Gosh it was a beautiful morning this morning. The air was crisp and clean and the sun was shining. It is wasn't even 9:00am before my child was itching to be outside. It seemed like everyone in the house was up and moving early: my husband, my son, the kittens, the dog....even the chickens. So by 9:01am we were all outside still in our pajamas. I didn't mind though. I have no problem soaking up the sun. It makes every part of me happy.
I find that having a chronic illness messes with me a bit. It messes with my body, it messes with my mind, and it messes with everyday activities. I find it quite frustrating really, so for the next 30 days I am going to focus on strengthening and healing both my mind and my body through yoga. I'd love for you to do this with me. I will write about each day's experience: how I felt before, during, and after, and together we can chart our progress. "Why yoga" you may ask? Because yoga has been proven to help with depression, anxiety, mindfulness, and stress relief. It helps you gain muscle strength, endurance, flexibility, balance, and blood flow. Research it. The list goes on and on. So today we begin day 1. I'm choosing a Hatha yoga routine. According to The Yoga Journal, Hatha yoga practices are "designed to align and calm you body, mind, and spirit." It does this through the holding of physical postures and breathing. It is a slower paced yoga, but it is not to be taken lightly. It is hard to hold proper posture for extended periods of time. Power yoga, for example, is a Hatha yoga practice and we all know that is tough. Not convinced yet? Well can you hold steady in the proper plank position for longer than 30 seconds while remembering to breathe and calm your mind? If you can't today you will be able to in 30 days. This morning I did a routine called "Hatha Yoga For Happiness: Gratitude with Flightmaster Yoga." It is a 35 minute program. Flightmaster Yoga has their own Yoga channel with many different options. This specific segment is their 30 days of happiness program. Sounds like a great option to me. Who doesn't need a little happiness in their life? Plus it's free and the gal is great. So let's talk about how it went: The Before, During, and Afterwards The Before: So not awake and ready for this. I woke up feeling super tight and my muscles were sore, and if I'm completely honest I wasn't ready to wake up with the sun like the rest of my family so I was a little Oscarish...you know like the grouch. At the same time I knew that today was day 1 so I was excited to get started. I also was having anxiety about an upcoming meeting and my mile long to do list. Not the best way to start the day. The During: No one needs a moose breathing in your ear as you are trying maintain focus or kittens between your legs. So, once I put the kittens and the dog outside and set my little guy up with some Blaze cartoons I was good to go. First impression: kind of hard. I was shocked by how hard it was to hold some of the poses and I found out I'm not as flexible in my upper body as I thought. I was sweating by 18 minutes in and had to take off my sweatshirt. But how did it feel? Great! Seriously great! The After: My body felt so good! I felt much looser and had much better posture than when I started. I felt like I had a happy heart and a happy mind. I had less anxiety and felt ready to start the day. I felt good about myself and was proud that I worked out this morning and consciously made better food choices through out the day. I'm excited about tomorrow! Okay. Now it's your turn! Let me know how it goes! I'm excited for you to start!
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AuthorHi there! Welcome to Grace In A Glass. My name is Danielle and I am so happy that you are visiting this site today. We all have something in life that we are working to overcome. I began blogging about my struggle with overcoming Esophageal Dysmotility and Crohn's Disease with the hope of reaching others with words of encouragement and hope. Thank you for letting me share my stories with you, and hope you have the most wonderful day! Archives
November 2022
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