you got your heart right.

Photo Apr 16, 10 49 16 AM

Well chickadees, today was Day 30 of my 30 Day Yoga Camp. Yesterday I did yoga in the parking lot of a hotel just so I didn’t have to skip a day and miss the amazing streak I was on.

I can actually say that’s the most days in a row I’ve ever done yoga. It’s the most consistent practice I’ve had. And it’s been an amazing journey. It’s taught me that it is possible for me to get up early, get on the mat, and make time for myself. I made myself a priority for the last 30 days, and I carved at least 30 minutes out for me to focus. It wasn’t always easy, and there were days I wanted to skip it, do it later, quit halfway through…but by the end of each video, I was so happy I’d committed the time to it.

My hips are more open. My shoulders are more open. My balance is better. My patience is longer. My breath is more even. My heart is cracked wide open to the world. To the endless possibilities and the light and the sky. I’ve loved taking advantage of my backyard to get outside and appreciate nature while I practice, and I cannot wait to see where this practice takes me. It was the perfect reset to my yoga practice, and I see only up and up from here.

I want to get back into running a bit because soccer will start this month and I want to be prepared, but my body feels so much better after having focused on this yoga, so I know I need to focus on that as well. My wrist is healing and strengthening, and my right quad is feeling better than it has in ages. I pushed myself too far for that half-marathon, and now is the time to find the balance I deserve.

That’s where I’m at, y’all. Hope you’re in some valley of balance, too. Namaste.

check your thoughts.

After weeks (probably months) pushing this off, I’ve started Yoga with Adriene‘s 30-Day At-Home practice. I’ve been off the mat too long, and Fiji’s 14-Day Yoga, while amazing, is just too much for me right now. Adriene is chill enough yet serious enough to get me hooked, but hard enough to make me stay and stretch and feel happy.

treepose

Yesterday was day one, today day two. In class yesterday, she remind us to “check your thoughts” – keep focused on what you’re doing, what you’re feeling, and where you are. My life mantra is pretty much “Do the best with what you have where you are” and I feel like this is what Adriene was trying to tell me through the TV, too.

So much of our lives is spent having negative thoughts and I’ve been working ons self-love for years. As hokey as it can sound, you have to put yourself first if you can love others. You have to take care of you to take care of “them.”

Adriene’s 30 days have different mantras. Yesterday’s was I Accept. Today’s what I Create.

I Accept where I am.
I Accept who I am.
I Create time for myself.
I Create space in my body for twisting, turning, stretching.
I Create energy and light to use and spread through my world.

I can’t wait to see what’s in store tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. I need this reset to get me back to a place where I am hitting the mat more on the regular. Luckily this is a great time, before soccer starts again, to get back to it.

What are y’all up to?

5gts: i can make good turning amazing

1. My mom comes to town tomorrow, and my dad is already here! Super-fun weekend, bring it on.

2. No time for after-parent sadness, because on Monday they head back to Chicago and I head to NYC to see my sorella and co. for HAMILTON.

3. While in NYC, we’re going to play tourist – here I come, Lady Liberty! I can’t wait to do something in NYC that makes me feel like I’m 14 again, and maybe I’ll even by an I (HEART) NY shirt on a street corner for $3. I’m a wild woman!

4. Our first pizza night in our new house tomorrow night. This would be number 2, but see number 2, and you get me.

5. I’m sorry, have you seen 2? Also, Lin Manuel Miranda. Also, Angelina/Eliza/And Peggy. The list goes on…in fact, soon I’ll have my Hamilton playlist available for you. You’re welcome.

xo

on three words i try not to say.

As you get older and you have little people (aka nephews/nieces/friends’ babies) around that you want to help grow up loved and smart and happy, you start to notice the way people use their words.

I’ve always been a stickler for grammar and word usage, but as I get older, here are some words I’d wish people would use less:

  • Jealous. I hear 100 times a day “I’m so jealous!” of someone’s brunch, trip to a far-off land, weekend afternoon off, manicure, new jeans, etc. I hate that word. Don’t be jealous, be proud/appreciative/happy for them. And mean it. You’ll get yours. And even you don’t, aren’t you glad they did? Appropriate replacement: gratitude. Show gratitude for what others have and also gratitude for what you have – even if it isn’t a month in Fiji or a new wardrobe or standing manicures.
  • Sorry. I’ve talked about this before. Don’t say sorry unless you’ve done something worthy of apologizing for. Appropriate replacement: excuse me, pardon me, thank you.
  • Starving. This is one I think my mom said to me a lot that’s stuck with me. You are definitely not starving. You are very hungry. You are regular hungry. You might even be thirsty. But you are not starving. This is more of a mindset. In addition, please everyone stop getting so hangry all the. Be a responsible adult and carry a snack in your purse like the smart people do. (I need to take my own advice on this one often.) Appropriate replacement: Hungry. Very hungry. Hangry.

What do y’all think? Are there words you try to use less? Do you try to put more meaning behind your words as you get holder?

5gts: you only get one person knows you best.

1. Matt Nathanson’s “Show Me Your Fangs” album.

2. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Specifically, the audiobook version with all it’s nuanced voices and accents.

3. Hamilton in 3 weeks. (I cannot even allow myself to think about this.) (But I can’t stop.)

4. Yoga tonight for the first time in almost two weeks.

5. My husband, which, though cheesy, is really the number 1 on this list. Keeping me sane over weeks and weeks of busy lives with a cool, even attitude and knowing what I need at every turn.

Happy end-of-Monday, y’all.