My Yogi Lifestyle: Shedding Our Skin

I was at the river museum not to long ago with my daughter and we saw a snake that had shed its skin. My daughter asked why it did that, and I explained that snakes shed their skin so that they can grow. She asked if people can do the same, and I said no, our skin grows with us. 

This conversation got me thinking about how we as humans change, grow, and evolve. The snake shedding its skin is very symbolic to me in that humans too must learn how to shed or let go of the past so that we can grow and transition through life. 

Just as everything in nature is constantly changing and evolving we must do the same so that we can move fluidly with life, dissolving our expectations of how things "should" be and moving with the unexpected transitions that inevitably occur in life. 

Just as our skin stretches and grows as we do, so too must our spirit have the freedom to do the same. In order to emerge from this life in our most true and pure form, we must allow for change and welcome it with open arms.

Yoga for Runners Pose for the Day...Figure 4

As a runner, there are several reasons why I love this pose. To begin, its a balance pose so it requires concentration, breath awareness, and strength. Its challenging, yet calming, teaching us to quiet our mind, be still, and breathe when we just want to come out of the pose. Not only does Figure 4 offer these mental benefits, but it also opens the hip and knee and strengthens the standing leg and ankle.

Begin in Mountain pose.

Inhale, raise your arms overhead.

Exhale, bend both knees and sit your hips down into chair pose. Keep your weight in your heels and your core strong. You should be able to see your toes in front of your knees.

Bring your right leg up and place your right ankle above your left knee on your thigh.

Bring hands to heart center. You can stay here or sink down further, bringing your arms to rest on your right leg and deepening the stretch in your right hip.

Hold and breathe 8-10 breaths.

Repeat on other side.

Day 255 of My Year of Yoga

"I still love today" said my 4 year old when I commented on the overcast sky. I know I write about my kids a lot and especially my daughter (since she's been around longer than my 4 month old son) but that little girl is simply my greatest inspiration. I never realized, until I began the practice of living my yoga, the positive, uplifting, and wise words and actions thatso often come from her. Children can truly be our greatest teachers. Their light has not yet dimmed, the veil of experience has not been pulled over their eyes, their genuine intuition and connection to their spirit has not been tarnished. My greatest wish would be for the children of this world to remain forever in that state and for the rest of us to return to it. Namaste.

#yoga #yogi #yogini #yogamama #treepose #wisdom#lovetoday #namaste #liveyouryoga #dailyyoga#yogadaily #yogapractice #yogateacher #spirit#connection #shineyourlight #inspiration#yogainspiration #yogagirl #iowayogi#yogaeverydamnday #yogalife #om #hollyfloodyoga

Day 253 of My Year of Yoga

"Ong namo guru dev namo" means "I bow to the Divine Teacher within." In a lot of my writing I talk about my teachers, the people outside of myself from whom I learn, especially my children. But my own inner teacher must be acknowledged because without that, I would not have the ability to see what is before me. We are all our own teachers. We all have the knowledge, theunderstanding, the light, and the spirit within us to show us the way. We do have the answers we need, we just haven't all learned to open ourselves up to our innate wisdom. Yoga poses, pranayama, or breathing exercises, and meditation unlock our energy blockages, quiet our overactive minds, and cultivate balance, concentration and awareness. It's with this practice that we begin to know ourselves, recognize the answers, and live a more joyful life. Trust yourself, trust the process, and trust your journey, for you are Divine and you know the way.

#Divine #trust #faith #trusttheprocess #yogapractice#knowyourself #meditation #wisdom #balance#awareness #yogapose #pranayama #spirit #innerlight#shineyourlight #liveyouryoga #yoga #yogagirl#yogamama #yogaeverydamnday #namaste#yogainspiration #yogajourney

Mommy and Me Yoga: Sun Salute Demo

Between parenting, working, chores, and all the other things that seem to float into our lives, it can be a challenge to fit in a regular workout. This is one round of sun salutations that I've done with my 3 month old and he loves it! Doing just 3-5 rounds of this on each side is a great little workout. You'll strengthen your core, legs, and arms, get your heart rate up and even sweat a little. And you get to spend some quality time with baby too! Remember to use your core and keep your knees bent when you're lifting baby off the floor.
https://youtu.be/VgPIJY9aRHw

Day 243 of My Year Of Yoga

Day 243 of ‪#‎myyearofyoga‬ :
Patience, patience, patience, breathe, breathe, breathe. I offered this to a friend the other day and it made me think about how I apply this to my own life. And how I sometimes forget to. Everything will happen as its meant to happen and in its own time. That time just might not be the time we've predetermined for ourselves. When we are injured, whether physically or emotionally, we heal. It's our natural state to be whole. Our bodies know intuitively how to heal, it is just our minds that prolong the process and make it seem unbearable. Pregnancy is not an injury, but when I was pregnant, I couldn't do a lot of the things I could once do. And postpartum, I had to give myself time to heal. What I had to continuously return to was the understanding that my body knew what to do. I am meant to be whole and so, I allow it to be so. When things in our lives are put on pause or seem out of reach, we must remember, patience, patience, patience, breathe, breathe, breathe.

