Bridges Through Life

Yoga Workshop Fridays: Low Lunge

by Leave a Comment

Welcome to Yoga Workshop Fridays. Don’t know what I am talking about, check out this post.

Today’s pose is low lunge, also known as Anjaneyasana in sandskrit. Low lunge is often done in a sun salutation in a vinyasa class. I like to do a short flow with low lunge in class before moving to high lunge as we warm up the body. Not only do I use this pose to warm up for a yoga class, but I often practice this pose after a leg workout when I weight lift. It provides a great stretch for your thighs and opens the front of the hip. 

Disclaimer: Though I am a certified yoga instructor, please consult your doctor before you begin practice and note that everyone’s practice may look a bit different as you align the pose to your body.

YOGA WORKSHOP FRIDAY LOGO

This series will be each Friday explaining how to do a particular pose leading up to a peak pose on the last Friday of the month. Throughout this series, I ask that you listen to your body to prevent injury and warm up for a pose when needed.

low lunge

How to do the pose:

Option 1: Flowing from a sun salutation, after inhaling for half lift, step the left foot back and plant the hands on the ground, framing the right foot. Keep the right knee over the right ankle. Lower the back knee down, untuck the toes and make sure the toes are pointing straight back. Extend the crown of your head to lengthen your neck. 

low lunge

On an inhale, raise the arms overhead, externally rotating the arms so that the palms are facing in towards one another. Lift your chest up and relax the shoulders down your back with hips level and square to the front of the mat.

 

Option 2: From downdog, lifting the right leg up on an inhale and then exhale as you step the foot between your hands at the top of the mat. Then continue with the steps listed above from lowering the back knee down.

You also have the option to turn this pose into a slight backbend. On an inhale, lift the chest up, reach the fingertips towards the ceiling and as you exhale, take the head and fingertips back leaning backwards and opening up the chest towards the sky. 

Once you have finished on one side, repeat the pose on the second side so that you can evenly work your body. 

 

Benefits:

  • Stretches through the chest, thighs and groin area
  • Helps to work on balance
  • Strengthens shoulders and arms
  • Strengthens your quadriceps

 

Share your pose on Instagram, tagging @bridgesthroughlife and hashtags #bridgesthroughlife #yogaworkshopFridays

I hope you enjoy this series. If you have any suggestions for what poses you would like me to break down, I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment or send me an email [email protected]

Yoga Workshop Fridays: Bound Angle Pose

by Leave a Comment

Welcome to Yoga Workshop Fridays. Don’t know what I am talking about, check out this post.

Today we will be focusing on a good warm up pose for our peak pose at the end of the month. Today’s pose is Buddha konasana or Bound Angle Pose, also referred to as butterfly pose. This is a great pose to start class with as a warm up, especially if the peak pose requires open hips.

Disclaimer: Though I am a certified yoga instructor, please consult your doctor before you begin practice and note that everyone’s practice may look a bit different as you align the pose to your body.

YOGA WORKSHOP FRIDAY LOGO

This series will be each Friday explaining how to do a particular pose leading up to a peak pose on the last Friday of the month. Throughout this series, I ask that you listen to your body to prevent injury and warm up for a pose when needed.

bound angle

How to do the pose:

Begin sitting on your mat, sitting with a tall spine, maybe propping up your hips with a blanket. Bring the soles of the feet together and bring them in close to the pelvis. Let the knees relax towards the floor. If this stretch is too intense for your hips, you can place a block under each knee for a supported pose.

bound angle with blocks 2

Keeping the outer edges of the feet on the floor, wrap your hands around your feet with your thumbs on the arches, pulling the feet open like a book. Inhale and then as you exhale fold forward, keeping the spine long, not rounding. Hold the fold for a breath or two and then inhale coming back up.

 

Benefits:

Hip opener

Improves the flexibility of thighs and knees

Stimulates the abdominal organs

Can be used as a meditative pose

If pregnant and practiced consistently, can help with child birth (*please consult your doctor before practicing when pregnant)

 

Share your pose on Instagram, tagging @bridgesthroughlife and hashtags #bridgesthroughlife #yogaworkshopFridays

I hope you enjoy this series. If you have any suggestions for what poses you would like me to break down, I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment or send me an email [email protected]

Trying Something New: August Goals

by Leave a Comment

Hey everyone. With a new month comes new goals. This month I am limiting to one personal and one fitness. I think it will be easier to focus on 1 in each category.

But first, looking back on July goals. I don’t even know where the month of July went. I guess that happens when you are on vacation for a week. Vacation was wonderful and always worth it even when I come back to the most work ever at my job. That’s not so fun but at least I get paid for the overtime which is totally paying for a massage next week that I just booked. I need one so badly and can’t wait. It’s a new to me place so I hope it will be good. 

