Yoga Mala

Sunday, I participated in a Yoga Mala class. This is a series of 108 sun salutations - a moving meditation. It is broken into 4 sets of 27 sun salutations. The first set is dedicated to yourself, the second set to family/friends, the third set is dedicated to the people of the world, and the fourth to the divine. It is truly wonderful and is full of amazing energy. It's also apparently full of amazing soreness! My run today quickly became a walk as my legs just would not go any faster! Oh, well. It was a beautiful day full of sunshine. And, did my 10 minutes of yoga tonight - much to my hamstrings' chagrin!

Project: Yoga

On my first day of Project: Yoga...success! Because I can't seem to "just do" anything, I have to name my efforts. Thus, Project:Yoga. It's a big name for a simple 10-minute per day goal but that's how I roll! So, 10 minutes done. Granted, I was on the phone for part of it chatting with a friend and playing with my daughter for the other part of my meager 10 minutes. But, totally worth it to let her be a part of my practice! She was walking under and around my downward dogs and copying me in Cobbler's Pose! Such happiness...makes me feel that this is how it might be possible to fit this in every day!;-) So inspired am I that I went on Cafe Press and started making my own shirts! Tomorrow's yoga adventure is going to be a yoga mala class. I wonder if I have 108 sun salutations in me????

Finding Balance

I took a wonderful Yoga Mala class this evening...and am left feel so refreshed, strong, and centered. I know Yoga is so wonderful and I want to strengthen my practice. I realize that - along the lines of the blog title - there's no way I can fit in an entire class every day. Once a week, maybe twice per week - OK. But, try as I might, there is no way I could carve out an hour every day. That being said, I'm sure I can commit to 10 minutes every day.

In just about every magazine or fitness journal I pick up, they talk about the many benefits of a regular yoga practice. I completely buy in to this! OK, so my goal for the next 30 days: 10 minutes of yoga every day. I am hopeful it will bring me to a place of less anxiety and more peace. One of my favorite quotes: "Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart." (unknown).

Is it possible to fit it all in?

So, I was out for a run yesterday. Near the end of my run, I was doing walking lunges up a hill while pushing her in the jogging stroller, because that is the only time I can find to do lunges - when I'm pushing her in her stroller. And, so, I started thinking that it's so hard to fit everything in! I'm new to blogging but thought it would be good to start writing about the challenges of leading a healthy life, creating a healthy family, and keeping my sanity in all of that!

Let me back up for a moment and introduce myself. I'm a wife and a mom. I primarily stay at home but I also work a few hours from home and teach a few group exercise classes each week. I'm a nurse by training but found my passion in fitness & wellness. I work in health education and am a certified group fitness instructor and certified personal trainer.

When I made the decision to give up my full-time job and stay home with my daughter, I thought staying home would be easy. I also thought working from home would be easy to "squeeze in". Hahaha! It almost sounds funny now! Needless to say, I was wrong on both counts. It's hard work and there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done!

In my blog, I'm going to write about ways I've found to stay fit, be healthy, and my never-ending quest to find balance in my life. I know there must be others out there like me...and I hope you will share your thoughts with me as well!