yoga – Page 23

My Yoga Essentials

September 22, 2014 by Alicia 2 Comments

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was pretty laid back and lazy at times, but it was so nice to catch up on some sleep before heading into the work week. Anyway I wanted to share my yoga essentials as I will be doing yoga teacher training soon.

First and most importantly my wonderful Lululemon mat! It was an investment for me back in January 2013 when I did a 30 day yoga challenge at my gym. I absolutely love it and it’s one of the 3 items I own from Lululemon. Before this mat, I always had a problem, especially in downdog, where my hands would start sweating after holding it for a while and I would start sliding. Teachers would try to adjust me but I just didn’t have a grip on the mat. This mat keeps me from sliding. The downside is sometimes I see the sweat marks, which is kind of gross, but oh well. I love the cushion it provides and that it helps me actually build muscle since I’m not slipping in poses. You will also notice in the picture the strap that holds my mat so I can carry it easily. It is quite a heavy mat.

I recently purchased a yoga mat bag to carry my mat. I have yet to actually use it, but I know when I am carrying my mat on the train with me, I do not want my mat to touch the dirty train floor. It also has a large pocket to carry a workout outfit or whatever else I might need. This would be item 3 from Lululemon. I looked at other websites but the dimensions were a bit too snug for my mat.

For my at home practice, it is helpful to have blocks and a strap. I used to just have one block, but then I realized that some poses it is nice to have a block for each hand. The strap is nice for stretching and getting deeper into poses.

Another prop I have for home are yoga tune up balls. My favorite yoga teacher from my gym back home would bring in a bunch of these balls to the Friday class and teach us how to use them. It is similar to foam rolling except it digs in deeper and these balls really grip. One of my goals for the future is to go to a workshop training on these so that hopefully I can incorporate them into yoga classes when I teach. I have heard some people use tennis balls to do similar massages, but I find these balls grip better.

Lastly, one small complaint about my yoga mat is cleaning it. Cheap Gaiam yoga mats you can throw into the bathtub and clean it (or at least that is what I do when I really want to scrub it), but this mat shows every small spot of water and has to air dry. Also there is no way I would throw this into a bathtub. Some people use regular wipes, but I am afraid of all the chemicals wearing down the mat (though I have never tried them). I first tried a yoga mat spray but that just left my mat looking speckled till it dried and as I was wiping it down I felt the spots didn’t really spread. What I use are Kharma Khare wipes. They are made from bamboo which is a very renewable source if you know how fast bamboo grows. I was introduced to these at a yoga workshop and I had to buy a pack of them. Honestly I only wipe down my mat when I feel it is very dirty. These wipes do a great job of cleaning off the top layer of dirt on my mat and I don’t have to give it time to dry. There are 2 wipes per pack. I usually only need one and save the other one in a ziplock bag for the next day or something.

For any of you yogis out there, I hope this gives you some suggestions especially for at home practices. There are so many great yoga products out there and sometimes I wish I could try them all out, but these are definitely my favorite and what has worked for me.

Disclaimer: This post does not have any affiliate links. I just wanted to share my favorite products and all opinions are my own.

Bryn Mawr Day and Some Yoga

September 8, 2014 by Alicia Leave a Comment

Another weekend, come and gone. I can’t believe we are a week into September already. August went by so fast and September is already moving by quickly. I just don’t want to think of the cold coming. This first week of September was in the 80s and 90s and humid. I know some people don’t like the humidity but I am kind of enjoying it. I have been embracing all the warm humid air here this summer after last winter.

Anyway, Friday night was relaxing and I didn’t do too much. Saturday I went to the gym early. They have been party closed for a shut down week all week, so I mostly went to my yoga studio this week. However the weight room and treadmill area is open in the gym, that’s about it. The gym, the pool, the studios, all closed. My last gym would never have done that. They did updates and cleaning, but they did one thing at a time. They also did the pool, but they did the indoor pool while it was summer so we had the outdoor pool….I really miss my old luxury gym so much! It may have cost more, but it was such a better value. Anyway I digress…moving onto the rest of the weekend.

