go to the gym every single day because today your month looks free and clear, and then tomorrow a family member gets sick and you have to help. If you set a goal to work out everyday, already it’s going to be hard to meet that goal and it feels like a failure. If you intended to work out everyday, put the thought out into the universe, it’s still there, it just might take longer to achieve it and it doesn’t sting as much when it doesn’t happen the way you thought. See where I am going here?

Let me tell you about my own intention for this year. My word for 2019 was STRENGTH. I had every intention to workout more and get back into lifting weights because I was going to be physically stronger this year. By spring, I hadn’t lifted anything heavy but I was still intending to get stronger. For the spring equinox I went to the yoga studio to participate in completing 108 sun salutations. This is something I had done at the change of seasons, every season, for the last year and a half. It definitely made me feel physically stronger. On about salutation number 50 I thought to myself, “Yeah, totally NOT doing this again.” I ended up finishing but my thoughts for the remaining salutations were on the idea that at this moment, Strength was still my intention but it meant something different. I was strong enough to give up the 108. I was strong enough to let go of something I thought I needed to do every season to make me feel better. I was strong enough to realize this wasn’t my thing anymore and it didn’t mean I failed at being a yogi.

Strength has a different meaning in my yoga teaching as well. When I first started teaching I taught only vinyasa style, the kind where you leave sweaty even if it’s not a hot environment. But I realized that this is NOT the type of yoga that everyone needs. I started teaching a gentle class at a tea shop and I started subbing yin classes at the studio.  I even subbed a meditation class that has no physical practice at all. I found that once I started to embrace the idea that strength could mean so many other things, I found the strength to change the way I teach. And not just slowing down in the gentle/restorative classes. The way I teach vinyasa has changed a bit, too. I still love to give people the opportunities to practice their physical strength, but I was able to let go of the idea that I had to teach like everyone else. I don’t have to teach an arm balance in each class and I don’t have to make you do 20 vinyasas in the first 15 minutes of class.

There is one last strong thing I realized this year. I found more strength to be the weirdo, hippie, yogi I keep telling people I am. And this is in part due to the people I surrounded myself with this year. I have fully embraced the “woo woo” side of yoga, as people at the studio call it, and I have been able to share it with people who may not have thought it was “okay” to also be a weirdo. I was strong enough to embrace the weird and realize it’s totally not weird at all.

To sum up, make goals, set intentions, do awesome things! Just remember that it’s 1000% okay to change them up as you go. It’s normal to “fail” or “fall off the wagon” or completely give up on something and start something new. But don’t forget to give shifting your perspective a try, too. Maybe your intention or goals are the same, but just have a different tune to march to. Or maybe life just gets in the way and you have to wait a little longer to start down the road. Keep going!

Hot vs Not…Yoga That Is

First things first, I am not a health care professional and what I am writing is either my opinion or gathered information from the internet. So basically, take it or leave it, but it will definitely make you think and ponder.

So, what exactly is HOT YOGA? First, not all hot yoga is created equally. A lot of times when people hear hot yoga they will ask, “Oh, you mean Bikram, right?” Not necessarily. Bikram is an actual guy who created a set of 26 yoga poses that he deems to be the best ever when practiced in 95-108 degrees with a humidity of 40%. (If you want a fun story, ask me about my ONE Bikram experience). One particular studio I love to frequent when I am on vacation in California is Core Power Yoga. Some of their classes aren’t even called HOT but they raise the heat and humidity. Their specific hot classes are between 95 and 108 degrees with added humidity. Those classes do not have a set of poses, it is up to the teachers to create a sequence. Where I teach, we get to make up our sequences and our hot classes are 95+ degrees (teacher discretion) but we try to limit the humidity. When I teach I try to keep it “Arizona Hot” which is less than 20% humidity but the heat can get up to about 108 degrees. In summation, if you are interested in hot yoga you really have to try different places and see what works or doesn’t for you and your body.

That all said, I have been teaching hot yoga for a year now and lately people are asking, “So why exactly should I practice hot yoga?” It got me thinking….a lot!! Why the hell do people want to practice hot yoga? Why do I practice hot yoga? So I made this lovely, and funny, pros and cons chart.

And now I shall dissect each point.

Pro: It’s hot AF! Con: It’s hot AF!

