I'm a yogi. :|

I'm not trying to offend anybody when I say this, but I just never thought I would ever call myself a "yogi". I've been to a few yoga practices with a few different instructors and for some reason it was just too much for me. I felt like the instructors could see right through me. Like they were reading the aura that I didn't know I had. They were all so in touch with their bodies and with nature and just in tune with something that I didn't recognize and that was intimidating. Simply put, they were just all on some sort of spiritual, yogi plane above me, and I wasn't sure if I could bring myself up there or if i even wanted to. I felt weird. I felt uncomfortable. I felt out of place. Not to mention I knew for a fact that my extremely stiff, inflexible body wouldn't ever go into the shapes they were asking me to do. So I did what I thought was my only option: I gave up on yoga.

So how did I finally begin to embrace yoga in all its greatness and glory? I found Yoga with Adriene on Youtube. No jokes you guys, she is amazing. She acknowledges the sometimes awkwardness that can accompany yoga and she even makes fun of it. She's super mindful of what beginner yogis are probably doing with their bodies and tells you how to correct it. Plus, I won't have to be surrounded by the perfectly-toned, cirque du soleil, Lululemon ambassador hotties.

What I love most about yoga is that it makes me stretch while working out. Before I started yoga a few months ago I could put my hands just barely a couple of inches below my knees while trying to touch my toes. And if I did the ol' trick of spinning first and then plummeting down to touch them, I ended up being able to get them to my shins. My lower back was so tight and my shoulders had huge knots in them all the time. The back of my legs? Don't even get me started. I had a constant cold, numbness in the middle of my back on a daily basis that felt like a bruise when somebody touched it. And even a few times at work I would begin to tear up while typing away on my little machine because the pain in my shoulders was so bad. As much as I wanted to blame it on me feeling sorry for the victim of a car accident, it wasn't.

Anyways, I know some of you won't believe when I say this, but yoga really took away most of that pain. I'd say 98% is gone since I've started mid December. And although I'm not court reporting anymore, my back is still under duress from being a mom and lugging a 35 lb and 20 lb kid around all day. I can touch my toes easily! And the tightness in my shoulders is lessening every day. It felt so rewarding to feel the changes in my body. And even though changes are gradual, I'm definitely noticing them.

Yes, the stretching is great. But I was totally shocked when I came to find out for myself how intense a work out yoga can be! I literally couldn't walk the next day after my first vid. I'm not sure about other yoga practices, but in Yoga with Adriene you do a lot of planks. My whole body would shake after only 10 seconds while doing a plank on my knees. To say I was out of shape would be an understatement. But, again, it was so rewarding to feel myself getting stronger day after day. Let me give you just one example: I haven't really ever been able to do "man" pushups very well. Even during basketball season in high school I could maybe get off 2 before my form fell apart. That was in high school -- the most fit part of my life thus far. Well, almost being out of high school for 8 years now and not really ever working out since then, you won't be surprised when I tell you that doing 5 "girl" pushups was hard for me to do. Now I can do 3 "man" ones!!!! (I did extra exclamations because it still sounds so lame, ha.) I know, it's not a lot, but it's an improvement for me.

That's what I love about yoga: it's all about self-improvement.

You guys really need to go check her channel out -- especially if you suffer from back/neck/shoulder pain. I started off by doing the 30 Day yoga Challenge. It was perfect for me because I really resonate with numbers and get more determined to work out if it's set up that way. Not sure why. I just do. Now I'm onto her Yoga for weight loss section and just do those throughout the week, 5 or 6 times a week. Not only am I feeling great, my outside is starting to look like what I feel on the inside. My skin is better because I drink more water. My muscles are becoming more toned. My stomach is getting tighter -- although many people wouldn't be able to tell those changes because they really aren't that drastic.

Other workouts I've done at home in the past have lasted 3 weeks at the most. I've been doing yoga at least 5 times a week since the middle of December (that's just over 4 months now!) I wake up before the kids do so I don't have to cut into our day together, or I'll happen to get them both napping at the same time and then do it. Very few times I have had to workout while they were awake. And there's just something about working out early in the morning that totally changes my whole day.

For once in my life a workout is actually becoming a part of my daily routine! Yes, it's because I love my work out, but even more so it's because of the motivation behind the workout. No matter what you do, don't get in shape only for the outward appearance. Let me repeat that: no matter what, do NOT let your outward appearance be your motivation for getting you in shape. That's just a great bonus ;) Do it for how you feel emotionally, spiritually, mental, whatever. If your motivation is just to get in shape so you can look good in a bathing suit when the summer comes, I would like to see what happens to your routine once the summer is over.  Seriously. That's been my motivation before and it never lasts.

I'm becoming healthier for my kids, for Mark. I want to be able to keep up to my crazy teenagers when Mark leads our family out on intense hikes or a campout for the long weekend. I also want to be able to be as healthy as I can be so I can be more present in our every day moments together. I won't have to be constantly thinking about the numbness in my back or the headache that I just can't shake.

I feel like when you begin to focus on your body and you begin treating it well, it treats you well back. You are happier, more content, more empowered to overcome stresses of everyday life. Soon-- like within a couple of days soon-- you'll begin to notice that your desire to eat healthier increases (i've never grocery shopped healthier in my whole life) You'll also begin to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. I even shower more, which everybody who really knows me is happier about, I'm sure.

But let's be honest, the real reason I workout at home is this:

Namaste. :)