Tag Archives: Yoga

Five Reasons Why I Love Yoga

As I am coming up on my two-year yoga-versary, it’s nice to look back and realize what got me hooked after that very first class.  I started practicing yoga at a time when I was a little bit lost.  I had recently gone through a tough break-up and wasn’t sure about the future of my current job.  Now looking back I realize it was just a big drop on the 20’s roller coaster ride.  Discovering yoga has really helped me navigate through these crazy years of ups and downs.  It is so much more than the physical practice for me.  It centers me and grounds me and has really changed my perspective on a whole bunch of things.  These are just some reasons why I love getting my down-dog on!

 

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It forces you to dedicate a portion of your day to focus only on your body, your breath, and moving to connect the two.  Any worry, stress, anxiety, excitement, anticipation, goes out the door when you step on your mat.

 

 

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No shoes required.  Simple but I love that you practice barefoot.

 

 

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It builds amazing strength and helps your body reach its full potential.  Almost every class I learn that my body could do something I never thought it could.

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You can laugh at yourself.  No matter how much you practice no one is ever going to get into every pose perfectly.  Every body is different and that’s okay.  Because if you fall over or on your face, you can laugh!

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Yoga has taught me to live in the present.  You can’t change the past and you can’t control the future.  Take every moment for what it is.  Find the joy when you nail that pose and accept when you fall down because you can always get back up.  And that can be translated to all aspects in your life.

Oh and one more….

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Weekend Round-Up – Picnics, Poses, & Paleo Muffins

I can’t believe Labor Day weekend is already here and gone!  I swear summer goes by faster and faster every year but lucky for me Fall is my absolute favorite season!  Even though I love fall I tried to soak up as much little bits of summer that are left.

I started off Friday with a nice cold Sam Adams beer on my deck.  I love that my new apartment has a deck – so nice just to be able to sit out there and get some fresh air.

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PICNICS

 

Saturday, we took a trip to Long Island for a family party.  We took the ferry over, which I haven’t done in a really long time.  It was fun – a little windy – but fun!  We played a few games of corn hole, drank lots of coronas (fresh and cool thanks to this post on cooler bags), and tried not to over eat all the great picnic food. The key: don’t sit next to the food!

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POSES

 

One of the Yoga teachers I follow on Instagram, Rachel Brathen (@yoga_girl), had announced a 10 – Day yoga challenge that started on September 1st.  I’ve never done one of these so thought it would be fun to try.  I’ve probably even in the past made comments about people who post all of these types of pictures – but I’ve realized some times you just have to say f*c* it and do what makes you happy!  Focusing on a different yoga pose each day really makes you take a look at your practice and realize what you like, don’t like, are good at or need to work on.  This challenge is called #AimTrueChallenge.  Day 1 was for a pose that empowers you and Day 2 one that challenges you.  I had fun playing around with this and I’m sure Andy loved being my photographer 🙂 Here were my poses:

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PALEO MUFFINS

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We played around with a paleo bread recipe this weekend and came out with some delicious mini paleo muffins!  They’re a great treat to have on the weekends with my go-to omelet.

1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
¼ cup golden flaxseed meal
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
5 eggs
¼ cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients and spend a few minutes mixing together, making sure to get out any chunks that the coconut oil forms.  It would probably be better to use a food processor if you have one.

Pour batter into a greased (we used some coconut oil) muffin pan.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes

Finding A Yoga Studio in Your New City

I recently just moved from Boston to Stamford, CT (about 45 minutes from NYC).  This might sound silly, but one of my biggest challenges was finding a new studio.

I started practicing yoga in Boston almost two years ago.  In the beginning I was what I called a “studio hopper” or “Groupon hopper.”  Strapped for cash, I would just try to find the best deal for studios around the city.  This led me into studios all over Boston and allowed me to try out different teachers and styles – which worked out pretty well.  But after a couple of months of “hopping” I found my fit.  Two studios owned by Lynne Begier called Sweat and Soul and Back Bay Yoga.  They had me at hello….or should I say Namaste.  I could go on and on about my love of these two studios, but we’ll save that for a later post.

The point is that it was really hard moving to a much, much smaller “city” and finding a yoga studio that clicked with me.  And I swear that’s the best way to explain it….sometimes it just clicks.  I’m happy to say that I have found a great studio in Norwalk, CT called Saraswati’s Yoga Joint.  While different from my first love in Boston, it’s the perfect place for me to explore the next phase in my yoga practice.

So here are my tips on finding a yoga studio after making a move to a new city:

  • Ask Your Current Yoga Teachers to Help:  One of my teachers in Boston was nice enough to post on her Facebook page and ask about studios in the area I was moving to.  Yoga teachers have huge networks and many are connected on social media.  She got about 5 responses and Saraswati’s was one of the suggestions!
  • Take Advantage of Introductory Offers:  Almost every yoga studio has an intro offer.  I took advantage of this for two different studios.  If you’re lucky enough you will find studios with a month unlimited for about a fifth of what they normally charge!  This is a great way to try out a few different studios without dishing out hundreds of dollars.
  • Yelp: I might be a little biased since I am a pretty avid Yelper, but you really can’t go wrong with Yelp.  You get real opinions from real people. It gives you a good sense of what the community and culture of the studio is like.

When it comes down to it, it’s really just about giving a few studios a try.  Everyone’s preferences vary in terms of what styles they like, type of teachers, etc.  These are just some of the ways that I was able to find a studio that just clicked!2013-08-29 18.58.51

And just remember, if you don’t find the perfect fit…..the best thing about yoga is you can do it anywhere!

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