I had a good strength workout at the gym. I felt so strong and increased my weight doing squats. Yoga will definitely make me stronger. I was amazed how sore my body was this week doing yoga 3 days in a row. I can only imagine the soreness to come with yoga teacher training, but it will definitely whip my butt into shape even more. I can’t wait!

Once I returned from the gym, I checked out Bryn Mawr day. That’s the town I live in and they had the usually farmer’s market plus some of the restaurants and places around the town. At least the rain held off until later in the afternoon so it was sunny and warm…well maybe a bit too warm since it was in the 90s and I could feel the sweat dripping down my back just from walking around, but there were many families that made it out.

They had Radio Disney Philadelphia there also. It was catered a lot towards families but I think I found a new dentist to go to, so it was good for me to go. I even got a little goodie bag with some toothpaste and a pen inside!

I have gone to the same dentist my entire life. This is the first time I have to find a new dentist. I’m a little nervous as I hear about so many people who hate their dentist. I have always loved mine, but I may be a little biased since I have never had a cavity nor did I need braces (just retainers). I guess I just got lucky, but planning to make an appointment at this place soon. The best thing is I will be able to walk to the office, so I don’t have to worry about parking. It’s also located next to the train station, so I can hop off the train and walk right over after work, since they don’t have Saturday hours, but they have some evening hours.

Once I was done walking around there, I headed to Target and Dick’s Sporting Goods. While I was out shopping on Saturday, I exchanged an exercise ball. At my last job, I brought in this large orange exercise ball to replace my chair. I absolutely love it and use it as my current desk chair at home. I found that my back was hurting sitting and slouching in an office chair after a while and then once I made this switch, it wasn’t hurting anymore. I think it helped my posture and it’s also fun to bounce on when you are bored at work haha. Since I am using my orange ball at home, I need a new one for my new office. I purchased the same size and brand from Dick’s Sporting Goods on Saturday, blew it up and it’s still smaller…I don’t understand. I emailed the company asking if they discontinued the apparently super large 75cm size and they just responded with a different brand 75cm ball that is on their website and comes with a DVD so it makes it double the price, so not sure I want that. I will just keep looking other places I guess.

As I type this I am sitting on the black ball at my desk and it’s just a little too low. I mean how can they say these are the same size?!?

On my way back from my errands, I decided to get some lunch while I was out. It was 94 degrees outside and my tire light popped on on my way to get lunch. I was pretty much freaking out (as I always do when it comes on).

It is never wrong and I have had so many flats and so many tire problems in 5 years….I JUST spent over $100 last month fixing my tire indicator on one tire and now perhaps another is leaking…I don’t know if it was the heat that caused it to turn on or what because after returning home and checking all the tires after about 2 hours to let the car cool off, they all seemed fine.

I made it home successfully from picking up lunch and stayed inside doing some cleaning and such. It also started storming a few hours later so I was glad I was inside.

Sunday morning I checked my tires again and they were fine (which is why my car is being looked at today). Hoping I don’t have to shell out another $100 for a repair….

Anyway I drove cautiously to yoga in the morning and then stopped at Whole Foods on my way home. Then I had some quick lunch and headed to Wegmans for my main grocery shopping trip. Luckily my car made it the 20 mile round trip.

I spent the afternoon doing some food prep for a bit while listening to music in the kitchen. I love that my dad and sis brought my boombox from home. I have not updated my ipod in ages (years) and lately I have been playing a bunch of old CDs and mixes I made many years ago. So fun to listen to old songs and still know all the words!

Around 4, I decided I needed to get outside. The weather was beautiful on Sunday and I wanted my 10k steps in for the day and I was only half way at that point. I took a walk to the park and did some yoga and read for a while.

It was the perfect 75 degrees and sunny, until the sun started disappearing behind the trees as it was starting to set. I was chasing the sunlight with my towel, moving it constantly, then decided it was time to walk home around 6, have dinner and watch a movie on Netflix to end the evening.

What did you do this weekend?

Are you nervous about going to the dentist?

