Day 55

So all I had planned for today went nowhere. By the time I woke up this morning, I was honestly too tired to go anywhere today. I love going out, walking about and eating at restaurants as much as the next guy; but at some point you just wanna hang at home, yes? So we decided to just chill for the day. I hope my mom and sis didn't get bored, but we really just wanted to take it easy for the day.
Today I did both Detox and Hardcore in the morning -closer to noon, actually- and it was tiring, but I just didn't want to have to roll out that mat for a second time today, so I got it all done and now I only have meditation waiting for me.
Detox and Hardcore were cool: it's all getting easier to do by the week and I hope I keep seeing this kind of progress for the rest of the program. Would hate to get in a slump and loose all this looking forward in seeing what I will do better with the next day, know what I mean?
What I did want to mention is that meditation issue. I have two things on my mind about it. The first one is that I was able to sit real well for ten minutes; but twenty is turning out to be too much for my legs to be in a first crossed legged seated position. I have tried doing meditation sitting on a chair with my back straight and both feet touching the floor; but then it's my middle back that starts to bother me. It bothers me so that I have to be moving to be able to remain there for twenty minutes. I have tried sitting on my different meditation pillows in different ways, but legs just start to tingle and numb up eventually. I HATE THAT. I have to straighten them out, then fold them back in and then straight out again and... meditation just goes to the crapper because I loose all focus.
I feel that I have tried every position there is and I just can't get any relief! I can't seem to find any position comfortable enough for me to sit still the entire time. Imagine what's gonna happen when we move up to half an hour?! Any thoughts or ideas on this, yogis? I need your help!
The second thing on my mind about meditation is that I feel that ten minutes are enough, at least for me. It would calm me down, clear my head and relax me really well. Twenty minutes? I am just not looking forward to meditate for that long. It's hard for me to stay focused that long -specially with the seating issue- and I am just wishing it to be over so I can go do something else... like reading.
I miss reading! I haven't been reading as much as I used to because this program -and life- is taking too much of my time away. I do most of my reading in the afternoons and before bed. Now I'm doing meditation on one of those times, so I'm getting to the point that I am resenting having to meditate. For me, reading is a sort of meditation: it calms me down, clears my mind and relaxes me so much. So I have been toying with the idea of just keeping my meditation for ten minutes for the rest of the program because instead of seeing any progress by increasing the duration of the meditation, I am actually seeing negative effects like the ones I just told you all about. What do you guys think? Any suggestions, thoughts, comments? I'd love to pick your brains on this issue, so drop me a comment here or in FB: I read them all.
Ok, so moving along now: like I said, we stayed home today so my husband went and bought some beautiful steaks because he was starting to feel withdrawal symptoms from his BBQ grill... hehe. So we had grilled steaks, chorizo and a mixed greens salad in a balsamic vinaigrette.

After lunch I relaxed for a bit on the terrace and then got to doing chores around the house that I had been neglecting. Never a moment of rest, huh?  I am really looking forward to getting back to my routine and being able to sit under the shade in my terrace and just loose myself in my books. Soon!
Anyway, for dinner I had fresh fruit that hubby brought home today from the farmer's market. I had fresh peaches, red plums, figs and bananas. I love, LOVE summer time fruit: so varied and juicy!
Tomorrow I'm off to the beach, so that means doing Cardio in the morning no matter what! But for now, I'm gonna watch a movie on the couch and just relax the night away.
Sending relaxing vibes to all of you out there!
Namaste.

Day 54

Oh my gosh we are halfway through!!! Wohoooo! Can't believe we're already halfway down this road: time has totally eluded me on these past couple months. Between the UY program and life running it's course, we'll be preparing for our 108 Sun Salutations in no time. Feeling very proud of all of us out there doing this wonderful program that has been turning us into lean mean machines. Also loving meeting all those people out there that share one of my passions in life: the love for yoga.
What better way to celebrate day 54 than with a sweet Gentle class? Everything about it was perfect: the breathing, the calmness of mind, the slow flow of the movements, the music... all of it. I really needed some slowing down for today and even if it was just for one hour, it did make a difference in my state of mind.
For lunch we went to MercatBar, which is one of the restaurants of the Michelin star chef I was talking about a couple of days ago. Today I had a really fresh curly endive and algae salad with cockles sprinkled all around.

