Off Week

So not too chatty this week.  It started a little rough, due to too much fun at my sister in-law's bachelorrette party.  Saturday was fun, but Sun, Mon, Tue wasn't :(- too old too party like a Rock Star.  So needless to say my great work out regimen and healthy eating went down the drain.  I only ran 9 miles and didn't do my arms/core work out at all.  I ate a lot of greasy food items thinking it would take care of my liquid diet from the weekend, but my old stand by chicken mcnuggets, didn't help.  I did stay true to my Easter/Lent no sweets goal, but this week I felt like, more than others, I was craving sweets and my old Diet Coke/Diet Mountain Dew stand by.  Along with being tired from the weekend festivities, my two 1/2 year old, going on 20, is really driving my ultimate "mommy push button" into overdrive... sleep issues with a child- not fun.  I've never dealt well with the kids not going to bed easily (flashback Mason as a baby sleeping only 20 minutes during the day and crying himself to sleep for the first 3-6 months of his infancy).  Oh and don't forget Mason and my Tuesday "lost tooth" trauma- I really was worn out from that adventure ( I really thought I was going to pass out).

So I tried to give myself a break and justify my non working out/less than perfect healthy eating ways this week... I'm not in training yet, Sleep is more important than working out (no early morning jaunts), and I'm not back to sweets or diet coke so I'm still doing o.k. with my eating.  Although these justifications aren't bad it kind of goes against one of my earlier posts about "gutting it out".  I didn't do that this past week, but the good thing is today starts a new week and so I'm "back on the horse" starting with a little yoga tonight.  Felt great to do a 20 minute yoga routine- I know only 20 minutes, but have to start somewhere :).  Below are two of my favorite yoga poses.  Happy Sunday- onto a better week than the last.

Yoga: Pigeon

Yoga

Exercise Description: Yoga: Pigeon Classification: Yoga Instruction: Place the right knee forward and extend the left leg back. Make sure that the right toes are facing in on an angle and the left toes are pointed and facing down. Place the hands on either sides of the knee and shift the weight over to the left while lengthening the spine. Square the hips and the shoulders. Move the right foot away from the groin working towards a 90-degree angle with the right calf. The right hip may or may not be connected the floor. The left hip is facing down towards the floor. If there is too much pressure in the knee, readjust the calf. Replace this posture with the modified pigeon. Inhale and lengthen the spine, exhale and lower down onto the elbows maintaining the weight shift over to the left hip. Rock from side to side to help to increase the circulation in the hip joint. Only if you are incredibly flexible in the hip, start to work your chest down to the floor extending your arms out in front of you. The left hip, thigh, calf and top of foot is facing towards the floor. Relax the head, neck, shoulders and face. Breathe into the hip and back body. Relax in this pose for 5 to 15 deep breaths. Repeat on the other side. Side Note: Increases the mobility and flexibility of the ankle, knee, glute, piriformis, hip flexor, lower back and groin musculature. Helps to alleviate lower back pain. Tones and massages the internal organs. Calms and quiets the mind. Improves digestion and elimination.

Tree Pose - Vrksasana (vrik-SHAHS-anna)

Benefits: Strengthens thighs, ankles and calves. The tree pose also stretches the shoulders and thighs while improving the student’s sense of balance.

*Steps to performing vrksasana:

• Stand with your legs about three feet part on the mat and shift your weight slightly to your right leg.

• Bend your left leg, reach down and grab your ankle. Bring the sole of your left foot as high up on your inner, right thigh as you can.

• Balancing on your left leg, put your hands together and raise them above your head.

• Hold for 30 seconds to a minute. Return to standing position and then repeat exercise on the opposite leg.