Day 26

Today was a real good day for me. The meeting we had in the morning turned out to be a real pleasant surprise. We finally found what we had been looking for some time now. This really lifted my spirits and has me looking forward to new things coming. It is truly wonderful when life smiles at you!
For lunch we had a grilled steak and some glazed red bell peppers with onion, garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Gorgeous color on those red bell peppers, look:

In the afternoon I was finally able to make some time and went to get my hair done -much needed-. Time has been flying by since I started the UY program and I just find myself wishing for more hours in the day.
After a nice pampering, I got ready to do Detox and Hardcore. Kid all tucked in bed, get ready, set, go! Oh dear. I really, really much rather do the classes in the morning. I am much more energized and open to go deeper into the poses. In the evenings I am tired after running around all day and I just want to watch some tv or read a book, you know? I was pretty tired during the class and was beat after Hardcore. My standing leg was shaking bad during twisting Warrior III pose and let's not talk about that part where you put your knee in the back of that leg's standing knee. Killer! I usually do pretty well here, but today I was just too tired. But you know what? I DID IT. I didn't quit, cheat, switch it up or skipped it. I PULLED THROUGH and that made me feel pretty damn good about myself.
It made me feel so good about my tired self that I totally ditched making dinner and had some processed food. Now: no need to put up a picture of that. You guys can just let your imaginations run wild here. I am tired, happy about today and I regret nothing. There... hehe.
Now I am off to bed so I can meet my son's 8:00 am soccer game right in the face *ay, ay, ay*.
Sweet dreams fellow yogis and yoginis!

Day 25

Yin Thursday where have you been? As we progress on the 108 cycle, Yin just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter. I am 100% convinced that the classes are in the order they are for a reason. After an intermediate CrossTraining, strenuous Cradio and killer Strength, Yin is the perfect follow up. I really recommend not switching the order of these classes because I'm pretty sure the results will be heightened and much more sweeter than if you move them around. Muscles have been overworked for the past three days and Yin is the perfect succession to that. But anyway, that's my humble opinion.
Today I was finally able to go back to my perfect pigeon pose that had been hiding for the past year. I was finally able to get both butt cheeks pressed to the floor! It gives a wonderful sense of release that I had been missing. Also my chest is almost -ALMOST!- touching my thighs during seated double pigeon. I am hoping next week I'll be able to get all the way down. Who knows guys? Maybe one of these days we'll find ourselves looking like this and without a care in the world:

yeah, right

 

Moving on, I wasn't able to have lunch at home today, so we went to a cute little restaurant that makes these comforting home cooked meals. I had a mixed pasta salad with cherry tomatoes, tuna, yellow corn and black and green olives in a creamy sauce.

After that I had a creamy zaffron rice dish with shrimp, artichokes and broad beans.

For dinner I wasn't very hungry so I just had a small fruit salad with bananas, peaches and figs. No picture of that because by the time I remembered to take it, it was all gone.
Tomorrow's Detox! I won't be able to do the class in the mornings like I usually do because I have an appointment, so I'll be doing that later at night. Not thrilled about it, but I don't plan on skipping a day as long as I can help it. So, that being said, I'll see you all on the mat tomorrow night!

 

