My Whole30 Experience - The Hangover

Just as the book said on about day 3 I woke up with a massive headache and every muscle in my body ached. It felt like I ran a marathon then proceed to party like a Rockstar.  I was so confused at first, why are my muscles sore? I didn’t even work out yesterday.  And this headache – lord!  I vaguely remember reading about this part so went back to the book and sure enough I was having withdrawals probably from the sugar. Who knew I even ate that much sugar! The muscle aches only lasted a day, but the headache was a few days.  Saturday morning, I woke up with a milder headache. Finally, Sunday I slowly opened my eyes fearing the worst but alas no headache!  This was probably the best day I had felt so far on the whole30 – this was day 7.  I felt my hangover was bit long but know after this it does get a lot easier!

I miss my champagne, but I have now turned to TAZO tea and have a little ritual that I do every night with all sorts of yummy flavors – apple cinnamon pie is my favorite – it tastes like desert.  Its amazing how much I look forward to my quiet moments at night drinking my tea and reflecting on my day.  

I also incorporated a little meditation after my work out while I stretch, along with essential oils and crystals to center me for the day.  I now have time to do this in the AM as I am sleeping better and leaping out of bed sometimes earlier then 6AM!  I am feeling a lot of the benefits already and look forward to the rest of this 30-day journey.

Here are some of my favorite guided mediations to start with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0EQEiecSxs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fSSRaz4oGQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiaDYKbMINc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnusFbC0E80

Big Thanks to Kidist Asay for introducing me to guided meditation and using oils at the same time!  They are great in the shower as well!

My Whole30 Journey

Here I am again committing to something and wondering why? Why am I doing this?  Well my back pain after a pretty good 18 months has reared its ugly head again, I am definitely having some gut issues and my skin and eyes could look better.  My cousin and her friend have been spending time with us at our house and I noticed how particular that these two 20-year olds were about how they ate and what they put in their bodies.  They cooked for us while they were here and let me tell you it was good! Even Brian ate it!  So I started asking them questions, why don’t you eat cheese? What’s wrong with adding milk in my coffee?  What no hummus? Bloody hell. I brought them with me and stocked up on some good pantry eats and threw out a few items.  Nothing major and kind of forgot about it and went back to my usual eating habits.  I will admit I don't eat as clean as I did four years ago but I didn’t think it was that bad.  After a fall / winter of severe back pain where I cancelled all my work out memberships, even YOGA, I read up on whole30.  The more I read, the more intrigued I became.  So I texted my cousin and her friend to see what they thought.  And yes, they were believers in whole30.  I picked a date where I would have the least temptations to fall off the wagon, as you all know by now I like my glass of champers, and decided to go ahead and do my whole30. 

Sunday – the day before I start is clean out day and shopping.  All I am thinking is lord what have I gotten myself into?  As I started to pull everything from my pantry & fridge that had “taboo ingredients”, I was completely shocked at the amount of unhealthy food I was using and eating!

Even my favorite pasta sauce had cane sugar!

I then proceed to go through the cookbooks and plan my meals for the week.  I got very overwhelmed pretty quickly and the panic set in, shit what have I gotten myself into? So I reached out to my girls and they cheered me on, saying just take it meal by meal.  So I set out to the grocery store, on a Sunday none the less, and started my shopping.  I came back with all this yummy food to cook for the week.

I then set out to make a few items in advance for those busy days and thank goodness I did!  It was a life saver for the week.  I made a spinach frittata and chicken meatballs that are amazeballs!

I poured myself a glas of champagne as I knew it would be long 30 dyas before we reunited...

So here I am off to start my whole30 – wish me luck and come back to see how I am doing!  Follow yogagirlwg on instagam to see pctures of all the food I am making. 

If your interested in trying the whole30 here is the link.  I doubt in my upcoming posts I will get it all correct so I encourage you to read about it yourself.

https://whole30.com/

Coming Home

You know how you attach a song to each summer or season?  This summer mine has been Castle on the Hill.  As we started this summers travels I often listened to the lyrics of this song and told my daughter this is how I feel when I go home to New Jersey.  Last summer we were lucky enough to be vagabonds, traveling for over 7 weeks from place to place.  Changing arrival and departure dates as we pleased.  We tagged it #bestsummerever.  At the end, upon returning home I said that I could have continued this forever.  I loved the travel, freedom and spontaneity of that summer.

My Baby Girl

This summer travel was condensed to 3 weeks and had more of a strict schedule.  Although I felt happy and safe in each place, it didn’t quite feel like home to me.  I don’t know what changed or why.  Hailey and I just watched the video for Castle on the Hill and I got homesick but not homesick for New Jersey and where I grew up.  I got home sick for Brian, our home we have built and the community we are a part of.  Ok mostly Brian, Hailey and I all being together again as a family.  Brian & Hailey are home to me now, not my childhood memories or my childhood home – Brian & Hailey.  I guess all parents go through this at some point, when the gears shift and life changes without you even noticing.  We love you Georgia, Tennessee and New Jersey but it’s time to go home - California here we come, where we belong.

Castle on the Hill video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0ibBPhiaG0

Hot Yoga Plus

During our summer travels, I found myself back again at Hot Yoga Plus.  As much as I am not a fan of heated yoga, (I like to build me own heat through flow) I simply can’t resist this studio.  Last year I discovered their sculpt yoga where you add weights to your flow sun salutations, this year I was even more impressed with their Tabata Flow.  Tabata Flow incorporates high intensity interval training between flows.  WOW – talk about an amazing work out!  When I ask, is this studio going to make its way out West?

http://www.hotyogaplus.com/

If you are in East Memphis they have a Tabata Flow @ 9:30AM!

https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/mainclass

The Power Of Touch

Today is International Woman's Day and I went to a special class taught by Linda focusing on our inner goddess.  When I was setting up my mat I noticed a little girl, who I see frequently going to Hailey’s kids yoga class, seeming a bit lost.  We had switched studios today to accommodate a larger class.  I went up to her and explained it was on the other end of the studio.  She still seemed a little confused so I started walking her in that direction.  As we walked she still seemed disoriented.  Then she grabbed my hand.  This is what she needed, the simplicity of holding hands to know she was safe and being led the correct way.

 Afterwards I got back to my mat to enjoy my Wednesday yoga class through a sweaty, invigorating flow.  As we laid there in savasna, eyes closed pulling our mind inward I felt my fellow yogi trainee press her finger tips into my forehead gently massaging my temples, releasing further any stress I may have been holding.  When she was done a tear streamed down my face.  I hadn’t realized the true power of touch.  It dawned on me that perhaps I needed that gentle hand possibly more than the little girl I walked to class.  I think at times we are incredibly moved by the gentle touch of a kind stranger.  

 Happy Woman’s Day - xoxo

Yummy spaghetti squash casserole to warm you up - It’s Cold Out There!

