Seven Days of Yoga; Week 49

Thor is due any day now. He's done cooking as far as I'm concerned and I'd much rather snuggle him than lug him around in my abdomen anymore.

But this is what I've been doing for exercise this week...

Wednesday Panda and I walked about 3 miles. It was a little rainy, but I wore a giant bright red Bama sweatshirt (Hubby's) and we treaded carefully over the slippery areas. We got home just a little damp. Panda needed to towel off... which is one of her favorite games ever. I'm convinced it's the only reason she'll tolerate getting baths.

Thursday afternoon I went to vinyasa flow. It was tough - as are all classes not geared specifically toward pregnant people, but I got a solid yoga flow on, so I felt really great after class.

Friday I took pregnancy yoga. Since I was 40 wks that day, I got to pick how intense our class was. I said to go for the tough stuff and do a labor inducing class. Obviously that didn't work, as I am still pregnant.

Saturday I took the day off in favor of an evening walk with my honey and Panda Bear. We only did a mile and a half. I was a little disappointed because I'd planning on it being my exercise for the day.

Sunday I opted for more walking instead of prenatal yoga. I did 2 miles in 40 minutes at a 1.5% incline. I felt pretty good afterward. Then I did some yoga stretches on my own.

Monday hubs worked from home so we went to the gym together in the early evening. I walked another 2 miles on the treadmill, upped the speed to 3.5 so I could walk to the beat of my music, and increased the grade to 2%. I actually worked up a bit of a sweat, which was a nice change from how I've felt about most of my workouts lately.

On Tuesday I decided to go to cardio barre. I was a little worried it would be too hard, but a friend of mine is just a few weeks behind me in her pregnancy and she's been going every week, and I took the beginner class. It was easier than I thought it would be. I definitely still needed breaks and it was a good thing I didn't attempt an advanced class, but I got a pretty great workout in... and then I proceeded to scarf down a cheeseburger for lunch. :)

How was your week?

Yoga Baby; Week 40

Week 40

Whelp, we made it. Today is Thor's "due date". The Universe decided we would do the full 40 and maybe a little extra, so here we are...

Here's what's happening with me and the little guy...

Cravings: No cravings. I get hungry and so I snack on whatever's around and then I don't want meals because I'm full of snacks.

Aversions: Just don't ask me what I want to eat after I've had a snack. The answer is nothing. 

Energy:  Sometimes my energy is actually really good, but don't expect me to want to stay up past 9pm.

Seven Days of Yoga, Week 48

Wednesday evening I accompanied hubs to the gym. I did 30 minutes on the treadmill at 2.5 mph (just a touch above painfully slow, but at least I'm walking, right?) and followed it up with 20 minutes of recumbent biking. I wore 4 strips of KT tape on my belly because it was feeling especially heavy that night.

Thursday morning, we got up earlyish for a quick Thanksgiving workout. I did 40 minutes  on the treadmill, followed by 20 minutes on the recumbent bike. I did not end up wearing tape on Thursday and it worked out OK. In retrospect, I probably should have, but I just plain didn't think of it as we were leaving.

Friday pregnancy yoga ended up being a lot of stretching our vocal chords. We didn't even start actual yoga until halfway into class, but everything we did felt great.

Saturday morning we went back to the gym for more walking and biking. I did 30 minutes walking at 2.7 and 34 minutes biking. My little sister met us there and did almost the same workout I did, except she managed some running while we were on the treadmills. It was nice to have her next to me to chat with while we cardio'd.

Sunday afternoon I was back at my regular prenatal yoga class. I missed it last week.

Monday I went back for more pregnancy yoga. It was a lot of talking again, but we did do some stretching - a lot for me, actually, since I mentioned it feels like baby's head is burrowing into my hip.

Tuesday it was pouring rain most of the day and I spent the day at my parents' house. I didn't get much exercise at all, but it was a weird day, so I'm ok with that.

How was your week?

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 47

Wednesday I ended up doing more rest and cleaning - not too much cleaning though.

Thursday I taught my power yoga class, but I was pretty beat afterward, so I opted to take the rest of the night off.

Friday I worked about half the day, then had a baby checkup and then went to see the latest installment of the Hunger Games. I won't get into that here, but I thought it was just OK.

