yoga – Page 4 – French Fry Runner

Strike a {Yoga} Pose: Tree Pose

It seems we have been focusing balance sequences in my yoga classes. One of my favorite balance poses is tree pose (or Vrksasana). I had a bit of a breakthrough in my last yoga class. We were facing away from the mirrors in the room the during whole class so we could focus inward and just be in our practice instead of being critical of ourselves–which I loved. I was able to go further in this pose than I ever have. Great moment for me. My favorite is to get into the pose with my hands at heart center and then raise my arms and spread out my arms and fingers. This brings joy to my practice.

The beauty of any pose in yoga is that you can be where you are. You can keep your toes on the floor, place your foot on the opposite calf or thigh or even cross your foot over the top. (I hope I’m making sense.) Check out the video below to learn this joyful pose:

Video by Yoga with Adriene. Find her on YouTube.

Strike a {Yoga} Pose: Half-Moon Pose . . . and Some Philosophy

I’ve been focusing on my mental health more lately, and this quote really resonates with me. “Life is not merely to be alive, but to be well.” We must not only go through the motions of our lives but also be doing those things that resonate with our hearts. We need to push out anything that doesn’t make us happy and only focus on finding what does.

During my yoga class yesterday afternoon, we focused a bit of energy on the half-moon pose (or Ardha Chandrasana). This pose reaffirmed the mentality that when I feel strong (living my truth) and am doing only those things that I feel are important and uplift me, I am well.

We used a block to keep our balance and focus, but this asana can be performed without a block. I have to say I think this is one of my favorite poses. I hope you enjoy too. Check out the video below to learn this great pose.

(via doyogawithme.com, which has tons of free videos to strengthen your at-home yoga practice)

I heart swimming

Since I’ve been backing off of running for a little while, I’ve started swimming again. I went once last week, and I’m going to see if I can go twice this week. It’s a great workout, and I feel like a rock star after my workout. Okay, I feel like a rock star anytime I work out lately. Ha! And I’ve run a few times since my last blog post. I feel like I’m going to keel over after I run, but that’s just fine. It’s how it goes. Work is still super busy and time consuming, which doesn’t help my exercise endeavors. But I’m still practicing yoga. Love. It. 🙂 I have a class tomorrow, and it should be great.

Question, though, what do you do to become and stay motivated? I’m having such a hard time, and just signing up for a race doesn’t motivate me enough. Also, what to you do to keep what you eat in check. I’m making some bad dietary choices lately because of how much I work. So, tell me, what’s your secret? 🙂