Week 10 - Part Two

72 Sun Salutations later, cycle two of The Ultimate Yogi is officially complete. If you watch the video below, it shows the entire flow of one single Sun Salutation.. now times that by 72.

It was definitely a hard class that really kicked my butt. I found my body fighting with my mind, and had to really push myself to make it to the end. Repeating the Sun Salutation flow 72 times gets very repetitive and once you lose track of what number your on, it just starts to feel endless. The one thing that I kept telling myself was that each Sun Salutation I pushed myself through, represented a day of the program that I have overcome, and that the sole purpose of this class was to celebrate the 72 days of this amazing mental and physical journey that I am on. That is what truly helped push me through the class. I am so grateful for the past 72 days, but I am happy to put them behind me as I start cycle three and make my way to 108 days!

With the start of cycle three, there is the start of another new weekly schedule:

1. CrossTrain

2. Strength

3. Balance

4. Yin

5. Cardio

6. Vitality

7. Mountain Pose

I am really sad to be losing Gentle and Flexibility class.. Gentle has honestly been one of the most amazingly soothing classes I've ever taken. I know that when I complete this program, I will be doing Gentle yoga every night before bed. It's the perfect gentle stretch for my body that leaves me completely relaxed and almost sleeping at the end of class in Savasana. The Flexibility class I will miss because I feel that it has brought me the most change. After only doing the class a couple of times, I am now almost able to fully do a split. I have become so much more flexible through this class which has allowed me to do some of the fun poses that I have ventured into on my own.

Although I am sad to see the Gentle and Flexibility classes go, I am thankful that I get to replace it with Yin Yoga and am so happy to have it back in my life! Yin provides deep intense stretches while also being a very calm and relaxing class. It leaves me feeling so amazing without ever having to break a sweat. I am looking forward to CrossTrain coming back too. I love how this yoga class dabbles between balance, strength, flexibility, cardio and stamina. I really enjoy it and the class just flies by. 

I honestly feel that this program has changed my life. I don't know how I would've made it through this semester of classes with such heavy workloads without it. In moments where I wanted to scream, I was able to find calm and keep my  mind clear. If I couldn't do this on my own, just by immersing myself into a yoga class, all of my worries and stresses would just float away. It has made me so much happier throughout my daily life and I am so thankful for that. I've even noticed that my body shape is changing and getting much tighter. It's making me feel so much more confident with myself. I don't have to hide or cover up my body in fear that I am being judged, which is truly liberating. My mind, body and spirit are all in alignment, and I am feeling on top of the world. With just a week or so left of school, I am ready to take on cycle three and complete this amazing 108 day journey over the summer.

~ "Your life is a sacred journey. It is about change, growth, discovery, movement, transformation, continuously expanding your vision of what is possible, stretching your soul, learning to see clearly and deeply, listening to your intuition, taking courageous challenges at every step along the way" ~

Caroline Adams

Week 10 - Part One

It's officially the last week of cycle two of The Ultimate Yogi, and I am feeling amazing! My flexibility, balance and arm strength have improved so much over the past few weeks and I'm having fun trying out new poses. For the first time, I was able to hold a Forearm Balance (Pincha Mayurasana) for a couple of seconds, but not long enough to snap a picture. I continue to work on it every single day because I am determined to master this pose. This weeks schedule is slightly different than the past few.

1. Balance

2. Strength

3. Flexibility

4. Detox

5. Mountain Pose Series

6. Gentle

7. Yin

8. 72 Sun Salutations

Next week, I will let you know how the 72 Sun Salutations go. I am very nervous but excited at the same time. Repeating the 36 Sun Salutations at the end of cycle one wasn't that bad, but doing double will definitely be a challenge. This class is a celebration of how far I've come, and each Sun Salutation represents one of the 72 days we have completed thus far.

After yet another great week of yoga, I decided to take it outdoors to the nature walk again. This has become one of my new favorite places; especially when the sun is setting. I love coming here with Gio at the end of the week. It's very relaxing, and we happened to spot some turtles, squirrels and gators which was pretty cool.

This is a variation of a Supported Headstand (Salamba Sirsasana) that I've been playing around with. During Week 8 I went in depth about the benefits of this pose. This variation adds a deep lower back stretch and each time I practice this, I am able to arch my back and bring my leg lower and lower.

This pose is an intense lower back bend for me. Two-Legged Inverted Staff pose, also known as Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana, increases flexibility of the lower back and spine, soothes and relaxes the brain, massages and strengthens the heart, increases lung capacity and stimulates the pineal, thyroid, adrenal and pituitary glands.

I've recently tried Mermaid Pose for the first time, and I love it. For me, it's an easier version of One-Legged King Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana) which I am unable to do right now, so I'm hoping this pose will help me get there. Mermaid Pose opens the heart, chest and shoulders, strengthens the core and pelvic floor, stimulates the organs of the torso, stretches the lower back, hip flexors, quad muscles, groins, chest and shoulders, challenges balance and improves mobility in the spine and hips.

Supported Shoulderstand (Salamba Sarvangasana) improves digestion, tones the legs and booty, stimulates the thyroid glands and abdominal organs, reduces fatigue, stretches the neck and shoulders and helps relieve stress and calm the brain.

Here is Monkey Pose (Hanumanasana), AKA the splits. I have improved a lot in this pose which I last discussed during Week 7. I'm so close I can taste it! This pose stretches the hamstrings, thighs and groins and also stimulates the abdominal organs.

Lastly, is a Seated Forward Bend, also known as Paschimottanasana. The last time I posted a picture of myself in this post was Week 4, and I can definitely see the improvement. Instead of grabbing my feet, I now use my yoga block to get a deeper stretch, and am slowly working my way towards a flatter back. This pose provides many benefits. It stimulates the liver and kidneys, soothes headaches, anxiety and fatigue, improves digestion, stretches the hamstrings, spine and shoulders while also calming the brain and helping to relieve stress.

This program has helped me view life in another light by introducing me to such a beautiful practice. I have become so much happier and stress free through yoga and have had such a fun time throughout cycle two, venturing further and further into this yoga journey. Next week, I will sum up cycle two, talk about how the 72 Sun Salutations

went and give you a peak into what cycle three holds.

~ "When ego is lost, limit is lost. You become infinite, kind, beautiful."~

Yogi Bhajan