Day 24

Strength is the mother of all things unholy. It is one mean class! I have definitely progressed in it because I am able to do it all the way through and without any modifications; but I am dog tired afterwards. I went back and read those first Strength classes and I was useless for the rest of the day. That is not the case anymore, but it is a very challenging class. All those chadurangas? Yogi pushups? Blasted side arm balances? My lower body can take all that's coming; but my arms are screaming for it all to stop. And then... guess what? You are not done because there's Hardcore coming your way and more sphinx pose plank damnation! Oh Lordy. Please let me hear those sweet words "Congratulations. You made it through Hardcore..." *I don't know what comes next because by then I have turned the tv off telling Travis to just shut it. Hehe.*
On a side note, after I am done with this 108 cycle, I had mentioned that I was gonna ask Travis for some guidance as to keep the program going but with the weekends free. I also plan to ditch the Hardcore class and just do my Pilates workout that I love so much. I feel like I work my core more with Pilates; and the class is longer and more challenging. I discovered Pilates in Scottsdale, AZ with Niece Pecenka. What a woman! What a class! I was sad to go and miss those killer workouts with her; but was ever so happy when I found out she had released two DVDs with the classes we used to do at the gym. I leave you with her info if any of you are interested, because this is the perfect complement to these UY videos. Her website is http://domorepilates.com/domorepilates.com/Contact.html
Moving along, I had a very late lunch today due to an appointment I had at my son's school. Husband and I went to an italian restaurant around the corner and I was naughty. Oh so naughty. I had the most creamy delicious gnocchi in a four cheese sauce. Check the goodness of it all:

For dinner I wasn't very hungry because it had been such a late lunch, so I just had Greek yogurt and a peach.
Tomorrow I have another pretty hectic day, so I am specially looking forward to that nice, quiet and relaxing Yin hour ahead of me. Let's stretch these overworked muscles!
Namaste y'all!

Day 23

Cardio? Check! Did it again all the way through! The first warm up series, the intense cycle of 10 sequence, yogi push-ups and whatnot. Feeling very proud of myself for making these improvements in this class that looked like it was going to be the death of me. I was tired at the end, but the good kind of tired, you know? Not exhausted like those first two weeks. I have to admit that nothing feels better than stepping into a nice warm shower right after. Ahh...
On a side note, I had been doing my meditation in the afternoons; but I've been switching it to right before bedtime these past few days and I am finding it easier to relax into it. I am more calm and since I have nothing left to do afterwards but go to bed, my mind is quieter: no more chores to do or errands to plan. The best part is that I am slipping into bed feeling so very relaxed and peaceful. I am falling asleep within five minutes! This is bittersweet for me, because I am a big reader and a book freak, so that aspect of my life is suffering a bit. I used to read for hours at bedtime and now I am conking out like a baby. I am falling behind on my Goodreads pledge to read 50 books a year. Gotta start making time during the day to sit peacefully and read for a bit. Don't want my books to start feeling lonely or forgotten ;)
For lunch today I had a watercress and arugula salad with raw bluefin tuna sprinkled with pine nuts, goji berries and sesame seeds in a soy sauce dressing.

This afternoon my custom made mala finally arrived! I had been waiting for it for a couple weeks now and I must say it was worth the wait. This mala was made using 52 robles wood beads and 2 agate beads with circle etchings for a total of 54, with smaller graywood and robles wood in between each larger wood bead. The guru bead is also an agate stone, followed by a yellow handmade tassel. I set my intention for it and started charging it right away. Simply gorgeous, take a look:

Fro dinner later tonite I had the leftovers of the moroccan chicken breast and basmati rice we had for lunch yesterday. Yum.
Off to bed early today because tomorrow Strength and Hardcore await! Hope I find it easier to get through them tomorrow. Have a great night's sleep everyone!

Day 22

Starting week four on the right foot with Cross Training! Again: this is my favorite class so far. I can do it all the way through without any modification. I do wish my standing splits were a bit better, though. Seeing as I am not very flexible in that pose my leg doesn't go very high up; but hopefully that will improve over time.
Also, I am very pleased with the way my tree pose -and balance in general- has improved over the years. I remember not being able to hold tree pose for more than five seconds. Now? Not a problem at all! I don't know if I get more wobbly in a group class and am more focused at home or what, but my balance is pretty good. Hope I can say the same when we are doing more challenging asanas like crow pose.
For lunch on this cloudy Monday -again!- I had chicken breast with vegetables cooked moroccan style. It had some colorful spices I brought back with me from my trip to Morocco earlier in the year. We had basmati rice on the side.

