I did it!

Today's yoga challenge class was another peak pose class - remember last Friday when the challenging pose to work up to was the splits? Well this week the peak pose was Crane/Crow or Bakasana (pictured here to the right). Bakasana is a tough pose, requiring strong arms, an ability to open the hips, and a good sense of balance! The class was awesome, slowly building up with poses to open the hips and feel the strength in the arms and then easing you into the pose itself. I was actually kind of surprised to find myself suddenly in Bakasana, and very stable too! That is one of the funnest things about yoga - it sometimes allows your body to do things you never thought you could do.

Have a happy Friday, everyone!

Family News!

My sister Jenny recently got her Personal Training degree from the Cooper Clinic in Dallas and has just started professionally at FlexOne, a gym in Trinity, FL. She also has a new personal training blog - check it out here. Jenny was also interviewed in a loal news publication in an article about exercising in cold weather. I am really excited and proud of her! As you might know, Jenny and her husband Mark were instrumental in getting all the rest of us started with running. So I know she is going to be an awesome personal trainer!

This morning my son wanted to bike to school instead of walk. Which for me means instead of a 30 minute walk, I would only get a 10 minute bike ride. So when we arrived at school, instead of going straight home I decided to bike a bit further and get about 20 minutes in before heading home again. I actually bumped into someone I know who was biking the same direction, to her job, and we chatted for a few minutes as we cycled, which was fun. I ended up working up a sweat for a good half hour - which makes me feel I earned a nice cup of coffee (and some blog reading time) when I got home!

I still need to do today's yoga, which is a 30 minute practice focused on backbends - hmmm...sounds challenging! I am feeling a lot better today - must have been a 24 hour stomach bug or something - so I am going to give it a try. Update: the yoga workout was really good - a lot of shouder and back stretching focused on bow pose. I feel a lot more open through my shoulders, which is one of my weak spots. Awesome! Now I can get on with the rest of my day...

Under the weather

Feeling a bit flu-y and wierd in my tummy today - so instead of doing the yoga for today, which was core work (God, no!) I decided to repeat the easy breathing work from yesterday. Mmm, felt good...

It's gotten a bit colder but at least there is a little bit of sun peeking out from behind the clouds and it's not raining anymore...

Day 9: Morning Practice

Yesterday's yoga practice was a 45 minute Fun Flow (the same routine as last week on Monday) but when I was about 20 minutes into it my doorbell rang and it was my neighbor needing to talk, and then during the rest of the day, which got a little hectic, I never managed to finish it. Oh well, I did part of it!

Today was the same as last Tuesday, a 15 minute Morning Practice, which I just finished. This short little routine is easy and relaxing and part of it reminds me Tai Chi, the flowing movements linked with the breath. Like I said, it is easy and you don't even really have to change into exercise clothes for this one, just take your shoes off and try it!

Back to Sunday Morning Running!

The weather has been unseasonably warm the last few days so I was looking forward to running this morning. It did feel rather balmy out, which was nice! We simply did an easy 4 km down to the cemetary and back, which took us just 30 minutes. Not much but it's a start... We are planning to run the 10K race in Dendermonde at the beginning of March so it's time to get cracking.

This afternoon we have to go to my in-laws so when we get back I will do the Day 7: Evening Practice yoga routine for today. It's just 15 minutes and it looks pretty relaxing - anyone want to join me and try it out?

Yummy Vegetarian Chili Recipe with Sweet Potatoes, Aduki Beans and Lentils

I just adapted a chili recipe I recently found in Real Simple magazine - so I thought I'd share it. It has all the elements of a great recipe for me: super simple, very healthy and tastes wonderful! Enjoy!

Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes, Aduki Beans and Lentils

1 medium red onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
1 can aduki beans (or kidney beans), drained and rinsed
2 14 oz cans chopped tomatoes and their juice
2 tsp chili powder
1 T ground cumin
1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 T molasses
2 cups water

Put all the ingredients in a large stock pot and bring to a slow simmer on low heat. Cook gently for an hour, stirring occasionally. Check the seasonings and serve with a tablespoon of sour cream and some tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Looking forward to a good run tomorrow morning...

Yoga Day 6: Hip Openers

Just finished today's yoga sequence: Day 6: Hip Openers - this is a great one for runners! A very calm but thorough work out for the hips and legs and much less difficult than yesterday's workout (my legs were quite sore from that so this felt good today).

I have noticed this week one huge benefit from the past two years of doing more intense weightlifting: my arms are much stronger which enables me to hold poses like plank much better than I could in the past. I used to dread plank and even downward dog in yoga class because my arms were too weak and now it is no big deal!