Saturday hubs got up and went to the gym, but it was too late for me to feel not stressed about the state of the house, so I cleaned mostly.

Sunday I also didn't workout because I was helping out at my mom's holiday pottery sale. She collected $2,000 for Doctors Without Borders. She's amazing. I'm so proud of her.

Monday commenced my first official day of leave. I was(am still) a little stumped on how to spend my days, but there is a pregnancy yoga class at my studio on Mondays, so I went back for round 2. I felt better about this class than last week. There were more first time moms, which meant more friendly faces. I actually met a mom who is due the same day as I am. There was another woman there who had just passed 40 weeks and was looking for a class to put her into labor, so every time we were going to do something potentially labor inducing, Kristen, our instructor, gave us 38 weekers an alternative, so our babies would get some more cook time.
After class I took Panda out on a 45 minute walk. We walked veeeeery slowly. She was a great walking partner - not pulling me around, and being a good listening. We only walked about a mile and a half, but it was good for both of us to get outside and breathe the fresh air.

Tuesday afternoon I taught my last power yoga class for a while, and then I took power yoga after. That may have been my last class too, but I'll just have to see how I'm feeling next week. Even child's pose is hard sometimes. It feels squishy and can be difficult to breathe if I'm not in the exactly right position. I have dropped my back knee in the crescent twists now. It hurts my wrist to stay up and support all of my new weight on one hand. I also modified side plank for the same reason. I am still finding ways to challenge myself by working around the wrist discomfort though.

How was your week?

Yoga Baby; Week 38

Week 38

We are full term. Now the waiting begins...

Here's what's happening with me and the tiny one...

Cravings: Same old same old. Mac, peppermint/chocolate things, lemonade, french fries. I don't always want them. but if presented with them, I will eat them without fail.

Aversions: I've been better about this. Luckily hubs does most of the cooking, but I've started frozen meal prep, so I can't say I'm averse to cooking. ;)

Energy:  Everything is exhausting. 

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 46

Wednesday night I did Dance Central Spotlight for 45 minutes. Some things are harder and some things are easier, but it's nice to get some cardio in - even if it is just mellow dancing around in the living room.

Thursday night I skipped my workout on purpose. I opted to hang with my mom and sister for a bit in the evening after I taught my class. Teaching was actually a lot of work that day. I had to do quite a bit of demonstating.

Friday night hubs and I went to the gym together. I did 30 minutes on the treadmill, and 10 on the recumbant bike before we decided to call it a night. I was doing about 3mph, and it was hard at times. Hubs came by and told me he thought I was going too fast. My little sister showed up when I had about 10 minutes to go on the treadmill and walk/jogged with me for a bit. I like having her at the gym now.

Saturday we had more time at the gym because of the bama game. I ended up doing another 30 minutes on the treadmill and 30 more on the recumbant bike.

Sunday afternoon I went to prenatal yoga. I love seeing the same familiar faces every week, but I missed some of the girls who are at about the same place in their pregnancies as I am.

Monday morning I tried a new prenatal yoga class. It's actually the class at the studio where I teach, but I haven't been able to go until now because it conflicts with my work schedule. It's so interesting how different the groups of women are at the different studios. I feel like the women at the Sunday class are much more similar to me - working women, most of us pregnant with our first, really open and friendly and talkative with everyone - whereas this class I took Monday *seemed to be* a lot more stay-at-home moms (most of them in their 2nd or 3rd pregnancy), and a little more clique-y. I feel weird saying that, but I think it has a lot more to do with the time of class than the location.

Tuesday night I went to power yoga. Now, you may be thinking "Alyssa, you have 2 and a half weeks to go before that baby comes, are you sure power yoga is a good idea?" to which I reply - a little wishy washily - "Yes." It seems scary - like there is the potential to push myself too hard or hurt myself and my newly achey wrists, knees, and hips, but when it comes down to it, my body is really good at telling me what I can and can't do. I talked about this a little bit before. I brought a friend along to a vinyasa flow class a couple weeks back and the teacher told my friend that I know and am really good at listening to my body. I don't always think that's true. I think my body is very talkative. :P Anyway, this week power yoga was really hard. I skipped a lot of stuff, didn't go very deep in much of anything, and took all the breaks. I was still a sweaty mess when I left  - I think the room was hotter than usual. I hope I can go back at least one more time, maybe next Tuesday, but we will just have to see.