Man, it is raining here in Northern California AND cold!  Well not East Coast cold, but cold for this converted California Girl.  As I was grocery shopping I spied some spaghetti squash and new this meal would warm me up and its under 300 calories! (they say 165 calories but I use full fat milk and 1/2 the amount of cheese but full fat, so I am rounding it up to a measly 300 calories) This is seriously my favorite dish.  When I first made it I couldn't believe how easy it was to cook with spaghetti squash.  You'll see me share all sorts of variations as I make them this winter.  I also make a version with red sauce, ground beef (or turkey) as an alternative baked ziti - I literally can't get enough of spaghetti squash and can enjoy all my favorite sauces without all the bloating carbs.

You probably have this already in yrou fridge!

You can find the recipe here

http://www.skinnytaste.com/baked-spaghetti-squash-and-cheese/

I made a few changes which I think make it even better and richer for a few added saturated fats & calories that are so worth it!

-  two cloves minced garlic - added with onions

- 2 teaspoons Cayenne Papper (I like things with a kick!)

- organic full fat mild cheddar - 6 oz. vs. 8 oz. low fat

- organic whole milk vs. low fat / 2% milk

Fresh out of the oven...

A few notes about spaghetti squash, it tends to have a lot of water, so it is best cooked then baked in a casserole.  If you want to use it as a pasta and simply put sauce on it, I would drain it first.   I also do not bake mine in the oven - I microwave it after cutting it in half for 20 minutes.  So easy!

Literally so easy but be carefuel when handling - its HOT!

Goodbye 2016 I am done with you AND welcome 2017

Since you are reading my blog I am going to make the assumption that you have taken a yoga class, and you then know the emphasis placed on your breath.  In yoga, connecting to your breath gets you from one pose to the next, enabling you to hold a pose longer.  In life, I have learned that the simple act of “coming back to the breath” can help guide you when you are struggling with something physically, emotionally or spiritually.

As 2016 is about to become or already has become a part of our past, I want to reflect on how many times I have had to connect to my breath to simply keep moving forward, through a rather heartbreaking 2016 for many people.  I have been thinking what I would want to write or say in my last blog for 2016.  I knew one thing, to encourage us all to pause and come back to our breath, even for a moment.  Last night as I walked home from dinner with Brian, Hailey and my in-laws we all stopped to look at this incredibly large twinkling bright star (or so we thought it was a star).  I wonder what each one of us was thinking as we gazed above.  Possibly reflecting on this past year and looking forward to what we hope to be a brighter 2017?  Perhaps as bright of a year as that star we were luckily enough to see?

The smaller light above the moon to the right is Venus, Moon looks pretty good too!

As terrible as 2016 may have been I prefer to turn to the positive rather than the negative.  What have I accomplished?  Have I been a good friend to those I love and cherish?  Have I been a good mother and wife? Have my relationships gotten stronger and deeper?  Can I check off a few things on my bucket list of life? As I ask myself all these questions I ended up accomplishing a lot more then I had previously given myself credit for.  Even further, putting this type of “to do list of perfection” aside, I am mostly proud of myself for being good to me, for slowing down on this merry-go-round we call life, stopping to breathe and appreciate all that I do have rather then what I don’t have.

I am grateful that we took that moment together, as a family to simply look at that twinkling star that ending up being Venus, in its simple beauty. What a wonderful way to end 2016 looking above at the stars.

Happy New Year - xoxo

As we roll up our mats...

Have you ever noticed the precision (or lack thereof if running late) of rolling out your mat and rolling it back up?  When rolling it out, do you want it to be perfectly straight with the lines of the wood floor?  When rolling it up are there no wrinkles and rolled as tight as possible?

As I rolled up my mat at the end of my fellow yogi trainees class my eyes filled with tears.  I rolled it up very slowly and with much thought.  I was filled with so much emotion, for her - teaching an amazing class, and the end of this chapter of this crazy yoga journey I am on.  I went back and read through all my blog posts, feeling them, reliving them - I had such high standards to write and share so much more...

I know, I know - I haven't shared how my first class teaching went.  It seems like it was an eternity ago but it was only a short two weeks ago, I think I didn't want to share it yet b/c it would be ending this chapter.  Well - the anxiety was at a crazy high the hour before, like seriously high, like I was going to not actually be able to physically do this.  Then I looked out at all the beautiful smiling faces of people sitting before me - it all dissipated.   As soon as my mouth began talking it just flowed - ironic or not - as it was a flow class.  Then my music started and it just felt right, this was what I was supposed to be doing.  I had notecards in my hand but I never looked at them.  I walked throughout the class weaving between everyone’s mat, teaching my sequence, encouraging them to push themselves and also allowing them the opportunity to back off.  My music was on key and inspiring people just when they wanted to give up.  I know as the music got stronger, my voice got stronger, I jumped on my mat a few times and did it with them, especially abs, and they responded “yes you better!”  That felt good.  I think I made some jokes, I am not very funny so maybe no one got them...the rest I honestly don't remember...

Getting on my mat and doing abs with them

I remember feeling elated, feeling strong, feeling truly happy.  I remember the end - sitting crossed legged on my mat, eyes closed saying Namaste and hearing Namaste returned to me by a full studio and hearing clapping.  I opened my eyes to a studio of sweaty smiling yoga students.   It was over - I didn't want it to be over - I want to teach another class immediately, like right now.  

The high lasted a long time, I might still be riding it.  My class was not perfection.  I skipped a side, there were mistakes but it was good, I mean good.  I am proud of myself.  I don't think I have ever said that aloud.  I am proud of myself.  I was always looking for someone to say it to me, I am not vain by saying it to myself.  This is a huge accomplishment - I did it and I killed it!

I am excited to have met all the wonderful people going through this training with me.  I proud of all of you too.  Many of you, we have started lasting friendships, Ashley, Helena, Stephanie, Michelle, Maddy, Margaret, Lorrie, some friendships got deep fast – Hillary.  Nope you are not getting rid of me – especially since I volunteered to plan our certificate ceremony! #partyplanner

So what now?  Am I rolling up this mat and ending this journey?  HELL NO -  I am unrolling my mat and starting the next chapter, what that is I am not sure.  I know this blog has helped me and I hope inspired other people.  So, I am going to continue to write and share as I progress to my 500 hour certificate.  I hope to share more about my personal life, food, fitness and failures but today it is a success!

A few pictures of my fellow yogis that I love! Xoxo

Some people requested my playlist – so here it is.

Perfect is Boring

Wellll tomorrow is THE day, you know, the day I teach a public class to possibly people I don’t know, fellow teacher trainees and even worse, my friends.  What if my friends hate it?  What if the music sucks or worse yet, I simply fail, lose my words?  I know - that seems rather unlikely as I never stop talking…Of course I want it to be perfect and lots of people show up.  Why did I invite so many people? Seriously? I had beautiful postcards made and distributed them all over town and sent out an evite to every person I thought remotely interested, what was I thinking?  Now I am thinking, as I have taken my fellow teacher trainees classes, who had maybe 10 people, UGGGGG. In hindsight that seems so much less intimidating.  Why did I care so much about how many people showed up?  I’ll tell you why – perfection. 

