Soreness and Yoga

Well, my first week of nothing but yoga comes to a close today. I didn't stick with it quite as well as I'd hoped too. Quite frankly, I found that my body was seriously craving down time after the race which surprised me. I knew I was worn out from the 10k training + new lifestyle, but I didn't expect to feel like I was rehabbing!

A few hours after the race, my legs stiffened up. I noticed just how stiff and sore when I tried to stand up after Avengers- ouch! But it was a good ouch, I knew I'd pushed my body (especially my legs!) very hard and they were reacting to that accomplishment. I opted to take Sunday off completely because I was still pretty wiped out when I woke up and because I was celebrating Mother's Day with my beautiful momma!

We had the best celebratory brunch: gluten free french toast with berries, chicken apple sausages, scrambled eggs, and strawberry mimosas. YUM!

My workouts for the rest of the week looked like this:

Monday: Jillian Michaels' Yoga Meltdown DVD level 2 (a quick, but intense 30 minute yoga session)
Tuesday: Bob Harper's Yoga for the Warrior DVD (an hour-long practice)
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Off
Friday: Yoga at the YMCA (I wasn't a big fan.)
Saturday: TBD ;)

I took Wednesday and Thursday off because 1) I was sore on Wednesday and 2) I opted to go to the chiropractor's on Thursday after work instead of practicing yoga. A worthy trade in my opinion.

My thoughts on nothing but yoga...I'm surprised because I don't enjoy it nearly as much as I assumed I would. I am becoming more flexible and believe it or not my upper body is looking more toned (yay!), but I find myself itching for a higher intensity workout. I want to run! I know the break was good and I definitely needed it. I feel healthier, stronger, and less exhausted. But I will be bringing back other forms of exercise next week if I keep craving it. So my plan might be changing, but what's new? We really can't predict where life will take us and my #1 goal is to listen to my body and what it needs.

After Monday's Practice

If you're interested in a great yoga DVD, I absolutely L.O.V.E Bob Harper's Yoga for the Warrior. It is a fairly fast-paced, vinyasa style of yoga. He leads you through various poses, including Sun Salutations. I don't know about you, but if my practice doesn't have a few Sun Salutations, I am always bummed out- they are my favorite.

Unfortunately, I don't love Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown. It feels more like body weight strength training than yoga. That isn't a bad thing, but it isn't what I'm looking for in a yoga practice either. I like to feel relaxed and stress free when I finish my practice and I find that happens more with Bob's DVD and I still get a great workout. I do love that I can fit in a practice no matter how busy I am because her sessions are 30 minutes each. And I will admit that the more I practice with her DVD, the more I warm up to it. Who knows- I might just convert after all.

The husband and I are members of our local YMCA and I was really excited to take a few group exercise classes. Thus far I have been pretty unimpressed. I love, love, love Sharon's classes (if you remember she teaches spinning and pilates). But both of the yoga classes I've tried leave much to be desired. I think they are a little too boring for me. I like a more upbeat, face-paced class (i.e., Yoga for the Warrior or Centurgy). Oh Centurgy, how I miss you! Anyway, I think I need to try out Power Yoga. I was intimidated by it because it is labeled as an "athlete" level class, but after two rather boring classes/instructors, its time to try it out before I throw in the towel on YMCA yoga.

So sorry the post is kind of all over the place. I've been a spaz lately and right now I'm trying to write this in between cleaning, laundry, Lost, and baking. I'm trying out PB Finger's recipe for Oatmeal Peanut Butter Banana Cookies. Sounds amazing, right? Peanut Butter and oatmeal are two of my favorite foods right now. I could eat them all day every day and a cookie that combines both? Heaven on earth! ;)

<3 K.E.