Category Archives: yoga

baby yoga

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Awhile back I started practicing yoga again. I can only attribute my long break from yoga to laziness. I was also tired for the entire first trimester. But even before the fatigue hit me, I hadn’t been doing yoga as much I would like to.

Photo Mar 19, 5 08 44 PM

Anyway… I realized that if I got off the couch and actually did something active I felt so much better. Yoga or some short meditation also helps relieve stress. I can’t imagine anyone with an 18 month-old who doesn’t feel stressed out at some point. I usually use these free videos online, and they also have a few prenatal routines, so I thought I’d try there first.

I have to say, I’m not a huge fan. I like the other videos I’ve tried, but there’s a whole “say thank you to your mother and your grandmother and all women and connect to your baby” aspect that I find just a little too crunchy for me. Not that there’s anything wrong with that (or that I shouldn’t be doing it), I just find it distracting. When the program is only 20 minutes to start out, I don’t want to waste any time.

Photo Mar 05, 11 51 08 AM

Juggling yoga with T is a challenge. I’ve tried getting him interested in trying the routines with me. He is especially good at child’s pose, but he doesn’t really understand the concept of staying off my mat (or off my back for that matter). I’ve had better luck distracting him with activities that are best done at the table while he’s strapped into his booster seat. To give myself an hour of uninterrupted relaxation once a week, I also signed up for a local class.

Photo Apr 10, 3 54 30 PM

It’s nice to get out of the house and be with other women of similar… um, girth. The instructor is amazing too! She’s great at listening to our joys and concerns and catering the routine to fit our needs. She’s got a perfect blend of holistic thinking without being overly hippy-dippy.

I’m so glad I signed up for the class! I already feel that it’s making a huge difference in how I feel on a day-to-day basis. It helps with my energy levels a lot. I really feel that it will make a huge difference when I get to the end as well. However, I haven’t even started to think of the whole delivery process. It seems still far off, but I guess I’m already starting to count down the weeks so I probably should!

happy friday: links

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This picture kills me! We have a busy weekend ahead of us, but I wanted to share a few links before we commence with our weekending!

- For a while now, Paul has been using this as a blender. I have yet to get it to work well for me, but he makes a smoothie just about every day.

- Such a cute little idea: community library

- Mommy wars can be good for something!

- What I love about yoga.

- Two things I bought in SF last week: this sign (and almost this super cute notebook), and some stroller cards (that you can see in this post) from Paxton Gate for T. Both places have a ton of really cute stuff…I could have bought way more than I did if I had let myself!

- Today I’m making cantaloupe sherbet, because we have cantaloupe and I wanted sherbet, why else?

- Also in SF: I had the best vegetarian burrito ever here, and the best Indian food here (I highly recommend the paneer!). Thank’s to S for her list of places to eat!

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

taking five minutes

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Fog over a field on a morning run this week.

I mentioned that I was getting up in the morning at 5 to do yoga and/or run. It’s been going really well. I’ve even managed to get up that early on Saturday, which is one of my days off. I love having those two hours before Paul and T wake up to myself.

The trade-off is that I need to be in bed by 9:30; 9:00 if I’m lucky. I just can’t keep my eyes open after that. I really don’t mind it. T’s moved to one nap a day instead of two, so his nap is longer, but because of this, he wants to go to bed earlier. If we’re lucky we can get him to bed before 7:00 and I’ve got a good solid 2 hours I can relax. Most days it’s a bit too hard to get him to bed that early, but it’s something I’m working on (ie. getting dinner prepared before Paul gets home from work, so we can eat at 5:30 instead of 6:30).

Of course there are days when this doesn’t happen according to the plan. We need to get out of the house most days or we go insane and a lot of times the nap just doesn’t take. On those days it’s even more important to get out of the house, but then nothing gets done. Oh well.

One thing I’m attempting to add into my routine is a bit of guided meditation. I have no desire to meditate for spiritual reasons; I’m not that crunchy. But it’s a wonderful way to clear my head. I don’t know how many times I’ve put T down for a nap and thought “Yes, now I have all this time to get things done”, but then his nap comes and goes and I’ve accomplished nothing. Nothing. All too often I get distracted by something online that is oh-so-important in the moment.

I’m using T’s nap as a trigger. As soon as he goes down and I can quietly sneak away, I pick a meditation (that I found here), and close my eyes for at least 5 minutes. It’s been wonderful. Just being able to take a step back from everything and be quiet for a minute is the greatest feeling ever. Since I’ve started doing this (all off a week, mind you) I’ve been able to think better and getting things done is much easier than before. I don’t feel as if my head is swimming as much as it was.

So if you’d like to join me, after T goes down for a nap today, we can walk by the beach and through the woods together :)

day 2

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I wanted to post this earlier this morning, but T is trying to switch to a one-nap-a-day schedule and it’s throwing me for a loop. Then I was going to post it when I came home this afternoon, but we were chased down by a storm on our way home and had to hang out at a friend’s house until it passed. I’m pretty sure I could have made it home, but I wasn’t about to run home in Birkenstocks with a load of groceries, jogging stroller or no jogging stroller. 

Darkness follows you home…

Anyway, I’m about to post this and as soon as I do I’m going to bed. Enjoy!

These last few weeks have been a struggle for me. I wouldn’t call myself a morning person. I think I naturally gravitate to late hours. I’ve been known to rearrange rooms and start sewing projects in the middle of the night. That’s when I get a second wind and inspiration strikes.

But, then I had a baby and exhaustion set in. Those late nights turned into early mornings. Add training for a marathon into the mix and you’ve got one tired mama.