I wanted to have the perfect class with the perfect number of people, the perfect sequence, the perfect message, the perfect music.  I even made individually wrapped bloody mini organic brownies with Namaste labels on them wrapped in twine – see image below. 

Yes that's a glass of champagne...

As I taught my friend Kidist today and took her through the entire sequence including music and my well thought out message, it dawned on me or well she very pointedly stated that I need to either memorize my message or take it to heart.  Meaning - I need to let go of this notion of perfection.  I have been trying and trying hard but that idea of the perfect holiday (whoops got a bit tipsy on Thanksgiving and for the first time did not clean up the kitchen before going to bed – if you know me, this is seriously like a crime), the perfect day or even the prefect moment – in all this searching for perfection, my whole life is going to pass me by.  So now, knowing that I did my best, I AM PREPARED, I am going to try and possibly even fail, but trying and failing is better than not trying at all.  So here is my message coming directly from my heart:

Opening - As a fellow teacher once said to me, perfect is boring.  Perhaps today on our mats we let go of this notion of perfection.  Knowing that no one pose looks the same on all of us.  Allowing ourselves to fall out of a pose, knowing we can simply try again.  Trying and failing is more rewarding then not trying at all. Possibly allowing ourselves to simply enjoy our breath with movement, for the next 60 minutes putting the idea of perfection aside.

Closing – as we finish today perhaps we reflect back on the idea that perfect is boring.  Maybe, possibly even throwing out the notion of perfection as we step off our mats today AND simply being completely content with who you are, including all your imperfections.  I thank each and every one of you for joining me on our mats today.  May all the light in me honor the light in you – Namaste.

#stillfreakingout #havingaglassofchampagne

The end of my 200 hour training but the begining of something bigger

Today is the bittersweet end of my 200 hour teacher training and I am feeling an overwhelming sense of emotions.  I feel the need to mark this day somehow, so here I am journaling it.  This segment, sequencing and philosophy, surprised me.  I didn't know that I would find such joy in the creativity of sequencing nor would I love the deep rooted history and philosophy of yoga.  Throw the elections and a super moon in the middle of training and you have a recipe full of emotions, awakenings and perhaps even the beginnings of long lasting friendships.  There was a lot more tears vs. sweat during this 100 hours.  I was surrounded by this community of people during a very difficult election rooted in a nation divided.   No matter what each of us voted, no one even talked about that, we were all there together, and together we are stronger.  I personally was surprised by my emotions the past few weeks, it already seems like it was forever ago that it all happened.

There is so much that I have learned and yet to learn which I will share through future posts.  For now, I want to express my gratitude to Linda for creating this program and sharing her knowledge in a safe environment filled with laughter.  There were just so many moments where we all came together in laughter.  I learned long ago that laughter really is an amazing form of medicine.

To celebrate this completion of 200 hours of training, two fellow yoga ladies and I went out to have a celebratory dinner and drinks.  In intense trainings like these friendships grow deep & strong quickly.  As I look back at the past few hours spent with Stephanie and Helena I realize I shared so much of my personal history that would have otherwise taken me years to share.  We ended up spending the later portion of the evening in full laughter with tears streaming down our faces.  The kind of laughter that makes your belly hurt.  I would have to say that if I walk away with nothing else I am truly happy to have met these two women and look forward to see where our friendship goes.  I wish Helena would let me post the stream of pictures of us laughing but she threated my life and you have to take Irish women seriously!

Now onto preparing for our final - teaching our very first public class!  Stay posted - it just 2 short weeks away!

Namaste

My Ever Evolving Journey - Philosophy & History Of Yoga

As we wrap up our 3 day journey diving into the origin of yoga and exploring the different philosophy surrounding it, I find myself having to re-write my bio and my ever evolving journey.  We had a wonderful guest speaker to teach this segment Matthew Remski.  He is unbelievably knowledgeable on yoga's history and origins, from the early years - thousands of years ago, deeply rooted and connected to religion - to the more modern era with Krishnamacharya, Iyengar and Jois, to name a few.   I have learned and am quite fascinated by the fact that yoga has been surrounded by scandal for centuries.  I spent my first evening after day one googling many yoga gurus, fascinated by the history, biographies, myths and scandal of them all.  There are just so many books I now want to read.   Matthew's website with a full comprehensive bio on his education is here http://matthewremski.com/wordpress/

Shri T. Krishnamacharya

Before I move into my new evolved journey I will share a bit of interesting tidbits for you yogis out there.  Krishnamacharya, considered the founder of modern yoga and vinyasa (flow), taught yoga asanas at the Mysore Palace as part of their physical education for seven years.  He later in life called this era of his life as propaganda. It was here that Ivengar and Jois studied under him.  Or to be more exact, Ivengar lived with him and did not attend the palace academy but was taught the asanas in 3 days to preform for the YMCA. 

Class at Mysore Palace with Krishnamacharya

Iyengar

Iyengar, then later went to write "Light On Yoga" filled with photographs of himself in each pose.  After the intense photoshoot Ivengar was hospitalized for 3 weeks.  All three men were said to be joyless and even cruel as a guru. 

Pattabhi Jois

Many yogis would sacrifice their own bodies into excruciating pain for a pose.  This was / is not the yoga I have come to experience.  You can take your own time to google Bikram, hot 26 and numerous yoga scandals out there.

Where am I going with all of this, all interesting tidbits aside?  Yoga can be used as therapy, physical fitness, even a step further, as spiritual enlightenment but the vast exclamations that it can cure a disease or heal an injury is simply not true.  Up to this day, there is no actual science behind yoga.  Yoga is each individuals own experience, and theirs alone.  So yes there are people out there that say that their own personal experience with yoga cured or healed something.  What I have come to learn is essentially you can not teach yoga with the assumption that yoga, or even deeper, every pose is good for everyone. 

With the above said, my yoga journey has not cured my back injury.   That would be a very false statement. I have learned through fellow teachers and training ways to nurture my back injury (my glute regime), what I have been doing wrong that actually increased my back pain (thank you anatomy) BUT most importantly yoga is my personal journey to heal myself emotionally.  It is when I get personal with myself, my body, my thoughts, become more mindful and find joy in life.  This is what I am learning from my journey.  Everyone's journey is different.  If I could best explain what yoga does for me it is well said below.