After a hectic afternoon of trying to catch up with my errands, I had molletes for dinner. This is a typical mexican dish and it consists of black refried beans and melted cheese on top of a toasted slice of bread. I used rye bread and Havarti cheese. On top you add pico de gallo salsa: it consists of chopped tomatoes, onion and serrano chiles sprinkled with some lemon drops, salt and pepper to taste. Take a look:

After all these wonderful things to eat and a very productive day, I go to bed not so scared that tomorrow is Cardio Tuesday. I am beginning to master Cardio Tuesday. Who would have thought?
Buenas noches!

Day 21

Dear God what a day! I can honestly say that the only hour I had of peace was the hour I did Mountain Pose. I think this is the first time I am sitting down now that I am writing the blog. Sundays are for resting? Not in this house!
Anyway, Mountian Pose was Mountain Pose. What can you really say about it? It's not hard and there's not much room for improvement there. It's just a relaxing sequence, yes?
Now Pranayama. That's a whole other thing. At least for me. I had been having trouble -awful, panicky trouble- following those long inhales, exhales and holds; so today I was not looking forward to it. As I sat ready to start, I told myself to just relax and try to get through it. Guess what? I DID IT! All five rounds of it and not a single moment of panic or breathlesness. I don't know why it happened or what changed, but I got through it all and by the end I did feel very relaxed this time. Hope this happens every time!
As for Meditation, I am not quite sure if I did it really right or if I was dozing off while doing it. Mind you I was not lying down or anything like that. I was sitting on my meditation pillows with a straight spine and all. It happened close to the end right at the japa meditation part. Suddenly I was listening to Travis and then it was very peaceful. I was hearing him but not listening you know? I felt very relaxed, quiet and peaceful. Kinda like when you're about to doze off. Now I try to meditate and all, but I don't think I have really mastered it, so I don't know if this is how meditating correctly feels like or if I was just close to conking out. Anyone out there with some insight?
After the class I was actually very hungry, so my lunch for today were some lovely prawns cooked in a spicy tomato sauce on a bed of basmati rice.

For dinner I had one of those copy cat wraps from the organic place I went to. There's no photo because I was just too tired and went ahead and devoured it.
So, people: we made it through week three! Yay for us! This is seriously one important achievement! I love the huge improvements I am seeing in my practice and the results I am seeing in my body. This makes me keep going and keep going with a big smile on my face. So here's to all of us and let's kick week four in the butt!
Namaste ;)

Day 20

Today I was able to sneak in the class right before lunch so I wouldn't have to do it later tonite. Vitality is such an easy class, I think. Very mellow flow and cool asanas here and there. What I find meh is the breath of fire and lion's breath. I don't know. I do feel silly doing them and I really don't see the point. They don't make me feel any "vitality" or anything at all, actually. I do them, but still can't see the point. Maybe I need to be more yogic about it? Who knows.
Anyway, I had worked quite the appetite for lunch , so I was very happy to see this lovely and not healthy at all grilled cheeseburger waiting for me:

Now I wish I had one of those neuralizers that the Men in Black have so I could zap us all right now and we could all forget about this little indiscretion. Little, juicy and lovely indiscretion. Hey! At least it was home cooked and not Mc Donald's or whatnot.
Moooooving along, for dinner I played nice and had a mixed greens salad with cherry tomatoes, roasted sunflower seeds, dried figs and fresh goat cheese in a raspberry vinaigrette.

Well folks, that's it for today. Tomorrow sweet Mountain Pose awaits along with deathly Pranayama. Hope I don't pass out trying to hold the breath in. Stay tuned!
Peace out.

Day 19

Phew! Detox today kicked my butt! I could feel my thighs burning and my arms working it. My back was really grateful for all those twists; specially my lower back. By the time I get to the point where we're bending one leg and placing it behind the standing leg on the back of the knee I am ready to just go ploff on the floor. I gotta say my "slow and graceful" sitting down after that is anything but. All in all it was a sweet practice today: Detox is fab!
I am very happy today because I got to practice in my brand new Manduka mat! Look what came in the mail yesterday:

I got my mat, a mat bag and two lovely meditation pillows -much needed-. I love that the mat is extra long so I don't have to be scooching up or down during class. Also a big plus is that it's much more cushioned than the one I had before, so it is better for my wrists. I am one happy yogini ;)
For lunch I had an amazing wheat berry salad with cranberries and herbs. Very fresh and filling! You can find the recipe in Yoga Journal.