Day 1

My solution? Get up at 5:00am everyday and do at least 30 minutes of yoga. Today was day 2 of this plan. I also didn’t have to run today, and normally that would mean I could sleep in until 7:00 when T wakes up. But I think that allowing myself a day here and there to sleep in is actually hurting me more than helping. I’m also insisting on a more strict, early bedtime for myself. That hasn’t been too hard to follow; I can’t keep my eyes open past 9:30pm anyway.

Day 2

So, on days when I have to run I do a quick pre-run yoga routine (that I found here), then I’m out the door. On days like today, when I don’t run, I pick a longer routine. So far, I think it is helping me feel more awake and refreshed in the morning. I’ve never been good at the meditating side of yoga, because I can’t ever clear my head and just be; however, having that time alone in the morning to just stretch and be alone for a few minutes was wonderful and very relaxing. It was the perfect way to wake up.

Oh, and I have to credit S. for inspiring this idea. I’m totally going to steal the video she posted, because it just needed to be shared again – wow. Happy Wednesday (or what’s left of it)!

yoga in the park

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I haven’t done yoga in a really long time. This was the last time (there’s meat in that dish, so you know it was awhile ago). I don’t think T will let me do yoga with him now.

I was a little late finding out about it, but a few weeks ago I found out that there was free yoga in the park on Saturdays this summer. You had me at free. I let my friend know about it and we talked our husbands into taking the babies for a walk while we yogaed (is that a word?).

I’m not the greatest at yoga. I’ve never been good at doing it by myself. I have good intentions, but not the best follow through. I have the same problem with my golf swing. This was the perfect way for me to get back into it.

I was surprised at how much easier it was. In the past I’ve always struggled to hold a position for very long. I always feel as if I should be able to do more. I think running has helped a lot there. I can breathe easier and engaging my core isn’t as much of a chore as it once was.

Maybe I’ll have to start doing yoga more often. Namaste :)

goals

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Paul and I were arm wrestling the other night (weird, I know) and it got me thinking about my fitness goals. I have a few goals I would like to achieve through running. My ultimate goal is to finish the Des Moines Marathon in October, so I won’t list that because, well, it’s obvious. There might be a few things I’ll have to add to my stretching routine, but I think most of these should be achieved just by training for the marathon.

Goal #1: Do More Yoga

I’ll talk about this more next week, but I recently went to a yoga class and it was awesome. I haven’t done yoga in a long time, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by how much easier the moves were and how much more I enjoyed it. I don’t know that I’ll be standing on my head any time soon, but I think I’ll try adding more yoga into my daily/weekly routine.

Goal #2: No More Mom Gut

I’m not really one to complain about my body. In general, I don’t really care. I’m sure I’m at a healthy weight (although I can’t check because T broke our scale). And I’ve noticed that there has been a change in the way I look. My clothes don’t fit exactly the same as they used to. My legs and arms are starting to show some tone. However, my stomach area is not the most flattering (T actually pointed it out to me the other day at the pool, when he suddenly decided that belly button grabbing was a new game). It’s not bad, but it’s not good either. I think this will be something that will require a bit of goal #1 and a bit less ice-cream on a daily basis.

This picture isn’t bad, but it looks a little too much like a week 8 prego shot to me.

Goal #3: No Rubbing Thighs

My legs are starting to show some tone, however; I’ve noticed when I run (and on hot days when I walk) that my thighs tend to rub a bit. I’m not sure what exactly it is – it could be all in my head and just a weird gait issue. And, like my mom gut, it’s not really a big deal (I’m sure nobody else notices), but it is annoying. Especially on hot days – nobody needs sticky thighs, ick! I’m not sure if this will resolve itself as I run more or if I’ll have to incorporate some leg lifts into my stretching routine. We’ll see.

Goal #4: Beat Paul in Arm Wrestling

I have no idea if this is even attainable. He said that I made it difficult for him to beat me the other night. What will probably happen here, is as soon as I say this he’ll start working out in order to keep me from beating him. I don’t really want body builder arms, but being a bit stronger isn’t a bad thing either.

I’m not sure if these goals are too lofty, and really, if I don’t manage to complete them it’s not the end of the world. I just thought I’d let you all know my plan. Maybe that will keep me more accountable :)

rain, yoga, and a good book

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Today has turned out to be one of those rainy fall days that makes you want to curl up by a warm fire and read a good book. We don’t have a fireplace, so I’ve had to improvise with the Christmas tree.

I decided not to run due to the rain, so I thought we’d try baby yoga this morning instead. Unfortunately, T. is probably still a bit to small for it. He enjoyed watching me and loves the “Flying Baby” move, but between short attention spans and breaks for changing diapers and feedings we didn’t get much yoga in before it was nap time again. I was expecting we might not finish the routine. Hopefully we’ll get through it someday.

During his nap I was able to get some lunch. It was all leftovers, but the food was worth mentioning. Paul had made Italian soup the other night which has beans, spinach, tomatoes, Italian sausage, and I’m sure a few other delicious ingredients. That alone would have made for a great lunch, but I also added a salad. I haven’t had a really good salad in a long time, so I made a simple salad with spinach, tomatoes, red bell peppers, Greek olives, Parmesan cheese, and balsamic dressing. The dressing and the olives are the key to making any salad scrumptious. I topped the whole meal off with some chocolate soy milk. One thing I love about running, is that it gives me the excuse to drink chocolate milk. However, chocolate soy milk will have to do for now, because the T. doesn’t like it when I drink cow’s milk (or so our pediatrician claims).

Now we are sitting by the tree enjoying “Cat’s Cradle” by Kurt Vonnegut (currently, one of my favorite authors) and some Christmas music. He’s a happy little bookworm!

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