Day 6

Vitality was such a breath of fresh air! Nicely paced, awesome sequence and just challenging enough. Although I must confess that I did feel weird doing the "wheel of vitality". Just felt so non-yogic.
I'm also not a fan of the fire breathing deal: I just don't get it. I feel like a weirdo doing it -and probably look like one-. I do it, nonetheless. Anyone else out there feeling the same way?
For me, doing yoga on the weekend is a bit challenging since I'm used to taking a break from any sports or physical activity I do over the week. It's my relaxing time, so I'm a bit on the fence on this one. Who knows? Maybe I'll get to love it. Only time will tell.
What I did love was Vitality; and that is one class I will be doing on my own after the 108 days are over. Arms were fine and I was able to do all the chadurangas without bringing knees down, as well as the yogi pushups. Yay!
By lunchtime I was starving! Today I had prawns cooked in a spicy red tomato sauce with some mixed greens salad drerssed with a Balsmic vinaigrette.

After a much hectic afternoon, I was able to sit down for dinner in peace and reheated some of that toasted fusilli soup I had for lunch on Day 3. Grandmothers are right: soups and stews are much more savory when reheated a couple days later. Yummo.
It's close to 10 pm on this side of the pond and I am already exhausted! Looking forward to tomorrow's Mountain Pose and Pranayama sequence: it looks so mellow and peaceful. Just right for a Sunday, no?
Off to bed then!

Day 5

Detox for today. Real, serious detox. For me it was a wonderful practice for the body as well as for the mind.
Looking at the physical part first, I felt my organs really appreciate the nice squeeze I was giving them. My back, my chest, my torso... all of it! I did find some parts very challenging, like that "under the fence" move. Yeah. That wasn't happening today. I fell face first into the mat and just couldn't stop laughing to try it again. Oh well, maybe next time. Also, that last sequence where Travis had us standing on one leg balancing felt like an eternity. Thigh was on fire! The good thing about these strong poses is when you finally get to lower down that leg. Oooooo! love that feeling!
About the mind part, I had been struggling with a situation for a couple months now, and this class gave me that little push you need to just let go of things, people and attitudes we don't need in our life. Life is too short to spend it stressing about things and people that don't deserve our thoughts. People that don't want to be a part of our lives and are just looking for ways to see how they can hurt us really don't deserve another second of our time and energy. So, with that being said, I am very grateful for Detox today because it finally made me decide to just let go.

For lunch today, I had the most wonderful sesame quinoa spring rolls. Very fresh and with a splash of Sriracha it had quite the kick.

As for dinner I had sliced turkey breast ham with some fresh goat cheese and greens in a toasted spelt wheat bun. Just taking care of my soul ;)

Tomorrow is Vitality. I love yoga, but I am not loving doing yoga on the weekend. My weekends are very busy; busier than the week, actually, so I know it's gonna be challenging fitting those classes in somewhere. Ah well, that's the life! Gotta make the best of it and keep moving forward. May you sleep tight and may the bed bugs don't bite.

Day 4

And along comes Yin! I have read that some people find this class very challenging; even more than Cardio. Well, not me. I freakin' loved this class! It was just what I needed: a nice long stretch to heal all my sore muscles. The music was fab, Travis' convo was perfect, I had my terraces open and a nice ocean breeze was flowing through... Heaven. I think the class schedule should be: Cross Training - Yin - Strength - Yin - Detox - Yin and so on. *notice no hellish Cardio there, eh*
To be honest, I struggled very much with stretching when I first started yoga 8 years ago. It wasn't until maybe 4-5 years ago that I was in a class in a yoga studio in Scottsdale, AZ that I was finally able to make that transition and give in to the stretch. It was all thanks to my fabulous yoga teacher Jenn Chiarelli, who one day during pigeon pose saw me struggling like a freak. She kneeled down and started massaging my spine and telling me that all I needed to do was to simply let go. Let go of the resistance, the pain and the struggle. She kept saying it over and over and then it happened. Like magic. I was able to relax and truly let go. It felt WONDERFUL! I couldn't believe I had been missing out on that sensation for so long. I even teared up a bit *nerd, I know* So now you can see why I love these kind of classes so much. So for anyone out there having a hard time stretching: really, just let go and enjoy the stretch. Your body will thank you.
Today for lunch I had a mixed greens salad with walnuts, pine nuts, crunchy onions and some avocado slices. I also had a chicken breast in a black pepper reduction sauce. There's no photo of the chicken because it wasn't picture pretty. Yummy? Yes. Pretty? No.

For dinner I had what I usually have for breakfast: a Greek yogurt, an All Bran fruit and fiber mini cake and a red apple all sliced up and sprinkled with some cayenne pepper. Weird I know, but tasty. I went super light for dinner because that black pepper reduction sauce at lunch was a bit on the heavy side, so I'm trying to compensate.

