This is why the south is awesome

Right now, it's sunny and 75 degrees outside. Some of the flowers in my yard are blooming!!!

The only thing I can identify are the daffodils so I can't help on that end. I can't wait to see what else blooms!

Yoga Study Guide - Yamas

source

The Yamas - A yama (Sanskrit) यम, literally "death", is a rule or code of conduct for living which will help bring a compassionate death to the ego or "the lower self". The yamas comprise the "shall-not" in our dealings with the external world as the Niyamas comprise the "shall-do" in our dealings with the inner world.

source

1) Ahimsa - Non-violence - cause no harm to any living creature

This is why a lot of yogi's are vegetarians, but this also means not gossiping about people, not being rude to people, every action is supposed to come from a place of not injuring another either through actions, words, thoughts. 

2) Satya - right communication, truthfulness, refrain from telling lies, refrain from deception

No lies at all, even to ourselves, our intention in every situation is to be truthful 

3) Asteya - non-covetous - non-stealing, resisting desire from that which does not belong to us - do not take that which is not freely given

This means no stealing, even stealing one's thoughts, no burning discs from others, nada

4) Bramacharya - celibacy, moderation in our actions, moderation in our thoughts

While many focus on the celibacy piece of this, one does not have to be celibate but moderate in thoughts in actions which means, thoughtful, not extravagant, no gluttony

5) Aparigraha - non-greediness, determine what is a true need vs a desire

This can stretch even to not coveting another's yoga pose!

Yoga Study Guide - 8 Limbs of Yoga

This weekend is a sad time because it's the last normal weekend of Yoga Teacher Training. When we meet in April - it will be for our final exam :(

that's me :)

So I really need to be more diligent in studying. There is a LOT of information to remember, and writing down is a good way for me to study. So why not use my blog (I stole this idea from one of our other teacher trainee) to study. 

Today, we're talking about the 8 limbs of Yoga. Hatha yoga consists of 8 limbs of yoga - 

1 - Yamas: the first limb of Yoga - "Be good" - the yamas guide us in how we relate to each other, our thoughts, our words, our actions 

2 - Niyamas: the second limb of Yoga - "Do good" - development of the ground rules for self discipline and inner awareness - this limb deals with attitudes towards ourselves

3 - Asanas - "Feel good" - the body serves as the temple for our soul - keep the body strong and flexible, keep mind calm and clear so the spirit can flourish, enhance physical, spiritual, mental well being

4 - Pranayama - focuses on the link between breath, mind and body. the mindful and conscious practice of breath control allows for a more vital and longer life

5 - Pratyahara - Withdrawal of sense - inner focus - the process of becoming aware of and learning to control the thought patterns

6 - Dharana - concentration - one pointedness - Tratak is an type of this (focusing on, concentrating on the flame of a candle) 

7 - Dhyana - meditation without focus on an object or subject - this focus is rooted on a deep, inner focus of awareness

8 - Samadhi - oneness - becomes one with the object of meditation

source

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Thanks Jamie

Here are some Pinterest finds I'm loving - 

I want to do this in my foyer

cute blog

it looks like a cute blog too

I love stripes

it's about time for my garden

so hilarious

I want this in my house somewhere

Happy Wednesday!! 

Follow me on Pinterest

Imperfection

I was reading one of my favorite blogs today, Skinny Runner and saw a link to another blog Shut Up and Run. She had a list of things to live a happier life and the one that really stuck out to me was -

You must love who you are or no one else will either. And when you are truly comfortable in your own skin, not everyone will like you, but you won’t care about it one bit.


My quest over the past few years, especially since I've started Yoga training, has been to love who I am. The first thing I had to do was learn who I was and then figure out how to accept that. Growing up, I never really "fit in" for several reasons, but the main one being that I have a "quirky" personality. I like to say that I'm "worldly" but others might use the term "eccentric". I was always ashamed of this because people made me feel like I needed to be. Then, I tried so many different things to be a different person that it has taken me a long time to figure out who I actually am. What do I like? What do I dislike? Why? 


Through lots of introspection, work with mentors, 12 step work, etc etc, I have come to a place where I'm at least more accepting of myself. I feel completely different in my skin because I know that I'm going to say and do things that I'll regret later, but it doesn't mean that I'm bad as a person, I just am going to make mistakes. 


Another bullet point that I liked was - 


In your quiet moments, pay attention to your self-talk. Because maybe, just maybe, the only thing that needs to shift in order for you to experience more happiness, more love, and more vitality, is your way of thinking.


My self talk is not very positive so while I like to build others up with kind words, I don't give myself that same respect. So, that's my new goal, to talk to myself like I would talk to my grandmother. I would never say anything rude to her because I love her and no matter what she does, I'm only going to respond with love so why can't I do that for myself? 


I'm reading a book called "The Spirituality of Imperfection" 

source

I think that this book is going to talk about allowing ourselves to be human, so it'll be interesting to get this perspective. I've had this book for years and have been trying to read it for years, but now I feel like I am actually motivated to do so. I'll report back. 

Another great book to read if you are on a personal exploration is - 

source

I HIGHLY recommend this book. It changed my life!

Do you like Marianne Williamson? 

What do you think about Imperfection? 

Oscar Fashion

So of course, I didn't watch the Oscars because I hate awards shows but I STRAIGHT UP LOVE THE FASHION. Here are some of my favs -

Love her - love this dress 

Shailene Woodley - this was under the worst category but I love it. It's interesting 

Emma Stone - absolutely my favorite 

Michelle Williams - i love this especially because it's such a departure for her

images

I really liked Ellie Kemper's dress too

image

J Lo committed a No No - that dress is terrible in all kinds of ways

image

Ugh 

image

What did you think? Who did you like and dislike? 

Straight Up Deliciousness

Weekend Recap and My Workout Plan

This weekend, mu husband and I went to visit some friends in Chattanooga. We left late friday afternoon and came back yesterday afternoon. I'll do a Chattanooga review later in the week but that was the main thing that we did.

a view from my friend's neighborhood

My Workout Plan for the Week - 

Monday - I'm going to walk 2 miles and then do AMRAP of burpees (per the xfit website last week)

*I've been wanting to incorporate some walking into my working out simply because I think it's a nice thing to do to as a compliment to running 

Tuesday - downtown running group - probably 1/4 mile repeats - then later - Yoga

Wednesday - Weights

Thursday - Running group downtown - speed workout - probably 30-90 second repeats - lunch time yoga would be good too

Friday -  I think I'll be doing Holly's boot camp on Friday mornings, I don't know for sure

Saturday - I have yoga teacher training this weekend but I really hope that I can get in a run this morning

Sunday - Rest

How was your weekend?
Workout plans for the week?