How was your week?

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 45

I don't have any workout related pictures from this week. I barely have any photos at all, so you get a picture of my saturday morning project - an assembled baby swing.

I started Wednesday off teaching my mommy and baby class. We had one little guy who just needed to dance the whole class, so we spent a good amount of time dancing around in a circle, totally rockin out. Ended up working up a bit of a sweat, which was much needed. The rest of the day kicked my butt. I was exhausted, so if I got home and opted to snuggle with my pup on the couch, I wouldn't feel bad about it, but I ended up having the energy to do 45 minutes of Dance Central Spotlight. Hooray!

Thursday I had a dinner planned with an old friend, but I bailed because I was feeling stressed about the amount of stuff I needed to do that night after teaching and before my guitar lesson. I ended up with just the right amount of time to get everything I felt like I needed done that night.

Friday I ended up teaching two classes and by the time I was home from round two, I was beat.

Saturday was a busy day. Lots of baby prep. I taught an afternoon class. I thought about walking on the treadmill after, but I forgot my shoes, so we just went home.

Sunday I taught again. Since these classes have mostly been gym classes, I've been doing a lot of demonstrating. So, I've actually been working quite a bit when I do these classes - not so much as if I were taking them, but still.
Later I went to prenatal yoga. We talked a lot about low back/sciatic/piriformis pain/glute pain. I am working on relieving the tension I carry there - because apparently I carry so much tension there that I barely even notice it. Now that I'm trying to work it out, I'm noticing it and it huuuuurts.

Monday night I rested again, ran a couple loads of laundry, and generally overdid it on household stuff. My body was not happy with me.

Tuesday night I went to Power Yoga. It's hard to come back after taking a week off, but as always, I was so happy to be back. We talked about more piriformis stretches, but so many of them require forward folds and general squishing. I ended up in pigeon at the wall, which still gets a little squishy, but I can adjust as necessary to get as deep as possibly without squishiness. I also loooove supported bridge and supported shoulder stand for this and will sometimes/usually rock side to side to hit points with the block in my glutes. It feels awesome.

How was your week?

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 44

Wednesday I skipped my workout in favor of having snazzy photos taken. ;)

Thursday night I went to Power Yoga. I know I've said this before, but it gets harder and harder every time. I was able to stick with most of it. All of my vinyasas were from my knees. I think - of the 20+ vinyasas we did - I maybe did 2 from my toes. I still managed a handstand at the end. I thought about forearm stand, but my right elbow's been bugging me, so I thought handstand would be better.

Friday was Halloween. I thought about a quick trip to the gym, but instead I went to my sister's and ate Thai food - probably too much Thai food, but whatevsies.

Saturday I had a 1st birthday party to attend. In my mind I got up early and took a yoga class, but in reality I slept in. Then I came home and tackled lots of baby prep stuff. I think that counts as exercise. Yep. Totally counts.

Sunday my back was killing me. :( I woke up that way. Sitting made it worse. So, I spent the first half of the day waiting for prenatal yoga. Hubs got home from a mini man-cation around 11, so we got to spend some time together and I got a little much needed back massage before heading off to yoga. By the end of the day, back massage plus yoga made me feel so so so much better.

Monday night I had planned to dance with the xbox on Dance Central Spotlight, but I had a majorly crankifying experience buying bottles with rewards points at Babies R Us, so by the time I got home, I was not feeling it. I opted to sit at my computer and work on my hospital playlist instead. It made me feel better.

Tuesday was another weird night. Teaching power yoga, followed by a trip to the chiropractor, picking up the pup and voting. I rescheduled my guitar lesson for a different night so I could exercise and not feel stressed out, but I ended up just coming home and doing some cleaning and organizing of baby things. I walked up and down the stairs a few times. That counts as exercise, right?

How was your week?

