Days 19, 20, 21, 22 of 30

Okay, so it's been a while since I've updated my blog but here I am on day 22 of 30. Today me and Andrea went to an intro Ashtanga yoga class. They have this promotion 10 days 10 dollars which is pretty good considering the price for drop ins. My arms will be sore for sure tomorrow. Not use to doing so many downward dogs! Actually even my fingers hurt from pressing them down on the mat with my palms lol. But it was worth it! It was really great! The pose of the day for me is the Wide Leg Forward Bend. As seen in the photo on the left. I really enjoy the stretch that this pose offers. Here is a video to check it out. Click here.

Day 18 of 30

I waited till the last minute to do yoga today so I wasn't able to do one of my usual yoga practices. I did a yoga de-stresser which was really nice and relaxing. I made me sleepy. zzzzzzzzz

Day 17 of 30

Today I went to Moksha Yoga and it was very intense. I wasn't able to keep up and found myself in Child's Pose ( <--- the pic) more than a few times. But I am okay with that. The more I do yoga, the more I learn about it. Yoga isn't a competition and I don't need to keep up with anyone. I go at my own pace and I do my best. That's the beauty of yoga, anyone can do it. Child's Pose is a resting pose and was my savior today lol. When things get to be too much, short of breath or need a break, this is one of the resting poses that most suggest to go into. It's a pretty simple pose but here is a link if you'd like to see it. Click here.

Day 16 of 30

Bah! I'm getting bad at updating my blog. I completed day 16 though.

Day 15 of 30

Day 15 was completed, just didn't have time to blog. Will post later with day 16 blog.

Day 14 of 30

Almost half way there! Anna came over again to do some yoga. This time we did Power Yoga by Bryan Kest. It was actually pretty good! We both enjoyed it. I enjoyed the exposure to new yoga postures. Anna's favorite was the Crescent Lunge with Twist which you can view here.

Day 13 of 30

So yeah. I did yoga today. It was great. I need to figure out more to talk about....maybe a blog wasn't such a good idea.

Day 12 of 30

What a beautiful morning to do yoga! I feel refreshed and ready to start my day! Now I'm off to study!

Day 11 of 30

I am feeling very relaxed right now. That wasn't the case earlier today. I'm a bit stressed out because I have two exams this week. But at this very moment I feel calm and refreshed. I'll get through this week like any other week and just do my best. Yoga was a killer on my thighs today! Captain Awesome's awesome pose of the day is Downward Facing Dog. I chose this one because when I first started yoga my heels were always hovering over the mat and now I am able to lay them flat on the mat with comfort and ease. :) Here is a video describing the posture. Click here!

Day 10 of 30

Day 10 = Naked Yoga! In celebration of reaching the 10th day of my 30 day challenge I decided to practice yoga in the nude. I think I may have over-hyped the idea of doing naked yoga. It was alright, although I had to modify some of the postures for comfort reasons lol. Anyways, I purchased a yoga book over the weekend and there are some yoga poses that I really want to try. The pose of the day is Sun Salutation which is actually a set of 12 poses that are preformed in a single graceful flow. I am familiar with all 12 poses but have never really done the Sun Salutation. So here's a video to check it out. Click here!

Day 9 of 30

Made it to day 9! Woo! Don't have much time to write a blog. I need to go get my drink on!!!

Day 8 of 30

Today was kind of a blah day with the weather and all. It was the first day that I didn't feel like doing yoga, but really I didn't feel like doing anything today. I did end up doing it and I'm glad. I saw improvements in my flexibility with other poses and it really made me feel good about my practice! I really do enjoy yoga and I'm glad that I've found something that I really feel passionate about. Today's "pose of the day" is the Exalted Warrior (picture on the left). Here is a video on how to execute the pose. Click here!

Day 7 of 30

Well I made it to day 7! Yesterday and today I noticed that my flexibility has increased. Me and Anna talked about how it helps to see improvement and its definitely a nice feeling! So the pose of the day is the Standing Forward Bend which stretches and lengthens the hamstrings. Here's a video to see how it's done! Click here!

Day 6 of 30

Well I made it to day 6! Anna came over and we tried out a new workout but didn't like it so much. We decided to go back to doing Rodney Yee yoga! I didn't get to write very much yesterday but wanted to write about Tracy one of the instructors at Moksha Yoga. I was talking to her after class about how I have to get out of balance postures at times because the muscles on the inside of my feet cramp up. She was nice enough to show me an exercise I could practice to help out my feet. It's kind of like the Awkward pose (the image in my last post) but instead you have your knees placed on the ground and you pretty much sit on the back of your heels. It's not pleasant but it is a good stretch! For today's "pose of the day" I decided to post about one of Anna's favorite pose. She enjoys the Tree Pose (the image in this post). The Tree Pose is a balancing pose that strengthens legs and improves balance. He's a video to see how it's done! Click here to see Rodney Yee doing Tree pose!

Day 5 of 30

Ouch. Day 5 was pretty rough. Hot yoga kicked my ass! Talk about intense work out! Today I went to Moksha Yoga with my roommates Signe and Max. I don't have much time to write so maybe I'll do so later.

Day 4 of 30

Amber and Anna came over this morning to do some yoga with me. We did Rodney Yee's Power Yoga today and it was pretty good. Some of the stuff is kind of repetitive but I feel really good! During the strength portion of the practice I did a pose I haven't done before and thought it was really cool. My "pose of the day" would definitely be the Upward Plank Pose.

Benefits: Strengthens the arms, wrists and legs. Stretches the shoulders, chest, and front ankles.

Video: Upward Plank Pose

Day 3 of 30

Good morning! I woke up early and decided to start my day off with some yoga which focused on flexibility and stamina. I feel great after completing the practice, like I always do, but when I woke up this morning I was definitely feeling it in my thighs. I decided that in each blog I would write about one yoga posture. My current favorite posture is Pigeon Pose. Even though I would consider myself to be an advanced beginner I am still a beginner and I don't want to misinform the 1 or 2 people who read this blog so I am going to cut and paste some reliable information on this pose.

Type of pose: Hip opener, Backbend

Benefits: Stretches the thighs, groins, back, and psoas. Opens the chest and shoulders.

Instructional Video: Pigeon Pose Video

Day 2 of 30

So today is day 2 of the 30 day challenge. My friend Anna came over and did some yoga with me. Today we did Rodney Yee's Accelerated Yoga. She plans on doing more yoga with me which is fun and it also helps me stick with my goal! I enjoyed the DVD because it has some yoga positions/moves that I haven't done before. It's kind of refreshing. Tomorrow I think we are going to do one of the more intense DVDs. I'll let you know how it goes!

Day 1 of 30 Day Yoga Challenge

I have been doing moksha hot yoga since January and have really been enjoying it. For those who are not familiar with this form of yoga it's practiced in a heated room. The last few times I have gone I noticed that some members were doing a 30 day yoga challenge. I thought it was really neat but I could never afford to go 30 days in a row. Yesterday I acquired some yoga DVDs by Rodney Yee. I decided I would do my own 30 day challenge and mix it up with classes at the studio and the DVDs at home. I wanted to start a blog and now that I have something to write about for the next 30 days I thought "Why not!?" Since I am challenging myself to this 30 day challenge I'd like to challenge YOU to pushing yourself to do the same with an activity you enjoy for the next 30 days!!! Feel free to post comments as any feedback would be awesome.

Namaste,
Joel