In the afternoon I had a fresh juice to break in the new juicer I got! The juicer is nothing fancy since I just wanna explore if I am into juices before buying something more professional -aka pricey-. The juice is made with beets, carrots and apples. The juicer was just fine and the juice came out pretty good: without any pulp and it was super tasty. I love beet in juices; I find that it gives the juice a very particular taste that makes you want to keep drinking it. Here's my little dude stealing a sip:

For dinner I had smoked salmon rolls stuffed with crab meat in a chipotle and mayo dressing. On the side I had some toasted spelt wheat bread. Oh yes.

 

Weekend up ahead! Gonna try and fit in those classes in the mornings as best as I can because, for me, practicing later in the day doesn't work. It messes up my mojo.
Happy Friday everyone!

Day 18

Why does the class seem to fly by when it's Yin? I feel like I've just started stretching and then we're in Shavasana already. I still can't get enough of this class! Love the mellow feel I carry with me the rest of the day.
Now, I am not the stretchiest or bendiest person; I am not a pretzel yogi and I don't think I will ever be, but I have seen a huge improvement in my elasticity ever since I started practicing yoga. Years before I couldn't even touch my toes! Now I am able to tuck my hands comfortably under my feet while standing with no problems at all.
I do get a little jealous -the good kind of jealous- when I see those girls in the video rest their chests flat on the floor while doing straddle stretch. I mean: WOW! I aim for that, but really: WOW! Thank goodness Travis lets us know we can round the spine because that's where I'm at. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the long stretches, even if at the beginning it might feel a bit uncomfortable. The key, like I said before, is to let go. The improvement is hugely noticeable.
That being said, let's move on to the food part of the day! Today I was naughty and totally skipped eating healthy. There's this International Food Fair in Valencia for a couple of days and we always go because it's the one place where we can have some decent tacos. Here they are:

For dessert I had my favorite sweet thing in the whole planet: a dulce de leche crepe. This one is made by a brilliant mexican. Mon Dieu!

I know this is not part of the common sense diet plan; but it made complete sense to me to go to the food fair and treat myself to a damn good crepe. Hehe...

Weeeeell... for dinner I wasn't very hungry *wonder why*, so I had a Greek yogurt and an apple.
Ah well. I regret NOTHING!
See ya all tomorrow when we Detox the Mexican and French inside of me.

Day 17

Strength today. My nemesis. I have to confess it was a little bit better today. I did the whole class like last time. Full chadurangas and yogi pushups on my knees to give myself a little break. Those side arm balances still kick butt! There's a point during the side arm balance flow that I swear my arms are about to snap right in two. They shake and wobble like a mother! And then when you think you can't take anymore... the class is over! Phew! I did feel tired the rest of the day, but not nearly as much as I did last Wednesday, so we can call this improvement, yes? Arms tired, but I am not as useless as before.
I had cleared my day thinking I was gonna be exhausted, so I spent a couple of sweet hours just lying under the sun in my terrace right after class. Life is good, even after Strength class. Ha!
For lunch on this gorgeous Spring day -welcome back!- I had a pasta salad with veggies. The pasta is organic and it's made with rice, tomatoes and spinach. Never had it before and it's a winner. Here's a pic of it so you can look for it and try it:

The veggies in the salad are cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, celery bites and capers sprinkled with olive oil and kosher sea salt.

After a dentist's appointment in the afternoon *wohoo!...pfft*, I had for dinner a sliced turkey breast and prosciutto sandwich on toasted rye bread. I added some watercress, mozzarella cheese and dijon mustard. I also had a bowl of the chicken and veggie soup leftovers we had from yesterday.

