Black Friday Exercise to Free You from Your Guilt

Ah, the day after Thanksgiving.. 

Recovering from lots of food, lots of family time, & possibly lots of adult beverages. Maybe you’re still with your family & friends. Maybe you’ve already been up for hours because you enjoy battling for deals that you can also get from the comfort of your bed… Online shopping is the way to go yall. 

I woke up feeling great this morning- my body is praising the lord for all of the food I gave it. However, my legs aren’t very happy since I made them finish a dreaded 5k yesterday morning. I know 3.2 miles isn’t very much for most people, but ya girl usually runs a single (1) mile if any at all.. So I’m pretty proud of myself for my under 30 min finishing time! rofl

  

It was actually a lot of fun (can’t believe I just said that). Turns out running outside with the fam isn’t as torturous as running on a treadmill..

Since most of us stuffed our faces all day yesterday, I came up with a quick & easy workout to get back on track. Anyone can do this fun little routine!! 

Exercise 1: Sit & Reach

Start on the couch. While holding in your abdomen, sit up and reach for the remote. Repeat as many times as necessary. Try changing the channel & volume in intervals to get more work in!

Exercise 2: Leftover Dash

Start on the couch again. Now you’ll get up & walk to the kitchen. Fix yourself a plate of leftovers. Put the food in the oven/microwave. Walk back to the couch..& then back to the kitchen when your food is ready. Remember to take breaks!! This one can be tough.

Exercise 3: Glass Curl

This one requires a glass of water, tea, coffee, wine, whatever you prefer. Same starting position- on the couch.. Grip your glass & lift the glass to drink from it. Squeeze your bicep muscles while lifting & lowering the glass. Chiseled tank top arms here we come 😉

Stay persistent, & always practice safe sets!! 

Enjoy this time of indulgence, your body deserves it. Too much deprivation never did anyone any good anyways! Besides, most of the food we’ve all eaten for Thanksgiving is relatively unprocessed & full of much-needed refueling nutrients. Guilt-free holidays 4 lyfe!

~peace & all good~

How Yoga Has Helped Me Fail

Yoga is a very complicated subject… I feel like it’s viewed as either something extremely boring, extremely spiritual, or extremely foreign. Maybe even all of the above. Maybe none of the above. 

What I do know, is that my yoga practice has helped me become more comfortable with my never-ending thoughts & my imperfect self. I’ve only been practicing consistently for about a year…but you’d be surprised what such a short amount of time can do! 

Flexibility has always been somewhat of a strong point for me.. I’m relatively strong (physically).. My balance is decent.. Yoga for me isn’t about these things that we typically associate with it. I’m not overly concerned with how on point my poses are, or how twisty I can get, or how long I can stand on my head (although being upside down is my favourite place to be). 

Clearly I’m not all about how perfect my poses are…

   Handstand? Nope. 
   Hips & shoulders aligned? Try again.. 

*the following image may cause you to laugh your abs on*

   My favorite fail ever captured on camera. I was trying to do a tripod headstand & fell as soon as the timer went off. Crying..I hope you are too lol.

For me, I’m more interested in how taking time to appreciate myself can improve how I deal with things. I enjoy the time my practice gives me to sit with my thoughts & acknowledge my mind. 

I like that I can just breath & observe the way my body & mind react to things I do. 

I like that I can fail a bunch of times & find it funny (also slightly frustrating…but more funny). 

I can use my body to give my mind what it needs at a given time. 

And just to re-iterate how hilarious/normal/OK it is to fail & get things wrong:  

  HAHA nope, not even close to correct. 
  Still funny.. & still not correct!!

So I hope this at least gave you a laugh, & maybe even gave you a new view on yoga. Do what you need & forget the rest!