For my entree I had a brick oven roasted provolone cheese slice on top of toasted bread. You can really see and taste those Michelin stars. Love this place!

In the afternoon we ran some errands and got home in the evening just in time to plop down on the couch and just chill. No dinner for me today either, just a Greek yogurt while watching some tv.
Tomorrow is Detox and Hardcore. I'll probably do Hardcore in the morning and then Detox in the evening. With my mom visiting it's hard for me to do the classes in the morning since I am rushing to get things done so we can go out and do stuff. Staying at home just stresses me more and she tends to get on my nerves more easily, so out we go!
More on yoga and life tomorrow; but for now sending bunches of good vibes to all of you out there that are celebrating day 54. Keep up the good work and we'll see each other on the mat for the remaining half of the cycle.
Namaste.

Day 53

After one hell of a good night's sleep -Xanax is one wonderful little pill- I was ready to meet Flexibility face on. What I wasn't counting on was the morning flying by and only being able to do Hardcore in warp speed.
When I stopped again and looked it was time to have lunch, so we drove out to another one of our fave spots right on the beach called Bergamonte and there we had one mean good lunch. We all had scrumptious snails cooked in olive oil with coarse sea salt and rosemary to share and then I ordered the most gorgeous rice cooked in a wood-fired oven. The fact that it's cooked in a wood-fired oven gives the rice such a unique texture and flavour that just keeps you digging that wooden spoon in and in till it's all gone.

After lunch we did some shopping and then headed back home where I got to Felxibility right away. Since the sun was almost down and there was a gentle sea breeze blowing, I did the class out on the terrace. This was a smart move, since the class flew by and I enjoyed every single moment of it -except that devilish yogi squat bind-. I didn't feel the warm up series was as long as the other times and the stretching was ok considering those are not my fave stretching poses. Progress? Maybe. We have to confirm next week.
After class, I just dumped my freshly stretched self on the couch to relax and watch some tv. I wasn't hungry at all because the rice dish is quite generous, so I just had a Greek yogurt.
Mom didn't mention any more of that crazy shit about moving here for months at a time today, but I am sure she will do so before she takes off. Just one more week to go folks! I gotta stay strong! Either that or go refill my prescription for Xanax because I only have two more magic pills. I'll refill anyway just to be on the safe side.
Mmkay everyone, off to meditate before it turns into a full blown nap. Good luck stretching those muscles and I'll see you all on our Gentle mats tomorrow.
Namaste ;)

Day 52

I am so tired it's ridiculous. Funny thing I don't think it was actually Strength's fault this time. Here's a short version of my day.
In the morning I started doing chores around the house, which has gotten more complicated because my son is now on vacation and his soccer summer camp hasn't started yet; so that alters my routine a bit. After trying to get things in order, I rolled out my mat to meet Strength in the face.
Now, listen carefully -or read carefully- Strength wasn't so hard to do as last week. I said "wasn't so hard to do" I didn't say "it's easier to do". I don't think Strength can ever be easy, but at least it wasn't so tough as before. I still end up in a big puddle of sweat and arms are tired, but the class went by quicker than before. I am not calling this a success because I think it was just a glitch in time. We'll see what happens next week. I am not ready to get all softie with this one.
After hurrying up again, we went to have lunch to a favorite restaurant of mine called Delicat. We are eating out a lot these days because remember my mom is here visiting, so we take her to our favorite eats so she can have a good time. Paco, the chef was the sous chef of a Michelin star chef here in Valencia, so he can cook up one damn good meal. He serves a fixed menu for everyone and it consists of five small dishes that show his range of technique and connoisseur. Today he offered us five wonderful bits of heaven. Here they are:

Creamed corn soup with crunchy bits of corn kernels and chives

 

Sashimi salmon salad with avocado and potatoes in a japanese mayo

 

Fish briouat in a citric reduction sauce

 

Black noodles with alioli cuttlefish and glazed lemon

 

