InstaFriday

Life has been a little on the slow side the past couple weeks.  And I'm not complaining!  By slow, I do not mean less full.  I mean more routine and less eventful.  All good things.  Hence the back-to-back InstaFriday posts with nothing in between.  Thank goodness for my iPhone!  

Fewer extracurriculars also allowed for more yoga practice.  So, of course... more pictures.  Pictures are the best way to track my progress and see where I need to put a little extra effort.

So grateful to some Instagram yogi pals for their detailed pointers on nailing Utthita Trikonasana (or triangle pose) this week!  I practiced against a wall for a bit to make sure my right hip and left shoulder (or vice versa) were touching simultaneously.  Probably still need to lift my front toes and turn in my back foot a little, but I'm trying to keep it all in mind.

Another fun balance pose:  Ardha Chandrasana or half moon pose.  I'm supposed to be looking up at my raised hand, but if I do that, I fall over.  So the beginner pose keeps the eye gaze on the ground.

Hero pose or Virasana.  Saturday was such a great day :  early morning yoga practice, some fresh air at the park with kids, both littles took good naps while I got all my meal prep done for the week and Craig worked on the house, all laundry is done and bed sheets washed and now I'm ready for a new Zoya manicure before crawling into bed with my book.  LOVE productive weekends!!

On Sunday, Craig set up a "family obstacle course" for the kids to have fun with.  But he and I also raced with a timer and I won.  Just sayin'...  It was windy this day!

Here's another pic from last week of tree pose or Vriksasana. 

It was a beautiful sunny day outside but there was a Storm on my fingernails on Sunday!  Check out Zoya Storm.  It's in the same line as Aurora and Blaze that I adore so much.  I'm madly in love with this one too.  Yes, it's black.  But it's not at all goth.  Very dimensional.  It looks like a starry night sky and it's totally entrancing.  As my friend Jill said "I didn't want to get out of my plank pose 'cause I was too busy staring at my nails!"  :)  Looks really cool against the fabric of my Athleta yoga capris too.

Ustrasana variation along with other back stretching on Sunday. 

Feeling soooo much more comfortable and strong in Navasana in the last week.  Very little shaking and can hold it comfortably for many breaths.  I can lift my legs a smidge higher than this but not much before my back over rounds. 

One more Navasana pic from last week.  (Also called half boat pose.) 

Pulled pork tacos and fresh guacamole for dinner on Sunday night.  :) 

One of my favorite salads to pack for lunch at work:  grape tomatoes, white beans, diced mozzarella, red onion and basil pesto dressing.  So good and very filling. 

So proud of our little Dragon tonight!  He successfully tested for his brown stripe belt and has thus graduated up from the blue stripe.  Way to go, Will!

Our little karate student.  Age 5 years, 10 months.  1 1/2 years of training. 

Prepping for Marichyasana A.  Gotta' reach that left shoulder past the bend knee in order to reach behind for a bind. 

I really like this pose!  So far, all I can bind is fingertips to the second knuckle rather than hand to wrist.  But, as always, it's a work in progress!  I'm enjoying this posture though.  A great shoulder opener.

Don't worry, be happy!  :-)  Our little sunshine loves the smiley face on her shirt from Nana! 

So frustrating.  This is the furthest I can get in reverse prayer right now.  I'm hoping that changes but my right forearm has been bothering me with twists for about the last two years and gives me pain with this kind of rotation.  I'm pretty sure it's tendinitis.  My shoulders aren't the problem and I know my left arm/hand could go farther in my right arm would cooperate.  Boo.

Was feeling motivated this day and decided to squeeze in a 2nd workout.  An hour of yoga in the morning before work and then 40 minutes of lower body toning and another 20 minutes of a calming yoga routine before bed.  This was some forearm headstand work I was doing at the end.  Left to right:  headstand prep (trying to get up by stacking hips up and just raising legs rather than kicking with momentum), up with slightly bent knees and finally an attempt to pike my legs on the far right.  Can't quite make 90 degrees with straight legs unless I tripod my arms rather than balance on forearms.  Still fun to practice!  

This pose is so fun and looks fun too.  It's called Eagle pose. 

Extended side angle pose.  Practicing on my bedroom floor tonight.

It's slight, but I'm totally stoked about the progress in my forward fold over the last two weeks.  Look closely!  Do you see the straighter legs and spine?  (Say yes.)  Maybe it was just a particularly good day but my hamstrings were feeling much more generous this practice.  I may trade up some of my morning workouts if my body is willing to loosen so much more in the evening!

Let me share something about myself:  I got a NEGATIVE TWO in the V-sit reach in high school  My body fights flexibility with a passion.  But darn it, I'm fighting back!  Had to cut my head out to crop these progress pics but this one's even better!  Lifting up to fingertips to straighten the spine on the inhale.  (Though my spine does look a little rounder tonight.  Boo.)  Still, it feels soooo good to see visual progress!  This standing forward fold has been my biggest goal since starting.  Next, I want to be able to hug my legs with a straight spine and straight legs in this posture.  Oh, and I want to touch my heels to the ground in down dog.  It's good to have goals.  :)

Couple of pictures of Pincha practice (forearm handstand) from a week ago.  Small increments of finding more balance here.  And I love this pose!  Can't wait to get away from the wall! 

Attempted hollowback handstand last week too.  Such an amazing upper back stretch and chest opener!  Plus, it just looks cool.  ;)  Had a lot of fun with this one.  I want to keep building arm strength and play around with leg positions then.   

Our Kindergartener just moved up to the 4th grade reading list this week!  Woot! Woot! 

Utthita Parsvakonasana or side angle pose for this week's weekly challenge posture.  Love the deep stretch! I have some work to do on my bind (bottom picture) and wondering if my stretch to reach my wrist sacrificed my upper body alignment?  Gonna' work on it more this weekend.  I'm heading out now to meet my work friends for some girl time.  Hence, the jeans.

Playing around:  dolphin pose, baby Bakasana and mountain pose.  I need a little more lift in my baby Bakasana (bottom left) but I love focusing my posture in mountain pose (right).

A yummy Greek dip I made for our girls night tonight.  Also love the simply naked pita chips!  Delish!