A life lost - October 30th 2012

I debated writing this blog for a multitude of reasons.  It is something that I have shared with less than one handful of people.  There are so many reasons NOT to share this, out of respect for her and her family, it’s scary to let people in, sometimes I place blame on myself for her death, it hurts to remember…FEAR.  I want to walk through all of that fear and finally share it all, let it go, tell this chapter of my life and finally mourn my best friend’s death with no guilt. AND perhaps help other moms out there who face postpartum.

Four years ago, on this day my childhood best friend passed away of what we believe to be suicide.  At the time we were somewhat estranged, working on mending our friendship, so I don't know all the details.  I think this is what is the worst part about it.  I hadn't gotten to see her one last time, to hear her witty humor, see her sly smile or hug her tightly never letting go.  If I had only known what was going to happen maybe I would have taken her phone call, heard her voice again, insisting we get together when I was visiting home.  Unfortunately, I didn't do any of that and I am left with a string of emails and texts as our last memories.  I think I am just coming to a place where I am forgiving myself for that. I was so hurt by her betrayal and was just coming to a point where I was open to forgiveness.  

I share this part a bit vaguely out of respect for her and her family.  Long story short she had 4 kids pretty much back to back and the postpartum brought back her old demons.  I tried the best I could to help her but she ended up betraying me and breaking my heart.  On October 30th 2008 was the last time I ever spoke to her on the phone.  My last words were me yelling and screaming at her, calling her horrible names while she cried and begged my forgiveness.  Tears stream down my face as I remember and put this into words. It was exactly 4 years later that she died, on that day, that’s where the FEAR resides, that date.

2008 was when I very first started yoga - then it was to heal my broken heart.  Over time I forgave her.  She reached out to me via email and I responded immediately.  By now I had a little girl of my own and going through postpartum myself understood her pain so much more clearly.  I immediately told her I forgave her, that I loved her and wished her a happy full life.  Unfortunately, her life was not turning out as well as mine.  Over the next few years we texted & emailed but never actually saw each other.  I would try when I was visiting home but she would always cancel last minute.  I don't think she wanted me to see the state she was in. 

As the anniversary of her death was approaching I found myself reading through those last emails and texts.  I had hidden them very deep within files and have tucked them away neatly in my sub-conscious.  Now it is all back and in front of me – having me search and grasping for those last moments and words said to each other. 

The anniversary of her death the first year was hard, the second year I almost forgot, then hated myself for almost forgetting.  Then each year got easier.  I think of her often but this year it seems more poignant.  I was with my friend Alexa and she asked me about it.  I guess I never told her either.  I told her about the end and how we were talking and found forgiveness.  It was Alexa who changed my perspective on how I had been feeling the past four years by simply acknowledging how lucky I was to have been able find forgiveness and talk to her prior to her death.  I got to let go of all that anger long before she died.  Not everyone gets that opportunity.  At least I know when she died she knew I loved her.

As I am reading Budda's Brain, this passage resonated with me: Negative bias of memory - the remedy is not to suppress negative experiences; when they happen, they happen.  Rather it is to foster positive experiences- and in particular, take them in so they become a permanent part of you.  So now I share this story, remember only the beautiful friendship we had and all our memories full of laughter.  How she was always there for me.  This suffering slowly is ending and I am replacing it with all the good we had.

With all the above shared, this is one of the many reasons I want to bring awareness to the very real effects of postpartum.  It is one of my goals, having gone through it myself, to contribute in some way to helping this cause.  This blog is my first step.

I often refer to one of my favorite quotes “Never be afraid to fall apart because it is an opportunity to rebuild yourself the way you wish you had been all along”- Rae Smith.  

My deepest love and gratitude to those friends who knew & supported me during my darkest moments, Brian, Alexa, Sarah, Katie, Jaime, Jennifer, Renee, my sister & my mother.

What is postpartum? https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/postpartum-depression-facts/index.shtml

To get involved here is a great organization: https://postpartumhealthalliance.org/donate/

Circa 1993 - lazy sunbathers

 I will love and cherish you always - your laughter and wit will never be forgotten.  

The Myth about the Yoga Body Type

Day 0ne - here I am knee deep into my next 100 hours of yoga teacher training.  I am incredibly calmer and more excited this go around as much of the fear is gone.  As I scan the room I am greeted by many smiling faces of students taking this journey with me, some faces are missing as they have moved on and there are new faces too.  Linda is excited and enthusiastic even after ten years of doing this.  I feel so much more comfortable in my skin this go around then last.  Even though this one should be so much more scarier as I will actually teach a real public class designed by me to get my certification.  (This may all change in 5 weeks!)

It always amazes me how my perspective on yoga keeps changing each time I go through this training. Today we talked briefly about all the gorgeous yoga pictures of bikini clad women in perfect poses on Instagram...this is NOT the actuality of yoga.  There was a lot of laughter on this subject, but in reality we need to crush this idea of the yoga body.  There is no one yoga body type.

I myself have played victim to this myth.  When I started yoga in 2008 I was fairly close to that myth of the perfect yoga body, I was also 10 years younger and had never given birth to a child.  I was drawn in to all the hype of mastering the arm balances and twisting of your body into crazy positions.  It just looked so damn cool.  I mean it felt amazing to master this pose and even better that my body was long, lean and muscular.

NOTE* This is not me

But what I turn to now, is that yoga also made me feel good, from the inside out.  After each class I took, I started to feel more centered, more peaceful.  At times I found tears streaming down my face in savasana.  This is where the heart of yoga lies.  Not in what body type you are or if you can do a headstand or arm balance.   So now with an almost 7 year old child and a back injury, I am not being enticed by the acrobatics of yoga.  I am attracted by how it makes me feel, how it improves my quality of life. I have come to accept that those last 5 pounds aren't coming off (ok maybe 7 pounds) and I am ok with my body image.  Mostly...we all have our days.  As I look around now compared to 10 years ago, there are all sorts of body types and ages of people doing yoga.  We are all beautiful and this bikini clad yogi below is not what yoga is about.

I literally have no idea how you can even do this - maybe its photoshoped...

What we are calling modern yoga is all about strength NOT flexibility. #flexibility without stability = liability #yogasource

Part Three - the glute activation regime

A lot of people have been contacting me to send out this regime I talked about in my previous blog post.  So I am inspired to get this out today to ya’ll!  I always like to reiterate that I am not any of the following: a doctor, a physical therapist, or even a fitness expert, I am simply sharing my journey and perhaps it may help someone else.  I would highly recommend that if you are under the care of a sports MD or in physical therapy to ask them if you should try this.

Ok – now down to the good stuff! Here is it, my little morning ritual that I still do daily at best – 3x / week at worst.  I did this on a daily basis for 30 days and gave working out a break for a month.  NOT working out for a month was not easy and scary all at the same time, but I needed to re-activate my glutes without aggravating my back.  I did of course continue walking my daughter to school and general day to day movement but there was NO yoga, cycle, orange theory, weight lifting or running of any sort, just this!

