Friday, February 17, 2012

Yoga Challenge Day 9 of 21

So I have learned a few things about myself during this challenge. I have learned that I'm not so great with trying to trick myself into a full workout 7 days a week. I have also learned that if I don't just get it over with before 10:00am it will virtually take an act of God to get me to do it later in the day. Being flexible is one thing, but I have be realistic with myself. I need structure and a certain level of routine in order to feel secure and be successful. *Le Sigh*  I'm planning on attempting another reboot at the end of this month. I know I mentioned in a previous post that I was contemplating a fast but I hadn't decided exactly what kind. I've chosen to return to the Reboot, they now have a larger selection of cleanses to follow. I can tailor a challenge to fit my lifestyle more closely. I will begin my 7 day ramp up to the detox on Ash Wednesday and afterwards complete a 15-day challenge that will alternate eating and juicing. I feel as though if I make this detox my lent fast then I will be more likely to follow through. I am much more diligent when it comes to giving of myself for The Most High rather than for my own accord.
I am still making my way through my Yoga Challenge, it seems to be more of a challenge to make sure I write about it everyday. What I would really love is to be able to afford classes again. Yoga classes are just beyond my financial bracket right now, especially with the kid taking gymnastics more seriously and the hubby beginning to take on boxing. Yet again my desires my be met at home or cast off into the shadows. Maybe I can find a studio that will allow me to take classes on a barter system. Maybe I have skill that a studio may be able to use.
Speaking of skills, leading into work...I need a new career, a new LIFE. I'm immensely bored, maybe annoyed, or maybe saddened by my life right now. Don't get me wrong I'm still so very grateful to even have a job, because there was a time when I did not have one and felt as though I would never find a job. I'd much rather stay where I am than ever feel the fear of such uncertainty and financial struggle as that again. But is it so wrong to want to like your job? Is it so wrong to actually both believe in what you do AND enjoy doing it. I believe in the mission of the organization that I work for, but I do not believe in disorganization, inefficiency, or coddling adults who are fully capable of learning, thinking, and doing  the right thing for their own lives. Plus I'm DONE with the very people who I am trying to help out giving me attitude as if I owe them anything else. I want to work with people who actually WANT to be present.
Okay, enough of that, a better existence is just around the corner. I can see the gold glimmers of hope and change and they're drawing me near like a moth to a flame. I have faith that I'm smart enough now to not get burned.
Namaste Ya'll
P.S. If you know of any skill trading yoga studios in Austin, TX throw me a name and I will graciously give them a call.  

Friday, February 10, 2012

Yoga Challenge Day 2 of 21

Hey ya'll
So today I completed 60 minutes of mat time at 5:00am for my second day of my Yoga Challenge. I'm proud of myself for rolling out of the bed, but goodness am I SLEEPY. I did have a little issue this evening with my eating. When I'm tired and struggling to keep going I have a tendency to eat to keep myself alter. (Bad habit I know, I'm trying to break it) But I got out voted on dinner tonight and we ended up at Rudy's BBQ *smh* like a good (or bad) TX girl I have a real weak spot for brisket. So as you can imagine I overindulged a little. But I have been good pretty much all week and I've gotten an hour of exercise a total of 4 days this week. So I think I should be okay as long as I keep it together this weekend. Just consider this evening's dinner as my one cheat day today. Just keep swimming, right?
 I'm at a place in my dvd where I know what's next and can now focus on matching my breath up with my  movement rather than trying to pay attention to what the next pose is. I've been thinking, since Lent is coming up very soon I'm in need of a fast to take part in to serve The Creator. Since I've already cut out most junk food and don't each much red meat I need something that will really resonate with me. I've been considering either mixing smoothies twice a day or juicing again. I know, I know, the first time I tried the juice cleanse I was kind of...well...miserable. But sometimes it just takes trying something a couple times before getting the hang of it. I honestly wish I had the ability to take a month to myself with no other responsibilities where I could just focus on cleansing and yoga. But since that isn't feasible at this point in my life I will figure out a way to incorporate this into my current lifestyle somehow. I'm sure I can figure it out this time, mostly because I really need to. Not so much for my physical health but for my mental health. I'm in desperate need of feeling good about myself again. I still have 12 days to decide what my fast will be this year. Hmm, I could use a new blender either way. Why pass up a reason to go shopping? LOL
If there's anyone out there, thanks for reading
Namaste Ya'll     

