Showing posts with label yoga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yoga. Show all posts

Thursday, September 10, 2015

SUP!

That's not me, but I looked just like that. (Chicago Paddle Co.)
This Labor Day holiday weekend had it's ups and downs, but one of those ups was on a paddle board!

I went with my friend Irene up to Hollywood Beach to go Stand Up Paddling. I was nervous, but it wasn't quite as hard as I thought it would be. I didn't even fall off once! It's still a challenging workout though, especially for your core.

The season is pretty much over, but I'm looking forward to getting back out on the water next summer (or the next time I go on vacation!). I might even try a SUP yoga class!

Monday, August 24, 2015

Wisdom

We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery
― Samuel SmilesThe Lives Of George And Robert Stephenson



This may not be the exact quote that my yoga instructor gave us at the end of class this weekend, but the message is the same. It reminded me of one of my favorite inspirational quotes about peace. I think about it often in attempt to stay grounded and present.


Friday, May 31, 2013

Outdoor Om



Some friends and I are headed to Wanderlust's Yoga In The City this weekend, just one of the events I listed in my recent Outdoor Yoga roundup for Chicagoist. There were a surprising number of offerings that I found including regular classes on North Avenue Beach from Sun & Moon, and a few free options including Sunday's YITC in Grant Park. You just have to register for a class in advance, and then b.y.o.m. (bring your own mat).

See my full list here. Namaste!


Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Yogi New Year

Hoo-boy, it has been a while since I updated the ole blog. First off, Happy New Year! I've never been much of a resolutionary person, but it is a nice time to reflect and check in with yourself.

I suppose you could say that is exactly what I was doing for most of December--after all of the parties and surviving a nasty respiratory virus. I took all the time between Christmas and New Years off work, giving me 11 days off in a row (including a couple unpaid days since I had to sacrifice the last of my sick days for that virus). That's the longest I've been away from the office since I started this job (seven years ago, but who's counting). I actually considered going in for a couple of hours for those unpaid days, but I'm glad I didn't. I think I was actually afraid of being bored (or being alone with myself, if you want to take the therapist perspective)! It took me a couple of days to get used to letting myself just relax. Usually when I have time off, I'm always trying to get stuff done, clean this, fix that, and I did some, but I really just wanted to let myself unwind. I feel like I'm running ragged most of the time, like I'm always going places and doing things because I have to instead of want to. I've always been a pretty high-strung person, but my energy level took a big dip when I turned 30, so I've been trying to manage that for the past year (both mentally and physically).

I spent most of my time off at home alone (the bf was at work most of the week) on the couch, and it was nice. I didn't talk to friends or family much, and we even dodged the holiday travel stress bomb. I let myself watch a lot of TV without feeling guilty about it (which was A LOT of the month between being sick and hungover and staycationing). I went to the gym a couple of times and by the end of the week I wished that I had been taking advantage of the free classes that my gym offers--but I guess that's just the realization that the time off was intended to show me. So I hit up a yoga class on Friday afternoon, something that I've been encouraged to do for a long time by my therapist (for the mind benefit) and my physical therapist (for the body benefit), and I loved it. There's always that first-class-hump to get over, but now that I'm over it, I'm hooked and I hope to go at least once a week. I was crazy sore after that first class, but I already hit up another class a few days later, and was encouraged by the instructor to keep coming, which was pretty cool.

Now that we're back at work, I've had a little bit of a hard time adjusting back to the daily grind, but I try to stay positive and think that if nothing else came from my break, I enter 2012 with a clearer mind and a new found fitness goal.