This is the link which has all the exercises including utube videos to explain how to do them. https://bretcontreras.com/jane-fonda-experiment/ - this guy is seriously amazeballs, yes I said that!  I made a few modifications based on what I knew my back could handle.  For example, I was not ready for any single leg exercises.

I modified the 2 series to this instead and switched #3.

2A. frog pumps –  30 reps (I literally do these every single day prior to any work out and if I start to get a dull ache in my toosh.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyCiZVMMDW4

2B. side lying clam raise – 20 reps

3. quadruped hip extension from elbows – 20 reps

When I started doing these exercises I realized I could not, in a sitting position, clench my left glute (side of my injury) AT ALL!  Within about a week I was clenching my butt cheeks whenever I got a chance, at the sink washing dishes, standing in the grocery store line, you name it, I was clenching!  I also started to wake up with less pain every day, that dull ache was slowly fading.  As the pain eased, my heart and mood lifted.  Oh – and after a month my toosh was looking quite fabulous if I do say so myself! And all of this without any heavy weightlifting – amazeballs, I said it again!

So in conjunction with this morning routine I was doing a series of stretches with light meditation to start my day.  What I learned in my first yoga 100 hours was the stretching I was doing was ALL wrong!  It is actually really simple – if you have sensitive SI joints or disc injuries twisting is going to aggravate them.  My stretching included this pose – can you see how although this felt like a great stretch in my glute it was twisting my spine in a way that was aggravating on my SIs?

Linda – after listening to me I think, inspired her to teach the entire yoga training how to stretch on your back with straps.  I immediately completely changed my stretching routine utilizing straps and ended up having amazing results.  I still start with downward dog to stretch out my calves and get blood flowing and do Pidgeon as I love it but after that, it’s all with straps on my back holding each stretch for 1 minute – I actually time it through breath!  I am hoping that Linda will make a utub video of these stretches with a strap to share with you all.  Once I feel more confident after my 200 hours is complete I will create my own for all of you!  Right now just get yourself some yoga straps and I also LOVE the yoga ball.  I highly recommend taking Linda’s Saturday 10:15 yoga class at YogaSource Los Gatos to learn ways to use the ball and some guided meditation – along with an hour of yoga flow!  Its 90 minutes and well worth the time.

http://www.yogasourcelosgatos.com/schedule

This entire above series in full with some light mediation takes up to 45 minutes but it is well worth finding the time.  In fact, I have been slacking on my routine and have noticed that dull ache rearing its ugly head.  So all of you who reached out, have inspired me to make sure I am doing this every day!

Xoxo - Namaste!

Here are some links to get yoga therapy balls and straps.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0100ZGZD0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ERF6X4G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yummy Butternut Squash Soup

As fall is arriving and the wind and rain picks up I am craving warmth and homemade soup.  This happens to be my favorite and compliments of Candy Thayer, my dear friend.  It is so easy to make and uses really simple ingredients.  I literally whipped it up in about 1/2 an hour.  I vary slightly from Candy's but this is all her!

Missing Onion& butter in photo!

Recipe Via Candy:

Ingredients:                                                                                                                                                  Butternut squash – I buy pre-cut cubed ones from whole foods, I am lazy…                                                     Chicken stock                                                                                                                                                              Onion                                                                                                                                                                       Garlic gloves                                                                                                                                                       Butter                                                                                                                                                                           Heavy whipping crème OR half & half                                                                                                                    Salt / pepper to taste                                                                                                                                               Cayenne pepper id you like kick                                                                                                                         Nutmeg                                                                                                                                                          Cinnamon

Chop up 1 large onion and cook in a large pot with a little olive oil till the onions are soft, stirring often. The longer you cook them the sweeter and more depth of flavor they will have.

Peel and cut squash into 1 inch pieces.  The smaller you cut them, the faster they will cook.  Add organic chicken stock till it reaches about 1/2 inch below the level of the squash.  You can always add more at the end if your soup is too thick.

When squash is cooked to fork-tender, add some salt & pepper, plus a tiny bit of ground nutmeg.  I never measure but it's about 1/4 teaspoon. Add about 1/3 to 1/2 stick of butter depending on how large you squash was.

Then blend up till creamy with an immersion blender.  Alternatively, you can do it in batches in the blender, but make sure to hold on tight to the lid. After everything is blended, add half & half.  Again, I never measure but I just add till I like the color and consistency.  Probably about 1/4 to 1/2 cup.  Adjust seasonings if needed, and enjoy.

My changes:

I add a bit of cinnamon and cayenne pepper as I like things to be a bit spicy.  I also do not add the half and half b/c it so good even without it! +/- 200 calories per serving - makes 6 servings.

Part Two - my recovery and how it began…

Now that you know the depths of despair I was in, I want to share how I believe this injury came about and what I have continually been learning through my yoga journey.  Prior to getting pregnant I had been doing yoga and running for a few years.  I was also working in an office and literally sat at a desk for a minimum 8 hours if not more.  All of this, as we have learned through my post “Glutes – the big debate” contributes to lower cross syndrome, which most likely 80%, if not more, of American have. 

What is Lower Crossed Syndrome?

picture credited to Darwinian Medicine

Lower-Crossed Syndrome (LCS) is also referred to as distal or pelvic crossed syndrome. In LCS, tightness of the thoracolumbar extensors on the dorsal side crosses with tightness of the iliopsoas and rectus femoris. Weakness of the deep abdominal muscles ventrally crosses with weakness of the gluteus maximus and medius. This pattern of imbalance creates joint dysfunction, particularly at the L4-L5 and L5-S1 segments, SI joint, and hip joint. (1)

So, what does this mean exactly? It means that there is a weakening and lengthening of the abdominals and gluteals and a tightening and shortening of the hip flexors and lower back muscles. LCS involves reciprocal inhibition, a process where muscles on one side of a joint are relaxing to accommodate contraction on the other side of that joint.

Causes

- Prolonged sitting, particularly with bad posture

- Physical inactivity

- Regular performance of sports and activities that involve an uneven stimulation of the muscles that are involved in LCS

- Poor exercise technique (e.g., lumbar hyperextension in the deadlift, press, and squat).

- Imbalanced strength training (e.g., a lot more lower back and/or hip flexor training than glute and/or abdominal training)

- Genetic predispositions

The development of LCS initiates a vicious cycle. Because the gluteals and abdominals are weak, their function is compromised, and other muscles such as the hamstrings and lower back muscles are recruited to assist them in performing activities such as walking, running, and squatting. This leads to overuse and tightness of the hamstrings and lower back muscles, and a further weakening of the abdominals and gluteals.