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 43

Wednesday I ventured out of the office for a lunchtime workout of Fit Ballet Body, taught by my dear friend Chelsea. I basically get to skip the last 10 minutes of class because it's all abs, but the rest of class I thought I hung in there pretty well. There was some floor work - glutes and legs that I majorly wimped out on because of the stress it was putting on my (already sore) low back. It's a lot harder to tuck your tail bone and support your spine without the use of your abs. Womp womp.

Thursday I taught and then my sister called and asked if I wanted to have dinner. She just moved back here from Portland (that day), so of course I said yes. And then there was no workout. Oops.

Friday I had a doctors appointment in the evening, so I ended up out running errands with my hubs afterward. We made a late trip out to the gym after and I walked on the treadmill for a half hour while I watched the World Series.

Saturday I took a vinyasa flow yoga class, and one of my pregnant friends tagged along. It was fun. I'm glad she came.

Sunday morning I got up early to take yoga before my baby shower. It was a weird class. In general, it was ok, but it just had a weird flow. I missed my prenatal yoga crew.

Monday I taught yoga in the morning and then spent the evening cleaning the house. I had residual overwhelmed-ness from all the stuff we brought home on Sunday, and was feeling like our house was not a place for a baby, so I cleaned and cleaned.

Tuesday I ended up taking yet another "rest day", if you could call it that. I actually taught two classes and did a pretty decent amount of demonstrating, but I never really got warm or a good calorie burn.

How was your week?

Yoga Baby; Week 34

Week 34

With just about 6 weeks to go, I am already feeling huge, but taking my weekly pictures has been a shock. 

Here's what's happening with me and the tiny one...

Cravings: All I want are carbs and sweets. I still don't crave specific things - except I NEEDED to make these cookies last week (and I did). 

Aversions: Cooking. Haha, oh, that's not an aversion, that's just laziness. I have been better about eating vegetables though. Hoorah!

Energy:  I've been napping almost every day. On weekends I'll nap for an hour +. Weekdays they're shorter and usually just a little pre-bedtime shut-eye. BUT I did have a really great workout on Monday. I wrote about it a little bit in my weekly workout recap, but I started dance central spotlight with such lightness! It was such a nice change from my new norm of lumbering around. 

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 42

Last Wednesday was October 15th. By the time I got home from work, I was ex-freaking-hausted. No workout happened. As I write this I barely remember the evening, actually.

Thursday night I was back in Power Yoga after almost two weeks away. Everyone was surprised to see me - like it had been so long since I'd been there, they all thought I wasn't coming back. *le sigh* I'm pretty sure I'm right on track with where my yoga practice should be. I went to my knees in chuttarunga when I was too tired to tuck my tailbone in the full extension of the pose. This was my first time actually putting that into practice.

Friday night I was worried I wouldn't make it to Bollywood because I'd neglected to bring my workout clothes to work with me that morning, but I ended up with the perfect amount of time to run home, change and take the pup out before dance.

Saturday I tagged along with my hubby to the gym and did about 30 minutes on the recumbent bike. I was SUPER frustrated by the treadmill situation. I had planned on walking at a good clip for 30 minutes. There were a ZILLION open treadmills - one open to my right (I was second from the end) and about 5 open to my left... and some guy decided to choose the one on my right. He messed with my chi. I tried to stay on for a few minutes, but I just felt off balance, and I was majorly annoyed that of all the empty treadmills, he picked the ONE with a neighbor. Has that ever happened to you?
I also giggled to myself a lot once I realized that the person nearest to me on the recumbent bike (also right next to me, but there was a decent amount of space between the bikes) was a) wearing jean shorts (knee length, if you must know), and b) not pedaling fast enough to keep the bike on because c) he was too distracted by whatever game he was playing on his phone. I wanted SO BADLY to take a video and post it somewhere, but I didn't feel like I could be properly incognito about it. Rest assured, it was an amazing demonstration of proper attire and use of gym equipment. JORTS FOR THE WIN!

Sunday was back to prenatal yoga. I thought I might try boxing, but I've been ultra tired lately, so I let myself sleep in Sunday morning and then took care of stuff around the house until it was time for yoga.

