i've been practicing so much yoga lately, i am practically a body builder. ahem... no, i don't look like one, but my muscles are so sore, i've been walking around like a toddler in a snow suit. :)
it feels so good. so very very good.
sometimes i wish that yoga skeptics would try a class and acknowledge that it's challenging. i imagine they think that we lie on our backs and stretch the whole time. nope.
the last few weeks i've been working on the following poses. it's been humbling, exhilarating and empowering.
(some day i'll actually pose for these photos myself. but at the moment, i'm too shy. )
from left to right, top to bottom: standing split, king cobra pose, one legged wheel pose, and crow.)
if you practice yoga, what poses are you working on right now?
Crow is one of my favorite poses. I'm working on my headstand! Do you listen to any music while you're practicing? I've been looking for something calming with no success. xo
ReplyDeleteI won't deny that yoga is difficult; it's just not for me.
ReplyDeletethe boob nazi (love that name by the way!) - absolutely. i just wish some people wouldn't scoff at it the way they sometimes do. :) thanks for commenting!
ReplyDeleteYou wouldn't happen to have any suggestions for someone who wants to start doing yoga would you? I'm really interested, but don't know that I can take can take a class, and I'm not sure where to begin!
ReplyDeleteheather, yes! a post is coming soon about that very subject :)
ReplyDeleteHanumanasana!!!! Sometimes I make it, sometimes not... Handstand and one legged wheel pose....
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more regarding people who scoff at yoga and calls it a "girl's stretch/workout". I was so happy that I had two men in my class the last half year, they came reluctantly and ended up being totally addicted. On the other hand, we just have to accept that some people don't feel that yoga is not for them, just as running is not for me (I like to walk).
Continue you practice - you already feel good and you will be in super form for Kripalu!!!!!
adho muka vrksasana--free standing handstand!
ReplyDeletecrow is one of the first poses i tried and my forehead quickly hit the ground (i thought (wrongly) that the class provided mats so i didn't bring one). ouch! i really enjoyed taking yoga classes at my university's gym but haven't really done much since then. your posts are inspiring me to get back into it!
ReplyDeletecrow is my ego-yoga pose because, for whatever reason, i can stay there forever. do you have one like that? yoga is so challenging, both for the mind and the body, which is why i like it (but also understand why others don't like it!). thanks for the yoga-related posts lately... it's a nice reminder for me to go do something good for myself (like legs up a wall...)
ReplyDeleterachel, my teacher calls those our "gift poses", i.e. the ones we were given as a gift and never had to really work at :) they are wonderful aren't they? :) my "gift pose" is agnistambhasana (fire log pose.) for whatever reason, my knees are all the way down, and i can even forward fold. yay for the easy ones!
ReplyDeleteYoga intrigues me a lot. I really want to do more research about it because my body is in some serious need of flexibility. I'm looking forward to your "getting into yoga" post because I need some guidance!
ReplyDeleteGlad midsommar!!!
ReplyDeleteI would love to be able to do yoga. Unfortunately, I have limited mobility in my back, (ie: my spine is fused together except for the bottom four vertebra or so) so I haven't had much luck with yoga. Hopefully one day I will be able to find a teacher who can instruct me on specific modifications. Until then, I suppose my favorite pose would child's pose.
ReplyDeletei am currently loving side crow-- cracks me up, because i can't hold normal crow to save my life, but there's something about side crow that's so fun and makes me feel more stable. i love headstands a new teacher told me to look at the ground right in front of my nose, instead of the wall behind me and it's almost like a whole new pose!
ReplyDeletei think i can do all of them except the last one, where i would most certainly tople right over!
ReplyDeletecan you recommend a good yoga dvd? i can't seem to find one i really like
I love your yoga posts, Nina! I am working on pincha mayurasana. That one is hard for me to balance in. I love poses like crow, side crow, and eka pada koundiyanasana. They feel so freeing.
ReplyDeletei'm working on holding adho mukha vrksasana (handstand) and pincha mayurasana (forearm balance) off the wall. these two poses challenge me to face fears.
ReplyDeletepigeon pose is my favorite lately and challenging for me.
ReplyDeleteI love the standing split! I wish I looked like the woman above, but not there yet.
ReplyDeleteI agree, if people would try yoga, they would see why it is so popular. It's wonderful!