NOTE: The above is directly copied from Darwinian medicine – refer to article below for further in depth explanation.

http://darwinian-medicine.com/lower-crossed-syndrome-6-steps-to-fix-anterior-pelvic-tilt-and-swayback-posture/

Physical therapy cleared this up like a charm and if you have any of these symptoms I recommend seeing a sports MD. As I have always said I am not an expert or sports MD, I am simply sharing my experience and theory on my injury.  As we know physical therapy did not heal my back injury as I had an additional injury of bulging/ herniated discs.  How did this happen as a healthy 39-year-old who ate clean?

Finishing a 49ers race with my best time yet under 8.30 minutes / mile with my BFF Kathryn

Around 37 I started working out with a personal trainer and eventually built up to heavy weight lifting, deadlifting up to 125 lbs. and squatting up to 145 lbs.  Now why in the world I ever thought this was healthy, who the hell knows!  NOTE* this is not my trainers fault, he is an amazing guy and got me into great shape and I did have great form, but how could he know that my glutes were only activating at the top of my squat or deadlift and my core was weak?  I had at this time dropped yoga from my exercise regime and was running 5/10ks and weight lifting only.  Essentially there was no stretching or giving my muscles a break.  I was also constantly traveling for work which resulted in even more sitting.  I felt great, body fat % was at its lowest in my life = to a female athlete…who would have guessed what was coming. I think my body just broke with all the pressure of life and over exercising.

That Christmas right before the pain started - in the best shape of my life

No doctor knows why this happens (unless you have an accident that correlates directly to the injury) so my theory is it was a compilation of all of the above.  So in late January of 2015, the pain started and I ignored it and thought it was a great work out.  By April I was in tears and searching for a diagnosis.  We all know the story from there.  On a side note, it starts out as dull ache in your butt, typically on one side and is super annoying as hell.

SO – what happened to have me turn to yoga?  Yoga is more than a great work out; it can heal your soul.  That was / is what I am looking for.  I was still in pain every time I attended class and starting chatting with a fellow yoga instructor Melissa Carison.  She may not know it but SHE CHANGED MY LIFE.  If you read this, please know I have tears in my eyes as I write this.  Your simple time spent with me was so meaningful.  Ok back to the story – Melissa works at a spine and back center.  She quickly did an assessment of my glute activation and noticed that my hamstrings fired up before my glutes.  She mentioned LCS.  Both Melissa & my trainer recommended stretching daily to relieve my tight muscles.  So I did stretches that I thought were most optional every day.  It helped a little.  (you’ll learn later what I was doing wrong) After chatting throughout the summer and fall about my back pain, my desperation most likely clear on my face, she was frank with me.  She recommended that I not work out for a month, knowing this would drive me nuts, and do a series of Jane Fonda like glute exercises every day.  She recommended looking at utube videos by Brent Contreas https://bretcontreras.com/.  In a separate blog I will list my exact regime as this post is already getting long.  Sure enough a month later my glutes were fired up and my pain was actually gone.   Granted I had not done any rigorous form of exercise, but for the first time in 9 months I had no pain – mind boggling!  Thank you again Melissa, because this is where my true yoga journey started.

I now wanted to know everything about anatomy and the muscles.  So when I saw that a 100-hour yoga training was coming up on Anatomy and kinesiology – I was in.  Also getting my yoga 200-hour certification was on my bucket list.

For what I learned I was doing wrong and how my first 100 hours – short version – continued to expand my mind, physical well-being and heart – stay tuned for part 3.

For now, a special thanks to Melissa Carison.

XOXO - Namaste

NOTE* Melissa is not a doctor nor claims to be, she is a caring person who felt for me and my pain. 

10 year YogaSource teacher training anniversary party

You know how some days everything in the universe just seems in alignment?  Life is good, in fact life is damn good!  After going through a couple of difficult times lately, today just put it all into perspective.  Life is not all that bad, we need to not take it too seriously.  So with that thought in mind, a clear sunny brisk fall day, my whole body simply felt in sync and I went with this mantra all day.  After making a big family breakfast I went to LIFT to cycle it out.  As usual, Jenn from the Glen, whooped my ass and inspired me yet again.  Love you girl!  In fact, our recovery ride was to "Everybody is free to wear sunscreen" by Baz Kuhrmann.  YOU have to listen to this song - I laughed my way through my ride.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI

Linda & Me

So with the above said - it was a great way to end the night with all these lovely people.  I feel so blessed to have been a part of this special event.  As I am about to start my second 100 hour of 200 hours this party allowed me to see all my fellow yogi trainees and reconnect.  I also got to be in a social setting with many of my favorite teachers that inspire me weekly.  We were lucky enough to have Linda share with us her next adventure which is literally going to revolutionize Yoga for teachers and students.  She is truly inspiring and heart felt.  Her voice cracked and eyes filled with tears as she relayed that she thought of all of us as her friends and she shared a special thank you to the yin to her yang, Erin. 

Having a little nosh from opal!

Signing the wall about what training did for us

Linda getting toasting Erin

Erin, one of my favorite teachers

Samantha - another fav teacher - just recently helped me perfect my traditional headstand!

I simply cannot say enough about this studio, teachers or this program!  You simply must go there and experience it yourself! Xoxo

Namaste

Part I - My personal injury and road to recovery

I am sure you are wondering what exactly happened to me and why it was/ or is debilitating?  Debilitating is a strong word to use.  I don’t really think anyone truly knows the state of pain I was in just a short year ago and the aftermath that followed through Western medicine.  I suppose it is time to fully share this story and the agony I was in – however painful the memories might be.

From my journal September 2015:                                                                                                                                             I thought it was a dream, all this pain. The pain in my back, neck and mostly my heart.  As I slowly woke up I wondered whose body this was?  Groggily I realized it wasn't a dream and the anger swelled up in my chest - the anger that had become my dearest friend.  

What is this extra loose skin all over me?  As I rolled over slowly and gently got out of bed, I walked into the bathroom.  As I turned and looked in the mirror I wondered whose face that is?  Certainly not mine.  What happened to my hair, skin & eyes?  Surely I am still asleep dreaming of old age.  I swiped my phone to check the date, nope it's 2015, I am 40.  I turned and stepped on the scale and although my weight gain was minimal, it was clear that the loss of muscle mass & lack of sleep was significant.

My second new dearest friend swept through me from my head to my toes - a sadness that consumed my body and made me want to crawl back into bed.  It all came flooding back.  My back injury, my chronic pain, my lack of working out, my lack of sleep, my depression - then my eyes started to water...I pushed the tears away as crawling back into bed wasn't an option for me.  I started my daily routine - coffee, making Hailey breakfast and so another day goes by with what felt like no hope in sight.

That was my life on a daily basis, I never shared the depth of my pain until now.  Here is the low down:  I have bulging / herniated discs btw. my L5/S1 and L4/L5 roughly 3mm.  This does not sound terrible but unfortunately for me, they both are hitting nerves on my left side body.  It is not necessarily the size of the bulge – it is whether it is hitting a nerve.

This is not my MRI but one very similar to me and my age at the time mine was taken.

