Thursday, February 20, 2014

life on a mat

Wow. I miss running.

I have logged some good miles lately on the treadmill but I am craving a good long run outside. That is real running to me. I know a lot of people could argue otherwise but that is just how I feel.

I need some new pictures.

I need a run where the sweat is dripping down my shins, and I am cursing the sun, yet the air is really cool because it is still early morning & a small breeze every so often... WOW...I think I just went to my happy place. I will stop rambling...

So not a new story here but mother nature has really stolen running from me this winter, and in the last few weeks when I have been really angry over it I have turned to hot yoga. I talked about it here and here.

What I haven't talked about though is that although running is number one for me, I have a real passion for yoga and what it brings to my life. Running calms me, but not like yoga. Yoga is different. Not very different, but in some really important ways it is, and lately I have been thinking about getting certified as an instructor.

I am not sure how or when. I have started some research but I feel a huge push to learn more and find a way to share what I learn with others. I think the basis of yoga can help everyone's goals... whether it be athletic, professional or personal. Opening your heart and mind to yoga is sometimes a weird feeling at first but once you really open up, you learn these valuable lessons that just are not taught anywhere else but the mat.



I want to share one today.

If you have done yoga or even if you haven't, you know there are a lot of poses that focus on balance. Often before you kick your foot up in the air or balance on one leg the instructor will tell you to focus your gaze. Pick a point in the room and focus. Not a piercing stare but a soft gaze.

This technique, called Drishti, is almost magical, even to the most uncoordinated. It is like the unsteady, wobbly parts of you just fall away.

Could you imagine if we could do this in our day to day lives away from a mat??? Find the important focus and leave the wobbly parts of us go. Concentrate on our strong bodies and hearts and be steady rocks for ourselves & our families. Your gaze would have to be just right and your focus on exactly what you need though...I think I find that to be the hardest part. Sometimes I finally find my focus but I still make choices to look away and get distracted.

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The world is full of noise. You make your own noise, your boss adds noise... your husband, your kids, your parents. Although running helps quiet the noise, sometimes it doesn't. I put pressure on myself. I get angry during runs. I push through, sure! and usually great things happen but Katy Perry is also usually playing loudly in my ear.

In yoga you have to quiet your noise. You have to listen to it, deal with it, and release it. Otherwise you are going to fall on your face. It isn't a race or a competition. It is time with yourself, forgiving yourself. Yoga is for wringing yourself out...like a towel (that is what my favorite instructor says).



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Anyways, I started this blog with a lot of focus on running and I guess I realized that there are other parts of my healthy lifestyle (besides the wine and taco bell) that I want to start to focus on too. More to come on the yogi in me : )


Please let me know your experiences with yoga! 
Any Yoga instructors out there??? Any advice?




6 comments:

  1. I love yoga and you're right about having to quiet the noise. One of the things I LOVE about running is the thinking process and how it helps you think things through. With yoga, it gives you an opportunity to do the opposite. Like you said, to focus on the present moment. I've never tried hot yoga but would like to. I'm trying to master inversions and they aren't going so well. Ha! Practice every day, right?

    http://scootermuttin.blogspot.com/

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    1. hot yoga is great!! it makes you more flexible and just feels awesome, especially when it is freezing outside! I am so glad you agree about the noise :) If only I could practice yoga and run everyday :) :) I would be a really happy person.

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  2. I am a runner too but I also love yoga. I don't think anything can top running for me right now, but I am really interested in getting more into yoga in the future when my love affair with running inevitably cools down a little bit. I really love doing yoga, I just haven't developed a regular practice and made it a priority the way I do with running. I know I have sooo much to learn from yoga and it's something I hope to make a long-term goal out of (I have had very, very fleeting thoughts of getting certified as well). Looking forward to reading more from your inner yogi! :)

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    1. Developing a regular practice is hard....and kind of expensive!!! I think it is such a nice balance to running though. We get so tight and easily injured... Yoga is perfect for fighting that! :)

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  3. I only tried two classes over the years but this makes me want to try harder. It was awkward and embarrassing so I gave up quickly. But your description of it is very enticing!

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    1. You def should try again!!! I have gained muscles I didn't even realize existed & I knowww you like to lift those weights ;)

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