Scrap Yoga

My cool headband!

 

A few weeks ago I completed the 2011 SLO Triathlon as part of team Sweet Alexis! I did the bike portion. As you can see in the cute pic, our colors were pink! Sweet Alexis is a amazing local allergy free bakery here in town and we decided to wear it's colors. We all had matching shirts, but didn't have enough of the cute hats, so after I posted and won this cool headband from Nancy at Living the Dream...

...it was simply serendipitous to wear it!!!! It kept the sweat off my head and looked quite stylish...don't you think!? Thank you Nancy!!! I've been wearing it on my am walk/runs and covet it! Now I just have to keep it away from my girls! Thanks

 

The Art of Breathing

Did you ever take a moment to study the way you breathe? I did this the other day while practicing my yoga and I was quite literally astonished. More so how I breathed after the session.

During yoga, I was calm, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth....deep long breathes. But then when I started getting into the routine of the day, I noticed how quickly I was breathing...ans it usually coincided with the stress I was having. If I was stressed, my breathing became quick and rapid and almost to a point of holding my breath at times...crazy!!!

So I made a concerted effort to take deep slow breathes...and it was amazing how calming that was. Something so simple could be so easy!!!

In Yoga, breathing is essential and key to a great practice...is what I am learning anyway! Pranayama is what it is called. There are four stages.....

Inhalation (Pruraka)- in through the nose

Pause after inhaling (Abhyantara Kumbhaka)

Exhalation (Rechaka)-out through the mouth

Pause after exhaling (Bahya Kumhaka or empty pause)

I found this information in much more detail here at The ABC's of Yoga

Try it and read up on it. It really is quite fascinating how important breathing is!! It does really take practive to be conscience of how we are breathing. But the benefits of it are so great! Calming, more oxygen to your brain and body, boosts lymphatic system.......feels great!!

What are you waiting for...

 

from me to you...

Download Just breathe

Beachtime Baby!!!!

Please head over to Charming Birdie for more summertime fun pics! Hope your summer was filled with great memories in all sorts of great places!

 

Not giving up on running!

In fact, i feel like my legs are getting stronger with every walk I take. We have about 4 weeks before the next set of cycle classes begin with my favorite instructor, Sue Conrad at Fitness Can Be Fun. So the game plan is to walk and run, while doing p90x and strength training. So in honor of that I have made this pdf available for you to download and keep you motivated! I've been loving all the inspiration on pInterest and decided to make one myself!

Enjoy and keep on keeping on!

Download Why walk

Running...walking

Thought I would try for an early morning run...which quickly progressed to an early am walk. I just can't seem to get my cadence down for a run. I don't know if my left leg is still just a bit week, I am scared of what the pressure will do to it, but I ended up walking brisk, so that will account for my day's activity....that and two loads of laundry, sweeping, vaccumming, cleaning, etc.

We were invited to the beach today, but after all the travelling and summer visitors, we are all just beiong homebody's today. I was quickly shooting off a list of things we can do, and was reminded by my girls lack of answers and my husbands words of, "they are fine!" That it's ok not to do anything.

Do you ever get caught up in having to plan for everyday? Trying to fit it all in? I just need to take cues from my walk this morning and realize it's ok to walk, instead of run. It's ok to just let things fall as they lye, instead of go according to plan.

I guess that with summer almost coming to an end, it's hard to let go. But then my favorite season is coming up, Fall! I love the fall and all it represents: back to school, warmth, family, change...Great time for long, bundled up walks.

Healthy Inspirations...

 

Team Pink!

Another SLO Triathlon done! Awesome time! We did the whole thing in about 2 hrs and 20 minutes! Jeanne did the swim, I did the bike, and Michele brought it home with the run. When Michele came close to the finish, Jeanne and I ran out there with her to bring our team in as our names were called on the loud speaker!!! Awesome!

Must start training for next year!

Go team Pink-Sweet Alexis!!! Jeanne, Michele & Rani!!!!!

Slo Tri 2011

Is just around the corner!!!! Will update with new pics from team Sweet Alexis!

But here is a shot from last year's, I did the whole thing then! This year I'm biking!

Happy Tri-ing!

 

Yoga Journey!-Committed!

*LONG POST-READ WITH SOME TEA!

I'm so excited to share with you my yoga journey. Finally embarking on something I have wanted to try for a very long time!

I have decided to join Curvy Yoga-30 days of Yoga. I already feel so in tune and welcome on the site and look forward to how the rest of the month will unfold. Do check it out if you get a chance and see if it may be right for you!

As we prepare this week, before our actual class begins next week, I have come up with my intentions for this program. Anna and Marianna of Curvy Yoga has asked us to make a committment and set our intentions for the Sadhana, or committed practice.