Yoga Love: MIMM #10

August 30, 2014 by Alicia Leave a Comment

(first published on blogspot on July 21, 2014)

I think it’s safe to say that I have yoga on my mind all the time! I just finished the bookLiving Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life. So many inspiring quotes. I actually got the kindle version and used the highlight feature for the first time and I like how it groups all your highlights together in “My clippings” on the home screen. One quote I loved was the following:

“Keep up the rhythm of your practice. Remember, the point is not to do something just because it is scary. The point is to choose to do what is possible in the face of fear. That choice defines courage. And with it comes a sense of freedom” – Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

There were so many quotes and examples throughout this entire book that I connected with in my life. Things I need to do to face fears for instance. I recently packed up the things I needed and moved to a new city 800 miles from home without knowing anyone in the city or having a job. It was probably near the top of the bravest things I have done in my life. I am so happy I made the choice to move though. With my own place and a fresh start and a world of opportunities, there is that “sense of freedom.”
I can also relate this quote to my yoga practice. One pose that I am finally able to hold is crow pose. I practiced daily for months. I always felt so close and yet so far. Back in March when I first started taking photos of yoga poses, I caught myself mid air in crow. A split second that I was so excited about capturing on camera.
I was afraid of face planting and leaning too much, but it was when I finally got over the fear and made the choice to lean farther that I found myself holding the pose and not face planting. Success! I continue to make progress on this pose as there is no such thing as perfect in yoga.

I am also amazed to see my progress in what I view as a “simple” pose in yoga, downward dog.

I have learned to move my chest in towards my legs more and I definitely feel the difference and get a deeper stretch in this pose than I used to.
Lately, on weekends, I try to get outside and enjoy the sun as much as I can and also do some yoga. It was hard to take pictures before unless there was a bench nearby to set my camera down on, but now I have a little tripod that I got for my camera and had some fun trying it out on Sunday at the park. Here are some of my favorite photos from the day.

After lots of yoga and photos, I relaxed at the park for a couple hours reading. Getting a head start on my yoga reading before teacher training, but I am sure I will have to re read it then.

Before bed lately, I snuggle up with my yoga anatomy book. I was never an anatomy person and the only science I took in college was physics (which I was never good at either despite being a math major), so I have a lot of learning to do. I’m hoping that by looking at photos of muscles and bones and reading before bed maybe it will start to sink in on its own, or it will wait until teacher training. Either way, it is definitely fascinating information. I just have to try to remember it.
Besides yoga, my weekend was the usual grocery shopping, some Zumba on Saturday and a bit of food prep on Sunday. This week I am kind of just going with the flow and trying to use up things in the freezer that seems to be filling up.
Between the sun, yoga and reading, Sunday was certainly a marvelous day, so I am linking up with Katie.

Weekend Recap in Pictures

August 30, 2014 by Alicia Leave a Comment

(first published on blogspot on July 7, 2014)

Recapping my long weekend with me, myself and I. It was lonely at times, but enjoyed the weather and experienced Philadelphia’s big free concert and fireworks, although around 10pm Friday night at the fireworks people started running for their lives and I heard someone was shot and I was really scared too, but I made it home alive and safe. Not sure what I will do next year for the 4th because basically Philadelphia was a concert which was cool except when the speakers would stop working and it was just very crowded and a short fireworks show.

Starting with Friday morning, I went to yoga, because my gym was closed, but luckily the yoga studio I go to was open.

Didn’t do much during the day Friday other than catch up on some tv shows, but then Friday evening headed down to the largest free concert on the parkway in Philadelphia! Crazy amounts of people! It was pretty cool to see Jennifer Hudson and Nicki Minaj among many others perform, even if I could only see the screens.

At 10:55 pm, my legs were so tired of standing and the fireworks finally began.

I started walking towards the train during the fireworks but was able to get a few pics.

this was the finale behind the trees

Saturday morning I enjoyed the sunshine, reading and doing some yoga at a local park.

In the afternoon, I went shopping. I will share what I actually bought tomorrow.

Then there was some more reading time and getting some sun before it set for the night.

Sunday was grocery shopping and food prep day. I felt like packing the rainbow for my lunch today and eating the rainbow for dinner last night.

It was nice to have a long weekend and the last one until Labor Day. Today is the beginning of week 4 for me at work. I have been easing into working again with a couple short weeks, but now it’s 5 day weeks for a while. Hoping to learn a lot in the coming weeks!!

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