So how did I do in July?

Personal 

  1. Decide on a wedding venue

Well just when we agreed on a place, I called them and found out they have renovations scheduled for a few months around the time we want so that’s a no go. I still like one of the first places I got a quote for, it’s all about convincing the boy…

      2. Have more fun

Man, it was so great to have a vacation this month. A whole week driving around, planning as we went and visiting some friends along the way. Some days I was amazed we spent 12 hours traveling, but our stops were long and worth it. Now I just need to make sure I continue to spend my time well in the evenings and on weekends to have more fun in life. 

Fitness

    1. 35 push ups in a row

       This never happened sadly. July passed in a flash and when I got back from vacation, I was working back into my workouts and super sore, I couldn’t push it with my bad shoulder. Maybe another month. 

   2. do more than 1 pull up in a row

       I pretty much have this. I mean I played around on my friend’s pull up bar when visiting her in Canada. I totally need one so I can hang around (literally) all the time and just work on holding myself and giving me a great way to practice outside of the gym. 

aug goals

Plans for August….

Personal

    1. Spend time writing a few days a week

           I wanted to say write daily, but I didn’t know if I could commit to that as well. So starting smaller, writing a few times a week, basically aiming for every other day. Of course blogging helps, but even just writing in my journal, which is what I did on vacation was so relaxing. I used to journal daily in college and I miss that. Part of the reason I started this blog though was to encourage me to write more again as well and it has helped. When I write a lot even if it doesn’t make sense, it definitely helps me be creative and get even more blog ideas.

2016-07-31 16.09.01

Fitness

    1. stretch for 15-20 minutes a day

             I am realizing that while I am still considered young, I don’t bounce back like I used to. It is also a challenge to work out at 5am because you haven’t moved around a lot which is why warm ups are crucial. I warm up on the treadmill or bike, but I feel like I need more. I need more stretching to get my hips more open and work on my flexibility. I am hoping that taking this month to focus on stretching will help me build a better habit of it. 

 

I think it will be great to have these two goals to focus on. Of course I still have some wedding planning to figure out and do hope to work on that as well. Also a side note, June’s goals were some of my greatest as the Netflix one has stuck around and I continue to try to make new recipes. Goal setting and actually following through can lead to good things 

Do you have any goals for the month?

Yoga Workshop Fridays: Sun Salutation A

by Leave a Comment

Welcome to week 5 of Yoga Workshop Fridays. You can check out the first post here.

Since July had 5 Fridays, we are going to continue with the yoga basics theme and put what we learned in the previous weeks all together for Sun Salutation A.

YOGA WORKSHOP FRIDAY LOGO

This series will be each Friday explaining how to do a particular pose leading up to a peak pose on the last Friday of the month. Throughout this series, I ask that you listen to your body to prevent injury and warm up for a pose when needed.

Disclaimer: Though I am a certified yoga instructor, please consult your doctor before you begin practice and note that everyone’s practice may look a bit different as you align the pose to your body.

Today we will put together everything we have learned from the previous weeks into a flow called Sun Salutation A.

Instead of pictures, I put together a short youtube video for you demonstrating sun salutation A. To see each of the pictures and more of a breakdown, check out the previous weeks posts (tadasana, forward fold, downdog, plank and chaturanga). 

How to:

Begin in Tadasana pose, inhale and lift your arms overhead, creating length in your spine, palms facing in and relax the shoulders down your back. Exhale, hinging from the hips, as you fold forward. Inhale coming halfway up, placing the hands on the shins and lengthening the spine. Exhale plant the hands on the mat and step back to plank pose. Exhale lowering down through chaturanga, elbows straight back, lowering in one piece (you can always come to your knees). Inhale come forward and press into hands staying low in cobra or pressing all the way up to upward facing dog. Exhale lift the hips, tuck the toes and come to downward facing dog. Take a couple breaths here. Then on an exhale, soften the knees and bring your gaze forward, walking or hopping to the top of the mat. Exhale folding forward. Inhale slowly rising up to standing bringing the arms overhead and then exhale the arms by your side back to tadasana.

Benefits:

Circulates the blood flow in your body

Great for any time of the day whether to energize or unwind

Works your whole body

 

You can see more benefits per pose in my previous workshop posts (tadasana, forward fold, downdog, plank and chaturanga).

 

Be sure to share your poses on Instagram, tagging @bridgesthroughlife and hashtags #bridgesthroughlife #yogaworkshopFridays

I hope you enjoy this series. If you have any suggestions for what poses you would like me to break down, leave a comment or send me an email [email protected]

Next week begins a new month of poses leading to a new peak pose!! 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin