Courage

And just like that, it’s July. I think we can all agree that the first half of the year felt like the longest and worst experience of our lives. While 2020 seemed to start out fine, that boat sunk faster than the Titanic and the iceberg we hit was a worldwide pandemic. I remember when they said this would be gone by Easter. They said it’d be gone when summer came because viruses die in warmer weather. As a medical professional, I can tell you that is so far from the truth. Here in Arizona, we’ve started to shut down things for a second time. Our governor released an executive order to close bars, gyms, water parks, pools, and tubing (you know, floating on a river) for the next 30 days, right before a big holiday weekend. No gatherings of more than 50 people can go on. The first day of school has been pushed back two weeks. If you want my honest opinion, with looking at our recent data and the very upward trajectory we are on, we should be in another stay-at-home order. Why close bars but not restaurants? Whatever. I don’t run the show. I’ll just sit here, safe in my home, and continue to pray.

Maybe you’re like me and you’ve dealt with a rise of anxiety or some sort of unrest due to everything that has been happening. I talked about this in a previous post but we’ll touch base on it again for today’s entry. Along with using the Headspace app for daily meditation, I’ve dove more into my yoga practice. Let’s talk about my history with yoga.

I used to hate yoga, like really hate it. How could you hate yoga? Well, I thought it was boring. I used to be in the mindset that if I wasn’t drenched in sweat after a workout, it was useless. I couldn’t ever focus long enough to complete a full practice. I tried to do it at least once a week because I saw a lot of runners doing it but I wrote it off for a long time. Fast forward to last year, I suppose when we moved here and I decided to open my mind more about my thoughts of the practice and tried to see the real benefits of it, for my mental health. I found myself meeting up with Adriene more and more. I challenged myself in poses I never thought I could do. I even attended a few classes in a studio, mostly gentle yoga. Fast forward to this year and I can’t live without it. I’ve found it hard to juggle strength training with running. I took a step back and asked myself, “Do I really need to be doing all of this?” Spending time in the gym was becoming more of a chore and not an enjoyment. My friend, who is a yoga instructor, suggested I check out power yoga. She said I’d be surprised how much strength I could build from those types of classes. Boy, was she right. I’ve been wanting to do one of Adriene’s month long challenges. I would tend to start one and then only get like four days in and quit. I was determined this time.

‘Courage’ was the theme. She gives each month its own word. When I read the post about this, she (Adriene) told us to prepare to sweat and work but learn to move with our breath. I’ve spent the entire last 30 days doing just this. I haven’t lifted one weight. I’ve used my body and moved in ways I haven’t. My arms have developed definition, my core feels stronger, and more importantly, my mind is becoming clearer. I actually feel stronger now than I ever have even with my past in Olympic lifting. To have that mind body connection in flow together feels so great. I took a picture of myself every day with a specific pose from that day’s practice. Here are some of my favorites:

Starting out, I had trouble keeping my foot pointing down and keeping my hips squared.

Chaturanga to up-dog practice became almost a daily goal of mine. 

The mighty flamingo! 

Peaceful warrior. I love going into this post from warrior 2.

The lovely triangle pose. After a few weeks, I was able to not hold any momentum against my leg.

Down dog split! This is about when I finally saw progress in melting my heart in and keeping my foot flexed. 

This was literally one of the best stretches I had ever felt.

Balance practice becomes that much harder when on carpet. This move was actually a series of three, all balancing on one foot. I felt so strong!

Today, I start July’s theme of “Shift”. I don’t know how long I’ll keep up daily practice but it’s been such a blessing in disguise both for my mind and my running. If you’ve been on the fence about trying yoga, I encourage you to dive in and give it a try. My favorite thing about practicing yoga is that there is literally no right or wrong way to do it. You try your best and if you feel like challenging yourself one day over the previous, go for it! There are people who are amazing at yoga and can do some crazy, complicated moves and that’s awesome! Don’t compare yourself to anyone but who you look at in the mirror. Check out Adriene on YouTube. She has tons of free resources and a great beginner series. If your one who needs to be in an actual classroom setting, find a class that’s some type of foundation setting or a slow flow. Yin yoga is great for relaxing while a power or energize yoga will test your body and make you work a bit! 

Namaste, friends.