Some people just love the heat, and some people can’t stand the heat. It really can be that simple. There are people who will never step foot into a hot yoga class or studio because they just plain don’t like being hot and sweaty. While others crave the heat. Think snowbirds from Canada and northern states going to Arizona during the winter; they want the heat. (I lived in Yuma, Arizona for 3 years which is why it’s easy to reference).

Pro: Your muscles warm up faster. Con: Your muscles warm up too fast.

Ideally in any sort of exercise or series of moves involving your muscles, you want your muscles to be warmed up. You especially want your muscles warmed up before doing deep bends, deep twists, or more challenging yoga pretzel poses. So if you’re in a hot environment it makes sense that you will get to that point a bit faster. But is that really better? Not necessarily. It might seem like you’re kinda cheating or skipping a step. And you also have to be careful for the next statement…

Pro: Allows you to go deeper into poses. Con: Allows you to go too deep into poses.

This is where safety is super important. You want to be able to get deeper into poses but maybe your body shouldn’t go that deep. It’s kind of like you’re giving your body a false sense of security. Your core temp is hot and you’re sweating like a pig so that must mean you can do everything you can’t do when you’re cold. Not exactly.  And then there’s….

Pro: Increased flexibility. Con: Increased flexibility can lead to injury.

You just need to be careful and take things slow. Earlier I mentioned deep folds and twists and pretzel yoga. This is not an expert talking, but I would suggest that if you cannot fold and twist into a pretzel in a cooler environment after a bit of work, you probably shouldn’t push yourself to do it just because your body is hot.  Also keep in mind, flexibility can increase and decrease day to day depending on what you have been doing. If you haven’t been to yoga in a week, your flexibility could decrease a bit, so trying to do the splits halfway through your class because you could do it the week before isn’t always going to end the same whether the room is hot or not.

Pro: It’s harder to breathe so you focus more on your breath. Con: It’s harder to breathe. Why is this even a pro?!

You should be focusing on your breath in EVERY yoga class and be able to fully inhale and fully exhale. You shouldn’t need heat to remind you to breath. You should really be more of an experienced yogi to enjoy this because you will know and understand how to slow your breath. To be honest, I am trying to argue the pro here but it’s really more of a con in my brain.

Pro: It’s like a sauna. Con: It’s like a sauna.

If you don’t enjoy the sauna you won’t enjoy a hot yoga class. I’ve done research on saunas and I understand why they are good, but you’re only supposed to sit in the sauna in 5-10 minute increments and you are not doing yoga poses. So again, if you don’t like the sauna or the idea of it then you won’t enjoy a hot yoga class.

Pro: It feels like a workout. Con: It feels like a workout.

Generally speaking, traditional yoga should NOT really feel like or be a workout. The yoga asana was originally invented as a physical practice to prep your body for increased relaxation and to sit in meditation for long periods of time. So yes, it’s physical and you are using muscles but it’s not meant to actually be a calorie/fat burning exercise. Yoga has been very westernized and has been geared towards a more “workout” type of movement, but if you want to lose weight, yoga in general, hot or not, is not really the answer. That being said, I am not saying you cannot use yoga as a means of physical exercise. Shoot, I have gained a ton of muscle from practicing yoga. But the caloric burn of a hot yoga sesh is not going to fix a bad diet…which is a totally different direction so I won’t even get into that. Back to the point, if you are looking for an hour of yoga “workout”, hot yoga IS for you!

Pro: It’s Detoxifying! Con: Sweat does NOT carry toxins out of the body.

This is a fun one to dissect because “it’s detoxifying” is definitely a phrase I have used. But after some research I have learned that the word detox has been wayyyy over-used and misused. Dictionary.com defines detox as “a process or period of time in which one abstains from or rids the body of toxic or unhealthy substances.” Just by reading that definition I can say that one hot yoga sesh is not going to rid your body of toxic substances. Abstaining from said toxic substances is going to help you detox. Will a hot yoga class help you to get over some of the side-effects of detoxing from those substances? Without a freaking doubt!! You’ll be too damn hot to remember you aren’t feeling great. But as far as physiology of the body goes, you cannot “sweat out” toxins in the body. But isn’t sweat bad shit coming out of your body? Nope!! Sweat is a natural reaction to your body getting too hot and trying to cool itself down. Another form of sweat is a nervous sweat that happens when your body goes into “fight or flight” mode and your nervous system is all effed up. Guess what yoga does? It calms your nervous system to try to keep you OUT of “flight or flight” mode. So big picture, do we really want to sweat during yoga? Some yogis will say you shouldn’t sweat at all. But let’s face it, some of us, me 100%, sweat no matter the weather outside. Sweat is a natural thing but in the end it’s not detoxing your body.