So here they are:

*Give myself the love and the attention it deserves, even if only for a few minutes of the day

*Come to the mat and take away whatever feels right, everyday

*Allow myself room to grow, aske questions, and discover

*Commit to connecting with others in the class: give support and ask for support when needed

Namaste!

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ANd here is a repost of my guest post on JIll Conyer's Blog, Life as I See It. It talks about my journey beginning!

Please welcome Rani, my next featured blogger for the guest series, Fitness, Health and Happiness! 

Namaste and welcome to my first writing in a series of my yoga journey. Many thanks to Jill for asking me to be part of her health and wellness series. I’m excited to be participating in several health challenges and share with you my start into practicing yoga. Join me every Wednesday as I explore the Yoga Journey!

When I first stepped into the blogging world, I penned the name ScrapYoga, for my love of scrapbooking and the creative peace it gave me. My intention was to also take regular yoga classes and become a yogini. Well, two kids later, many jobs, a massage practice,  and life in general, no classes…no yogini. But my new spark is to create that yoga path for myself and see where it leads. My inspiration also comes from my parents and their recent discovery and practice of yoga. They retired and moved to India three years ago. It was just a few months ago that I learned they have now taken up yoga every day!! I am so proud of them! I realized if I start this now, my daughters and husband will also be influenced with a healthy habit.

 

When I Googled Yoga, a huge amount of information came out. At first I thought, great, lots of resources…but quickly became overwhelmed. So I took a few breaths and actually found  some wonderful sites to learn, not only poses, but rich history…..my history in East Indian culture.

 

My first lesson didn’t even involve getting on the mat. Instead, it was reading about the foundations of yoga, the benefits of yoga, and the variety of yoga styles. So hear is a bit of what I learned. Be sure to check the end of this post for some great links to sites I found most helpful during my research.

 

Yoga is ancient. It has been around for over 5000 years, and some even speculate for over 10,000 years!  There are many paths in yoga, meaning you can take the physical path (Hatha), meditative (Raja), knowledge and wisdom (Jnana), and devotional (Bhakti). Ultimately, the goal of yoga is to attain unification and enlightenment through practice.

 

Benefits of Yoga are varied and amazing. From everyone I ever talked to about yoga and to what I have read, yoga has helped them with their personal needs. Everything from anxiety, depression and insomnia, to asthma, menopause and arthritis. Yoga can help your mind, body and soul connect and heal and create a general sense of wellness and great health. Now who wouldn’t want that!?

(Images courtesy of Google Images) But don’t take my word for it…find out for yourself! Check out the links and do the research and learn for yourself like I did. And then take it one step further and try. The very first pose I actively tried is called the Savasana. We all actually practice this pose every day.  It’s simply where you lay on your back, legs and arms extended with palms of hands facing up. You take deep breaths in and out with your eyes closed.  It’s very relaxing and to me, a very "full circle" kind of pose. Savasana or Corpse pose represents death, but not is a drastic, tragic way, but in more of a circle of life way. I just like the way it makes me feel…very serene!  

Anyone and everyone can do yoga...and you don't have to be able to bend like a pretzel...you basically just need to be breathing and you're half way there! (image courtesy of Google Images)

Here are some great links that I enjoy and will be frequenting in my journey. Thanks for reading and I hope you gleamed some new insight into yoga from a very new beginner! I will be back on my blog next Wednesday to discuss a new pose and more insights from my mind, body and soul. Namaste! 

Y is for Yogini- http://www.yisforyogini.com/-I love her insight and humor she brings to yoga.

Yoga Basics- http://www.yogabasics.com/-Great overall information about all that is yoga.

Babsbabble- http://www.babsbabble.com/-Yoga Babble-Sharing her journey of teaching and practicing yoga.

Spoiled Yogi- http://spoiledyogi.blogspot.com/-Wonderful insights into her yoga world.

Playful Planet- http://www.playfulplanet.com/blog.html-Great site with wonderful insights into practicing yoga with kids.

And just for fun since I love to digital scrapbook, here is a little something I whipped up! I was inspired by babsbabble and her Keep Calm and Carry On poster! Feel free to download and share! DOWNLOAD LINK

-Rani

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ANd here is my wordless wednesday! I know...lotta words up there!

Tamra is a big girl now!

Quick post! Busy busy busy day today! Kiddos took it easy in the am but played hard at biking in the evening. So much so that little Tamra tried riding without her training wheels!!!! And she is getting it! These little milestones are huge! So glad I had my camera with me! More to come tomorrow!

"I did it Mama!"

Proud happy girl!