Finally, after trying lymphatic massage, acupuncture and a chiropractor I went to a sports MD. At first they have you go through physical therapy. Physical therapy was wonderful and cured my lower cross syndrome but the nagging chronic pain was still there and rearing its ugly head.  Not once in my 4 weeks of physical therapy was I ever relieved 100% of pain.  I was at a minimum at a level 5 up to a 9 or 10 depending on what I did that day.   Working out was a thing of the past, a distant memory of a happy active life.  I spent my evenings going straight to bed with an icepack right after dinner as sitting on a sofa was painful.  I spent more time in our bed, going back and forth between crying or being incredibly angry, in that 6 months then I did in a life time. I could hear the laughter btw. my husband and daughter and tears would fill my eyes as I was not a part of the memories being made. 

When I wrapped up my last physical therapy session they asked how I felt.  As my eyes welled up with tears I said that there has not been one single day that I was not in pain.  My therapist was shocked.   I guess I hid my pain well.  I was finally sent for an intensive 2 hour long MRI.  The results were clear, bulging discs directly hitting the nerves.  I was excited to have an actual diagnosis to my pain and eager for a solution for recovery.  I jumped at the fasted most aggressive route to ease the pain.  I was sent to a pain specialist and began the epidurals of cortisone directly into my spine.  I went through a series of three rounds.  The first two, I had 3 injections and the last I had 4 injections spanning over 2 months.  This is not healthy and not good for anyone’s body. Unfortunately, I did not know that.  I had not done my research.  I was simply looking to ease the pain. 

After the first round I felt amazing, I would say my pain level dropped by 70%.  I was so excited I immediately jumped for the next round a short 2 weeks later.  I should have stopped at round one.  After the second round, I didn’t really feel any less pain but was still optimistic.  It was about mid-August, one week after the second round that strange things started to happen.  It was date night and I had been feeling off all day.  As Brian & I were getting ready to go out our nanny asked if I had dental surgery.  I thought that was strange as she knows everything about me and it would definitely be something I would tell her.  I said no and politely asked why? Apparently the right side of my face was completely swollen.  I went and looked in the mirror and was shocked to see my own face.  Brian immediately had me take aspirin and asked if I felt any numbness in my arm.  I didn’t – we ruled out on oncoming stroke.  We all kind of laughed and went ahead to dinner.  As I woke up the next morning with no sign of my face returning to normal, more concerns came from my friends and husband.  Perhaps it was Bell’s Palsy?  I went to urgent care for them to run blood work and they guestimated it was a salivary gland infection.  I think they had no idea.  I went on a strong round of penicillin for 10 days.  After ten days I went back with my face still swollen and my back still in pain. I was then sent to a nose throat doctor and had a CT scan.  Again with no conclusive results.  

I went in for my third and final round of epidurals.  By this time my migraines had increased from once to twice a year to fighting them days on end.  I was confined to bed even during the day.  My period was lasting up to 11 days and resuming a short week later.  I had grown full facial hair and had to bleach my entire face!  What the fuck was going on?  I finally went to my OBGYN and gave full disclosure to all the drugs and procedures I had been going through in the past few months.  I have to say I love her to death, she looked at me and said I will run the blood work to confirm my gut instinct, but she believed it was all side effects from the testosterone in the cortisone.  It was wreaking havoc on my body.  The results were in and she was correct.  I asked what I could do and she said, stay strong, don’t shave your face (I was ready to go have laser hair removal!) it will all subside in about 6 to 8 weeks from your last round of cortisone.  No one had ever told me there would be any side effects AND I was still in pain.  I had also now spent over $7000 out of pocket and had taken drugs that served no purpose.

For a time-frame, so you can fully understand the length of my depression and pain, the pain began in January of 2015, the effects of the cortisone wore off btw. Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I was at a loss as what to do.  I went back to see my pain specialist and he recommended back surgery.  I was not ready for that yet and wanted to simply put that decision off until 2016.  The holidays were upon us and I just wanted to start to live again.  To say the least the holidays of 2015 were the most trying times of my life and marriage.  I began to turn to yoga to ease my heart as it did almost ten years ago.

I am so happy I did…

Stay tuned for part 2 of my road to recovery.

Namaste

My Memphis Yoga Journey

Delta Groove Yoga –http://www.deltagrooveyoga.com/

Kundalini Yoga & mediation, Teacher: Aaron Glazer

Description: Kundalini Yoga & Meditation blends breathing, movement, stretching, meditation, chanting, and the science of sequence. Then at Delta Groove Yoga we add the GROOVE with great playlists & fun!  Kundalini empowers us to shine, prosper, and excel in all things. It's the common denominator for all forms of self-healing, inspiration, and transformation. Kundalini Yoga Delta Groove is for All Levels.

One – I love going to Overton Park in mid-town Memphis.  This is a revitalized bustling downtown area with lots of restaurants and unique shops.  I got to this class early and had time to look around their little shop which is a throwback to the 70s and brings back vivid memories of my college years. The lazy summer days going from phish to dead shows…ah life without stress or responsibilities.  It is kind of why I do yoga, to let all the stresses of day to day life melt away, where we can be completely selfish for an hour or so.  I noticed everyone was dressed in more flowy loose closes perhaps with their hair down.  There were three congos at the front of class.  Each person had their mat and blankets beside them quietly waiting.  Of course I was dressed in fitted Lulu Lemon ready to sweat.  (clearly I had NOT done my research on what type of yoga this was) When our teacher arrived, male long hair with patchwork shorts reminiscent of clothes I would see worn at Grateful dead shows, he quickly scanned the room.  He turned to me and asked OR stated you have not done Kundalini yoga before.  I said no that I had not but I was excited to try it.  I mentioned that I had studied under Rusty Wells and was familiar with lots of chanting and music.  He looked at me kind of funny and asked if I knew breath of fire.  I said that I did and he welcomed me to the kundalini community. Lord I did not know what I was in for….

We started with seated meditation (this is not the type of seated meditation I do daily) where we did this crazy breathing to the beat of the drums simultaneously moving our arms / fingers upward in 3 distinct cuts, elbows glued to your sides.  I literally, with my horrible alleges, had a very hard time doing this.  We continued just like this for 10 minutes.  I kept scanning the room to see if everyone else was able to do it – they could – it was just me.  That was NOT relaxing to me.  In fact, at one point I actually got incredibly dizzy from the lack of oxygen, great just what I needed, the newbie passing out.  We then proceeded to going through 6 or so seated positions combined with a distinct breath usually for around 2 minutes.  This got exceptionally more bearable and I actually started to fall into a rhythm.  We finally ended in savasana and I was lying there waiting for a little massage with some yummy smelling oils – THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN.  Instead a series of bells vibrated loudly throughout the room in a powerful sequence.  It seemed to take you to a completely different place as all thoughts dissipated.  As we came out of savasana it felt surreal and even stranger to leave the studio into the busy hustle of Overton Square.  I felt a strong sense of calm and enlightenment as I walked to my car. WHO KNEW!

