A Week in the Life of a Budget Yogi- Tuesday

Today was a super blah day at work. Kind of soul sucking. So today's yoga needed to be mellow. In some ways I wanted to do some real calorie burnin' yoga, because I ate too much today :) but my body said no no, you need some Mellow Out And Heal From Your Day Yoga. So I listened. Sometimes I'm a good listener. not always, but sometimes.

I can pretty much do Rodney Yee's AM Yoga by heart now, so to get out of my messy and decidedly non-mellow house, I took my yoga to a very special place:

My balcony.

I recently fixed this thing all up- I regret that I didn't use it adequately sooner, but it is what it is and now I am. I got some fun colored chairs, painted a rock with the word NAMASTE and brought my plants out. And can I tell you...I LOVE IT. Its my tiny little oasis. I read out here, the little one and I eat lunch out here, and tonight, I did my yoga out here.

Namaste, indeed! :)

21 Day Adventure Cleanse- Follow Up

Wow...have I not posted since June 21st? We had a kiddo with an illness and then I went to the beach for a few days so posting on the cleanse got away from me. What did not get away from me though, was finishing the cleanse! I finished all 21 days. I didn't do a "perfect" job, but that's not the point. (Not to mention that 'perfect' is really really boring!) I made major changes for 21 days and stuck with them and I am so happy I did. The changes I felt were so noticeable! I felt lighter, less bloaty, and I finally lost those last 4 lbs from when I had my son 2 years ago (I had lost 55 of the * 60 * I gained, but those last four were NOT wanting to budge. Well they finally did! YAY! :)

I felt so much better living the 'Crazy Sexy' way of life, that I have made the decision to stick with it. If I was able to feel that much better making a few changes in behavior and routine, why would I go back? I don't really miss the things I ditched, and when I do (like coffee and something gross and sugary), I just have some as a treat and move on. Treats instead of the everyday norm. And you know what? When I do have them, they taste better!

So here's to my new Crazy Sexy way of life! If you are even remotely interested in trying some of Kris's ideas- pick up a copy of her book from a friend, the library, or the bookstore (or let me know, I would even send you my copy. Complete with toddler scribbles on the cover!) Even making one little step towards a healthier you will make a difference. You're awesome, and you deserve the best health and life possible right?! RIGHT!

Cheers!

21 Day Adventure Cleanse- Day 12 -Friday, June 1th

Daily questions to be answered at the end of each day on Crazy Sexy 21 Day Adventure Cleanse: 

1. Did you abstain from coffee? Yes
2. Did you abstain from alcohol? Yes
3. Did you abstain from gluten? Yes...until 7pm when I had a veggie sub with my dad for Father's Day
4. Did you abstain from animal products? Yes
5. Did you abstain from crack (aka sugar) and choose low-glycemic fruits and better alternatives such as stevia or agave? Yes...I even said no to the tons of candy brought to my staff meeeting
6. Did you dry brush today? I did! :) I finally got little loofah mitt things and I dry brushed before I got dressed today at 3:30am! Woohoo!
7. Did you cleanse your sinuses with the good ol' neti pot? No...ugg...really not good with this one. Even though I have one and use it when I'm sick!
8. Did you move your body for at least thirty-five minutes? Yup, pretty active today.
9. Did you meditate for fifteen to twenty minutes? Yup. 
10. Did you chew your meals thoroughly and mindfully? I remembered at breakfast,  forgot the rest of the day.
11. Did you laugh out loud and tell someone you loved him or her today? Yes! Lots! Good day today.
12. Did you spend time in nature? Even five minutes is better than nothing.  Yes! It was wonderful!
13. Did you get eight hours of uninterrupted sleep? No...more like 6...it was my early morning.
14. What did you eat today and did you juice? I did not juice, but drank tons of water and tea. 
15. How much purified water did you consume? You can include fresh veggie juices in your calculation. A lot! I carry a cup with a lid with me all day long and keep it filled. 
16. What supplements did you take? B vitamin supplement
17. How was your elimination? TMI FOR A BLOG. :) 
18. What time did you stop eating? Three hours before bed is optimum. Ate dinner at 7:00 went to bed after ten, so did well with this today- I had tea before bed, but no food.
19. How do you feel physically? A little bloaty today, but good otherwise.
20. How do you feel emotionally? Good today.

