Yoga Works!!!

When I first started doing Yoga six years ago, I actually took an intensive yoga class at a local community college. I had a phenomenal teacher, and he made yoga at a community college feel like a class at a yoga studio. After two quarters, I got a gym membership that offered yoga classes, however, I felt like their classes were like a "boot-camp" yoga, and for me that wasn't a preferred environment to practice yoga. It is hard to keep your concentration in standing tree with some drill instructor yelling at you to breathe!!

I think that there are different types and levels of yoga and one is bound to fit your style and preference! I'm fortunate that I live in Portland, OR which happens to have an insane amount of yoga studios and classes, but since the birth of my daughter getting out is a bit more difficult. So, I discovered "exerciseTV" on OnDemand from Comcast.

For the first month I did the "10lb Slimdown" yoga with Chris Freytag. Mainly because it was 26 minutes which was about the length of my daughter's afternoon naps, and I was a little intimidated to do a whole hour of Yoga. I enjoyed this, but when the afternoon nap went from 30minutes to an hour I decided it was high time to step it up into high gear. In the Yoga&Pilates section they have a yoga series called "Yogaworks". Since, I've practiced Yoga before I went for the Bodyslim class taught by Jesse Schein.

I have been doing this class for about 3 weeks now, and am loving it. It has 3 cardio sun salute and 3 slow-burn sequences with a great core warm up and a nice cool down in 51 minutes! The instructor, Jesse Schein, is great and breaks down the positions and adds tips for best postures for safety. There are also Modified poses explained and shown for beginners. There are a small number of moments that you might get annoyed at Jesse talking through poses, but I suggest just focusing on what you are doing and tuning out the video for a moment. After two or three times of doing this class those 51 minutes fly by!! Which is great and means I'm building up stamina and strength! YAY!!

One thing I love about yoga is that it brings awareness into your body. It makes you aware of how to engage the muscles in your body and brings balance to your core. The breathing and movement of breath also brings awareness to your breathing through out the day, and teaches you stress and pain relieving techniques that can be applied to so many other areas of your life, including labor and childbirth. I think that for anyone looking to get back into shape, yoga is a great place to start.

Another side effect of yoga is the gaining the value of the moment. Some moments are super hard and those moments make you appreciate the easier moments, and this can be taken into other areas at your life and allow you to enjoy the moment, whether good or bad because we need one to appreciate the other! Please share with me your experiences with yoga, good or bad!! Like I said there are many different types of yoga, so maybe you haven't found one that works best for you!

Soo, how can you do this?

• Well if you have Comcast digital cable you already have access to this video!
• >>OnDemand > Sports & Fitness > ExerciseTV > Yoga&Pilates > YogaWorks SlimClass
• If you don't have Comcast, then you can purchase the DVDs at http://www.yogaworks.com
• Target also sells some of the videos from this series as well.
  

Still not convinced? Then here is some more food for thought:

83yr old yoga super granny!!: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1172810
/The-yoga-supergran-bend-backwards-age-83.html

77 Surpising health benefits of Yoga:
http://www.nursingdegree.net/blog/24/77-surprising-health-benefits-of-yoga/

One Love,
Laura

A New Old Begining

I'm started this blog so that maybe I inspire one other person to enjoy getting fit and being healthier mentally, spiritually, and physically. I strongly feel that fitness and health should be a lifestyle, and a lifestyle should make you happy, so I don't want anyone to do anything that makes them miserable!

So, follow me on my journey to my lighter self. I'll share with you tips and resources on life, happiness, beauty, health, diet, and my own struggles and triumphs. I hope that you'll be inspired to make just one small positive change, and in my own experiences I've found that this leads to more and more positive changes. A better today for a better tomorrow!!

One Love,
Laura!!

"the difference between try and triumph is just a little umph." -Marvin Phillips

I'm including a brief history of my journey so that you'll understand more where I'm coming from. This is my personal story, please feel free to share your own story with me as well!!

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Lets back up about 6 years ago, to put it simply I was unhealthy, eating fast food almost everyday, working in an office, and coming home to sit on my couch in front of the TV. Naturally, I was depressed and ready for something big to shake up my world. That was when I met a friend of mine who introduced me to a vegetarian diet. I had experimented with a meat-free diet in high school, and it was something I had always been interested in. His words and lifestyle inspired me, and I was ready to make some big changes. In the next year I would stop eating meat, clean out my diet of high fructose corn syrup, MSG, sugar based treats, and preservatives. Another addition to my life was practicing yoga. Yes, I'm one of those, "yoga changed my life people", and indeed it did. I also joined a gym and after two years had went from 134lbs to 105lbs (I'm 5'1'' so this is an appropriate weight for me). Fast forward to falling head over heels for my current BD, living in Mexico for 3 months, getting pregnant, and consequently packing on the pounds again. Hormones, chronic morning sickness, exhaustion and going to school full-time, and at full term I weighed an incredible 174lb. I hoped I would have a 50lb baby!! On March 13th, 2010 my boyfriend and I became parents to a gorgeous healthy baby girl. We had an all natural waterbirth, and let me tell you my yoga breathing was a lifesaver (it'll change your life!!! haha). However, I left the hospital a depressing 154lbs. OUCH!! Everyone always tells you that with breastfeeding you lose weight quickly, but I didn't.. maybe it was the hormones, maybe it was eating too much, honestly I can't tell you, but 9 months after my daughter was born I had only lost 10lbs. I see all my FB friends and these celebrities lose weight like nothing but not me.

I suppose I could be depressed and frustrated, but I'm deciding to turn to my lighter side!! I'm back to enjoying a mostly vegetarian diet, and practicing yoga 3+ times a week. I also enjoy counting calories on MyFitnessPal app for my smart phone, so this is helping me keep track of my daily intake and output of calories. However, I will share more about this and other things in future posts.

This post is only an introduction so I'll save the rest of my story and ideas as I go along. I can tell you that next week is my daughter's first birthday, and I haven't weighed myself in over a month (I'm okay with this, I'm more about holistic changes than focusing on one number), but I'm see changes in my body and am dropping dress sizes quickly. I also feel really great about the hard work I'm doing, and hope that you'll see that you can get in shape and feel great inside and out!!

** Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist, doctor, or fitness instructor. I'm just a regular person working to make my life and my daughter's future better. I hope that you'll be honest with yourself and not do anything that doesn't sit well with you. I also recommend consulting a physician before starting any exercise routine.. you know.. blah, blah, blah