Short and sweet today. Don't wanna jinx this progress I am seeing. Tomorrow? Yin. Yay!
Sweet dreams ;)

Day 16

 

Holy shit I did the whole class! No child's pose rest for me today: I did it all the way through. Full yogi pushups and all! I can't believe the serious amount of progress I have seen in only two weeks and a half. It's pretty amazing. Going back and reading that first Cardio class and comparing it to today has left me very surprised. I'm much more motivated than before and am very eager to see all the ways I'm going to improve with this program. I was pretty tired by the end of the class, but not as much as I had been before. I even contemplated doing tomorrow's Hardcore because I am now fearing Strength. That class drains the life outta me! But I figured the classes are in the order they are for a reason; so I let it be and will face my demons tomorrow. As for today? I am extremely proud of myself. Even my sweet lil' Idefix was giving me the high five for doing so good:

 

 

Today was a bit cloudy and chilly -where the hell did Spring go?- so we had a nice warm bowl of chicken and veggies soup. It had carrots, zucchini, potatoes, mushrooms and leek.

 

 

For dinner I made a copy cat of the wrap I had the other day at the organic restaurant across the street. I bought some multigrain wraps, mozzarella, prosciutto, pesto and dried figs and wrapped it all for one mean homemade wrap dinner. I even got the grill marks going! *nom nom*

 

 

Not bad for a Cardio Tuesday, that's for sure. I am now realizing that the class I dread the most is Strength. Hopefully I'll come back one day soon, read this and laugh thinking "Why the hell did I find it so hard? Piece of cake!". No quote is more fitting for today than the one above from UY: "I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then" - Lewis Carroll.

Namaste everyone.

Day 15

And we're off for week three!
I have to say that of all the classes we've done in the program so far, Cross Training is my favorite. Perfect flow, perfect level of "pain" and beautiful pose sequence. Breathing was on point and I was completely synchronized with Travis' instructions. My yogi pushups were not on my knees: I did not lower all the way down, mind you, but I'll eventually get there. Right away I did Hardcore and I am now doing the full 30 reps. Yay!
What made my day was that as I got dressed, I noticed that my shoulders are way, way more toned than before. Arms are looking real good! It made me very happy because who doesn't love that sexy arm bump muscle, really? Like I say: bring on those blasted yogi pushups!
Today I also wanted to touch on the meditation aspect of our journey. I know meditating is hard: that mind won't just shut up, yes? I have noticed a real improvement on my meditation practice since we started. I have been alternating different apps that aide in this aspect and have found them to be extremely helpful.
This first one is called Health through Breath - Pranayama Lite: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/health-through-breath-pranayama/id347190704?mt=8. This one basically helps to improve your breathing. It does the counting for you -like Travis- and the music tells you when you have to inhale and exhale. It helps to relax and calm you down, as well as gradually reducing the breathing rate as you progress through the sessions.
One of my favorites is Smiling Mind: http://smilingmind.com.au/. You can use this one either following the course they have set out for you or simply choosing your minutes and meditating. The course is really good, specially the body scan part. Before meditating for 10 minutes, I always play the body scan first because I find that it prepares me for the full 10 minute meditation. I also love that it can be customized to your age, so I have been playing it for my 8 year old son and we're both enjoying the benefits of a quieter mind.
I also use one called Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/. This one is just a timer that you can customize with your minutes and the sounding of singing tibetan bowls at the start, middle and ending of your session. I like that it records your sessions and you can write down your thoughts after.
I have another one that I don't use as much because I don't like the tone of voice the woman that guides you has. But hey! That's just me; maybe you will like it. It's called Simply Being - Guided Meditation for Relaxation and Presence: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/simply-being-guided-meditation/id347418999?mt=8. This does exactly what it says: she guides you through the meditation. You can choose to have nature sounds or music for the background. The music is pretty nice, btw.
And finally there's The Mindfulness App: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-mindfulness-app/id417071430?mt=8. This is another fave of mine. It has body scan, guided and silent meditation, bells are customizable, you can set up reminders and you can personalize it down to a T. It also shows you a statistic progress of your practice. I think this is the most complete of them all.
So there you have it! Some of these are free, some are not. I'm sure there are hundreds of meditation apps, and I hope I have been able to give you a peek at what's out there and get you started. If you know of an app that's good or if there's an app you love, let me know. I'm always up to try new things!
Moving along, today I had a very hearty lunch: steak and cremini mushroom organic wild rice pilaf. I am so glad we have leftovers because this one was very good.