21 Day Adventure Cleanse- Day 9 -Tuesday, June 14th

Daily questions to be answered at the end of each day on Crazy Sexy 21 Day Adventure Cleanse: 

1. Did you abstain from coffee? Yes
2. Did you abstain from alcohol? Yes
3. Did you abstain from gluten? No, ate a fair amount of gluten today.
4. Did you abstain from animal products? Yes
5. Did you abstain from crack (aka sugar) and choose low-glycemic fruits and better alternatives such as stevia or agave? Yes
6. Did you dry brush today? No...
7. Did you cleanse your sinuses with the good ol' neti pot? Yup
8. Did you move your body for at least thirty-five minutes? Yes, did Baron Baptiste's Yoga for Athletes
9. Did you meditate for fifteen to twenty minutes? Yup. 
10. Did you chew your meals thoroughly and mindfully? Forgot to be conscious of this again today.
11. Did you laugh out loud and tell someone you loved him or her today? Yes!
12. Did you spend time in nature? Even five minutes is better than nothing.  Not enough, but I did spend some time looking at my pretty flowers in my garden.
13. Did you get eight hours of uninterrupted sleep? Close
14. What did you eat today and did you juice? Too tired to list it all out... :)
15. How much purified water did you consume? You can include fresh veggie juices in your calculation. A lot! I carry a cup with a lid with me all day long and keep it filled. 
16. What supplements did you take? B vitamin supplement
17. How was your elimination? TMI FOR A BLOG. :) 
18. What time did you stop eating? Three hours before bed is optimum. Ate dinner at 8, went to bed at ten...so two hours, not three.
19. How do you feel physically? Tired.
20. How do you feel emotionally? Tapped out. I was frustrated and overwhelmed and weepy in the evening, was blaming it on things that wouldn't really cause all that- so I'm projecting obviously, but I am not sure what I am projecting yet. Hopefully it will come out eventually through this process.

Listening to Your Body: Going for the Long Run Instead of the Now

For the last week and a half, my yoga practice looked, on paper, very boring. During the past week and a half, I did Rodney Yee's AM Yoga. Everyday. For a week and a half. And it was just what my body was asking me for. I just had to listen to it.

AM Yoga is what I call a 'Relax-y Stretchy' practice. Not too physically taxing, probably doesn't burn a lot of calories, but very beneficial nonetheless.

One day about two weeks ago, I was feeling really drained. The thought of doing any kind of yoga was not really what I wanted to think about. Was I burning out? Would I be able to continue this project? I wanted to sit on the couch. Rest. Sleep. Anything but Downward Dog or Push-up Pose.

So I did what I usually do when I'm feeling that way. I did AM Yoga. Most of AM Yoga takes place while lying down. It's so non-taxing that I can keep a heavy hoodie on the whole time. And thick socks. There's only one downward facing dog and you only stand up once. Perfect. Thank you, Rodney Yee!

The next day, I felt the same way- so AM Yoga made a reappearance. Same with the day after that. Once I regained more energy, I was ready for something new, but then I pulled something in my shoulder (not yoga related) and couldn't lift my arm over my head without pain- so AM Yoga it was again. At that point, with more energy, I wanted to do something more athletic- I had calories to burn after all!

"You're going to get out of shape!", my brain told me. "All you eat is- as we speak- GOING TO YOUR THIGHS!"

I quietly listened to my brain...and then told it "to not be silly...doing too much right now would be detrimental" and again slipped AM Yoga into my DVD player. I really did want to do something a little more challenging, mostly because I felt like I needed to be burning calories (that is a hard mindset to re-set as a female, I think). BUT...I also needed to heal my shoulder. Pushing myself could mess it up more, and could put a major damper on the rest of my Year of Yoga. So despite my "I need to burn calories NOW" mentality, I went with the "I need to heal for the long run" reality. So I kept playing that AM Yoga DVD day after day until my shoulder felt better. Then I did it one more day for good measure.

I'm glad I did. Today I was able to do the more athletic (and aptly named) Yoga for Athletes by Baron Baptist. That's one of my faves and I've had it forever. Tried and true. Tomorrow I'll probably do Yoga for Stamina with Rodney Yee. Also tried and true.

My week and a half of "easy" yoga had not caused me lose strength or flexibility. It healed my shoulder fully and I was downward dogging it up on the mat today- just as strong and actually MORE flexible than before (thanks Relax-y Stretchy yoga!).

The moral to this experience: Listen to your body. It's usually smarter than you. :)