Almost There!
Today was day 29 of the 30 day challenge and it feels a little bit bittersweet like the end of the school year when you really want to be on summer break but you will miss all the things/people you got used to over time. It's not that bad, I know I am going to keep getting on the mat with Adriene every morning, but I do know my first challenge with her will be special.
Over the weekend, the classes were a little shorter and that's OK. We did a thing she calls "flip your dog" where you are in Downward Dog and then slowly flip over until your upside down, almost like a bridge but not as extreme. It took a lot of core strength to keep my hips lifted in that position. Today we did some nice flowing moves, some push ups and eventually we ended up doing a crow pose. This is a tricky pose for me but it's one I am determined to master at some point. From all fours you eventually come to rest your knees on top of your bent elbows, so the balance involves having all your weight on your arms. I was able to keep my balance a half second longer than the first time I tried it, and took less time recovering. For me, the challenge isn't the weight of the move but the balance of keeping from having to put my toes back down on the ground so I don't fall over. I am so determined to do it that I will keep practicing it until I nail it!
So with tomorrow being the last day of this particular challenge, I am considering taking a few days before I start the next challenge to review the videos she calls "Foundations" which teach the basic form and I believe she gives you tips to how to do the poses correctly. During the challenge videos, she does do some of that, but she keeps referring to the Foundations series that give you more information about certain poses. I think that could be helpful for me moving forward. I don't know how long they are or if there's more than one pose/posture in each video but I will research that today/tonight so I know if that is going to be my supplement thing to look at at night or if I am going to do that for a few days instead of starting the next challenge right away. With the first challenge I feel like I could do 98% of what she was doing. Things that were too difficult included sitting on top of my folded knees (I had sugery on one and it feels bad to do that), today she did a head stand and I am not in the place to even attempt that (I do believe I need a lot more core strength first) and the crow was one that I am slowly working toward. She also shows advanced modifications on some of the moves, the side planks were tough enough without having to lift one of the legs! So those few things are all stuff I hope I will eventually be able to do. With arthritis starting in my neck, I am not sure if headstands are ever going to be good/feel right, but I won't shy away from it until I know for sure if I can do it and if it benefits me in any way. Over the weekend we also did more Standing Tree pose and I was so very happy to say that I didn't fall out of it once, and it felt like we held it a long time on both sides. My legs and butt were burning from that pose!
We kept the food pretty clean all weekend except a lunch out after exploring in a state park for a while. I had a chicken sandwich, fries and pistachio torte! One thing about a cheat meal is that it really revs up your metabolism if you have otherwise been eating pretty clean. This morning I woke up starving!
So my weekend wasn't all just lounging around reading in the sun, but I had a lot of fun and was rejuvenated by being in the woods. The yoga is starting to feel like a habit and it doesn't even cross my mind to skip a day, I'm on a good roll and picking up steam! I can't wait to start the next challenge.
Over the weekend, the classes were a little shorter and that's OK. We did a thing she calls "flip your dog" where you are in Downward Dog and then slowly flip over until your upside down, almost like a bridge but not as extreme. It took a lot of core strength to keep my hips lifted in that position. Today we did some nice flowing moves, some push ups and eventually we ended up doing a crow pose. This is a tricky pose for me but it's one I am determined to master at some point. From all fours you eventually come to rest your knees on top of your bent elbows, so the balance involves having all your weight on your arms. I was able to keep my balance a half second longer than the first time I tried it, and took less time recovering. For me, the challenge isn't the weight of the move but the balance of keeping from having to put my toes back down on the ground so I don't fall over. I am so determined to do it that I will keep practicing it until I nail it!
So with tomorrow being the last day of this particular challenge, I am considering taking a few days before I start the next challenge to review the videos she calls "Foundations" which teach the basic form and I believe she gives you tips to how to do the poses correctly. During the challenge videos, she does do some of that, but she keeps referring to the Foundations series that give you more information about certain poses. I think that could be helpful for me moving forward. I don't know how long they are or if there's more than one pose/posture in each video but I will research that today/tonight so I know if that is going to be my supplement thing to look at at night or if I am going to do that for a few days instead of starting the next challenge right away. With the first challenge I feel like I could do 98% of what she was doing. Things that were too difficult included sitting on top of my folded knees (I had sugery on one and it feels bad to do that), today she did a head stand and I am not in the place to even attempt that (I do believe I need a lot more core strength first) and the crow was one that I am slowly working toward. She also shows advanced modifications on some of the moves, the side planks were tough enough without having to lift one of the legs! So those few things are all stuff I hope I will eventually be able to do. With arthritis starting in my neck, I am not sure if headstands are ever going to be good/feel right, but I won't shy away from it until I know for sure if I can do it and if it benefits me in any way. Over the weekend we also did more Standing Tree pose and I was so very happy to say that I didn't fall out of it once, and it felt like we held it a long time on both sides. My legs and butt were burning from that pose!
We kept the food pretty clean all weekend except a lunch out after exploring in a state park for a while. I had a chicken sandwich, fries and pistachio torte! One thing about a cheat meal is that it really revs up your metabolism if you have otherwise been eating pretty clean. This morning I woke up starving!
So my weekend wasn't all just lounging around reading in the sun, but I had a lot of fun and was rejuvenated by being in the woods. The yoga is starting to feel like a habit and it doesn't even cross my mind to skip a day, I'm on a good roll and picking up steam! I can't wait to start the next challenge.
Comments
Post a Comment