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Pose of the Week – Utkatasa; Dig INN!

Yoga teacher training is going well. It sure is exhausting though, to have no break between the workweek, training, another workweek, another training… whew. I am thankful for the break I’ll get this coming weekend. In the meantime, I took it easy today.

I’ve been meaning to share this yummy lunch that I had my first weekend of training. It was from the newly re-named Dig Inn (formerly known as The Pump Energy Food). So this is:

1) choice protein: lemon chicken

2) grains or greens: mixed greens

3) fresh sides: balsamic mushrooms, red cabbage slaw, indian spiced carrots

And I believe the sauce I got was the roasted red pepper, which has almonds (or some other nut) in it.

In other news, here is your pose of the week: the dreaded chair pose!

Chair Pose, or Utkatasana

utkatasana

“Hips down, arms up: utkatasana.”

  • 10 deep ujjayi breaths if you want to build some heat. 5 for less heat.
  • Other options: twist to right for 5 breaths; return to center; twist to left for 5 breaths.

What are the benefits of utkatasana?

  • Improves balance
  • Strengthens and works the quads, but also the ankles, lower legs, feet, and spine.
  • Chest opening (if you do it right – glide those shoulders down the back)
  • Chair twists will stimulate digestion and improve elimination and detoxing

Comment if you hate utkatasana 😀

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Inhale, Exhale… 1. Inhale, Exhale… 2. [Yoga Teacher Training – Sun Sals]

Teaching Beginner Sun Salutation:

Inhale, raise your prayer, see your thumbs.

Exhale, fold forward.

Inhale, raise chest, shoulders back.

Exhale, step or jump back, chaturanga.

Inhale, upward facing dog, urdhva mukha svanasana.

Exhale, downward facing dog, adho mukha svanasana.

Inhale, exhale… 1.

Inhale, sits bones shine towards the ceiling, exhale, press heels to earth, 2.

Inhale, exhale… 3.

Inhale, exhale… 4.

Inhale, raise your heels, exhale, bend knees, look forward.

Inhale, jump forward, flat back.

Exhale, fold, long neck.

Inhale, raise your prayer, see your thumbs.

Exhale, tadasana.

Repeat.

***

This sequence has been running through my head all day. In the shower (inhale-2-3-4, exhale-2-3-4…), on the subway (inhale-2-3-4, exhale-2-3-4…), on the way to the studio after work (inhale-2-3-4, exhale-2-3-4…). I am so very into breathing. That was my intention today at practice – breathing. Did you know that if you breathe with the teacher, yoga becomes more intense? I don’t think I’ve ever breathed so thoroughly in my life. There are other benefits to breathing as well, especially if you breathe properly (into your diaphragm). For example – regularity and detoxing. I swear it works. Just breathe. I feel refreshed and ready for the week.

***

If it wasn’t clear, I’m learning how to teach sun salutations. 😉 We must have done 108 this weekend.

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Weekend Link Love – 09.25.2011

Teacher training update – 2 days down and I am loving it so far. Yesterday we covered basic sun salutations in the morning and anatomy (!) all afternoon. Today I think is pretty much the same layout. I am loving the anatomy lectures (seriously).

I’m currently sitting here with a cup of instant miso soup (this brand – totally natural and delicious.) I have to leave soon for training, but I’m taking a few minutes to just relax.

Without further ado, here are my links for this week.

  • Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why. Here are some lines straight from the article, to summarize: “Half of all drugs that fail in late-stage trials drop out of the pipeline due to their inability to beat sugar pills… Some products that have been on the market for decades, like Prozac, are faltering in more recent follow-up tests…It’s not that the old meds are getting weaker, drug developers say. It’s as if the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger.” Sounds like drug companies are realizing something that yogis have know for years – how powerful the brain is.
  • Funny “Blog Breakdown” comic.
  • Earn more, work less: 8 great jobs that escape the rat race. I’m only posting this because it features one of my favorite yogis, Sadie Nardini. But it is an interesting read (if not entirely accurate? what do you think?).
  • I’m trying to cut down a bit on sweet things, but maybe when I break my sweet-fast I will try out these Grain-Free Pumpkin Muffins from Balanced Bites.
  • Do you like parsnips? I want to try Choosing Raw’s Parsnip Sushi Rice. (I never got to eat parsnips growing up because my dad hated them. But I tried them a year or two ago and ended up loving them. I think I like all root veggies.)

