Happy Birthday to my 2nd Born

I think you were stubborn from the get go, from the time you entered the womb.

When you were supposed to be head down, preparing for birth, you remained firmly with that head pointed upward.  You liked it where you were.   So we went to the doctor and they manually shifted that body for you.  (ouch for me!)

You remained stubborn.  Your due date came and went as I patiently waited to meet you. 

Finally, nearly two weeks later, my body decided it was time to kick you out of your cozy home.  Labor began.  You, however, remained stubborn.  Hour after hour passed.  Pain after pain came.  The doctor didn't feel optimistic about the way labor was progressing. 

We finally gave up.  It was time for you to come out into the world.  So a C-section it was. 

Stubborn or not, you were beautiful. 

You still are.

Happy Birthday Liam. 

I love you.

Yoga Thoughts for Today

We are still down to one vehicle which hinders my ability to travel!  No driving means no yoga.  Well, it means no yoga classes.  I can still do yoga at home.  I just am not that good at doing it at home. 

Especially on a day like today where I am feeling lazy and tired. 

I did it though.  I am wearing very uncomfortable pants though which inspired this post:

http://www.bubblews.com/news/9362137-a-yoga-journey-comfy-clothes-are-a-must

It's sad when my comfy workout pants have become so tight that they are no longer comfortable. 

I really need to start dieting.  It's depressing me. 

That's not good stuff.

Yoga: Hope for the Newbie

Yesterday, my friend posted a photograph of herself in a difficult Yoga pose.  She was in a sort of back bend with one leg kicked upward.  I was impressed!  When I ran into her today, I asked her if she had always been that flexible and how long she had been practicing yoga.

Her response to the first inquiry was no, she has not always been that flexible.  Yay!  There is hope for me!

Her next answer was that she has been practicing yoga for two years. 

The other thing that gave me hope is that she has been doing it at home using a simple app on her own for all of those two years.  She has gained that much strength and flexibility by simply following an app. 

I'm having a rough week due to vehicle things.  Getting to my Yoga classes is going to be pretty much impossible.  So I will do it at home.  And I am going to learn to not make excuses anymore.  If I am home, I can squeeze in at least thirty minutes of Yoga. 

She seriously motivated me!

Photo credit:  my own

Yoga and Anxiety

I have been attracted to the thought of Yoga for quite awhile.  In fact, I tried a class probably ten years ago that was a pilates-yoga combination class at my then-current gym.  I wasn't impressed at the time.  It was probably too large a venue for a newbie like me.  I didn't try again. 

Then anxiety arrived in my life.  Initially, I seemed to manage it.  It went away.  Then my son died.  Anxiety returned in full force.  It became overwhelming.  I turned to prescription anxiety meds for help.  It helped me through those rough first holidays last year.  What I found, though, was that prescription medicine made me feel like a zombie.  I seriously had no emotion.  I didn't cry for months.  And I am a crier.  I went through my first Christmas without my son and I didn't cry.  Sure, I didn't want to be a basket case, but I wanted to feel my real emotions. 

So shortly after the holidays, I said bye bye to the prescription medicines. 

Exercise has always helped with my anxiety.  So I was trying to keep up with that as well.  As I started to feel a slight upturn in anxiety again, I decided to find a yoga class.  I belong to the YMCA which offers yoga classes.  So I had to find schedules that worked with me.  I did so.

Now it is over two months since I started and I can say that my anxiety has seemed under control.  I feel like I leave yoga class relaxed.  I can breathe easier, literally. 

I hated the idea of being tied to medications to function day to day.  I'm so glad I ditched them and found a more natural way to handle my stress.

The Yoga Chronicles 11/7/14

Sadly, today was a day without yoga.  I probably snuck in ten poses.  Maybe a total of five minutes or ten.  Tomorrow I shall definitely do it at home due to lack of transportation to the gym.  My plan is to do it immediately after finishing my coffee and breakfast (first htings first!  priorities!)

Sometimes I just wish I had more time to my day.  No, not sometimes.  All the time!  By the time I do what moms do, the day is gone.  And I don't even do close to what moms should do (i.e. clean house?).   I would love to do Yoga EVERY SINGLE DAY.  I would love to sneak in some cardio each day too... swimming?  elliptical?

http://www.bubblews.com/news/9327052-a-yoga-journey-none-nada-zip

Homeschooling, Winning the Lottery, and Avoiding Work

It is just after 1:00pm in my quiet household.  As I just informed the children that it was time to return to our school work, I had to hear the usual sighs, complaints, groans.  They act like they have it so rough, my kids.  They truly think they do which gets a little old.

So my daughter (true to form) started talking about something distracting.  Today's topic of choice:  what would you do if we won 2 billion dollars in the lottery?  I gave her a brief answer.  Of course, she wanted to hold a long conversation.  And yes, I had to stop the conversation because have been extremely unproductive today.

Homeschool can be quite difficult some days, let me tell you!

Yoga would be easier if I were Skinny!

The practice of Yoga is so beneficial to me.  I can tell that after merely two months of doing it.  If only I could lose weight too, I can only imagine how much easier some of the poses would be. 

Example: 

Downward facing dog and plank poses put much of your weight on your arms and shoulders.  Boy, this is tough when you are overweight!  If I weighed fifty pounds less, my arms would be saying "this is a piece of cake." 

Another example:

many poses that require reaching or twisting seem to end up with my boobs in the way!  if they would shrink just a little, I think that could be much easier as well.

Regardless, I'm doing yoga and loving it.

Here's a post I wrote on my other site about Yoga today. 
http://www.bubblews.com/news/9274499-a-yoga-journey-after-a-break

Photo Credit:  my own