Welp!! Continuing the social distancing and about to go nuts!! The weather here in Texas has not been the greatest. It’s been raining a lot here and there! Cloudy and gloomy to go along with the recent mood. However, keeping myself busy has helped tremendously!
Continuing my teacher training
I’ve been moving along with this. Besides working, this has become my new constant. My goal is to finish before June 30th. The reason for this (Super excited!!!!!!) is that the Yoga Alliance is accepting registrations of students that took 200 YTT online courses (as long as it was from a registered YA school, which mine is) until June 30th due to the pandemic. That means that I can be YA registered!! The thing that had almost stopped me is now not an issue anymore! Super excited!!
I am at the Anatomy section, and it’s been tough! I was not great in biology courses, so it’s been a slow process moving a long! There’s a quiz after each section, but so far, I’ve been doing great! I’m surprisingly enjoying it.
Excited to be moving along! As I continue and get more confident in my practice, I want to post yoga videos about useful tips that have helped me so far and yoga flows!
So, along with continuing with YTT, I’ve been practicing on what I set my goal this year, to do a forearm stand and handstand!
Handstands and beyond!
I’ve been working hard in strengthening my core and upper body. I’ve definitely improved! Although I haven’t done one on my own, I’ve been using the wall for support to get used to being upside down with my forearm or hands. This was my attempt today doing a (half) forearm stand and handstand.
Another thing I’ve been getting better at is my supported headstand. I’ve been doing them much quicker and able to move my legs around using my core. I’ve been so excited, because I couldn’t do this a month ago! Here is my attempt today!
For the second one, I was able to get into it by having my legs apart. So excited I’m getting better!! To get to this point, I’ve done a lot of hollow rocks & holds, sit-ups, planks, forearm planks, dolphin pose, etc. Recently, I’ve been following a Handstand Program from the YBC subscribers app! It’s been kicking my butt!! However, I definitely feel stronger! I need to incorporate weights more though! That’s my next thang!
Self Practice
So, one thing that I learned while doing YTT courses is that self-practice is SUPER important. I used to do it a little, but have been maintaining a full 30 minutes each morning for the past week. I’ve been waking up at 7:00 am (my goal is 6:30 am, but I do such a horrible job going to sleep at a decent hour) and hitting the yoga mat.
I start with meditation. Now, this is where I feel EVERYONE should be doing this. It helps with your mental wellbeing and helps you to be calm for the rest of the day. When you start feeling anxious, you can go back to the mat (or where ever you choose)! The easiest is sitting in a comfortable position, and just breathing in and out. I count in for 5 seconds and then out for 5. I keep doing this for awhile. Things definitely go through your head, and that’s ok. Just acknowledge them and envision moving them like puffy clouds. As thoughts come to your head, picture in your mind a wind pushing them away. Don’t get angry because they popped up. It’s ok. Just blow them on by. Do this as long as you want. Sometimes I sit there for 10 minutes, and sometimes I feel like I’ve been there forever! The point is to do it! Heck, 2 minutes is ok. If you can do that for a week, then the next week, work up to 4 minutes per day, and so on. You don’t want to feel overwhelmed with how long you do it.
Next, after meditation, I do a couple of stretches. I incorporate TONS of cat/cow poses, child’s pose, butterfly pose, sphinx pose, and side stretches. I wake up feeling very stiff in the mornings and my sciatica is a little funky because I’ve been sleeping. I have to work out these kinks in order for me to feel “normal” throughout the day. If not, I have weird hip pain.
Then, I go into my Sun Salutations. I do the basic ones for the first 2 rounds, then start incorporating low lunges, warrior II, maybe pigeon pose, etc. (depending on how I feel). The key is listening to your body. Sometimes I go into Utkatasana (chair pose) and sometimes my sciatica is bothering me a little more, and I don’t do it.
Next, I end with laying on my back doing stretches. I do some knees to chest, forward fold, bridge pose, reclined pigeon pose (my ultimate favorite!), reclined supine twist, etc. For all of the stretches/poses, I hold for a couple breaths. If I feel a little stiffness, I breathe through it. Always make sure that you are not feeling pain. If it’s pain, then back off. If it’s stiffness, try to breathe through it.
Finally….my favorite part, savasana! After doing this flow in the morning, savasana feels SOOOO good! I hold this for about 5 minutes (if I don’t fall asleep….LOL). Once done, I sit and do a little small meditation. I start my day by naming (at least) 3 things that I am grateful for. Then, I thank Mother Earth for providing for us, and asking for healing for the world during this difficult time.
That’s it! I feel so good afterwards and ready to start my day! I’m a little shy, but as I feel more comfortable, I want to post a video of at least one version of my morning flow.
I hope this is helpful to some! Honestly, the most important thing for me is the meditation. It gets my mind in the right point to be able to do my practice. The thing is for you to listen to your body and not worry about wether it flows or not. Do what feels good, and what your body is asking for! It’s a great way to decompress and start the day off on the right foot!
Everyone have a great and safe week!
Grounding Fitness, LLC 