Tomorrow is Detox, which doesn't look scary at all, so hopefully it should all be good. My arms are much better today, so I'm hoping my chadurangas won't have to be done on my knees. Have a wonderful day and keep flowing!

Day 3

Day 3 is Strength. The kind I hope I will be getting more of so that these videos will get easier to do.
I didn't get much sleep last nite. It was one of those nights where you're just too tired and sore to sleep, you know? You figure you're gonna sleep like a baby and you actually do: waking up crying every half hour or so. Ha!
Anyway, I hit the mat early today and said a little prayer before starting -plus took an Advil in advance- and started to flow. This pacing was much better than yesterday's. Yesterday's class was for crazy people. Strength is a very demanding class, don't get fooled! I can handle lower body strength pretty good, but upper? MY ARMS HURT LIKE A MOTHER! I totally skipped the 2 sets of yogi pushups, and I don't feel bad about it because yogi pushups are the work of the devil. My chadurangas were done on my knees, but done nonetheless. And that side arm balance flow? Killer!
By the end of the class I was drenched in sweat again, but felt better than yesterday. I went ahead and did the Hardcore straight away and abs felt great. What bothered me (bother = frickin' pain) were my thighs while doing the legs up, down, open, close and back up part. Where the hell do you come up with these things, Travis? Sheesh... I just kept picturing in my mind the sweet ice chilled glass of cocount water that was waiting for me after working out. *drank it so fast I got brain freeze*
For lunchies munchies I had a very hearty and savory toasted organic fusilli chicken soup. It's supposed to be done with orzo, but poopoo Spain doesn't sell orzo anywhere. They say healthy food doesn't sell well here, so they just don't import it. I know. O_O

Another thing I wanted to tell you was that yesterday I did my meditation listening to some sweet Tibetan singing bowl music I have on my iPod and it was much, much better than Day 1 meditation. I was more calm and focused. The CD has several long tracks that aide in meditation and the sound is truly amazing. Use headphones for better acoustics. Here's the link to the music if any of you is interested: http://sevenmetals.com/
For dinner I had something light, since the soup had that fusilli pasta in there. I made myself a fresh salad with watercress, arugula and baby leaves with some bits of red plum, pear and fresh goat cheese sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Now it's time to go bye-bye and hopefully sleep better than yesterday. Seriously looking forward to Yin's class tomorrow. I love a good stretch!
Peace out.

Day 2

In the name of all that is holy what is this Cardio nonsense? Holy chakra was this hard! Just sitting here typing hurts. My hair is a mess today because I wasn't able to blow dry it properly -arms are useless- Oh dear. I found this class to be a tad too much. I love and adore yoga and I can pull off a mean class pretty well, but this? Just not my cup of tea. Don't get me wrong: I will do it all through the 108 days -through tears-, but I don't think I would ever play it again on it's own for me to practice along. When Travis says "I feel sick at six"? I was in child's pose at six, bro. "I feel great at eight"? I was trying to go to my happy place, which YOU STOLE! Makeup today? Not for me: I still look like a red tomato from all the blood pumping to my face. I used to hate Mondays. Not anymore. Tuesday is my day in hell now. Next time someone tells me that "Yoga is boring and not challenging enough. I like a more dynamic class that actually benefits my muscles" (I have been told that. Many, many times.) I will high five that person in the face. Hard. And then Imma give 'em this jewel of a DVD called Cardio and tell them to knock themselves out. Oh man! I'm laughing like an idiot right now and tears are streaming down my face. Not sure if they are from laughing or from my body hurting so much.
Anyway, today was my husband's birthday, so we went out for lunch. I had a very refreshing gazpacho alongside a mixed salad. Then I picked on my hubby's steamed mussels. Nom nom.

Very refreshing lunch on a hot, sunny day

Gorgeous steamed mussels

Not snacking today either, so yay for me! I did have a heavenly iced tea in one of my Ball vintage blue mason jars that arrived today from the US. I love these little jars: so cute.

Thank God for Teavana and Amazon!

For dinner I'll have a sliced turkey breast sandwich on toasted spelt wheat bread with some greens inside and a red apple. Not gonna put up a picture of that because well, it's just a turkey sandwich.
Ok people. That's it for today. Advil is my friend and I will be taking a couple more for bed. Hopefully tomorrow's class will be more doable. And hopefully Tuesday will take a long, long time to get here again. But most important: hopefully Cardio DVD won't end up as a frisbee flying out of my terrace next Tuesday.
Ale over and out.
Ouch.

Day 1

And so it begins!
Woke up this morning feeling more than ready to start, and after doing some house chores, I had my breakfast. I have the same thing for breakfast everyday because it's yummy, quick and simple. I have a small glass of orange juice, any fruit that's in season -now I'm a fan of red plums: was getting tired of winter's apples-, a Greek yogurt and one All Bran's fruit and fiber mini cakes.

