Hello, and happy Monday to you all!

Everyone I have talked to today agrees that this Monday has, for some reason, been a super difficult one. Not in terms of workload necessarily, but just in terms of being tired and run down. You know?

Ella understands.

Maybe it’s because of the crazy awful weather changes we’ve had going on around here…in the 30*s during the night, getting between 40* and 60* during the day, rain, wind, sunshine, clouds…but I guess that’s Michigan weather for you! I’ve also heard the “S” word being thrown around in the weather forecasts lately. By “S” word I, of course, mean “snow”. 😉 Yick. Snow is pretty for the first few days, but I just hate driving around in it.

Have you gotten snow yet where you live?

Alright, enough complaining about the weather on my part…let’s get to the point of this post!

My reasons and goals for this month of yoga challenge are pretty similar to the ones I had back in June. I’ve italicized the differences. I want to…
– Do at least one full yoga session per week.
– Relax and de-stress my mind and body even more than I have been in the past few months. This point is especially important, considering how crazy busy this semester is.
– Attempt to do “crane” pose for more than 2 seconds (without landing on my head). In June, my goal was to do it for more than .5 seconds, which I succeeded in! Now, the question is….can I hold it for longer? 🙂
– Add five or ten minute stretches (using yoga poses) to the end of each of my workouts, no matter what workout I’m doing. This point was not in my goals back in June, but I think it is a really important one for me. Because I’ve been incorporating different types of workouts (circuit training of all kinds) into my schedule, I’ve actually noticed my muscles getting tighter. Since I’m not going to stop circuit training any time soon (hopefully!), I need to work on muscle flexibility. Yoga is perrrrfect for that!

(I’m going to copy Courtney’s structure here:)

My Challenge (for this week):
– Do at least one full yoga session per week.
– Add five or ten minute stretches to the end of each workout

Actual: Both goals complete!

I unfortunately forgot my P90X DVD pack at home two weekends ago, and wasn’t able to do the 90 minute routine I love so much. I did, however, do Bob Harper’s Weight Loss Yoga DVD, which is broken up into 3 sections: vinyasa, which includes well-known yoga poses; yoga-pilates abs; and strength, which is where you use dumbbells to make your body work harder during the poses.

I love this DVD because it feels like a combination strength and yoga workouts. And it’s 55 minutes, so I can complete it before class. Perfect!

I am so glad I joined this challenge again – thanks for hosting it, Courtney!

(Photo courtesy of P90X’s facebook page.)

Have a wonderful evening, everyone!