Yoga & the Olympics

Have you been following the Olympics? While I'm not a huge sports fan, I love watching the summer games on TV. (And my family actually went to the '96 games in Atlanta!) I thought I'd share some ways I've seen yoga making its way into the Olympics this year.

First, US men's basketball player Deron snapped this photo of coach Mike Krzyzewski getting his child's pose on.

I can imagine that being a coach for Team USA gets pretty stressful and I can see why he'd take a moment to breathe!

In other news, have you heard that some people want to make yoga an Olympic sport? USAYoga is an international organization that is pushing for this; they put on the National Yoga Asana Championship back in March. According to CBS News:

Participants must do a series of seven yoga poses in three minutes. Five are compulsory — standing head-to-knee pose, standing bow-pulling pose, bow pose, rabbit pose, and stretching pose. The participants are allowed to pick the last two poses themselves.

Rajashree Choudhury, founder of USA Yoga, claims that the focus is on yoga postures. Still, a lot of people are questioning whether turning yoga into a competition goes against everything yoga is about. While I can see why those who love yoga would want to bring it to an international event like the Olympics, I am not really on board with this idea. I chose yoga specifically because it's not a competition; I'm not crazy about the idea of turning it into one.

Have you been following the Olympics? What do you think of the idea of yoga as an Olympic sport?

- Rachel 

Yoga poses as Olympic sport: Is that a stretch? [CBS News]

Thoughts on My 31-Day Yoga Challenge

Last month, I made a decision to do a 31-day yoga challenge at what seemed like the worst possible time: as my fiance and I prepared to close on and then move into our new house.

See, my motivation drops considerably in the summer, and with more important things to do (meet our Realtor at the house to sign documents, look for freelance work so I'd have some extra cash for the move) or more fun things to do (wander Lowe’s or look for decor inspiration on Pinterest for an hour with Eric), I knew things could quickly spiral out of control for me, and I'd find myself feeling sluggish, cranky, and out of shape. So for the first time in my life, I decided that rather than retreat to the couch with my carbs, I was going to try something new: run directly toward the challenge by taking on an additional challenge. So I took on a 31-day yoga challenge.

Yoga every day. That was my only goal. I didn't set a goal for minutes or types of classes or anything like that; I didn't expect any specific results. I just wanted to practice yoga every single day and the only thing I was hoping to achieve was “feel really good because I did something hard that I wasn’t sure if I could do.”

Well, the 31 days has now come and gone and I must say, I do feel pretty good because I did something hard that I wasn't sure if I could do!

I'll be honest: I missed a few days. It was probably actually a 26-day yoga challenge. But even though I didn't do yoga every single day, I really learned that making time to practice yoga daily is SO worth it. I sort of knew that already, but that doesn't mean I'd always make myself practice when I was feeling comfy on the couch. The challenge gave me the motivation I needed. Overall, I felt super energized and balanced despite everything going on in my life. I built strength by doing tons of chair poses and confidence as I tried new classes at the studio and tried yoga podcasts for the first time. Even if I only had it in me to do one pose (and I usually found myself doing more than that once I got going), I still felt refreshed and renewed afterward. Toward the end of the challenge, I was really busy and overwhelmed with all the stuff going on with the house, but I was still remembering to take the time to check in with my breath and my emotions each day. I haven't been to the studio in more than a week, but I feel like I won't struggle to bounce back because I've been keeping my hips loose and my shoulders strong.

Since giving myself this challenge, I've been reminded of how amazing and powerful yoga is and I feel re-committed to my yoga practice. I'll likely take on another challenge like this when I'm anticipating stressful times ahead and next time, I will probably commit to practicing more (and get more specific about classes, daily minutes, etc). But until then, I see myself continuing practicing yoga, even just for a few minutes here and there, nearly every day. It truly is amazing what a few poses can do for you.

Have you ever taken a yoga challenge like this? Would you ever try practicing yoga every day? 

- Rachel 

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Monday Inspiration: Stronger Trees

This Monday, after more than a week of storms in Houston and lots of storms in my personal life (my fiance and I were closing on a house last week and it was stressful!) my inspiration for this week comes from Dolly Parton.