Wildberry homemade sorbet with a scoop of yogurt (homemade also) and peaches

After this wonderful meal, we went back home to prepare snacks because one of my son's friends from soccer and his mom came over for a playdate. The kids had a freakin' good time and we chatted the afternoon away. My mom was here, so she participated in the "chatting" and she let me know three times that she plans, in the future, to come each year and spend several months here and then go back to Mexico City.
SEVERAL MONTHS. SHE TOLD ME THREE TIMES. Several months EACH year. You have no idea the state of mind I am in. This is why I am so tired! Mom's visit has turned from 'fine' to 'nightmare', as usual. Here is where the fun for all of you out there begins and the torture for me starts. There is no way in HELL I can have my mom over here for several months. I will move first. No way in hell. I am sweating just thinking about it again. I can  barely do with the 15 days she comes in the summer and the 15 days she comes in Christmas, imagine several months. By day 10 I am already a wreck, I can not think what several months will do to me.
Needless to say, I was not hungry at all for dinner time, so I am just gonna pop in a Xanax as soon  as I press 'publish' and am hitting the sack in hopes I will be able to get some sleep.
All of you out there please go ahead and say a little prayer for me and let's all hope that it was just a bad joke and that it will never ever happen. Ever.
Australia is looking more and more appealing each passing day.
Pfft.

Day 51

Love Tuesdays! I love them because it's Balance Tuesday. It's not that I am great at it; but I have loads of fun with this class. Why, you ask? Well, because there are lots of cool, hard to do poses that really challenge yourself and demonstrate all you have progressed throughout the program: strength on both upper and lower body thanks to all the classes and mainly by my nemesis Strength, flexibility brought on by Yin, stamina and resistance courtesy of Cardio, Detox and Cross Train, breath and mind control a by product of Pranayama and Meditation and an all over feeling of goodness derives from Vitality. See? It all comes together here: if you can do this class, make progress and take it all in with a good attitude and a smile, it means you are doing all of the other components right.
Today my mom asked me, after she saw my arm balance picture, what did I gain from all of this. What was in it for me after spending all this time doing the program? And I didn't even know where to begin. I just looked at her with a surprised look on my face and I just summed it up like this: "Because it makes me feel strong, capable, happy and damn good about myself". What's in it for me? EVERYTHING! What a question to ask! I have never felt that my time has been better invested as it is now doing the UY. What a fabulous way to connect with myself! And what a fabulous means to meet all these extraordinary people that support and care for each other! Like Travis says; "Where would I be without these people?". Writing this blog for no one for starters, that's where ;)
Anyway, moving along. Today we went to the zoo; and let me tell you something folks: I might not like living in Valencia, but it has one damn good zoo. It's called Biopark and it's just spectacular. Here's a link so you can check it out: http://www.bioparcvalencia.es/
We had lunch as soon as we got there: we were starving! I had a breaded chicken breast and green melon for dessert. No pic of it because it wasn't that pretty to look at, so I decided to skip it. But I did take some cute pics of us doing a bit of yoga in the zoo. Here we are:

My son in Vriksasana

 

My husband as a big, firm Robles tree

 

Yours truly in Ardha Chandrasana

 

As we were watching the flamingoes, I couldn't help but notice these yoga poses they do without even trying hard. This could be a sign that the yoga is going to my head; but I found it funny and thought of all of you out there and that you might find these funny as well.

They don't seem to mind Forearm Plank as much as we do, huh?

 

Napping on one foot with head tucked in the back? Hellz, that's what I call Balance.

 

After seeing each and every animal there was, we headed back home where we relaxed for a bit.
For dinner I had a ham and cheese sandwich and a Greek yogurt for dessert. No pic either. This time I just plain forgot...oops! But I do have one last pic from the zoo that I just loved and I took it accidentally.

It is of my son falling out of Tree Pose. See his face? That's what we are supposed to look like whenever we fall out of something, be it a pose or be it a difficult situation in life: with a genuine smile on our face. God bless children.
Tomorrow is Wednesday. You know what that means. And I ain't smilin' about that shiznit.