For dinner I kept it simple and had a nice mixed greens salad with goat cheese, prosciutto bites, pine nuts, goji berries and dried figs in a creamy raspberry vinaigrette.

Ok people. That's it for today. Get your act together because tomorrow we have a face off with Cardio. Bring it!

Day 14

Today was a much better day for me. I was able to get to my practice at a reasonable time in the morning and had a much calmer day than yesterday.
What can go wrong with Mountain Pose sequence? Nothing. It's just some nice calming movements that relax your body so it will be ready for the madness that comes during the week.
What I have discovered is that I really don't like the Pranayama part of the class. I read back to last week and saw that it was difficult for me to follow the long breathing exercises. Well, today it was even worse. I really can't breathe out for 10 counts and then hold my breath for 5. I go NUTS! I feel like I am running out of air and it makes me very uncomfortable and sweaty. I have to take a huge gulp back in and then all the exercise goes to the crapper. I tried every single time; but at some point I just ended up saying "oh screw it!" and gasped for air. I am able to do the smaller versions of Pranayama that Travis sneaks into the daily classes without a problem; but these longer exhalations and holds just make me feel awful. Will this ever improve? I'm not sure. It really makes me feel very antsy and not relaxed at all, which is the whole purpose of the exercise. At the very end when he says that it's common to feel "totally blissed out" I was like "Whaaaa?". Nope. Never. Is anyone out there going through this same thing? Hmm...
Moving along, for lunch today I had a grilled chicken breast stuffed with a mushroom ragout. On the side I had more of the ragout and some grilled broccoli.

For dinner I had an avocado sandwich with goat cheese on rye bread. Oh yes. It was fabulous ;)

I can hardly believe two whole weeks have gone by! I have seen much improvement in all aspects: better muscle tone, resistance, strength, balance, determination, happier thoughts, healthier eating... an overall feeling of well being. I am most certainly sure I did the right thing by signing up for this UY program. I also love the support and friendships I have made through the UY Facebook group. There are some pretty amazing people out there! And it's to all of you that I wish a happy Sunday and a right foot start on your Monday. See you on the mat for week three!

Day 13

Oh man. Gonna be completely honest here. I am not a fan of doing yoga on the weekends. It's enough for me to be investing all the time this program requires during the week so as to be stressing about doing it over the weekend. When I am done with this 108 sequence I'll contact Travis and ask for a recommendation as to how to do the classes leaving the weekends free.
Today was a super busy day for me and I ended up doing the Vitality class at 10:00 pm when all I wanted to do was sit, tune out and watch some tv or read my book. I really did it out of consistency and commitment. The class was fine like last time. I was just not feeling very up to it. There. Pfft.
For lunch we we went to a really good Italian restaurant here in town. While both my husband and son had a spicy pepperoni pizza and gnocchi in a four cheese sauce (looked delish), I had a very nice -and delish also- mixed greens salad with grilled prawns, caramelized tomatoes, anchovies and smoked salmon rolls stuffed with fresh crab meat.

For dinner I just went and had the same thing I have for breakfast. I was just too tired to cook something else, so it was fruit, Greek yogurt and an All Bran fruit and fiber mini cake for me.
Sorry if today's blog post is a bit unispiring and somewhat of a let down; but I'm just all pfft today.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a more peaceful day and enjoy Mountain Pose class. As for now? I'm most certainly signing out!