Pro: You just enjoy being a gross, sweaty mess. Con: You don’t like sweating.

Pretty much see above, lol. I do enjoy the feeling of being a gross, sweaty mess. I enjoy running and exercise and generally becoming gross. Like that workout slogan, “Earn your shower!” I am totally on board. But if you aren’t, don’t come to hot yoga.

Personally, no matter the cons, I love me some hot yoga! After I finished my very first hot yoga class I left feeling high as a freakin’ kite! Could that have been the side effects of dehydration and exhaustion? Eh, it’s possible. Maybe I just had a really amazing time. All in all, if you love it you love it, and if you decide you don’t, I won’t hold it against you if I never see you in my hot classes.

 

 

 

Strength vs. Strength

Tomorrow is the summer solstice! Tomorrow is also International Yoga Day!

Since becoming a yoga teacher my day to day life is like one huge reflection fest so it only seems fitting that I would be super reflective on the eve of a yoga holiday.

Before yoga, the summer solstice, or any change of season really, didn’t mean as much to me as it does now. I won’t go into too much detail but it’s a time to change and a time to reflect and I have done a ton of that in the last few years, but I’ve noticed it even more just this year.

When I was living in Virginia I learned about completing sun salutations as a way to celebrate the change of seasons. Because 108 is a sacred yogic number, the practice is to complete 108 sun salutations; it takes about 2 hours. I completed my first 108 in winter of 2017 and have done it every change of season since.

At the start of this year I did something else new that I had never done before; I set an intention for the year. This year my intention was “Strength.” When I set it I was thinking physical strength. I am an active, fitness-y person so I was thinking I would maybe up the ante a bit and push myself harder. That was my mindset as the year began. In February I spent the month at the ashram, where I did my teacher training, as a teacher for a YTT. I knew that being there would change me and make me even more reflective, especially being on the teaching side of things.

Flash forward to the spring equinox and I’m in the middle of doing another 108. That’s when it hit me. I thought to myself around number 40, “This is going to be my last 108.” I spent the next 70ish sun salutations thinking about how the term “strength” didn’t mean physical. I was in the middle of a physical strength exercise telling myself that the strength was my ability to let go of the 108. It had nothing to do with the fact that completing 108 chaturangas is demanding and hard, but I just didn’t NEED it anymore. Whatever I was getting out of the completing them before was rapidly exiting my body with each downward facing dog.

The time between now and then has continued to show me that I have the strength for so many other things. I had the strength to teach my first Yin class about a week ago. I had never thought I was comfortable doing it before but I went for it and loved it! I have the strength to start my own support group at the studio. And I have had to use an enormous amount of strength in my asana practice to let go of the ego and do what my body needs rather than what everyone else is doing. I used to be the girl who would always add a pushup and never skip a vinyasa. Now I modify if I feel like it, go deeper if my body allows, and just go with the flow. In my opinion, that takes more strength.

So what am I going to do to celebrate the solstice? I am going to spend the morning alone in my yoga room and complete a japa chant and meditation. This is something I have never done alone and at home on my own so it will be a completely new experience for me. After, I will teach my regular Friday class and then probably have a Starbucks and do some more reflecting.

Happy Solstice!

I ate Vegan and Survived! YTT Part 2

When I started getting more into yoga, I started to follow a lot of yogis on IG. I quickly noticed that a good number of them were vegan but I never understood why. I thought it was kind of like Crossfit and Paleo, they just go together. It sort of is that way but there is a little more to it. I didn’t understand it until I went to the ashram.

When I found out that I was going to be eating vegan for about a month during my yoga teaching training I was super excited. I’ve never gone that long without eating meat or dairy and I was very interested in what it would do for my body. I suffer from acne so I thought this would be an awesome test to see if that would change. I normally eat a LOT of chicken so I wondered what would happen if I stopped eating it. And then just in general, how would I feel?

The first 2 days I was gone I had terrible headaches. That was the detox period. After that, smooth sailing, easy peasy! The easiest part was that someone was cooking for me and I didn’t have a choice in what I was eating. But if I had to say anything negative, and believe me this isn’t even really negative but I figure I have to have a down with my ups, it would be that I didn’t have a choice, LOL! There were a handful of days that we had the same food and that just got a little boring. But I ate it, and I was never hungry, so really not so much negative, just something that wasn’t 100% positive.