Day 50

Yesterday I said that today was Mellow Monday. Well, it turned out to be a Manic Monday after all.
Again, no time to do Mountain Pose in the morning. We headed out to pick up my son's end of school year grades and his school is a bit far away. His grades were so very good -yay!- that we took him to have lunch at his favorite restaurant. I think I have written about that restaurant in the blog before and I think that I ordered the same thing; but just in case, here it goes again. I had a mixed greens salad with lots of yummies: anchovies, smoked salmon rolls with crab meat inside, fresh prawns, yellow corn and caramelized tomatoes all in a balsamic vinaigrette. Those caramelized tomatoes are so damn tasty it's redonkulous. Heres a pic:

After lunch we headed home; and while he played with his grandma, I got to Mountain Pose, Pranayama and Meditation. Did the first two fine and when I was halfway through the meditation, I started to doze off. Dear Lord. I hate it when that happens! I get woken back up with a startle once that head and torso start to tilt forward. I just don't know at what point I disconnect and my clear, calm mind decides it's time to nap and shuts off. Pfft. I have tried meditating in the mornings, in the evenings, at night, before a meal, after a meal... and I don't always doze off; but it's quite often. Oh well. One more thing that needs improvement. After all, that's why we're here for, yes?
Anyway, for dinner I had some fresh fruit, a Greek yogurt and an All Bran mini bar. So, in fewer words, I had breakfast all over again ;)
Tomorrow I will set my alarm one more hour in advance to get Balance done in the morning. Yay for Balance! I want to be fresh for the class and I also don't wanna push it all the way into the night and then be a piece of caca for Strength the day after.
So, with all that in mind, may you have a restful nights' sleep and I'll be back here blogging about life and whatnot tomorrow.
Namaste.

Day 49

Holy cow it's late folks! I just got home and my eyes are closing; but I promised a daily blog, so here we are. This is dedication: pure dedication, or madness. At this point I'm not sure...
So, today I did the class before going to the beach and I am glad I did because if not I would be rolling out that mat right now and it is 1:30 am on this side of the pond.
Today was one of those days that I was about to completely skip doing yoga. I was dog tired and I had only woken up! I didn't get enough hours sleep time and it was a restless sleep, so I seriously considered bailing out. It would have been my first time to do so also: I have not skipped one single day yogis!
In the end, my OCD won and I rolled out that mat thinking I would have to come to child's pose more than once. Boy, was I wrong! I thought the first series of five would kill my thighs and I would have to rest; but I did them all like always. For the cycle of ten I was sure I'd be down on my knees by cycle six; but I was able to do all ten of them like always, but there was one big difference. All those other times I had been breathing double time for the cycle of ten -2 inhales and exhales instead of one-. Today I was able to breathe exactly as instructed by Travis and by the end of the cycles I was sweating and my heart was racing; but the breath was calm.
Needless to say I was grinning like an idiot for the rest of the day. Wow! I have really improved miles and miles from that first time doing Cardio and we're not even halfway through the program! It felt wonderful, let me tell ya.
I then rolled that mat back up and went to the beach where I immediately died and napped till lunchtime. I had one of those homemade sandwiches and a fresh peach for dessert. Of course, I napped right after.
After the beach, we got home, took a quick shower and changed to go have dinner to one of our dearest friend's house. There we had delish raclettes for dinner and we chatted the night away.
I apologize for not having any pics today of the food, but one: it was a pretty hectic day and two: I just felt weird asking to take a pic of my friend's raclettes, you know?
So there ya have it folks. I promise I'll do a better blog tomorrow, but right now I really just wanna jump in that bed and get some shut eye.
Tomorrow is Mellow Monday and all will be calmer.
Sending good vibes your way! Namaste.

Day 48

Oh man. As hard as I tried to do Detox in the morning it just wasn't possible. At least I was able to do Hardcore and got it out of the way. One less thing to sweat about later tonite ;)
I hurried along my day till my son's friend arrived. I gotta tell ya: I sure am glad I have a boy! They are so easy to please. You just give them a soccer ball and their day is made. They played till they were a sweaty mess and by lunchtime they were starving. We all had cheeseburgers to eat and they both wolfed down two each.

They kept playing all afternoon and then we took them for an ice cream. It was so hot out that I had one myself. I had an orxata flavored one. Orxata is made from tiger nuts, which are a very particular kind of nuts that are cultivated here in Valencia. The ice cream has a very fresh nutty flavor: not too sweet and not too nutty. Not quite sure how to explain it, but it's very yum.
Afterwards, we dropped off my son's friend and headed back home. I got on the mat right away thinking that I was gonna have a hard time completing the class. Turns out I was wrong: it all went very smoothly -except that crazy part of standing splits- and it was over before I knew it.
The thing with me and doing yoga later in the day as opposed to doing it in the mornings, is that I feel so tired and burnt out after the class! In the morning it's quite the opposite: I feel refreshed and with energy to face my day. Does this happen to any of you out there?
I'm also worried about tomorrow and doing Cardio early and feeling the fatigue from my muscles that haven't quite recovered from this afternoon's class. Oh well. As long as they get done, I can take a snooze later at the beach, no? Wish me luck!
For dinner I kept it simple seeing as I had one of my husband's sinfully good cheeseburgers and had some fresh fruit and a Greek yogurt. Sorry that there isn't a picture of it, but I forgot to take it because my mind was all over the place: my mom was just talking and talking and talking and talking and.... you get the idea, yes?
Tomorrow it's Sunday and Cardio awaits. Going to bed early tonite hoping to recover as much as possible. We are heading to the beach and then having dinner at a friend's house later, so blog will be a bit short and sweet; but it will be here.
Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend! Namaste.

Day 47

Yes. I love Gentle Yoga. I do. What's not to love about it? Maybe that yogi squat, but it's only for a second or two. I had been running like a mad woman in the morning trying to get all the things that I needed to do done and by the time I stepped on the mat I was running on fumes and had my mind wandering all over the place. The minute I started tapping into my breath and doing the simple Sun Salutations sans Downdog it all slowly started to fade away. I think I did the whole class with my eyes closed I was so relaxed. Breathing and flowing, flowing and breathing. There's something that Travis says on the Mountain Pose series DVD that stuck with me today; and it's when, as we are swooping our arms up, he says "it's like moving water". Well, today I pretended the whole class that I was moving my arms through water. It was fantastic! It gave the movements so much more intention and mindfulness. It felt just wonderful. Have you ever tried it? I seriously recommend it! Not during a fast moving class; but maybe during Gentle, Yin and Mountain Pose. Just lovely!
After the class I went back to my hectic day but with a much calmer mind. I met up with my mother and sister (sister is visiting from Madrid, too) and we had lunch at one of our favorite tascas here in Valencia. I had steamed mussels and snails in a very rich spicy tomatoe sauce. I know snails aren't everyone's cup of tea; but I certianly do like them and these were very nom nom.

 

 

Afterwards we picked up my son on his last day of school in his current school. Come September he is attending a new one. Needless to say we were all very happy to say goodbye to that stage of our lives. My son is super excited to go to a new school and I feel very blessed to have such a mellow kid who loves and welcomes change. Today's UY quote is very fitting: "Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself", Rumi.

Anyway, for dinner we all had sushi. I have no clue what the rolls I chose are called, but here they are:

 

 

So first day of mom's visit went quite well. We were super busy, so it just flew by. Tomorrow we have one of my son's soccer buddies over for lunch and playdate, so it's bound to be a noisy day. A good kind of noisy day. I will definitely do Detox and Hardcore in the morning because I don't think there will be time to do so afterwards.
Hope you all had a fab Friday and we'll see each other on our magic carpets tomorrow. Namaste!

Day 46

Today I think I am able to give out a more objective opinion about Flexibility than last week. Last week I was super tired and the class didn't go very well. Today I wasn't able to do the class in the morning like I usually do, but I was able to fit in Hardcore so it wouldn't be as tiring later in the day to do both of them together.
Doing Hardcore on its own first thing in the morning turned out to be a breeze. Not that I have a hard time doing it after a class; but I am tired and those leg lifts and forearm planks can be intense. Today I hardly broke a sweat and by the time it was over I was surprised it went by so quickly. Remember that I am used to doing hour long, no break advanced Pilates classes, so that's why this felt easy on its own.
I went ahead and did some things I had planned during the morning and met my husband for lunch at the cute organic place. I had a chilled cream carrot, pumpkin and orange soup and ricotta mezzaluna with cherry tomatoes and fresh basil.