Day 12

Holy mother of indigestion! Talk about regretting having that steak yesterday! I had such a hard time digesting it, I think I'm gonna lay off red meat for a while. The whole afternoon my stomach was bubbling and complaining. I didn't pay much attention to it and just carried on as usual; but a few hours after dinner when I was in bed it fully struck. Stomach ached and it felt that the piece of steak was sitting right there in the back of my throat. I guess my body got used pretty fast to do without meat and really let me have it when I ate it. Talk about UY being right on every single count of the program! From now on I'm going to keep eating healthy like I started out and scratch red meat off my list for the time being.
That being said, boy am I glad today's class was Detox! It was fabulous! And the whole time I kept thinking "Squeeze that blasted piece of steak out!". Ha! Today I really flowed with the class: it was exactly what I needed. Arms were fine the whole time and I did Hardcore right away. I went back and read that last time I hadn't been able to do the "under the fence" move. Today I was able to make a first attempt at it. I actually did it; but bear in mind that my fence isn't very low and it doesn't have any barbed wire on it. Nice to see where I'll be at next week.
Today was lunch date with hubby and we went to this really cute restaurant right across the street. I think it might be the only one of its kind in Valencia: everything is organic, fresh and from local vendors. The space is really nice and open: it gives the sensation of freshness all over. The website looks like it serves only salads, which is the main attraction; but they have the menu of the day that has lots of yummy things. Even though it's in Spanish, click through it because they have some interesting dishes in their menu that we can all recreate at home. The menu tab is on the right hand side, it's sideways and it reads "Descarga nuestros menús". Here's the link: http://www.begreensalads.com/
I had a lovely mixed greens salad with cherry tomatoes, goat cheese and dried figs in a raspberry vinaigrette.

And a very filling pesto wrap with mozzarella and prosciutto ham.

We give this place a big two thumbs up. Definitely will be coming back for more pretty soon. Huge props to my meat eating hubby for indulging me and having lunch at this place. I know he feels like a "rabbit munching on leaves", so... Thanks ;)
For dinner I had sliced tomatoes, avocados and cucumbers with fresh mozzarella bufala and some quinoa crisps. As you can see I'm flushing that meat outta my system!

Tomorrow we got Vitality in the books. I am a bit worried about finding the time tomorrow since my day is gonna be pretty packed; so I think I'll do this class tomorrow night, once all the madness has subsided.
Hope you had a good productive day! I know I did: I de-gunked myself!

Day 11

Oh Yin! What more can I say about Yin that I haven't said before? Lovely practice, lovely stretches and an overall goodness feeling. One thing I can say is that thanks to yesterday's Strength, my arms are now pulp and I had a bit of trouble holding my torso over my body on my arms during the stretches. It frustrated me a bit because I enjoy stretching and all of its benefits; and not being able to enjoy it because of silly tired arms? Not fun at all. I really hope I have a better time around Strength next week because it did break me yesterday, let me tell ya.
Every day during class, my beloved Westy called Idefix keeps me company. More on the mat than off, which is kinda cute until you have to do 10 crazy rounds of Cardio. Poor thing heads for the door... Ha! Today he was much more cuddly and he hung out with me on the mat for most of the class. These are the days that I appreciate him being close the most because I love stroking his soft hair: really relaxes me. Here's a pic of him so you can meet him. I'll ask my husband to take one of us on the mat another day.

Idefix

 

For lunch I had grilled steak and artichokes with a balsamic vinaigrette. On the side I had mushrooms in a tomato and port reduction sauce. Now I know some of you are frowning upon the steak deal, and it's ok. I am a meat eater, always have been and always will be. I am cutting down on the amount of red meat I eat and I haven't had a decent steak since this whole program started -and I usually have it once a week-. I think life is too short to stop eating meat, so without further ado, here's the damn good piece of steak I ate.

For dinner I had my usual sliced turkey breast sandwich on toasted spelt wheat bread. Back up on the wagon of common sense eating, hehe. *shh. don't tell Travis because I don't wanna have to do extra yogi pushups*
Let us all be grateful for the good things in life that we have and let's enjoy the moment because, like I said, life is too short.
Namaste.