Monday 9 March 2015

Yoga diaries


Do you believe in second chances?
I most definitely do. Also, I believe in falling in love twice. If you are following me on Instagram you can probably guess what I'm referring to: my renewed passion for yoga.

About three years ago I fell in love with yoga for the first time. I went to yoga classes, mainly hot yoga, and did some videos at home (Bob Harper: Yoga for the Warrior and Jillian Michaels: Yoga Meltdown). By the choice of these videos you can see that I was mainly concerned about burning calories and getting toned fast. Nothing wrong with that, but also not the main idea behind yoga.
As much as I loved doing it, I wasn't very consistent: I would skip weeks at a time, and never see the kind of progress I was hoping for. Eventually, the weeks turned into months, and then I abandoned the practice altogether.

Cue the awesomeness of the online community. My blog-friend Mary started her yoga journey about a year ago, and participates in all sorts of fun challenges on Instagram. Almost every day when clicking through her inspiring photos, I thought to myself: "I should get back into yoga".
Of course I didn't do it right away - it's been months and months of  vaguely thinking about it, but not actually doing it (a well-established and annoying habit of mine).
It wasn't until I came across Kino MacGregor on her YouTube channel that I got bitten by the yoga bug once again. And I got bitten hard.

It's as if something inside of me had been asleep for a long time - a yearning, a desire to treat my body the way it deserves - just waiting to be awakened. And now that it has, I feel more alive and passionate than I have in a long time!

With Kino as my teacher, the IG yoga community as inspiration, and my dogs as faithful companions and cheerleaders, this yoga journey is different than last time. It's about finding peace within myself, and to become the best version of myself I can be. Happy people spread happiness, and that's my goal!
To keep myself accountable and document my progress I will share my journey on the blog - but you saw that one coming, didn't you. ;-)

I'm still finding a routine, and it will surely change and evolve as I go along, but here are some of the poses I'm currently doing every day:

Downward facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
Plank pose (Kumbhakasana)
Upward facing dog(s): Urdvah Mukha Svanasana
A tree amongst trees: Tree pose (Vrksasana)
Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II)
Triangle pose (Trikonasana)
Dancer's pose (Natarajasana)
Camel pose (Ustrasana)
Wheel pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana)
Bow pose (Dhanurasana)
Crow pose (Bakasana)
Three-legged downward facing dog (Tri Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana)
Headstand pose (Sirasana)

Are you into yoga? Any videos/teachers/poses you love?





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13 comments

  1. Looking good kid ;)
    I am so happy that you have found a new love of yoga. Kino is A-Ma-Zing! I love her and all her bendiness. Awesome crow btw! I can't wait for progress update!

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  2. Thanks Mary! Or can I call you my muse? ;-)
    I'm loving it so much! The studio setting didn't work for me, I couldn't motivate myself to get out of the house. Also, I like having the freedom to do whatever I'm in the mood for. This time yoga is here to stay!

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  3. You're dogs are so sweet haha! Great job Miriam! You're an inspiration! I will try to develop my own yoga journey too. I have been doing it only in the mornings, just to stretch out and meditate, I don't know why I'm so scared of trying new poses. I'll push myself to do it!

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  4. I like doing it on my own time too. I would never make it to a studio.
    A muse? Now you make me blush :)

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  5. You look so cute and polished doing yoga. You are fit and elastic, girl. I love both the fox sweater and ethnic leggings you are wearing. =)

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  6. I've been dying to try yoga!
    I'm super jealous that you're doing the headstand I want to be able to do!
    Keep up the good work!
    -Linds

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  7. Yes, go for it girl! The beautiful thing about yoga is that it's not about perfection, but about the journey. There's lots of modifications for each pose, and it's such a great feeling to see your own progress.

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  8. Thanks so much Bailie! It's so much fun, I love it.

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  9. Aww, that's so nice to hear! What a great compliment. I don't own any real yoga clothes yet, have to make do with what's in my closet so far. But that will change very soon, I intend to go shopping this week :-)

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  10. My big goal is mastering the handstand, that one is such a challenge for me.
    Check out some videos on YouTube, especially 'my' teacher Kino - she is so amazing! She has a way of explaining the poses that makes so much sense, I find her really easy to follow. Plus she is the bendiest and strongest yogi ever, so inspiring. Check her out!

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  11. You are doing so awesome! I bet you are feeling great too, which is the best part of yoga. :)

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  12. Yes, I am, I'm energized and feel so empowered. It's a beautiful feeling! One of the IG yoga challenge hosts said today that doing a handstand is about overcoming fear, which is so true. This whole yoga journey is a journey not only towards physical fitness, but also bravery.

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