I did some errands afterwards and was able to get on the mat at 5:00 pm. Not as late as last time and I wasn't very tired. So here's what I think:
I still am not a fan of this class and I am pretty sure it's my least favorite and here's why.
First of all, I think I was expecting more of a weekly class flow similiar to the first part of the program, so when I saw that Yin was being replaced with Flexibility I had another idea in my head as to what this class would be. Even though I saw the video before doing the class for the first time, it's not the same as when you are on the mat actually doing it. It is easy to watch and form an opinion; but it's a whole other thing to get down and dirty DOING the class.
That being said, I think after such strong classes like Balance and Strength, the body is a bit overworked -at least mine is- so to follow up with another pretty intese flow class, is really straining the body. For the first part of the program we had Yin to break those three first crazy days, so I thought we would have that here too.
Second of all, I think that the warm up series is just too long. I feel pretty warmed up halfway through, and there's still more coming. By the time we get down on the mat to stretch I am just exhausted and want it to be over. The flow is pretty nice actually, if it were a class of its own. That yogi squat half bound pose? KILLER. KILLER I said. And the chest on thighs while squatting and then standing on tip toes? Sweet mother of Jesus the Savior. It's just pure torture! Damn thighs are super toned, but c'mon! It burns, man.
Third, the stretches done in this class are so not my cup of tea. As much as I love all the ones we do in Yin, here I'm just struggling with my bent knee and the uncomfortable position it's in the whole time. The only stretch I actually enjoy is Double Seated Pigeon. So much for that, huh?
And finally, this is one of the longest classes in the whole UY program. It runs for more than an hour, so yippie kay yay! ...not.
So there ya have it. I will keep doing this class, no doubt; but I am real happy to see it go for the third and last part of the program. Flexibility will not be missed under this roof, that's for sure.
Ok folks. Moving along, I had a fruit salad for dinner because it's so hot and humid today that fruit salad was the only thing that sounded appetizing tonite. I chopped bananas, peaches, apples, figs and manila mangoes. Thank God for manila mangoes.

Tomorrow's Gentle. Again, thank God for Gentle. My body sure needs a break and besides my mother is coming all the way from Mexico City to visit for several days, so Lord knows I need some calm before the storm. My blog is sure to become quite interesting these following days. It won't be very yogic, but it will be fun. For you, at least. Hehe...
Stay tuned!

Day 45

Holy crap. Please remind me never, ever to fool around with arm balances the day before Strength. Wow did I feel those today! I knew I was in trouble when arms started to shake right from the start. I got through the whole class without modifications -except for my yogi push ups: I still do those bastards on my knees- but man, oh man was it hard. I was silently screaming for mercy in that last arm balance flow and then we still had to do that freakin' balancing pose on our tummys and full bow pose. Pfft. I was a sweaty mess by then. And then our reward is Happy Baby pose. I HATE Happy Baby pose. What the hell is up with that weird assed pose? Only babies can be happy doing that. For me it's awkward and painful and I just can't seem to get my tailbone (cute word for ass) down on that floor. Man was I glad that was over and done with. On to something else, which for me was to drag myself down the stairs and dry swallow an Advil. Gah.
For lunch I did reward myself with something serious and not with some lame Happy Baby pose. I had a nice juicy grilled steak with grilled asparagus and broccoli on the side. I need to rebuild those muscles that silently died today folks.

In the afternoon I went to my son's last soccer training session for the season and just relaxed catching up with some friends.
Back home, after tucking in my lil' man, I had a little bit of jabugo ham with a couple of Laughing Cow cheese triangles spread on some good old fashioned whole wheat bread. I was too tired to do something else, honestly. And I was also too tired to go get my phone that was in the other room to take the pic for the blog. Oops.
Now I have to go meditate -aka snooze- for twenty minutes. No, seriously tho, I hope I don't fall asleep sitting down because the fall hurts friends, and I have been hurt enough for one day.
Tomorrow we have a date with Flexibility. I am hoping this second time around things will go better for me, because last time it was not pretty. I'm not sure if I'm gonna have to do the class again later at night; but I'll try to work things out so I can do it early in the morning when the body is fresh and not so tired.
Wishing you all a good nights' sleep, I'll see you on the mat tomorrow for day 46!