The acne didn’t go away. Actually, it got worse. This could be for a couple of reasons. One, I was surrounded by women the entire time and that meant hormone disruption the entire time I was gone. That said, I was getting zits in places on my face I don’t usually get them, so I don’t think it was all hormonal. Two, it could have been detoxing, stuff coming out, but I don’t think it should have lasted the whole time I was gone. So I am going to say that dairy does not have an effect on my skin. I think it’s time to see a dermatologist.

When I would tell people I was going to eat vegan, the number one response was, “You’re going to lose weight.” I sure didn’t want to. But I was interested to see what would happen so I took some measurements before I left. The only thing to really note here is that the two weeks before I was at the ashram were go crazy eating weeks. I was in California, I went to Disneyland where they have the best churros ever, and I wasn’t eating as clean as I normally do. So I started out about 5-7 pounds heavier than normal. So when I got home from the ashram here’s what happened weight/size/feeling wise. I felt bigger. I felt bloated the whole time I was gone. My clothes (yoga pants) still fit for the most part, but you could see it in my face. I actually had a friend tell me she’s never seen my face that round before. I did lose weight though, sort of. I lost the extra weight I had gained prior to going but nothing more. I was eating fabulous food, but I was eating a SHIT LOAD of carbs. My body is not used to that. So I think that is where the “side effects” came from. When I got home and went back to eating less carbs, the weight in my face fell off! The same friend who saw me and said my face was round saw me only a week later and said I was back to usual. Other people who see me regularly said I didn’t look like I had lost weight but I looked more toned. That surprised me because I wasn’t exercising like I usually do.

So to sum up, I learned that my brand of acne is not from food, and I should continue eating minimal carbs so I don’t feel bloated. But other than that, vegan eating was awesome! Oh, and the part about yogis being vegan? It all comes back to Ahimsa, non-harming/non-violence, the first of the Yamas and Niyamas, aka Yoga Rules. To sum that up without going into great detail. don’t kill anything, which would include animals for your food. Pretty basic stuff.

You’re probably waiting for some photos. So here are a couple of my favorite meals!!

On the left is a frittata made with chickpea flour. Soooooooooo effing delicious!! On the right is a 3-bean salad. Also major yum! But really, that frittata!

I have absolutely no idea what is in that patty, but it tasted like a burger and was amazing!

Quinoa stuffed zucchini! This is something I would normally do at home already so it was great!

 

MEXICAN FOOD!!!! Beans and spanish quinoa! YASSSSSS!!!!!

Something I NEVER thought I would eat…palm hearts and okra with green beans. Delicious! Just weird because it was very new.

The next photo is the thing we ate, in my opinion, too often. Mung beans in various forms. If I never eat this yellow bean again I will be okay. I get it, it’s quick and it can be mass produced for a large group, but it wasn’t my favorite.

The day I rebelled and decided to eat whatever I wanted was day 21. It wasn’t because I missed meat, it wasn’t because I was craving meat or dairy, I was just wanting something different. And so breakfast at a diner was the way to go! And I did it right! Eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, toast, and pancakes. And I ate it all!!!!!

Since being home, a couple things have happened. At first, I went back to eating like I normally did. Clean and healthy, meat, low carb. And I felt just fine. No adverse effects from adding meat back into my diet. But as of a little over a week ago, my family and I are now vegan/vegetarian. It wasn’t just the ashram that made us make the change, I will blog about all that separately, but living it for a month helped sway me for sure. #ChangeIsGood!

A Month of Firsts: YTT Part 1

It’s official! I am a 200 hour yoga teacher training graduate!! HEYO!!!!

I spent a month living at an ashram, a”forest school”, learning everything that is YOGA! I slept in a dorm with other yogi ladies, ate vegan food, chanted, and walked away with so much more than a certificate.

I have a ton to write about but it would be a gazillion pages long so I am going to try to break it up into categories the best I can. I’ll start with this one, a list of my “firsts” from this trip. Being in my 30’s it kind of seems weird to be experiencing things for the first time, but there is definitely a list so here goes…

My first time graduating after high school. After I graduated high school I started at San Diego State. I was a year in when my boyfriend joined the Army. So I quit school, started working full time to save money, got married, and never went back. I am not at all sad about it. I wouldn’t ever take any of it back.