I’ll leave you with a song. I’m off to class… and to Starbucks for some coffee. It’s 8AM on a Sunday.

Do you have any links to share this week?

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Five Things Friday & Fantabulous Friday Five – 09.23.2011

Five Things Friday:

  1. It’s Fall. Officially. My favorite season. I even got up early this morning to do a post 🙂
  2. My yoga teacher training starts tonight. So excited.
  3. Hopefully going out to dinner with my husband tonight.
  4. Can’t wait to spend time with friends this weekend (after my training).
  5. I’m loving on kabocha this week. Got a few perfectly ripe ones. Also introduced a friend to it and she loves it too 🙂

Fantabulous Friday Five comes in 3 parts…

Five things I want to buy

  1. … I’m gonna say nothing. I really don’t want anything right now! Hate clutter. Instead I will do…

Five things I want to get rid of

  1. Old clothes and shoes I never wear
  2. Too many books
  3. Canned / boxed foods in my kitchen that I will never eat
  4. Kitchen appliances I never use (juicer, I’m looking at you)
  5. Old cords that don’t seem to match up to anything

Five places I’ve visited

  1. Hawaii (honeymoon; my favorite vacation)
  2. France (this past summer; also when I was 7 in November of 1993)
  3. Italy (January 2008 – graduation gift to self)
  4. Miami (where my in-laws live)
  5. LA (Guster/John Mayer cruise)

dec 30 2009 006

(Key Largo, south of Miami)

Five jobs I’ve held

  1. Video store clerk (high school)
  2. Call center rep at ETS (one summer in college)
  3. Sales associate at Gap (I think I spent all my earnings at my place of work)
  4. Research Assistant at the Federal Reserve in SF
  5. Software Engineer! (current)

What are yours?

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Viva La Yoga & Fun NJ Weekend

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I did have a very nice day. I was surprised mid-afternoon Thursday by an ice cream cake:

Apparently my coworkers asked Bobby what kind of cake to get, and he said, “if it’s chocolate, dark chocolate; she doesn’t like normal cake, ice cream is better; something with whipped cream.” It is almost scary how well my husband knows me 😉 And my coworkers are the best.

***

I’m not going to keep being cryptic so here is my big news – I’m starting yoga teacher training this coming weekend and it’s going to go for the next 12 weeks (I have 2 weekends off). I’m not quitting my day job or anything, but I have been wanting to do this for a while and I’m so glad I’m getting the chance to now. (Back in California I did 2 weekend sessions of teacher training but did not complete the 200 hour training.) I can’t wait to share my yoga journey here for the next three months.

***

Since I’m going to be incredibly busy for the rest of the year, Bobby and I came down to NJ this weekend to spend time with my family and high school friends. We had an awesome time. Bobby and I helped out at the Quaker flea market yesterday (Saturday) by cooking hot dogs and hamburgers and taking down a bridge. I got a few goodies as well – some $.50 cent pillow shams, a dish, some fudge, handmade soap, an adorable laundry basket (whites and darks! but I will use it as his and hers because I don’t separate my colors – do you?), a lazy susan, some cool trays for food, and a bath set (lotions,etc…) … all for under $20 I believe.

***

I actually have a bunch of weekend link love links for you but I’ll post them tomorrow. In the meantime, I want to share three songs I am loving. For the first – I don’t usually like Diddy all the much, but I really like this song (mainly because of Skylar Grey’s voice – she’s not either of the girls in the video though).

Here is a Skylar Grey song:

And here is an Adele song that Bobby got me hooked on a few days ago. This girl is majorly talented, and her voice is like pure honey.