Day 44

Oh how I love, love Balance! Everything about it: the warm up series, the easy balances as well as the bite down the bullet ones. Thighs, calves, ankles and even toes burn like ca-razy and I still love it. Some poses I can do off the bat and some I wobble a lot. On some I have to use a strap -same one as Lauren does- and on some I use a block -half moon pose-. Some I wobble extra and fall out of, but I always get back on. Funny though, it doesn't upset or frustrate me, as one would expect. Instead I take it all with a good laugh or giggle and try again. Don't know why, because I do get upset at certain points in other classes; but not on this one. I also love how funny Travis is in this class: really makes me laugh out loud. By the end I have this huge smile on my face and I feel tired, but the real good kind of tired. The kind that I would do it all over again to get that sense of satisfaction. In overall, I think it's safe to say this is my favorite class of all the DVD set.
I had a great surprise today when I was able to do the arm balance right where Travis says that those who want to, can go ahead and do the balancing on forearms. I had been practicing before on my own these past few days watching Francine's video on FB, so I decided to give it a go. When I was able to do it AND hold it for a few seconds I was all O_O. As soon as I finished the class I tried and bam! I could do it again. Over and over. Sometimes I fall quickly out of it, but sometimes I am able to hold it longer. Here is a pic of me doing it -I know I posted it already in the UY FB group; but I am very proud of my little self... bear with me-

Now it's on to try doing the side crow pose one. Not today though because arms are sore from practicing so much. I have a feeling Strength and I are gonna have some words tomorrow due to my already tired arms. But hey! it was worth it.
For lunch today I had a traditional mexican tortilla soup with some bits of chicken, avocado, fresh cheese and crispy tortilla strips all in a wonderful chicken broth mixed with several chiles that gave it a nice kick.

Today I meditated in the afternoon because when I do so before bedtime I doze off and have to catch my head as it dives down. Jeez! I could do ten minutes no problem; but twenty is turning out to be a real challenge! Those minutes just seem to drag on slow. Very slow. Anyone else out there having this same situation? I don't even wanna think how it's gonna go when we have to do half an hour. Imma be sleeping on my meditation pillow, that's what's gonna happen.
Anyway, for dinner I had one of my mixed greens salads with the usual pine nuts, alfalfa sprouts, goji berries and roasted walnuts in a green apple balsamic vinaigrette.

Off to bed early tonite to read this wonderful book I just started on Sunday. It's called "Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend: A Novel" by Matthew Dicks. It has nothing to do with yoga and it is such a wonderful read! I recommend it to all of you who want to take a breather of all things yoga -yes, sometimes there can be too much yoga- and enjoy a good read.
Strength tomorrow. Ay, ay ay...

Day 43

Mountain Pose Monday. What a relaxing way to start off the week, yes?
This morning I took my sweet time doing my chores around the house because I knew I had a relaxing class waiting for me. One of the things I did was clear out my son's closet -finally!- and take out all the clothes that didn't fit him anymore. I filled out two large trash bags! There are gonna be some happy kids -and trendy looking also- out there.
As I was checking out his clothes and deciding which ones we could keep and which ones we had to let go, my heart broke a little. It's amazing how fast time goes by! It seems like yesterday when he was a little toddler with a chunky diaper wearing bottom, and now he's this fit and lean all muscles boy. No more mama giving him a bath. He now takes showers by himself. No more wiping his mouth after a spoonful of soup. He does that by himself -sometimes-. No more trimming his cute lil' fingernails and toesies. His hands are close to being my size and his toesies stink of a soccer playing boy. No more holding my hand all the time while we're walking down the street. We hold hands now to cross the street only. I don't let go right away, but he does eventually. Oh man... Nothing we can do but keep growing with them and do the best we can to educate them so one day they'll be our better selves and lead a happy, full life. *sigh*
So, as you can see, clearing out his closet made me a bit heartbroken; but I am thankful that I get to clear out his clothes because that means he's one healthy, growing and very handsome boy. Here he is in one of my favorite pics of him of all times:

Moving along, Mountain Pose went fine. I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but I love the feeling of blood rushing back to my fingertips every time I come back to Mountain Pose. Anyone else feel this?
Anyway, Pranayama went smoothly: no more fretting or freaking *phew*, and Meditation with Travis' guidance is always a succes.
After a blissed out practice, it was already lunchtime. Today, the hubby chef made grilled lamb chops with sauteed green beans and scrambled egg on the side. It was very tasty, I gotta say. Take a look:

In the afternoon I had a therapeutic neck and back massage because I have been very tense lately with all the things that had been piling up and with my son switching schools. I gotta say it wasn't very relaxing, it being therapeutic, but the end result was phenomenal. My neck and back do feel looser and I will go back in one week for more.
I spent the rest of my afternoon finishing my book under the shade in the terrace. Such a good Monday! Who wouldda thunk?
For dinner I had a shrimp cocktail with avocados, onions, tomatoes and serrano peppers in a very refreshing homemade cocktail sauce. Nom nom.