Monday night I did 30 minutes of Dance Central Spotlight. I stopped at 30 minutes because that's roughly when hubs got home and I always feel bad/awkward hogging the living room. It was a great 30 minutes though! I was really happy about how my workout started. I downloaded a new song, so I was able to get excited about new moves (instead of the same 10 songs over and over and over again). When my workout started with the new song and new moves, I was pumped and energized. I felt really light on my feet, which is not a way I've been feeling lately. It was great.

Then Tuesday I took the night off. I taught my regular class and then didn't have time to squeeze in a workout before my guitar lesson, so that was that. I got home a little after 8, ate dinner and called it a night.

How was your week?

From Power to Prenatal; Transitioning My Yoga Practice

You guys know me a little bit, right?

I'm a fitness fanatic and I like to push myself to the limit. I think I've briefly mentioned this is some of my posts lately, but the transition from my former to current yoga practice has been tough - not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally. It's hard to go from your personal limit - where the line is usually in your head because 9 times out of 10 you ARE strong enough to finish this set - to your pregnancy limit - where your body says "Nope, sorry dude." and you actually need to listen because otherwise your body will crap out and really, you don't want your body making that decision for you when you're 7 or 8 months pregnant.

Working out so hard that you pass out or throw up is not really an option at that point. Not that that's comfortable in any situation. I've only worked out that hard once and I immediately regretted it, but going from a super active and fit person to someone who goes on walks, gets winded walking up stairs, does prenatal yoga, and dances with an Xbox in her living room... has been a challenge.

Despite wanting to push myself to my former limits, my body just won't do that anymore. Now that my belly is actually starting to get in the way during yoga, I thought I'd take some time to document how my practice has changed and why...

Here are some of the ways I've had to adjust my yoga practice to accommodate for this little person.

Take a wide stance
...in everything.

Forward fold - I cannot fold forward with my feet together or even hip distance apart anymore. The belly will not allow, so I take my feet wide apart so there is room between my legs for my bump and I can still get a good stretch in my hammys.

Don't be afraid to step off the mat. I did this for the first time about two weeks ago. I've been doing this modified twist for months, but just recently I had to step my front foot off the mat so my belly didn't get squished by my thigh. I was surprised, but it happened and that was that. Now my front foot is nearly always off the mat in this pose.

No more headstands (at least until this extra weight stops throwing off my balance and compressing my spine). I've been doing handstands and supported shoulder stands when I feel like I need to invert. I can't do regular shoulder stand either because it's too difficult to breathe.

Yoga Baby; Week 32

Week 32

Last Sunday was the 5th, exactly 2 months from Thor's EDD. From here on out, it's looking like *less than two months to go! *fingers crossed*

Here's what's happening with me and the tiny one...

Cravings: Nothing in particular. I have been eating a lot of bagels for breakfast lately. I actually really wanted an onion or everything bagel, but I always opted for something more mellow because I didn't want to smell like onion all day, but this week I gave in and got an everything bagel... and it was glorious. 

I also wanted to briefly mention second breakfast because it's real. Every week day around 10:30/11, I get the munchies. 

Aversions: Vegetables. Not in a real aversion kind of way, I am just really not excited about eating them most times, which is weird because I usually love veggies. 

Energy:  Depends on the day. Usually I'm pretty good, but some days - especially in the heat we've been having - I could nap every day and be happy. 

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 39

Wednesday I taught Mommy and Baby. It was pretty mellow compared to last week, so I decided to do some Dance Central Spotlight when I got home from work. I only did a half hour - as opposed to my usual 50 minutes. It was hot and hubs got home from the gym right as my half hour was coming to a close, and since I don't really like working out in the living room when he's home - other parts of the house I'm OK with, oddly - I decided to skip the 20 minute set I usually do. Plus I need to download more music for that game. I'm already sick of half the songs - mostly because they're majorly overplayed on the radio. I think if I hear Royals one more time I may stab someone.

Thursday night I was back on my mat for some power yoga. I was a little apprehensive earlier in the day because I didn't sleep very well the night before - lots of waking and vivid dreams - but I committed to completing the hour and a half long practice no matter how many breaks I had to take. I actually did really well. I took my time getting into and out of the poses and just listened to my body.

Friday night I went to Bollywood dance. We learned his choreography to Jai Ho. It was a lot of fun. I wore KT tape to support my belly. I think it helped. I didn't notice the baby hanging out super low or making me uncomfortable, so I'm gonna give credit to the tape.