Since then I have always had people wonder if I’d ever go back to school. My answer has always been no, I don’t want to have to go through all that, but if I ever did it would be for something specific. I guess I lived up to that. I went back to “school” to be a yoga teacher.

My first time to Pennsylvania. After getting married I have frequently traveled along the southern states. For quite a few years, the DC area was the farthest north I had ever been. Now I can add Pennsylvania to my list of states visited.

My first time to New Jersey. Sure I only visited the edge of Jersey that borders Pennsylvania, but I was still there. One of the last evenings at the ashram a group of us drove to an amphitheater in Jersey to see Alice Cooper and Deep Purple.

My first time walking through a river. This one might surprise you. It sure surprised my friend who watched me walk in the water like it was normal. Sure I’ve swam in lakes but only ones that were highly populated for recreational purposes. This river was not one of those types.

On our first day off, a new friend and I ventured into town to do laundry, eat lunch, and go on a hike. We happened upon this great river area that had a walking trail, a giant covered bridge, and just all around great scenery. My friend is a seasoned river-goer so in we went. Of course I did yoga!

Sticking to the theme here… First time jumping in a swimmin’ hole via a rope swing. On another day off we ventured to this great little town called St. Peters that sits along French Creek State Park. We nicknamed it the “Spirit Village” because it was just that; a quaint little village with yoga classes, a gem shop, and all around spirit, nuzzled up next to hiking trails and a river. I came here twice, the first time just for hiking, but found that this spot in the photo is where all the families hang out to swim and swing. So the second time we went I knew I had to get in and see what the fuss was all about. I guess you could say I am kind of adventurous. What an exhilarating experience! And yes, the water was cold.

First time eating (almost) all vegan. I came into this really eager to see what eating vegan was all about. Having someone else cook it for me was definitely a plus! I plan to write a whole post just about this so I won’t say much but I will say this… I survived! LOL! I ate vegan breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a total of 20ish days. I even stuck to it when I went out in the real world. It was pretty great! I didn’t miss meat or cheese. I now have quite a few ideas to incorporate into my regular life. But around day 20 I was tired of eating the same thing everyday so I staged a revolt and went out to eat breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, and pancakes. I am not sorry!!

This is a tough one… First time dealing with the loss of a pet. About half way through my time away, my husband had to make the choice to put down our boy Simon. It was a bit easier for me because I wasn’t around to witness it and I am also a bit more level-headed in situations like this. But that may be what made it harder for me; I couldn’t be there for my husband when he needed someone. I had the support of my new “family” while he only had the support of one of his best friends. Thank goodness for that one friend.

Simon smiling on his last day.

Last but not least..My first time doing something totally alone, for myself. I got married when I was 19 and since then have been doing EVERYTHING with my husband. I have a 9 year old daughter, so the last 9 years have been spent doing almost everything with her as well. For me, doing things all alone involve me being alone at home or going grocery shopping. This was yet another road on my journey that I never expected.

I spent 24 days without my husband or daughter. I spent them in a “foreign” place. I shacked up with 7 other ladies in a dorm. I lived with 15-20 strangers for 24 days. I drove 6 hours in the truck to and from the ashram (I think I’ve topped out at 3 hour drives). I lived and survived on my own for the month. That’s the gist of it really. I elected to live away from my family and go on this crazy journey and I had to problem with it. I jumped in head first and it was AMAZING! I could easily say that being a military kid and wife prepared me for such a road, but I like to think that I am just awesome to be able to handle this kind of thing. 😉

What a trip!!

Stay tuned for more exciting posts coming soon!!

From Guide to Teacher #NamasteTuesday

I became a yoga teacher a little over a year ago. And I know that even though I am not certified, I am still a teacher. But when I tell people that I teach I sometimes use the word “guide” rather than teacher because I am not certified. I tend to get self-conscious about using the word “teacher” because I have never been formally trained. I have attended classes, but I am mostly self-taught. I have never been taught how to teach, I just gave it a try and found out I am pretty darn good at it. And while I feel confident as a teacher/guide, there are still some aspects of teaching a class that I could use a bit more confidence. Well…the time has finally arrived.

I am going to officially get my 200 hour yoga certification next month! WOOO!!!!