Tomorrow we face off Balance! Get your sleep on because it's time to take that crow out for a flight.
Namaste everyone.

Day 42

You all know what I think about Cardio on a Sunday, right? Good. I won't be repeating myself then.
Yesterday I thought I would do it when we got back from the beach; but then I got to thinking and came to the conclusion that there was going to be no way in hell I was going to do Cardio after a whole day at the beach. After that shower I am always good and ready to plop down on my couch and just chill. That being said, I set my alarm for this morning and surprisingly enough -this is huge people: I never, ever set my alarm on Sundays- I got up. I had some breakfast, did some chores and then I was on the mat sweating like there was no tomorrow. This blasted heat and humidity are not the perfect combo for yoging around. I was sweaty, sticky and my face looked like a tomato. Good thing is that Cardio no longer kicks my ass and I am able to do it all very gracefully -amidst puddles of sweat, of course-.
I rolled up my mat and off to the beach we went. My! What a glorious day at the beach this was! I am a lizard and am always lying under the sun whenever possible, so I am one genuine beach bum. We sunbathed, read our books, took a swim in the ocean, played soccer with my son and had a blast.
For lunch we had some homemade sandwiches that I did not take a pic of because I honestly forgot. But you're not missing much, they were just sandwiches. I did take this pic just to make you a teensy bit jealous:

We got back home just in time for showers, dinner and bedtime. For dinner I am having a fresh fruit salad with peaches, apples, figs, bananas and red plums. You know me: I sprinkled some cayenne powder on top for kicks.

Tomorrow we have on our roster Mountain Pose, Pranayama and Meditation. As much as I hated having to do Cardio on Sunday, I am loving how relaxing this Monday is looking.
Well friends, sorry if today's post is a bit meh and short; but my fruit salad is calling my name and I am more than ready to catch up with my MsterChef and Mr. Ramsey. Have a good night and see you on the mat for week seven!

Day 41

Bless my stars I slept till 11:30 am! It felt so good! Of course I am regretting it now that I have to do Detox before dinner; but still it was wonderful to sleep till late. My body really needed it.
I did do Hardcore before lunch so as not to tire the body too much before bed. As I was doing Hardcore my son asked me what I was doing. When I told him that I was doing ab work he asked how many was I doing and for how long. I told him I do 300 crunches in under 20 minutes and he was all O_O. He said: "Wow mom, you sure are strong!". And that folks, made my day.
For lunch today we had chicken cordon bleu with saffron rice and red bell peppers on the side. It's one of my son's favorite dishes.

After lunch we had my son's last soccer game of the season and it was a very tight match. We ended up winning 5-4. By the time we got home it was a bit late, so after I took care of all things kid related, I got right to Detox. I did the class outside on the terrace since the breeze was blowing ever so nicely after such a hot day. Everything went just fine and I felt that I could endure better and with a calmer mind that itty bit of torture there right at the end where we do reverse half moon pose and the standing splits. Standing leg burns like a mother, but I was able to remain way much calmer than before. So I guess that even through the torture I am seeing progress. Yay! Here's me in extended triangle pose:

Utthita Trikonasana

 

For dinner I had a mixed greens salad with fresh goat cheese, pine nuts, alfalfa sprouts and bits of prosciutto in a balsamic vinaigrette.

Well yogis, tomorrow we have Cardio. Yes freakin' Cardio on a Sunday. I will set up the alarm clock to get up a bit earlier and do the class in the morning because I am hitting the beach all day. It's calling my name and I just can't keep ignoring it. Hopefully I will get out of bed when alarm goes off; if not, I will end up doing the bloody class before dinner. So we will see how that goes -not well, I'm sure, but hey! I'm going to the beach-
Sweet dreams!