Saturday my only exercise was a short walk with Panda bear on the beach. We went to Malibu as a late anniversary celebration weekend. It was lovely. I was actually amazed by how winded I got just walking up and down the beach. Sheesh!

Sunday we took another short beach walk. Later in the evening - once we were back in the Valley -  we went to the gym. I hadn't been feeling great most of the afternoon, but by around 4, I was better. We walked on the treadmill and watched the Niners game together. It was actually kind of fun. Ended up walking for over an hour. Not normally my cup of tea, but I had music and exercise, so watching the game without sound and getting the occasional high five from the hubs was fun. I did end up getting a little too high impact about halfway through. I didn't think I would need KT tape to walk on the treadmill, but I probably should have used it.  I had to go into the exercise studio and do a handstand to get Thor out of my pelvis... again. Oy.

Monday night I had my weekly yoga date. It was cut a little short to get my girlfriend's baby to bed, but we still got a decent amount of flow in.

Tuesday night I took Power Yoga. Though it was a great class, it wasn't the regular teacher. I had kind of a weird time adjusting to the pacing and the holds. Plus longer holds are harder for me now, so I found myself getting ants in my pants.

How was your week?

Pregnancy is Uncomfortable.

What I'm doing here I call my "belly stretch". I do it whenever my insides feel especially squished and I just stick my belly out as far as I can. It feels great, but usually as soon as I relax, I'm right back to feeling squished again.  Also, Panda Bear cracks me up in this picture. 

There. I said it. Pregnancy is uncomfortable.

Don't get me wrong. I am so so so happy and feel so very blessed to be able to grow this little human and bring him into the world, but I don't think there's a rule anywhere that says I have to be happy when my back hurts and my clothes don't fit.

Since I have just gotten into my third trimester, I wanted to take a few minutes and talk about some of the pregnancy symptoms that I've personally experienced thus far and how I'm dealing with them.

Sciatic Pain - Especially on my right side, since about the halfway point, I've been dealing with some sciatic pain. I've considered myself fortunate lately because I have the knowledge and understanding of how the muscles and bones work to optimally stretch it out. One of the key ways I've been able to work out my low back is literally curling myself into a ball and using the floor to hit points. If you have the stability and need to focus on one side more than the other, you can actually just hang out in a ball, letting only that part of your back hit the floor. My mat provided a really nice firm, but not hard/painful surface for me to work into my low back. I also found that by getting into a supported back bend like bridge pose with a block under my sacrum helps take some of the compression out of the low back and, if you're feeling stable, you can play with weight distribution.
The biggest thing for me, personally, has been working on engaging my glutes when I do lunges - not letting myself sink into the hip/pelvis. Even though it can feel better on the front of the hip to stretch it out, it puts all the extra pressure on the low back, so simply by keeping my glutes and pelvis engaged, I'm helping my low back.

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 37

I moved this post to Thursday this week to accommodate my annual anniversary post. ;)

Wednesday I took the Fit Ballet Body class my friend Chelsea teaches. I told her before class I was majorly lagging and super low energy. I did end up taking a few little breaks during class, working out some soreness, joint discomfort, etc, but I was able to do almost everything. Hooray!

Thursday night I made it to Power Yoga. It was one of my best preggo practices since before I really felt pregnant. It's been a while since I felt that strong. The woman next to me even commented at the end that I was doing amazing. I was doing all the pushups, side arm balances, handstands. I took a little break at one point, but mostly I was sticking with it through the vinyasas. It really felt awesome.

Friday night I had planned to take Bollywood with my sister, but when we went to sign up an hour before class, it had been cancelled. So, I stayed home while hubs went to the gym and did Dance Central Spotlight for 50 minutes.

Yoga Baby; Week 28

Week 28

SEVEN MONTHS! 3rd trimester, yo! Sheesh, how fast this is all going! So exciting and completely terrifying!

Here's what's happening with me and the tiny one...

Cravings: Cake. I made a chocolate bundt cake after my last post, and for the entire following week I still wanted more cake.