(source)

If any more storms come my way this week, I'll be thinking of how strong my roots are getting!

- Rachel

The Yoga Teacher vs. Facebook

A yoga teacher hired by Facebook to teach a weekly class for their employees was fired this week because she chastised a student who was using her phone during the class.

"We are in the business of providing great customer service," said her termination notice from Plus One Health Management [the corporate fitness company that Facebook went through to employ her]. "Unless a client requires us to specifically say no to something, we prefer to say yes whenever possible."

While saying yes as often as possible seems like the yogic thing to do, I feel like this teacher was treated unfairly. A no cell phone policy is pretty standard for all yoga classes, out of respect for our fellow students and for our own safety (if we're paying more attention to our phones than the instructor, we could miss an important verbal or visual cue and hurt ourselves). I would think that Facebook chose to hold in-office yoga sessions precisely to help employees unplug. Even if the employee didn't feel the rule applied to her, I would expect the yoga instructor's boss to use this as a teaching moment for the Facebook execs who hired their company.

On the other hand, this reminds me of something that happened during a spin class I attended a few years ago. After the last tough song, as we slowed our legs and marveled at what a great workout we'd had, one woman in the class commented loudly something to the effect of, "YEAH, maybe some people should GET OFF THEIR CELL PHONES AND ACTUALLY GET SOMETHING OUT OF THE CLASS." Heads swiveled to the woman in the class who was, at that moment, on her Blackberry (and presumably had been throughout the class). The woman looked pretty affronted and fired back that this was the only way she could get away from her desk and get her workout in -- by still checking in from time to time. (Though she didn't say it quite so nicely.) Until that moment, I had never considered that people might not be checking their texts, but might just be on call, and it made me feel a bit more sympathetic to those who check their phones during class. They may not get as much out of their class, but they are getting something, which is better than nothing, so now I try my best to keep my eyes on my own mat and not let it distract me.

Regardless of whether or not the Facebook employee had a good reason for being on her phone, I think the instructor was just doing her job and shouldn't have been fired for this. It seems like a good opportunity to talk to her techie students about why it's important to unplug and it would be a real shame if Facebook did away with their in-office yoga sessions because of this conflict.


What do you think? Was the instructor right to tell the student to stop using her phone in class? Share your thoughts in the comments! 

- Rachel 

Yoga teacher fired over cell phone ban at Facebook [SFGate]

This Week's Inspiration: Do The Crazy Thing

Mondays have a reputation for being rough, but I've decided to turn that thinking on its head. Mondays have a lot of benefits. They are a fresh start. They are an opportunity to do work you care about and love. And after a couple days off, they can offer a welcome return to your routine.

Still, it can be hard to remember this on Sunday night when you're lamenting how fast the weekend went or on Monday morning when you're hitting the snooze and realizing you have nothing to wear. So I've decided that in order to get my week started on the right foot, I'm going to find something every Monday morning, whether it's a quote or a picture or a story or a song, to inspire the week ahead. I'm sure I'm not the only one who struggles with Mondays, so I thought it would be fun to start sharing my inspiration here!

Here is this week's inspiration:

(source)

This week, I am going to make it a point to do something that scares me. I'm not sure what it will be yet, but when the opportunity presents itself (and I'm sure it will!), I'm going to make it a point to give it a try because, as the picture says, "not trying is another kind of death."

Anyone care to join me?

- Rachel

Fabulous and Festive 4th of July Recipes

Are you ready for a little mid-week vacation? Me too! Whether you're heading to the beach or a BBQ or just hanging out at home and enjoying a much-needed day off, here are some recipes to make your Independence Day a little sweeter.

Stars and Stripes Pie [via Woman's Day]

Stuffed Strawberries [via LearnVest]

French Toast with Berry Butter [via The Pioneer Woman -- I made this last year and it was awesome!]

Blueberry, Strawberry & Jicama Salad [via Two Peas & Their Pod]

Homemade Hamburger Buns [via Eat, Live, Run]

Patriotic Ice Pops [via Pennies on a Platter]

Star S'mores [via Martha Stewart Living]

What is your favorite thing to eat on the 4th of July?

- Rachel