Patience, Patience / Yoga+

Sorry for the lack of writing — I felt uninspired this week and kinda bummed out, as my weight loss didn’t seem to be happening at MY desired rate.

Last night, after a pretty emotionally charged week, I decided to re-try heated yoga. For those who don’t know, this style of  yoga takes place in a heated room somewhere between 85-95 degrees. By the way..I HATE the heat. But I wanted to cleanse and detox, so this was a good way to.

I was soaked, dizzy and proud all in the same breath. WOW what a good burn! It felt energizing to be physically at your wit’s end, but as the yoga instructor said, “That voice you’re hearing right now telling you to stop? That’s just your mind — YOU are fine.”

I needed to hear that, in all areas of my life. My minds been racing lately mainly with thoughts of inadequacy in my life. Poisonous thought they are.  But I flag them quickly and work through them — knowing they pass and knowing they come in to remind me of who I really am. And I learn something new each time.

 

Yoga+ || Lower Back Pain

Since revving-up my running routine, my lower back and hips have been very sore and tight. I’m used to this, somewhat, but it’s always frustrating to move in a positive direction, but have pain and discomfort attached to it. Since a highschool injury during a soccer game, I’ve dealt with severe hip bursitis on my right side. It makes my muscles tight too, so the whole leg is a little off-kilter. Greater physical activity increases the pain —  but I’ve got a system in place to help, so that I can balance out.

Yoga has helped so much with alleviating the pain of hip and lower-back pain. As a plus-sized woman, I’ve found some techniques  that relieve the pain while being realistic for my body. One of my favs is “Bridge Pose”

This is “bridge pose” and works very well for lower-back pain. You can modify also by carefully placing a block right where your butt-cheeks meet the small of your back — it’s then called “supported bridge.” When my back is sore, I just gently rise & fall and an out of bridge. Keep your feet flat on the floor and as perpendicular as you can. Arms ly still at your side too. Often, they recommend clasping them together under you back — ya right! So I just keep them still to my side. Sometime, when I’m laying down, I’ll push my butt into the mat to give my lower-back that extra stretch. It’s very soothing too to have your knees above your hips. 

[ Summer Blooms ]

Since I was home sick, I wanted to cheer myself up and one of the quickest ways is through flowers. I love their bright colors and fresh presence.  My dad always kept a lovely garden filled with a variety of flowers, herbs, trees and whatever else wanted to take root. I remember one pearl of wisdom he always shared with me whenever I’d help him tend to the garden:

“Some people might consider this a weed…but what’s a weed really? It’s a plant that’s out of place. Well, nothing that can grow here is ever out of place.”

Here are some images I took this summer of flowers around my home. They make me smile and remind me of the rich variety of life and joy.