Category Archives: Yoga

leaves know they need to let go

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Today I started a two-week yoga challenge that realistically will take three weeks because #life. In the first video, Fiji talks about how this time of year there are not a lot of leaves on the trees because the leaves know they have to let go of the past. It was while we were standing in tree pose, and I struggled (and tried to smile through it!) to stay away from swaying too much.

My lack of yoga last year was because of my half marathon training, and also because of my wrist injury in soccer. But in 2016, I want to focus on yoga again because I miss the strength of my body, I miss the peace it brings, and I miss the calm. Although I’m glad I ran a half marathon, I want to balance my cardio with strength training, and I can think of no better way to do that than yoga.

Hopefully this challenge will remind me of the reasons I love yoga – today’s class already calmed me after a day of cooking and a weekend of standing which left my hips tight. It was the perfect Sunday-evening destress heading into another week.

I want to be like the leaves. I want to let it go. I want to move forward and recognize the past and leave it under me, moving forward to the light of spring. Let’s hope this yoga challenge can help me in 2016 center myself and stay true and light in the busiest of times (as 2016 is already shaping up to be!)

Namaste, everyone.

it is the only thing that makes us feel alive

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Yesterday I headed back into the yoga studio after six weeks away because of my wrist. If we’re being honest, spraining my wrist was the first injury I’ve ever had that really made me feel like I was never going to physically be the same, and that scared the daylights out of me. As the weeks went on and my wrist didn’t just snap back, I felt like maybe my age was showing and I should be more careful with myself.

Well, after a stressful week of work and life and dogsitting and 90 degree weather and too much on my plate, I felt my shoulders scrunching right up and I wasn’t sleeping, waking up with a racing mind and fretful heart. I knew it was time to get back. I was supposed to run for my half-training, but I knew I wasn’t going to push myself to run 5 miles in 90 degrees and full sun in the name of…what?

Wasn’t this half supposed to be something that I’m doing for the results, not the end? I’m in it to build strength, endurance, muscle, and clarity in my runs. Not to run a half marathon that’ll impress…who? Running is one of those things I wish I was better at, but often dread. I was sick of dreading my workouts.

So I went to the yoga studio down the street. And I flowed for an hour. And I bought a 30 day pass at a steal (the price of two classes, it’s already paid itself off) and I felt really, really, really happy. The way exercise is meant to make you feel, and if we’re being honest, everything. Isn’t it? Everything should make you happy. With the right beats, even cleaning is fun.

Speaking of which, yesterday I also spent a fair amount of time packing with the girls. (Thanks T, A, and M, you’re amazing.) We danced to Whitney (god bless) and we packed and moved boxes and took out the trash, and A patched the holes in my walls. M wrapped my valuables, and T dusted every frame that was on our walls (that’s a lot.) My heart was just so full.

We’re moving, in case you didn’t gather, or know, and it’s in a week, and Jeff’s been in the canyon since last Saturday, and yesterday was literally a perfect day of friends and love and happiness that made me feel really, really lucky to be who I am.

Today, I got up and went to yoga again and flowed, and I was careful with my still-a-little-achy wrist (backing off every vinyasa, not pushing myself to crow, still feeling sweaty and worked and stretched.) I got home and made blueberry scones. I am drinking iced coffee. Jeff is due back soon, and this day is perfect day number two. Correlation to yoga? Perhaps.

The heat’s going to break this week. I am praying and intention-ing that this is the last heat wave, and we can roll into 80s and then 70s and I can run and finish my half and do yoga and be happy, healthy, and full.

That’s where my head’s at this Sunday. Namaste, bitches. Hope you’re happy, healthy, full. xo

laughter on the playground

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I talk about yoga lot here, and I think about it a lot in my life. If I could go to yoga at a studio every day, I would consider my life most perfect. Meanwhile I try to make time at home for yoga a couple times a week, if not more, and then go to the studio when I can fit it into my schedule.

On Tuesday, I was going to Ana’s in the evening, but because I get off earlier than everyone else I had three hours to kill and didn’t want to drive home to drive back to the Valley. Enter 5:00 pm yoga class, and heaven.

It was a mixed community class, and I wasn’t sure what to expect – would it be too easy? Would it be too hard? Was it enough time (most classes are an hour and a half, this one was just an hour)? It was perfect, per usual. It was vinyasa flow, and it made me sweat, try some new transitions, and challenge myself.