Aversions: Not any one thing or things in particular. Sometimes I just have zero appetite for real healthy food. I'll think to myself how I'm not hungry and food sounds terrible, but 10 seconds later I'll be on the couch with a popsicle.

Energy:  Major energy drop these last two weeks. I crash hard in the afternoons. Sometimes my energy is never that good to begin with. I pretty much feel like I could sleep all day every day.

Missing: Mostly the above. Energy. I was talking to a fellow pregnant friend about what workouts we used to do pre-pregnancy, and it really got me missing my tough workouts. I miss being able to challenge myself. I miss being better at things. Ha. I know that sounds terrible, but I really miss feeling strong.

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 36

Wednesday was kind of a weird day. Hubs was trying out a new TKD studio nearby and its been tough to get motivated for most of my Wednesday night workout options. I used to love taking Power Yoga, but that class gets really hot and sweaty, so I'd rather do something more mellow. This week hubs downloaded Dance Central Spotlight on the Xbox specifically for me. So, Wednesday night while he was gone, I tried it out. It was kinda fun. Hard at times, but motivating because - at least for me - if I missed a move I had to do the whole dance again until I earned as many moves as I could or got sick of the song. I ended up dancing to 4 songs over and over for about an hour and a half. I worked up a sweat. I felt my quads and shoulders fatiguing. It was great.

Thursday was supposed to be my weekly yoga date. We missed Monday because of the holiday, but my girlfriend came down with a cold and even though she felt up for a light workout, I wasn't sure about voluntarily exposing myself to a cold, so I decided to give Power Yoga a go, even though I was pretty tired. Haven't been sleeping well and my workout the night before left me beat. So, yoga was really hard. I took more breaks than I had ever taken, made more modification than ever, and a few times even left poses to do something completely different because my body told me to. I did, however, start my practice with annoying sciatic pain on the right side, and by the end (thanks to engaging my glutes and using the block like a massage ball) I was feeling SO much better.

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 35

Wednesday night I ended up just taking Panda out on a 30 minute walk. We had a nice time. She was very excited.

Thursday night I taught my class and I joined the ladies for mellow sunset yoga. It was an easy class, but I still had a hard time. The longer holds are what kill me - even if we're in a reclined position, holding it too long and I start to get uncomfortable/tired/achey.

Friday I went to Bollywood dance with my sister. Class was much more fun this time. We didn't feel rushed and the choreography was easier (but still exhausting). It was a great workout and I was wiped out afterward.

Saturday we ended up skipping exercise for the day. We had our first childbirth prep class and then ended up running errands the rest of the afternoon. I did a ton of walking though. :)

Sunday morning I taught yoga early and then stayed and took boxing at the gym. I definitely took it easy this week, but I still worked my ass off and sweated up a storm. Made me feel better about the four chocolate chip cookies and piece of fig tart I had later.

Monday we didn't have any real plans, so we took our time getting up and going to the gym. I did did about 45 minutes on the recumbent bike while hubs did some lifting. It was about all I could manage. I was still pretty wiped out from the day before.

Tuesday hubs and I took the day off work together. I had a doctors appt in the morning, so he came with, and then we went and worked out around noon. I took Vinyasa Flow at the yoga studio. It was only an hour class and it was perfect.

How was your week?

Yoga Baby; Week 26

 Week 26

It only took six and a half months, but look at that, an actual bump. Haha. We had a growth spurt this week. That's more that a couple cheeseburgers.
It's been a busy week...

Lots happening with me and the tiny one...

Cravings: I'm just constantly hungry. Even when I'm full I'm thinking about what I'll eat next. I've been wanting some cake or donuts or similar lately. Haven't gotten around to that. Maybe that's why I still want it.

Aversions: No outright aversions. I just get home from work, look in the full fridge and think how I am really hungry, but not in the mood for any of what's in there.

Energy:  I feel fine, but I wipe out quickly. I get a lot of second winds - if you can even call them that. I'll work on a project for a while, tire out or get bored, and then get back up and on it again with equal or even more vigor.

Missing: Fitting in small spaces - like between my car and the closed garage door. I also miss my pants. Hahaha. Good thing it's too hot for pants anyway. I'm pretty excited to wear shirts with sleeves again when it cools down.