Then I walked the dog to get my digestion going and around 9:30 am I hit the mat. I did the Cross Training class and I had planned to do Hardcore in the evening; but after the class, seeing that I was already a sweaty mess, I decided to go for it. I absolutely loved it! Not gonna lie: those yogi pushups will be the death of me. I need to regain my upper body strength and I am positive these videos will get me there. Also, there were a few times when I did feel the need to scream, exactly at the point where Travis mentions it. Man! Did my thighs burn! But I was able to do it all very gracefully in the end.
I loved the pacing of the class and Travis' instructions are flawless. I didn't need to look at the screen even once: it all flowed perfectly. As for hardcore? Not a big problem for me since I am big on Pilates and have the abs well trained for it. I think doing hardcore after the class was a good choice for me because I don't want to start the class already tired; but I guess it's different for everyone, so find what suits you best.
For lunch, my husband cooked for me a very tasty quinoa, red pepper and cucumber salad with avocado and lime. We got the recipe from Yoga Journal -I put up a link at the very top of the blog- and it was absolutley delicious, fresh and very filling. No need for me to snack on anything at anytime today! Check it out:

During the afternoon I was able to do my 10 minute meditation and I found that to be the hardest part of it all, if you can believe it. It is very hard to quiet the mind, even for 10 minutes! I know this will take practice and am looking forward to improving on this aspect. I also started charging one of my malas with the intention I set for this sequence. I really need to improve on my patience and tolerance levels, so I have set my intention around these factors hoping I'll be able to be a more calm and patient person, wife and mother.
For dinner I had more of what I had for lunch since hubby cooked a boatload of salad and I don't like to waste food. I switched it up a bit by adding some toasted spelt wheat bread and made a sandwich of it.

Well, there ya have it. Feeling very good about myself and also feeling curious as to how my body will react tomorrow when I do the Cardio class. Those biceps are gonna be screaming for mercy, I'm sure; but I'm all for it.
Hope you had a wonderful day in this 108 journey we're taking.
Much love and see you tomorrow!

 

The Day Before

Well, well. I start my journey tomorrow alongside an army of people from all around the world. Not gonna lie to you: it's pretty exciting and I am looking forward to it. UY Facebook group is turning out to be pretty awesome and I have a feeling that I'm gonna meet some pretty interesting people there.
Now, I have been asked several questions that I want to address here before I start. One of them is why am I doing this? People wonder if I am crazy, bored, having a mid life crisis or just killing time. Well... none of the above! I am doing this for me and for myself only. Yoga makes me feel pretty good about myself and my surroundings; and when one feels good with oneself, one is a better person towards others. I find that I am more calm, patient, understanding, open and caring. It also quiets my mind and makes me see things more clearly, living in the now and not fretting so much about what happened or what's to come. It also tones my body in amazing ways, and honestly... I like looking good. So, now you know! I think those are some amazing reasons why to take care of yourself, yes?
I have also been asked if I am going to all of a sudden turn vegetarian or a "freak who only eats fruit". Hellz no! Like I said before, I keep a healthy diet. It's not perfect and I do overindulge sometimes. I will try to do my absolute best to keep a healthier diet all throughout the program. I will be giving up alcohol and processed foods. I will be cooking all my food fresh from home and if I go out to a restaurant I will stick to salads. I will be buying all my produce and ingredients organic. About coffee, it's not a problem for me to give it up because I am a tea drinker; but I do like my Coke Zero, so caffeine is present. I will reduce my intake of that to one -two tops- cokes a day. Dairy? I won't be giving that up. I like it and I always consume it with moderation. I will be changing the kind of dairy I eat, like instead of having some camembert or brie, I will have fresh goat cheese or cottage cheese. Meat, fish and chicken? Gonna keep them in my diet. I will reduce the amount of meat I eat and change it for grilled chicken or fresh fish. I have already been to the market and bought all kinds of healthy food to aide me in the sensible eating program. I will be recording everything I eat and drink in this blog, so keep an eye out for those photos and recipes! I will write it all down at night, once my son is in bed and the day is winding down so I can do it in peace, so those blog posts will be coming up in the afternoon over in America.
I am also creating a cute space for my practice at home. It's not yet complete since I am waiting for some things to arrive from the States; but as soon as it's ready, I will post some photos of it.
Finally, I weighed myself this morning and took the before pictures. I am 5.7" and weigh 126 lbs. Of my body mass 27.1 is fat (normal range) and I have 2088 calorie intake daily. I will weigh myself again after I finish the first part of the sequence and see what comes up.
As for the photos? Well, here they are. I will take some more when I weigh myself again.

May 6th 2013

Vrksasana

Parsvakonasana

Utthita Parsvakonasana

Virabhadrasana I

Virabhadrasana II

Parivrtta Virabhadrasana II

Wish me luck!