September 30-Day Challenge: Daily Yoga Day 4

Thank god for Yoga Zen.  Battling a cough, a runny nose and streaming eyes, Monday morning Yoga Power on Day 3 was pure struggle.  I spent the who class just trying to get through to the end.  Not feeling much better today (Day 4) I decided to give my body a break and opted for Yoga Zen which is described as a yoga chill pill.

Bliss is how I can describe it in my slightly frazzled state.  60 minutes of deep, slow stretching, mostly sitting or lying on the mat was heaven for my tired muscles which are still trying to adapt to the strength required for Yoga Power and keeping my head above my heart for most of the class avoided stuffed and dripping sinuses.

I'm sure one of the worst things you can do in a yoga class is compare yourself to your fellow yogis, but I can't really help it from my back-of-the-room position.  Man I have a long way to go!  Three years of basically only running for exercise has taken a very clear toll on my glutes and hamstrings.  As I can't even keep my legs at a 90 degree angle lying flat on my back I'm barely able to manage some of the beginner postures and can only watch enviously as my neighbours contort themselves into positions I was attempting three years ago.

I'm trying to keep in mind that yoga is not a competitive sport, and that my finger tips' journey towards my toes is a marathon, not a sprint.

My favourite posture for today was Lion's Pose.  If this can't shake you out of a down mood, I don't know what will.  Essentially you take in a deep breath and shoot it out with a loud "blah!!!" as you roll your eyes to the ceiling and stick your tongue out as far as possible.  Brilliant!

Corpse Pose

Image from www.prevention.com

September 30-Day Challenge: Daily Yoga Day 1

It's been three years since I've touched my toes... September is going to finish with my palms flat on the ground.

I've got my monthly unlimited pass for Yoga Movement, and day one got under way with hot yoga power.

Yoga Movement is a great little studio recently opened in Singapore.  Their philosophy is all inclusive, and non-binding.  Everyone is welcome, but you'll find no automatic payments or yearly contracts.  Simply pay as you go, or buy a multi-class bundle and show up.  The clean and minimalistic studio has two rooms - Biggie and Smalls (hot) - and is tucked away on Carpenter Road in Clark Quay.

Remembering how overwhelming my first few classes of Bikram were in New Zealand, I wanted to take it easy when getting back into it.  Hot yoga classes allow you to push harder and further than you'd usually be able to because your body is already so warm from the ambient temperature and I didn't want an injury on my first day!  Man, I'm glad I followed my own advice (doesn't always happen) - there were several moments where I took 'time out' on the mat with wobbly arms and tired legs.  I felt great afterwards though, even after so long, but man did  I sweat!  Even my shins were sweating, and I'm not sure that's possible.

Starting with the basics - downward dog

Need ideas for your own 30-day challenge?  Click here for my list.

August 30-Day Challenge: Dairy-Free Days

It's amazing how much easier a monthly challenge is with full support (and visa versa).  Dairy-free August ended up being much more difficult than I anticipated while I was at home - while travelling it was much easier - mostly because of Sander.

As he didn't view dairy-free as a proper challenge, he was... how can I put this... rather less than supportive. Any time my dairy-free-ness interfered with his plans he became pretty angry for long periods of time.  He even tried to bribe me to eat dairy early on saying "I won't tell anyone"!

I did have two slip ups - one unintentional very early on, and one on the second to last day for the sake of my relationship.  On almost the very first day we stopped in at our local cinema to get takeaway popcorn for a DVD that night, and I devoured it (love movie popcorn!) completely forgetting butter is dairy.  Oh well, back on the wagon.  Two nights ago Sander was cooking dinner, and yet again, forgot/chose to ignore my dairy-free challenge to cook a curry with yoghurt.  When I gently reminded him I was on my last two days of dairy-free I could see an explosion stirring just below the surface, so when he curtly snapped "can't you just eat it?" I decided to go along with it.  The things we do...

I noticed a few things during my dairy-free days.  My appreciation of cafes that serve soy milk increased, my lack of foresight in requesting dairy-free airline meals on business trips meant I was often disappointed (especially with a particularly strong cheese and crackers craving one flight between Hong Kong and Singapore), and I realised how much I love yoghurt after being forced to go without for the whole of August.  My breakfasts just weren't the same.

During the month I reread The Blood Type Diet, which advises Type A's (the original vegetarian gatherers) to avoid dairy (except yoghurt - yay!).  Having gone without for a month, I notice a flatter belly, but that could also be credited to absence of all chocolate except 85% Lindt, movie popcorn, and many curries during my week in Mumbai.  I'm going to continue to drink almond milk though, as I love the nutty taste, but I welcomed back my yoghurt this morning with open arms.

Does anyone else have suggestions for great dairy substitutes?  Or does anyone follow The Blood Type Diet?  I'm quite curious to learn more about it...

September's challenge is a big one - daily yoga!  Getting back into it after three years is going to be a huge challenge - bring it on!

Make Your Own Almond Milk

Recipe from She Knows (here)

Image from She Knows

Makes 3 1/2 - 4 cups

Ingredients

1C freshly roasted almonds

4C water

Optional: splash of vanilla essence and/or honey

Method

1.  In a jar, cover almonds with water.  

2.  Store in the fridge for 24 hours, jar tightly sealed.

3.  Puree together until smooth

4.  Strain through a cheesecloth, squeezing out all liquid

5.  Whisk in vanilla and honey if using

Ready!