Daily Practice - March

[Poisonwood]

Well February seemed to fly by. Maybe by the end of March we’ll be doing some outdoors yoga 🪴 🧘‍♂️.
Today I’m splitting yoga up morning and afternoon, did Charlie Follow’s Improver and Sarah Beth Level 2 yogalates this morning, will do a half primary David Swenson practice later.

a friend is a yoga teacher & she runs a very small outside private yoga class in the summer - I can't wait for it to start up again. We meet once a week, outside on the top of a cliff, though in a sheltered spot. It really is magical. This class started my return to yoga 2 summers ago.

And one of the teachers from the hot pod teaches ashtanga style classes on the beach from late spring. So that will be lovely to try out. Its a pebble beach so it will be bumpy under those mats.

Good idea to see if anyone in NZ has a yoga mat I can borrow. I will ask.

bravo for persisting today @Yogachick - I think its the yoga we do when our brain is trying to talk us out of it that really matters.

There is this grumpy exercise guy on Insta that says "I don't care, just shut up & do it." and "stop whining and do it" - and he is so right!

Loving the talk of outdoors yoga, I’ve never done it before but will once the weather improves (if, I’m Scottish Highlands 😂). In fact, now I’m contemplating putting a yoga summer house in the garden!

I’ve been looking at YTT this morning and thinking maybe…maybe? Not sure I’m brave enough/my memory is good enough at my age but I’d love to.

On travel mats, I've previously used a very thin basic one that folds up tiny. They're really designed for carpeted rooms, I'd say; on a hard floor or a wooden deck or anything like that they're too thin, IME, and too cold unless the weather's really warm.
For carpet though they're good; plenty sticky.

Wouldn't you need a yoga net tent outdoors to keep all the wee midges out? It could be all floaty & very beautiful!

I could teach the midgies yoga…get the wee sods to calm down a bit 😂.

@Yogachick did you say you did the SB 5 min abs? If so you are a stronger woman than me, I had to sit the last few counts of each rep out as I couldn't keep going. It was bear crawls and side planks with hip twists. Guess I need to do it more!
The shoulder opening session was great though.
Going for a hilly trail run tomorrow am so looking forward to a good hip opener practice afterwards.

thanks for all the suggestions re travel mat - I have located a yoga mat in NZ to borrow. There is a sad unused mat languishing in a hall cupboard in NZ that I will treat to 3 weeks of yoga!!

@RobinEllacotStrike that’s great!

I went for a swim, lifted weights and had a sauna earlier…kind of wanted to put off yoga but actually just did a really nice hour of SB. Will also start reading Iyengar’s Light on Life with a cup of tea in a minute…I want to start reading more yoga texts again.

YWA True day 3 outside this morning. Amazing weather here today. Supposed to go downhill again next week so making the most of it. Fell asleep in the sun with a book this afternoon.

@PatienceOfEngels that sounds lovely.

I did a lovely 40 min CF practice with side crow, mermaid and compass. Can’t do side crow but the others are both a joy for my hips. Quietly pleased I completed it all as I am stiff from riding this morning.

I definitely missed reps @Jumbojem but I actually enjoyed it weirdly enough. I’m in bed I’ll again so no yoga for a few days🙄

@Yogachick hope you feel brighter soon.

30 min power, 20 min meditation, the rest of the day has been gardening for exercise.

I went heavy on the gardening this weekend, and although I know yoga would've been really good for me, instead I just crawled into bed. Did 45 minutes at the gym this morning, though, with focus on lower back (my fellow yogis had spent a similar weekend gardening and car washing so we all voted for lower back), and it was bliss.

Get well soon @Yogachick

Back to it,todays 30 min hips then tight chest from 7th on calendar.
Love True @PatienceOfEngels

Had a lovely in person class tonight, lots of hip work but the flows were all well thought out too. My friend came for the second week running, which is promising, but she definitely found tonight’s tougher. Practiced crow, headstand and handstand once home.

Great 30 min CF Improvers, lovely bind work and flying lizard and flamingo. Practiced balances after.

Did the 5 min Yogalates abs from the calendar,crazy tough for me

I did that one too @Yogachick and found it hard. I couldn't really do Boat pose properly after she'd had us leaning back for a bit beforehand. I followed it up with a 15 min rounded shoulders one I missed last week. That felt good after a stressful day in the office.

Stressful day today, ran out of energy but completed CF 30 min Day 17 Improvers which was working towards splits. Surprised myself managing a tripod balance - highlighted how rubbish my core is so have ordered a cheap ab roller on recommendation of ballet dancer friend.

Tomorrow is 2.5hr of gentle flow and Ashtanga classes.

Morning! Yesterday I did a 45 minute Charlie Follows morning routine, and then did a yoga with Tim post run stretch in the evening after my run. Off to the gym this morning, and have booked onto the yoga class after my weights session. Then tomorrow I'm off to a yoga retreat in wales for the weekend. That will very much be a restorative one, I've been to it before and there's lots of contemplation, sound baths, yoga nidra etc. I've got a stiff shoulder and my achilles is giving me a bit of jip, so looking forward to a deep practice. Hoping to get out for a couple of runs while I'm there too, though. My diploma is wrapping up in May so I have lots of assignment deadlines before then so can envisage too much sitting around coming up. Hoping to keep my mojo going as this is the most consistent I've been for decades and don't want to ruin it.

@Fibrous that sounds a lovely weekend, enjoy and tell us all about it. 💖 🧘‍♂️

SB 15 mins from a few days ago on calendar

Sarah Beth 30 min TWIST power yoga, very nice and added to favourites, then tried Yoga with Kassandra for first time for 30 min. I was a little unfocused due to children needing me so will try her again over weekend.

class this morning had a focus on side / rib / chest opening & balances. Fabulous.

im getting this really sweet spot in the middle of classes now. When I’m nicely warmed up, but before starting to get tired. I feel so much strength & I really naturally power through a vinyasa, rolling over toes, feeling a strength in shoulders/arms/back that is frankly thrilling. Going from updog to down dog in a seamless simple movement like a yoga queen.

loving it!

yoga is helping me identify emotions better too. I often have problems with that. This morning I felt a little impatient. It never occurred to me before that I could feel impatient at 6:35am.