Body awareness

I am finding that my neck is much more flexible when it comes to postures, yoga is really helping. I think it's because I'm relaxing into asanas and improving my posture in general. I know yoga is making a difference, as my neck stiffens up over the week, and then relaxes after a session!

Levels of stress

My sleep has been fairly disrupted this week and so I was generally feeling quite run down. I did feel that yoga helped relieve some of this tension and allowed me to empty my mind of some of the mental baggage I was carrying around.

Sleep

Yoga always makes me feel more relaxed and usually I sleep really well the night after a class. My sleep was quite broken this evening but I think that was due other factors (it was a busy week and I was starting work at different times which broke my routine).

Postures I find challenging

I very carefully attempted shoulder stands his week! Listening to Rosie I made sure to keep the weight solely on my shoulders and arms and I paid attention to keep my head straight and aligned to protect my neck. I was also careful to focus on my breathing. I've never tried one before and it was so much fun! Lots of scope to develop this posture, engage my abs so I can hold my legs straight up to the ceiling.

I also found eagle arms a challenge. I have short limbs and I just cannot perform this posture with my arms. However Rosie showed me an alternative and I was still able to feel the benefits, the release in the rhomboids, a really important stretch to help alleviate neck and shoulder pain.

Postures I notice developing

Downward dog week on week! I'm also able to do more vinyasas beforehand without tiring so quickly. I really loved this week with the bird/flying theme and music to match, it created such an uplifting feeling.

I notice my strength increasing each week and love playing around in arm balances like crow pose!

Yoga and running

I generally feel more limbered up and it doesn't take me as long to recover after cardiovascular exercise. I think yoga is improving my oxygen flow/the way I use my lung capacity. I love lying down over a rolled up mat (pictured), it's really nice chest opener, so simple and it's this sort of posture that's making it easier to breathe while running.

Keep following these posts to see how I get on!

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