At one point, we were in revolved side angle pose, and our teacher wanted us to move into a one legged balancing pose I had never encountered in my practice, something like revolved half moon but with your hands in prayer instead of bound or spread.

revolved side angle pose

Basically from this, but with hands in prayer, then shifting your weight forward into this:

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And keeping your heart open to the sky whilst doing it.

Anyways,  the first side was balancing on my right leg, and as I went to take the leap forward to balance on one leg, I slipped and tumbled forward on to my mat, giggling all the way. It is always fun to try your hand at a new pose, because it’s fun to see what your body can handle, what it can’t, and how to get yourself to trust yourself enough to just lean in. It’s like on my wedding day when Lauren tried to get us into baby grasshopper pose, and I just was laughing my head off.

10706836_296518060548103_1120497072_nThe happiness emulated in this photo is everything – I was with my best friends in the world, I was about to get married, I was trying a new yoga pose, and my heart was light. I laughed and laughed at the progress I could feel and all the places I had yet to be and the effort it had taken to get where I was and the effort that it was going to take to get where I wanted to be.

But back to yoga class – the teacher in the moment whipped her head around to see where the laughter was coming from and said, “YES! YES EXACTLY. This is a playground. We should be hearing that – we should be hearing laughter. This is a safe space for you to explore. YES!” And it was so uplifting to me to be lifted to a place where I felt safe playing and laughing and learning. Later in the class I did a headstand for the first time in a class without a wall, and I felt an immense sense of accomplishment. I have so far to go, but I’ve come so far.

Happy Friday, friends. I hope you have time for yoga this weekend. Namaste.

bones on bones

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Running back and forth to the airport and constantly looking at weather here and there and wherever I go next has been my life since the beginning of April. It was a whirlwind month of LA –> Vegas –> LA –> Montreal –> LA –> Oxnard –> LA –> Palm Springs –> LA.

It was gorgeous seeing everything I saw, but I am glad to be home (for two weeks…) and I am glad to see everyone. I haven’t seen many folks as a result of my traveling, and I feel like I’m a million miles away in a vortex.

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Kate was in town so we had adventures about Santa Monica and had really good coffee.

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Montreal – old town. It was beautiful and made me heartsick for Boston.

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I went to Oxnard and picked avocados from the trees. It was magical.

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I popped up to SF for the day for work, and loved every second of the mild weather.

11192757_661240380675863_74038115_nPalm Springs pool. 100+ degrees, but the pool stayed cool.

Now that I am back, after a few days of going to bed too late and getting up too early, I am headed into a weekend staying in LA (well, mostly, minus a tiny trip to Malibu) and excited to hang with friends and smush their faces (if they’ll let me.)

Last night I got back on the exercise train, too, and did yoga to find space. I hadn’t been sleeping great this weekend, and I just needed some stretching (hip flexors be damned) so I can get back into both yoga (serious headstands to come, y’all) and into running. During my class, the teacher said something about alignment and making sure I was standing up straight, “bones on bones.” And that’s all we really are, isn’t it? Bones on bones. Trying to make something out of this life.

Happy Friday, folks.

whatever you got on, girl, stay in it.

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Happy Friday lovelies. I am in a great mood today and I am excited for this epic weekend that we have planned around these parts, so here are 5 good things to cruise into the weekend with:

1. This weekend is our famed Heart Cake shoot – we are making lots of crafts and getting lots of our friends involved (pretty much our MO for all things that seem overwhelming) and it’s one of the labor of loves that I really, really enjoy doing (especially surrounded by so many lovely friends!)

heartcakecollage-1200x800Here are some outtake photos from last year’s shoot – all the fun!

2. Guys, I have pretty much blown this up all over the Internet, but I am a headstand doing fool. I have been popping headstands all over the damn place, because I can. I am so excited to be getting stronger and doing more inversions, and it’s giving my confidence all over the place in things related nothing to yoga. Up next – forearm headstand, and of course I am working up to a pull up because killer arms, hello.

headstand

3. I am now in love with Sam Hunt, so I will be exclusive with him for a bit musically speaking. I had dabbled in him earlier, but he’s everything I love in tunes: singer/songwriter, a little R&B, a little rap, hilarious lyric, and he’s even a little country. Plus, that hair? I’m in.

4. Mat Kearney’s album comes out soon, and after my torrid love affair with Sam I will slide back over to Mat in February and then get to see him in March with a slew of great friends. Talk about lucky. This year is going to kill musically.

5. This baby and animal combo post makes me happy and smiley. Enjoy it as much as I did.

Happy weekend, y’all. I hope you have the best one yet, whatever you’re doing.