Hello, old friend

Makes me sad it's been so long since I last posted here. Had no idea it had been so long. Life flies by too fast these days. Wondering if I should pick up where I left off or just start a new blog?

Still teaching yoga. Still a corporate worker bee. Still a mom. Now of an almost two year old beautiful little girl.

Oh, and still enjoying life as a yoga mama.

Namaste.

Try some face yoga instead of botox

Now that I'm a smidgen over 30, I've noticed a few more lines on my face and some sun damage. Seems like being pregnant brought this on or I at least notice it more now. Has anyone else every noticed more wrinkles after baby? Maybe it's from lack of sleep! lol

Instead of worrying about the lines and causing MORE wrinkles (focusing on what you don't want brings more of the same), I need to incorporate more face yoga into my own personal practice and when I teach at the Y. Much cheaper than Botox, and in my humble opinion, looks better too!

Whales + Yoga = Optimum tranquility

Yoga in itself brings me to such a tranquil and present state. How much more enhanced would it be if I practiced while viewing beautiful whales swimming right in front of me?

The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, which is the biggest aquarium in the world, recently began offering yoga classes while its beluga whales swim gracefully in the backdrop. Apparently it's a new concept and "billed as the first of its kind" according to the accompanying article to the video above. Such a wonderful marriage of two peaceful entities.

I may have to visit my Atlanta friends to witness this for myself.

'"The beluga whales are so slow and so smooth in their movements, which is indeed what this is about -- slow movements of the body," said Todd DeLaune, one of the instructors of the weekly sessions. "And I think the energy of the belugas corresponds with the practice that we do."'

Earlier this week, I blogged about yoga-class etiquette. Read this humorous article on embarassing Q&A from a student's perspective on yoga class. Cracked me up.

I've never heard of a "vart" before. My goodness! LOL!

The delight of my "new" yoga practice

About a month or so before we gave birth to our now 4 1/2 month-old baby girl, I began nesting and focused my energies on our screen porch, which was an eyesore to say the least. Rotted wood, screens tattered and torn. Plus the cement floor showed signs of having tile and old paint but unfortunately had been returned to its original, drab natural color of gray.

As a woman who was nine months pregnant and jonesing to nest (pregnancy is 10 months long, remember!), I couldn't do much with the porch but buy accessories and clean it out. This did help tremendously, but it definitely needed some true revitalizing of its bones.

In comes an affordable handyman who arrived at our house for the first time when baby girl was about a month old. Hired to fix a few other items in the house, he noticed what dire straits our screen porch was in and made some suggestions on what he could tackle.

I was so excited - my dream porch could finally come to fruition! He fixed the rotted pieces and put in some new screens and a new door. I ended up repainting the wood inside and painting the cement floor a dark green, which really made an enormous difference! Now my porch is a "livable" space that I can enjoy, especially with the beautiful autumn that's beginning in KC.

So a few Sundays ago, Brijin went down for her first nap very easily around 8 a.m. and the hub was still in bed... Why not try some yoga on the screened porch? There was just enough space on the side to roll out my mat without having to move any furniture - perfect! I began doing sun salutations, which felt so perfect in the early morning with the chorus of birds chirping in the background. We live in a house built in the 1940s and consequently there are enormous trees everywhere. Every time I looked up, I saw the canopy of leaves while also catching a passing cloud or two. Simply gorgeous and exhilarating combo - yoga au naturale!

Isn't it amazing how awesome doing something for the first time feels, even when you've been doing it for years? Making a small tweak is the trick to revitalizing anything, whether it's your yoga practice or your backyard-screened porch. Bouncing back after baby is tough so finding a new perspective to my yoga practice made all the difference.

If you're feeling like you're in a rut, make a small tweak to an everyday occurrence. Take a different route to work. Eat lunch outdoors instead of inside or at your desk. Listen to your loved ones wholeheartedly when they are telling you about their day.

Taking my mat outdoors gave me a whole new outlook, not only for my yoga practice but for my life. Seeing your everyday life at a new angle is what brings new joy to your world.

Postnatal yoga - tips for teachers and postpartum women

Here's another great article by Brenda Plakans, one of my favorite yoga bloggers, (Grounding Thru the Sit Bones) about yoga for postnatal women called "Tools for Teaching Postnatal Yoga" on YogaJournal.com. It's written for yoga teachers on how to guide postnatal students, however if you've just given birth, it has great tips for your own, personal yoga practice.

A postpartum woman should not exercise for the first four to six weeks after giving birth (make sure to ask your doctor!). I haven't done any yoga myself, although I have thought about doing a few stretches but lack of sleep seems to derail those plans.

Once able to do asanas or the postures of yoga, the article recommends the following:

• Focusing on the abdominals with belly backbends like cobra and locust, which can't be done during pregnancy so I'm very excited to do those again!
  
• Do "poses that help bring awareness to the torso and engage the muscles include a variety of seated twists" like easy sitting pose with a twist.
  
• Extended Side Angle and Warrior I Pose are also recommended.
  
• Once you feel comfortable with the abs, practicing Navasana or boat and plank should be doable and beneficial, according to the article.

I can't wait to feel good enough and be able to get back to my practice. I'm supposed to begin teaching at the end of July so I will need to get started as soon as my midwife allows.

The humor of yoga

Third ... trimester ... wearing ... me ... down.

Thank goodness this is my last week of teaching yoga! I'm sure I will miss it, but girlfriend needs a break!

Since I'm so tired, thought I'd make this short and sweet and share this funny clip from The Jimmy Kimmel show I found on YouTube. He sent his security staff to a yoga class - hilarious!

Explore your sun and moon

If you're looking for a good source for yoga workouts, go to Hillary's yoga practice.

I practiced Podcast #61 - Exploring the Sun and Moon Level 1/2 Class 40 Min weeks ago before my belly sprouted. This practice is probably not suitable for most pregnant ladies, but Hillary leads the class well and has photos of most poses to guide you during the practice.