Yoga to the Core Day 20

Day 20 of #yogatothecore. I've literally been dreading this day. I have never thought about trying firefly. It just seemed so impossible to me, with my hamstrings being soooo resistant lately. I've yet to get to the bottom of that, but I digress. I searched YogaGlo for a tutorial on firefly, and found a 30 minute practice to work up to tittibhasana. I had already done a 45 minute yin/hang class, so this was challenging and I thought maybe I'd exhausted my muscles past the point of begin able to lift into firefly. But there I was. Once, twice, soon a half dozen times. I didn't hold this pose for more than a second or two, and my legs were tremoring like crazy, but I did it!! Super proud of myself today :-) This is a good lesson for me. I've avoided this pose, thinking it was a pipe dream. Never say never!! Your body is capable of far more than you give it credit for. Sometimes the only thing holding you back is your mindset. You might stumble, fall, and crash, but if you keep trying you just might surprise yourself, I know I did!

Yoga to the Core Day 19

Day 19 of #yogatothecore is press up to handstand. Well that's just not happening! haha! I saw a few fellow Instayogi's working on rolling up and back with a ball so that's what I practiced today. I have used this exercise before but I kind of forgot about it. I'm feeling this one a lot today, it seems this is a very effective practice which I shall be working on regularly. I would like to see my hips more over my shoulders here :-)

Yoga to the Core Day 18

Day 18 of #yogatothecore was a little boost for my confidence. I've been working on Astavakrasana or 8 angle pose off and on for awhile now. Some days are better than others, and I can achieve a pretty solid position on either side. I struggled with my running today (actually I'm more of a jogger.) I'm having IT band issues, so to pull this off after barely being able to walk home today, it felt like a win. Thus, the reason for the big cheesy smile. :-)

Yoga to the Core Day 17

We had jumping through, now we have jumping back from lolasana. /sigh #yogatothecore Day 17 brings another tough day for me in this challenge! This is even harder than jumping through, especially if lolasana isn't in your practice. Ha. So what do you do if you are unable to jump back from Lolasana? You jump back from whatever you can! Forward fold to chaturanga; Forward fold to Plank. Crow to Plank. Firmly engage your entire core, draw the energy to the center line and launch your legs backward. It takes just a little courage and a lot of faith.

Yoga to the Core Day 16

Lolasana is the pose of the day for #yogatothecore Day 16. Super difficult, seems impossible at this point. I took the suggestion by @stoked_yogi to work up to this demanding lift up by practicing this: Start in plank, strongly engage the core. Pull the right knee forward and lower the top of your right foot toward your left wrist; do the same with the left leg, keeping the knees as close to your chest as possible; Hold, try to lift one or both feet if you can. Then step back or hop back to plank. Repeat as many times as you can, I would shoot for 10-15. It's tough! There are no short cuts to these challenging asanas - you must put in the work!

Yoga to the Core Day 15

15 days in to #yogatothecore and I'm having a blast and learning so much. The Instayogi's in this challenge with me inspire me to try new things and never say never. I am humbled every day, but also know that my body is capable of more than I once thought. Today's practice was Uddiyana bandha practice. Uddiyawhata? Yeah, that's what I said too. I suggest you do some research on this before diving in. In fact, everything I read recommended being introduced to this by a knowledgeable teacher. In the most simple terms, this is a "lock" and can be beneficial for detoxifying and "elimination" (pooping, you can say it.) It can help stimulate digestion and ease stomach ailments. I could tell just from the little bit that I practiced that this would be very beneficial to me. I was in unfamiliar territory today, but it was also a very intriguing practice and I enjoyed it :-) If you Google Uddiyana bandha or Uddiyana kriya, you will see some very odd pictures and/or videos. Note: If you decide to give this a whirl, be sure to practice it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I attempted a re-do after work and it was VERY uncomfortable :-/

Yoga to the Core Day 14

Day 14 of #yogatothecore and I can already see more definition in my abdominals. Especially my obliques. I'm liking the obvious improvement, but still feel like I can really increase my strength and flexibility by bounds. Today's pose is parsvabakasana or Side Crow. My crow isn't perfect, but it's definitely a confidence booster and one of the easiest arm balances to achieve. It's hard to tell from the photo, but I showed both sides (one side is always more available to me...that's normal) I'd like to see my arms straighter here, and my butt higher :-)

Legs to the right                                                          Legs to the left