Daily Practice - February

[Poisonwood]

Another month has come around!

Did my first (and second) middle-of-the-mat headstand!

Wow @Poisonwood that's impressive was this at home or in person class?
@Fibrous I started a 2025 running motivation thread in "exercise " back in Jan if you want to join, a lovely group of people sharing their successes, goals and encouraging each other. Like this one but for running basically!
I did the SB 20 min hip opener one this morning. Lovely. I have added one for anterior tilt to my calendar as I def have this but I needed to log on for an early meeting so ran out of time. I wonder if yoga can help? I've never tried to fix it!

How often do you run @Jumbojem ? Not that I can even yoga beyond meditation atm but one day maybe …..

@Jumbojem it was at home, I did a Charlie Fellows video and the cueing just made complete sense somehow.
It would be good if yoga could improve the tilt, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it can.

An hour of Charlie Fellows Improver Challenge today. V nice.

nice work @Poisonwood ! I had managed some head stands against a wall but a mid mat one is another level. My terraced house is so full of stuff i'd also be really worried about putting a foot through the tv or something if I attempted it.

I did some yoga at the gym yesterday. Think I'm going to do 30 days of charlie follows though, I feel ready to commit to something a bit more put together than just whatever random thing I feel like (not that there's anything wrong with that) but I'd like to improve my terrible lower body flexibility.

I'll check out that running club @Jumbojem - that sounds like a good motivator. I went out with the dogs at lunch time and they were even slower than usual as it was sunny and they just wanted to amble. Fortunately female mutt is now feeling better, I was worried about her as greyhounds really are good at putting on a sad face and she's normally very happy.

Did my first crow, managed steadily for about a minute - over the moon. Interestingly, I’ve watched a variety of videos on it before without success but found a post on Reddit Yoga that described every aspect brilliantly and I did it. Have also done a Charlie Fellows 30 min video with focus on wheel…tomorrow I have new classes for first time an hour of Vinyasa and an hour of Ashtanga so I didn’t want to do too much today. Bit nervous.

The boyf and I are attempting Charlie follows 30 day improvers course. Tonight was day one and it was bloody hard, we were both laughing about how shit we were. But gonna stick at it as we fancy the challenge.

well done on the crow! We got about two seconds of tentative air in that pose. One to keep working on.

enjoy the new classes tomorrow, that sounds fun.

back on it yesterday for the SB calendar added the 5 min yogalates from day before. Today I did the Warrior practice that started my avoidance & quite enjoyed it though fast moving I’ve found isn’t my bag.
well done on Crow @Poisonwood ,hope new classes are enjoyable.
good luck with Charlie Follows @Fibrous , she’s challenging, you sound like you’re up for that, lovely that BF practices with you
I’ve sone the Anterior tilt practice, it’s very helpful @Jumbojem , you’ve reminded me I need to repeat that on a regular basis
Relieved to be back on the mat, feels like my brain has been washed☺️

Congrats on being back on the mat @Yogachick !

yeah think I’ll see how it goes with Charlie follows. DP likes to push himself and I do too, but then also need to remember that yoga isn’t really about that and I’m supposed to be trying to heal my various injuries, not just add to them. So if it gets too much then I’m going to seriously modify. Sometimes I’m my own worst enemy!

watching her videos really makes me want to go on holiday, though. These ones look like they’ve been filmed in Tuscany. DP no longer flies for ecological reasons so we haven’t been anywhere sunny for years but I think I’ll have to hassle some of my friends into a trip instead.

has anyone done any yoga retreats abroad? I went to one in Portugal run by my local yoga teacher a few years ago and it was blissful (and really affordable). Wish she’d do another.

@yogachick so pleased you’re able to be in your mat, enjoy.
@Fibrous I haven’t but I’d love to - I most want to go to the Sivananda House in Austria.

The first class yesterday was a bit too gentle for my body’s needs, the second was very nice but yes,tiring…so many chaturangas! I got home and felt I still needed something else but sensibly went to bed and got up early instead to see if still felt the same…have just done 30 min hips from SB and some free flow warrior work, and then will do an hour of CF this evening.

Didn’t fancy the calendar so did a 10 minute favourite SB

Taught my seven year old how to do crow…she’s already got it spot on.

An hour of CF flexibility practice plus 30 min of balance work.

Did day 3 of Charlie follows beginner-improver series this morning while my dad looked on, as he’s never seen yoga being carried out in real life, and I’m visiting him at the mo. He was very impressed 😂. Said he thought yoga was just lying down and breathing not contorting yourself into all sorts of angles.

@Fibrous thats lovely!

Tough day…30 min Shavasana on the rug by the fire.

I’m very much a yoga newbie , wouldn’t have a hope of doing a crow pose at the moment but this guy makes it look so easy

@TheOliveFinch I definitely think the balances are easier once you understand the physics/mechanics, but each body and mind is made so differently…I find it hard to lean further forward, which is needed, as my hyper-vigilance to threat starts up (I have c-ptsd) but it’s fun to see what I can do some days.
In-person class this evening.

@Poisonwood I’ve got a class this morning, trying to improve shoulder and upper back flexibility at the moment due to old injury, it must be so difficult having physical triggers for your cptsd. My own are very different and mostly evoked by sounds especially police/ambulance sirens

Yoga has a profound impact on both physical and mental well-being. Practicing regularly can improve flexibility, reduce stress, and enhance focus. Many practitioners find that incorporating mindfulness into their sessions allows them to connect more deeply with their bodies and breath.

Been absent from the mat, had an exhausting few days in London. Really missed it, my legs ached and shoulders tight from carrying a backpack. Launched back in with SB deep hip opener, including my attempt at splits (with cushions and a block underneath me). Don't think I've attempted that since my teens. Quite a stretch and I had to come out of it on both sides well before SB. But my legs did feel much better on this eves run so must have done some good.

@TheOliveFinch I’m sorry to hear sounds can be difficult for you, and hope you’re finding more upper flexibility.

@Jonathan1998 you’re very right, my psychiatrist strongly recommends yoga to patients.

@Jumbojem that sounds a nice practice 💪😊.

I had a lovely yoga class this evening, lots of opening-up, the peak pose was wheel which I managed to hold much longer than when I do my practice at home which is interesting.

I had a couple of days off as it was hard to fit it in at my dads house. My brother kept showing up early doors for a walk (think he wakes up at 4am!) and then my step mother hogs the living room from when she gets up, and she very much disapproves of exercise.

Anyway, back home now so did CF day 4 from the beginner-improver yesterday and then a running stretch followed by day 5 this morning after my run, with a bit of sound bath after, during which one of my dogs decided I looked comfy and launched himself down on top of me for a snooze.

Sounds nice @Fibrous , even the dog haha.

I did a couple of CF videos yesterday then played around with crow. Today I’ve just done 5 x sun a/b as trying to keep my energy for tomorrow’s hour vinyasa class and 1.5 hour Ashtanga class (plus a swim and sauna).

@Poisonwood wow that's a very full on day of yoga, swim, sauna. Hope you enjoyed it!
I've been a bit rubbish about yoga this week, had a few days off. Will do the SB calendar in a mo but if its something energetic I'll switch it out for one of the more chilled ones. I did enjoy the minimal cues one yesterday, at first I thought it was entirely silent like the day 30 YWA ones but realised I'd turned the volume down rather than up.