I have been talking about doing it for a while. Not only to be more confident when I teach, but mostly for myself. There is only so much that you can teach yourself. And there is sooooooo much more that I have to learn. But there have always been obstacles. First of course is money. It ain’t cheap to get your certification. The second obstacle has been scheduling. Although I don’t work and you would think I have all the time in the world, I don’t. Especially on the weekends. And yoga cert classes are not on YOUR schedule. Most of them are only one weekend a month; Friday evening, all day Saturday, and all day Sunday. Even though that’s only one weekend a month we have to work around, that’s a lot of work. And we only have one car and a kid. So making sure my husband is going to be home on time for me to drive for an hour and make it to class, and then if my daughter had somewhere to be on the weekend…you get it. One weekend can really mess things up. We were, of course, going to make it work, but it was going to be tough. Until the Kula Kamala Foundation popped up on our search.

One other quick thing that was going to be tough with the other classes, a lot of them required that you go to their studios at least once a week to attend a class. Again, I would have to really rework my schedule to be able to do this. Oh, another thing, it seemed to me that a lot of the classes are also geared towards getting your certification so you can turn around the find a job as a teacher. I don’t need that. Sure, in the future my certification will make it easier to get a job, but at this point I am not looking for ways to market myself. So….

There were a couple classes that I was going to settle for. We were going to make it work. And then Kula Kamala came up. I don’t even know how my husband found it because it isn’t local. But this was THE one. This one has everything I was looking for and more. First, it’s not as expensive, and let’s be honest, that is always a plus. Second, it’s all done in one month. One super long, intense month, but no big schedule changes. Including not having to find child care because my daughter is on her own vacation until school starts. Double win! Third, and this is the pretty cool part, I am going to live and be fed at the school for the entire time, and that’s part of the tuition. And four, this class seems to be more about the spiritual side of yoga, while also teaching you how to guide others. This is going to be so crazy and awesome!

I have never done something like this. I have never lived on my own. I have never done something like this where I leave the family for an extended period of time. And I’ve never imagined I’d go off to live in Pennsylvania with a bunch of other yogi weirdos (I’m definitely one of those so I am not making fun of anyone) for a month. It’s going to be fantastic. I am going to be mingling with my people. I am going to be completely immersed in yoga for a month. And I get to experience a ton of things I have never had the chance to before.

I am also going to be vegan for the month. The food served is all local or homegrown at the school and it’s all vegan or vegetarian. I am honestly not sure what there will be that is vegetarian, (milk?) so I am going to assume that it will be almost 100% vegan. I am pretty excited about this too. When I think about eating a vegan diet I always say, “That would be great…if someone else made the food for me.” You want to cook vegan for me? Perfect. I have to prepare everything and buy new things and learn new recipes? No thanks. So the fact that I will be eating this way because it’s what is being put in front of me is going to make it a helluva lot easier to try. Not like I’ll have a choice, LOL! But I am honestly excited. I have not, until now, realized that most of the yogis I know or follow online are all vegan. So it will be interesting to see what it does for my mind. I am very eager to see what it does for my skin, if anything. I suffer from acne and cannot figure out what the hell causes it. Maybe it is something in animal products. I have read about it being caused by dairy but I do not eat a ton of dairy. But you never know.

You won’t see a blog from me in a while since I’ll be very busy, but I will definitely find time to journal and blog when I return.

The next time you see me, I should will be able to say with confidence, “I am a yoga TEACHER.”

And for fun, here’s me smiling while inverted. 🙂

Winner! Winner!!

I didn’t eat my chicken for dinner!!! LOL!!! This is not a farm post; it’s a yoga post! I am a yoga winner!!

You know how I am always blogging about the yoga challenges on Instagram? Previously I always thought that the point of these challenges was just to promote, network, and work on yoga. I think I even wrote once that there was really no end game, this was just a way for me to practice poses I may not usually do. And I’ve made a lot of new “friends” and learned a lot from watching all kinds of different people do their own variations of the poses. Anyway…turns out there are winner of these challenges! What?! And guess who won? Yours truly!! Gah!! It was so awesome!

That’s me up there in the right hand corner!!! Of course as soon as I won I text Isis! Then my husband! I was happy with just being recognized! How awesome! Out of however many different people from all over the world who participated, they chose me as a winner! Awesome!! Then it got better. I learned that I would get a prize! I was totally expecting a gift certificate or a coupon. But no. I won a yoga wheel! No questions asked. (Well, they asked for my address. LOL!!) WHAT?!?!