‪#‎breathe‬ ‪#‎patience‬ ‪#‎yoga‬ ‪#‎yogi‬ ‪#‎yogini‬ ‪#‎yogamama‬ ‪#‎yogaeverydamnday‬‪#‎yogaforlife‬ ‪#‎yogagirl‬ ‪#‎dailyyoga‬ ‪#‎liveyouryoga‬ ‪#‎acceptance‬ ‪#‎healing‬‪#‎bepatient‬ ‪#‎bepresent‬ ‪#‎bewhole‬ ‪#‎yogapose‬ ‪#‎yogapractice‬ ‪#‎letgo‬‪#‎letgoofcontrol‬

Day 242 of My Year of Yoga

Day 242 of #myyearofyoga :
Why do we try so hard to be perfect? For whom are we trying to be perfect? Our friends? Our family members? Strangers? It occurred to me this morning that no one really wants you to be perfect. In fact, it's often someone else's apparent perfection that makes us feel imperfect. But when we have the chance to see others in their natural state, it's comforting. Brene Brown, in her book, Daring Greatly, describes perfectionism as "a defensive move. It's the belief that if we can do things perfectly and look perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgement, and shame." And truthfully, the one who is bestowing the most judgment upon us is ourself. As a friend of mine said when I showed up to her 5:15 a.m boot camp class one morning with food stuck in my teeth and dried drool on my check (I mean, really?), she hugged me and said "this makes me feel so human." And that's exactly what we all are, human. We're not perfect nor should we try to be. We should simply do our best, act with good intention, and be our best self - whatever that may be.

#beyou #beyourbestself #yogamama #yogababy #yoga#yogi #yogini #behuman #daringgreatly #brenebrown#iowayogi #perfection #yogaeverydamnday#liveyouryoga #liveauthentic #dailyyoga #yogaforlife

Yoga. A Runner's Best Friend

I hear a lot of runners say they don't do yoga because they aren't flexible, or they're intimidated about being in a room full of bendy bodies and being the only one who can't touch their toes. To that I say, first off, in nearly every class I teach there are people (plural) who can't touch their toes. No one cares if you "can't do the pose" except for you. And, I might add, you can do the pose because a good instructor will offer options to make each pose work for each person. 

Second, saying you can't do yoga because you're not flexible is like saying you can't go to the dentist because you have bad teeth. That's why you go! Yoga will make you more flexible! You're not expected to come into the studio for the first (or even hundredth) time and do a "perfect" asana practice. Yoga isn't even all about the asana, or physical, practice. That's the draw that brings us to the mat, but the practice goes far beyond that, and for a runner, this multifaceted practice has tremendous benefits.

Let's start with the obvious. I've noticed that most runners don't stretch out sufficiently after a run. I've been guilty of this in the past, saying "I don't have time for 15 minutes of stretching. I have to get my miles in." Oh, those miles! Why do we do it to ourselves? I've found yoga to benefit my running, not to mention my life, so significantly that I would go so far as to say do one less mile so you have time for 15 or even just 10 purposeful minutes of yoga post run. 

During last year's running season I co-designed a half marathon training program that integrated yoga with a running program and I used it to train myself and a group of runners for the Madison Half Marathon in Madison, Wisconsin. There were first time half marathon finishers in the group, and others, myself included, who ran their personal best, or PR'd. In fact, in all my races that season, while running less and making yoga integral to my training, I either PR'd or came close. Yoga, it seems, is a runners best friend. 

The potential to run faster isn't the only draw of yoga for runners though. It also prevents injury, increases mental focus through mindful breath work and meditation, and makes you a more efficient runner. Yoga not only builds strength and increases flexibility where runners need it most, it also teaches you to slow down, something most runners aren't encouraged to do. Yoga is about the self and so when we practice we're encouraged to free ourselves from competition, to not worry about what the person on the next mat over can do, and to instead focus inward. A regular yoga practice allows us to nurture and care for ourselves, to recognize our holding patterns and where we are tight or stuck, and to work with those parts of ourselves instead of always pushing through it or working against it. As a long distance runner, I was all about pushing through pain, being tough, and getting the miles in. Yoga has taught me that it's ok to back off when there's pain, to honor how my body feels, and to be mindful of my intention when setting out for a run.  And with that, it's truly made me a better runner and a better me.

"Yoga isn't about touching your toes. It's about what you learn on the way down."