Yogi by night

This is my yoga space.

It becomes my yoga space when I roll out my mat. Before that it's our family room. Throw a blanket down and it becomes Malcolm's play area.

But that mat transforms it into my yoga time.

And so far, that has happened exclusively at night. Not until at least 9PM. There have been a few nights where I don't begin until 11:50 PM.

I'm checking in on my promise to do yoga once a day for at least ten minutes every single day in March.

So here's the update. My daily practice has ranged from fifteen minutes on the low end to sixty minutes on the high end. Well... the low end was actually March 4th when I attempted to do my practice with Malcolm. I don't really count that, though.

Things I've learned in 7 days of my yoga journey:

1. Yogis Anonymous is a God send! Two of my friends recommended it to me because they have FREE online classes. And one of my friend's wife is a teacher there. Her name is Aria Mayland and I highly recommend her classes! Check out Yogis Anonymous!

2. A little yoga goes a long way. The days that I only get fifteen minutes in, I still feel the difference. I always begin with breathing to center myself. That alone is worth the trouble.

3. I can feel years of neglect in my muscles. The other night I was doing a cross-legged forward bend and was overwhelmed by how tight my hips are. I used to be so flexible. Especially when I was a dancer. Here's what I realized. The reason I never commit and stick to a daily routine is because I've been unwilling to confront all the years of not being on a daily routine and what that neglect has done to my body. Does this make sense? It's like allowing the laundry to pile up. The more laundry that piles up, the harder it is to confront it.

So that's where I am right now. I'm still hoping to get in a full ninety minute Yogis Anonymous class. Perhaps on the weekend. I'm looking forward to that.

How's this yoga-once-a-day challenge going for you? Anyone out there following along at home?

Oh- one more thing... I've been doing Itsy Bitsy Yoga with Malcolm... hoping to give him the gift of yoga. He seems to like it.

March YOGA Madness

Maybe it's the date on the calendar. March 1st already. Already! Reminding me that time continues to click away.

Or it's the fact that the snow has almost completely melted and the sun is blazing promising a high of 46 degrees. Giving Chicagoans that Spring feeling. That time-to-get-exercising-again feeling. That bathing-suit-season-is-just-around-the-corner feeling.

Or perhaps it's the fact that my little baby is now over 17 pounds and I feel that added weight in my body. In my shoulders, my arms, my lower back.

Likely it's a combination of it all.

But no matter the reason, last night before collapsing into bed feeling my age in my joints, it hit me.

I need yoga.

I need to get back in touch with my body.

I need to breathe.

I need to nurture myself.

I need to take time out of my day - even if only for 10 minutes - to breathe, stretch and check-in with my body.

I need yoga.

My Month of Yoga
So for the entire month of March I am committing to doing yoga every single day.

Every day.

Every single day.

Without skipping.

Without excuses.

Yoga once a day every day for at least ten minutes.

I know... ten minutes doesn't sound like much. But it's so much better than nothing. And if I commit to ten minutes, it's more than likely those ten minutes will stretch into something longer.

Ten minutes isn't intimidating.

And it's enough for at least a few sun salutations.

My goal is an hour a day. But there are some days that it's too challenging to carve out that hour. So at the very least it's ten minutes.

I'm really excited about this. I can't remember the last time I exercised every single day for a month without fail. I'm looking forward to having a conversation with my body again. And getting to know each other. I expect to be good friends by the end of the month.

The cost of doing yoga
Yoga classes are not in our budget.
And neither is a gym membership.
That means I'll be practicing yoga at home. Luckily I already have a mat and yoga blocks.
But that's it. I mean, I don't have any yoga DVDs.
So this is where I could use some help.

If there are any Yogis out there reading this... could you please recommend your favorite (beginner) poses to do if you only had ten minutes to practice?

Also, any online sources for Yoga inspiration?

Thank you so much! I'll be checking back in with my progress.

And lastly, does anyone out there want to join me?

Please talk to me in the comments below!

Happy March 1st, everyone!

Love,
Steph

(the above image is from yogawonders.com)