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Yoga Challenge Day 1 of 21

Hey ya'll, so I officially began my yoga challenge this morning. I pulled myself from my warm snuggly bed into the crisp chilly air of the 5:00am morning, played my dvd and worked my way through a 60 minute video. For the first 20 minutes I was not excited about being up and moving about. all I wanted to do was crawl back into the bed and curl up under my hubby. It didn't even matter to me if I fell back asleep I just wanted to lay back down. But I stuck it out, I warmed my body up through the flowing movements of the vinyasas. By the end of the video I still wanted to lay back down but my mind was on auto-pilot; you know "I'm already up may a well..." Plus I had to get ready for work and take the kiddo to school so laying back down wasn't really an option. To top it off I had a LONG day at work today. 10.5 hrs with only a 15 minute break rather than an actual lunch. *sigh*
s/n I need to hurry up and begin my graduate program so I can hurry up and graduate and begin my new career, this is for the birds!
 But on another note, I feel determined to complete this challenge. My preparations for success in this are helping. Eating lighter definitely makes it easier to feel like moving the next morning. Plus getting up at 5am means I don't even have to fuss with the dog until I'm finished because she's basically still asleep until 6am. Let's see how still feel about this at day 14. I'll probably be crossing the "annoyed threshold" and tip-toeing in to the realm of habit. Well, only time will tell. No matter how I feel about it at any stage, the whole point is to push through and not give up for once.
Thank you all, who ever you may be.
Namaste Ya'll

Monday, February 6, 2012

Side tracked by the Super Bowl

I was supposed to come back yesterday with my preparation plans, but allowed myself to get side tracked by the Super Bowl and getting my home ready for visitors. So in preparing for my 21-Day Yoga Challenge I plan implement a few things to make this journey fluid and simple:
1. Eat lighter, when I don't feel heavy or stuffed to the gills I am much more likely to move my body more.
2. Prepare my yoga dvd at night so that I can practice in the morning more readily. (Push play and go)
3. Use my time on the mat to speak to The Most High, I typically spend time speaking to God as I prepare for bed but if I add an additional time to focus more on hearing Him I feel I can serve Him better.
4. Don't be so ridged in my mat time schedule. (my work/life schedule changes daily, I need to allow my mat time to be flexible and adjust accordingly)
5. Have sex with my husband more often...when we spend more physical time together it's like a battery charge for me and the following day is that much easier to get through.
6. Remind myself that I WANT to do this, even though I may be sleepy or grumpy or angry or sad or lonely or feeling just plain old lazy...I actually WANT to do this. I WANT to be a person who practices daily. I WANT to feel free within my own body. I WANT to be able to say that I have an actual practice.

I just have to remind myself that not completing this Challenge will leave me feeling incomplete. I want to do this, I want to succeed in this mission. I want to come out on the other side transformed. I want yoga to become a permanent part of my daily living. It shall come to fruition
Namaste Ya'll

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Seems As Though This Is Turning Into a Fail Blog

Okay, so over time I have placed idea, plan, and mission on here to get my life together. Which apparently makes me just like every other person in this country. And to be honest I'm sick of myself. I've found that I am amazingly bored with my life right now. My mother says it's called "Being Settled" and that many people confuse it for boredom. Whatever it is, it's not what I would call fun. So I have constructed some challenges to complete in my life. At work I started a "Paid Loser Challenge" those of us participating put $20 into a communal pot and did an initial weigh-in. We weigh-in every 2 weeks and any person to gain a full pound or more must place $5 in the pot, if you plateau and stay the same you must place $1 in the pot, if you lose weight then you owe nothing. This is to keep us motivated and pushing through the lazy periods. It's helped each of us so far. The challenge is 5 months long, we all felt this was a realistic time frame to really achieve some desired results. It has been 4 weeks into the challenge and I have not had to owe any money yet! Which is pretty awesome for me, because usually before week two I'm toast and hating myself.
So now all I need is a consistent workout regimen, I've gotten my eating habits under control and finally have the support of my husband due to his health concerns. So now I'm  ready to add a workout routine to my everyday life. Now I believe I am ready to follow through with a self inflicted 21-Day Yoga Challenge. I've heard it takes 20 days to form a habit so at day 21 I figure I will have my body craving the softness of my mat on the bottom of my feet. I think even if I'm only on my mat for 30 minutes it will be better than not doing anything at all. I don't really want to substitute yoga for anything else. Yoga is what I love and what I want to become really good at, and I think I really can if I can remember to just suck it up now so that I won't have to suck it in forever.

I know I've given myself a yoga challenge before and announced it on here, and at that time in my life I was transitioning from some very traumatizing situations that yoga helped me through but I just didn't have the time to myself, the space, or the resources to continue with my challenge and it ended up falling by the waist-side. So here are my guidelines for myself:
I must complete a series of yoga poses at least once a day.
The time on my mat must add up to at least 30 minutes a day in order to qualify
The time does not have to completed all at once, I may break it up into segments if needed due to time constraints.
The Challenge will begin February 9th and end February 29th
Of course there will be an end to the actual challenge, but the goal is to have created a habit that I don't ever end. I have to believe in myself  and love myself enough to go through  with this. I have to find a way to walk the path that is meant for me into the life that will make me shine. I have found some inspirations for my aspirations and now must begin the perspiration (hehe). Okay, but seriously, I'm kind of excited about this though I do wish I had someone to walk on this journey with me. But I guess this is probably something I need to do on my own. No one can turn me into a yogini without me putting in the work, but I can become a yogini without someone there constantly. Okay enough talk, I'll be back tomorrow to discuss my prep techniques, maybe one day someone will care.
Namaste Ya'll