This thing is awesome! I had never tried a wheel but had seen them used in various ways. This one is from https://www.shaktiyogawheel.com/ and it’s amazeballs! It’s super strong and durable and has yoga mat all the way around for comfort and stability.

I didn’t even warm up before I used it. I just hopped right into a backbend and ohhhh emmmmm geeee!! It felt soooooooo good! I sighed the longest sigh of comfort!! I never knew I needed this wheel until today.

Currently doing two more yoga challenges this month. It’s making for a very well-rounded practice having to try all new things. And again, it is so rewarding just to participate, try new things, push myself, and have a blast with other yogis.

And I totally forgot,  I was gifted a new shirt yesterday.  It’s kinda the most perfect shirt ever. #hippiesoul

The Most Epic Yoga Transformation

Guys!!! This is going to be awesome! I hope you feel even just a little tiny bit of what I am feeling after accomplishing something in the yoga world today! I am so excited! But I also want to tell you guys how long it took me to get here.

You know when you’re browsing Instagram (and other various sites but a lot on that one), you see people in these super difficult yoga poses and they make it look so easy. You know what you don’t see? YEARS of practice leading up to that point. Yes, some people are more flexible than others and just have a naturally bendy back. Yes, some people have incredible arm strength without lifting weights. But most of them, most of us, have been practicing over, and over, and over, and not always posting the fails or mistakes.

I am guilty of posting all the “good” stuff but I have also posted quite a few fails or work-in-progress photos. So you shouldn’t be too surprised to know that I have put in the work. I have practiced the same poses over and over and thought that there were some I would never be able to do. Let’s look back at one of those.

April 14, 2015. I was hanging out with Isis and doing fun yoga stuff. She had just mastered “flying lizard” and asked me to try it. Look at this train wreck…

We joked that we should have a safe word in case I got stuck. I used the safe word!!! LOL!! I was so stuck and didn’t even know how I managed to get into this half-eaten pretzel predicament. We even made a collage of she and I to show off our “skills.”

Since then I have tried this countless times and was never able to get it. A few things…I could never get my bottom foot around my arm and off the floor. I SWORE that my calves must be too big and I’d never get it because I couldn’t wrap my leg around. I also couldn’t ever get my back foot off the ground without my head being on the ground. This takes so much strength in so many places. Even though I was 100% sure I’d never get it, I stuck it out. I kept trying. In the meantime, I also worked on other arm balances to fill the hole of flying lizard.

So here we are. 2 whole years later. That’s a long time. I have been able to stick some other arm balances and so I thought I’d try this again. Well, today was the day. 2 effing years later. Scroll up to look at the fail photo again just so you can really appreciate the transformation…go ahead….I’ll wait….

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Here it is! In all it’s flying glory!

AHHHHHH!!! I DID IT!!!!! OMG OMG OMG!!!! Seriously!!! I can’t even!!!!

Basically, guys, don’t give up! Practice makes progress!!! Keep going! Practice til your arms fall off!! DON’T STOP!!!

Namaste. 🙂

Overflowing with Joy #NamasteTuesday

A quick post before I go to bed because my heart is seriously swelled up so big!

First on the list, after Thursday’s yoga class one of the ladies asked who was teaching Saturday’s class.  I told her me and she said she’d be sure to come. She came because I was leading.

Second, I  had 6 ladies in my Saturday class! Wooohooo!!! After class, one of my chair regulars was double checking which Thursday’s I’m teaching so she can make sure to come. Again,  she’s coming because of me. 

Third, my first online class with a friend was perfect!  We’re planning to do it every Wednesday!

And last, the super terrific reason I’m overflowing with joy and love…. remember that guy that came to my Saturday class last month?  Well, that was his first yoga class. He was visiting his sister,  a chair regular,  and then headed back home.  The first thing he did back in his hometown was join the Y yoga class! Ahhh!!! So awesome!  But wait,  there’s more. He met a lady in class and they are now dating.  All because he tried my class!! His sister told me that story tonight during class and I about broke down.  I haven’t smiled that big in ages. That story seriously warmed my heart and made me incredibly happy and proud.  That took an insane amount of confidence to join a class and then approach someone in that class. Gah!! So much love!

Good night,  lovelies!! 😚