Hot Yoga Plus –http://www.hotyogaplus.com/ 

Power Flow, Teacher: Shelly Bear

Description: This is a dynamic class incorporating balance, flexibility, and strength through a strong flow. Class is heated to between 90-95 degrees.

I absolutely loved this class!  Even though it was heated which I have come to LOATHE, especially as the heat index in Memphis is in the triple digits.  I would gladly get over my heat affliction as this particular teacher’s flow sequence was so unique and challenging.   We flowed through the sun salutations and as we built further into more challenging positions – we ended up in a flying warrior 3 – holding and pulsing up and down into reserve eagle (at least that is what I call it).  See images below, I couldn’t find a reverse eagle picture... I ended up chatting with Susan for over 15 minutes afterwards and she was kind enough to actually give me her notes of the sequence she choreographed.     HINT* this will most definitely be incorporated into my final teaching a public class – get ready to shake and sweat!

Power Flow Sculpt, Teacher: Jaime Miller

Description: This dynamic, energizing and challenging style of yoga links breath and movement through unique sequences; combining sun salutations, standing postures and floor work with weights. The smooth, continuous flow deepens the breath, develops core strength, increases endurance and challenges balance and flexibility. You will leave these classes with a renewed mental and physical energy. The room is heated between 85 and 90 degrees.

I have never taken a yoga class using weights.  I have to say I really hope this trend comes to CA.   The room was mildly heated, enough that sweat was dripping in my eyes.  As we went through sun salutations on our way up, we grabbed our weights and proceeded to do arm exercises in warrior one, warrior two, side angle & crescent.  On our way down to vinyasa we would place our weights down as we flowed.  We were also taken though holding planks, swaying side to side.  This class was challenging and filled with great music.

Power Flow NON-heated, Teacher: Susan Wilcox

Description: This is a dynamic class incorporating balance, flexibility, and strength through a strong flow. Class is not heated. TAKE NOTE – NOT HEATED

I was incredibly excited today as I went straight up into a traditional headstand!  To think I almost did not go to yoga as I was slightly hung over from family game night.  I literally laid in bed procrastinating and trying to come up with every reason not to go.  Brian is playing golf, who will watch Hailey? My mother-in-law offered.  I can’t make Hailey breakfast the cleaning people are here, Brian went and got her breakfast – the universe was telling me to go.  It was one of those pivotal classes where you hit a new level.  I typically do a tripod headstand balancing your weight on three points.  I stopped doing them with my back injury as I was fearful the pressure on my head would cause pain to my neck / upper spine.

Everyone always said that a traditional headstand puts less pressure on your head / neck and they were right!  I love that I can introduce headstand back into my practice without fear of my back hurting.  (see image below)

NOW back to how I strongly believe you do not need a heated class to sweat in yoga.  This class was a power flow class connected to breath and we were all dripping in sweat by the end of class.  When you connect your breath to movement you internally heat up and this causes you to sweat anyway.  I love the powerful sense of community as everyone simultaneously breathes and flows together.  OH and the heat index was in the triple digits in Memphis, so screw adding more!

BetterBodiesYoga – http://betterbodiesyoga.com/bby/

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Short Form, Teacher: Neely Bryan

Description:  Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, developed the practice of Ashtanga. The first or primary series of Ashtanga is called "Yoga Chikitsa" and is translated as "yoga therapy".  Among the many benefits, most importantly the series realigns the spine, stretches the hamstrings, detoxifies the body, and builds physical and mental strength, flexibility and stamina. This class is a modified version of the full Ashtanga Primary Series, and is beneficial for students who are short on time. Additionally, this is an excellent introductory class for newer Ashtangis, who want to build the endurance to prepare for the full primary series.  Both the short and full versions begin with sun salutations (Surya Namaskara A and Surya Namaskara B), move into standing poses, seated poses, inversions and backbends before final relaxation (Savasana).

Typical me I was running a little late for this class and missed a good 5 minutes.  Our teacher Neely was incredibly sweet and has a love for yoga.  The class was very informal and not as challenging as I would like.  What did surprise me was that the following morning my muscles were sore.  I am learning on this yoga journey that you do not need to drip in sweat and do power yoga to get the physical benefits.  I am excited to try the full series Ashtanga yoga class.  I think I will be pleasantly surprised to add it to my repertoire of yoga classes to chose from.  Will share my experience when I get to take that class!

Vinyasa Flow: Level 1-2: Not Appropriate for New to Yoga, Teacher: Shelly Bear

Description: This intense and active class links together the use of the breath with sequences of poses, creating a moving meditation for participants. Not recommended for New to Yoga Students, this flow class requires a solid core, a thorough understanding of all standing poses, and Surya Namaskar A. The practice will help open up both your body and mind build strength, and leave you feeling energized ready to embrace your day.

Clearly I love this teacher as I took her class at HotYogaPlusand at this studio.  It was interesting to see the difference between studios and how the same teacher will lead a class based on where they work.  We followed a challenging flow connected to breath but it was a modified version of the class I took at Hot Yoga Plus.  It was challenging and the internal heat came on.  One thing I love about this studio is they always during Savasana place a hot mask on your eyes and massage your temples, arms and neck with scented oils.  You feel completed uplifted as you leave your class.

Vinyasa / Wall Flow: All Levels, Teacher: Ashley Berryhill

Description: This class is perfect for any level practitioner from the intermediate beginner who wants to transition toward a flow (linking postures together) practice, as well as for the more experienced student who wants to refine and deepen their existing practice.  Class moves a little slower through Surya Namaskara (Sun Salutations) A and B, and incorporates the Great Yoga Wall to teach and to heighten each student's awareness in each pose.  This class will focus on a variety of postures to build confidence, strength, felxibility, balance and focus on and off of the mat. Those who have physical limitations, lack strength and/or flexibility, are recovering from an injury, just returning to yoga, a beginner who wants to "bridge the gap" to vinyasa flow, and those who want a slower flow will love this class. Class is accessible to everyone, and encouragement, compassion, props and modifications abound.

I was super excited to take this class and try this flying yoga.  You go through a series of flow and balancing potions but the really fun part is you get strapped into a chair and are able to suspend yourself upside down and in various positions.  I would literally take this class every week as it adds that playfulness and removes some of the seriousness out of very intense focused yoga.  You feel a sense of weightlessness and the rules of grounding into earth change to reaching and flying to the sky.

OVERALL: This studio is beautiful with an outdoor yoga garden as well.  Not sure when you would ever want to take yoga outside in Memphis but hey – why not?  Fall maybe?  The diversity in the types of classes they offer is broad – allowing any yogi to find what they are looking for.  I would highly recommend this studio.  Their prices are decent as well.