Early Morning Yoga

I love when I make myself get up and go to a 5:30 am yoga class. It always makes my day feel so much better. Today I did Vinyasa Bootcamp, which uses traditional yoga postures mixed with repetitions to tone and strengthen the body. This means a lot of chair pose, a lot of crescent pose to warrior 3, horse pose squats, plank holds and vasistasana variations. I love it because the class isn't heated, just warm, so when I'm drenched in sweat after I know that it's because I worked hard.

I've been happy to be back in San Diego and back doing lots of yoga. Luckily, I recovered pretty quickly from the flu I had while in Dallas. I've been working at the studio a lot this week and doing classes. Yesterday, I did three classes - yoga sculpt, yoga barre and Ignite 1. Yoga makes me feel so healthy and strong. Plus I just love being in a studio. It's such a positive atmosphere and it is always fun to talk to people about yoga. From working at the front desk I've met so many great students and teachers. I always look forward to it.

Next week is 4th of July, which happens to be Max's favorite holiday, so I will definitely be making some yummy holiday treats for him! I'm planning on trying some new recipes both vegan and non vegan so I'll post those later on.

For today, I'm going to see the apartment I'll be living in come September. I'm excited to not live in the dorms anymore. It'll be so much easier to eat healthily and much more comfortable.

I'm also going to a yoga meet up class with some friends from Bird Rock. Looking forward to that I miss my teacher training friends!

Not Quite the Vacation I Envisioned...

I was hoping that this week in Dallas would be a great one for Max and I. However, due to a nasty flu virus, it was a lot less enjoyable than I had hoped. We both have been very sick which limited our participation in the wedding festivities and the intense yoga practice schedule I had planned for myself. I also feel bad because Max has been less than impressed, since we've spent most of our time in the house. Understandably, he's a bit anxious to be home.

However, there have been a few high points of the trip. We visited SMU and both absolutely loved it. He's hoping to be accepted there for law school and I would be very excited if he gets in! The campus and the surrounding area is gorgeous. I was also able to see one of my best friends from my elementary school days in Mobile, Alabama who I hadn't seen in about 2 years. She's doing a summer internship here in Dallas and the timing worked out perfectly. We met for lunch yesterday and it was great to catch up! Today, Max and I, both feeling a bit better, went to the 6th Floor Museum (the memorial and museum of the JFK assassination). Max is very into history so this was so his thing. It was great to see him excited and having a good time!

I had to take a whole day off of yoga (I know, shocking!) when I was sick and barely practiced for two days after that because I felt surprisingly weak. I hate feeling like this...it's so frustrating! Today, though, I was back at it full force! I went to Lifetime and did 35 minutes of elliptical followed by 30 minutes of strength training on a BOSU. Then I took a 75 minute core yoga class which was super challenging. I got a little frustrated though because the towel I had wasn't big enough for the mat and I kept slipping :( But, overall, it was a good day. I also will probably do a YogaGlo video tonight. I'm doing the 15 day free trial and I love it! Of all the video sites I've tried, this is the best since the videos are actually challenging!

Tomorrow is our last day here. We leave in the evening. I'm not really sure what we will be doing before we leave. I'll probably try to get in one last workout at Lifetime. Hopefully Max will be feeling much better!

A Dream of Mine...

 Is to go to this event in NYC someday. I think it's amazing to see so many people coming together for yoga!

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/06/21/yoga-tights-big-city/?mod=google_news_blog

Vacation Yoga

Whenever I go on vacation, the first thing I do is locate opportunities to do yoga. Dallas has a lot of those opportunities! Some of my family members have memberships at Lifetime Fitness which is a GORGEOUS fitness facility. They have a ton of top quality workout equipment, fitness classes, a real yoga studio (not like most gyms which have yoga classes in the same studio as other fitness classes this is like a real studio in the gym), pools, a rock wall, and sport courts. Max and I spent about 2 hours working out there yesterday. I probably could have spent all day because it was so entertaining. I was like "ooohh cool treadmill! I'm going to run!" so I did about 45 minutes on the treadmill (30 running, 15 walking hills). Then I was like "awesome free weight lifting area with jumpropes and stability balls and other fun equipment!" so I did some circuits. And there was so much more I wanted to try!

This morning, I went to a hot vinyasa class at Lifetime. I was a little skeptical beforehand because usually gym yoga is not as challenging as I would like. However, this class was pretty much just like a normal studio class which was fun. Later, I'm planning on going to a class at Sunstone Yoga. Sunstone is the studio that I usually go to in Dallas. It has some good classes and a variety of styles (Bikram, vinyasa, etc.). I like being able to do different styles in the same studio.

Max and I went to visit SMU today. He's thinking about going to law school there and we wanted to check it out since we're in town. We both loved it! The campus is gorgeous and the area is really nice too. I would visit all the time if he went there!

So far, this trip has been really fun. I love having Max here with me and I love seeing my family who I don't get to see often.

Yoga and Upcoming Adventures

Today was a wonderful day for yoga practice for me. You know how some days you just feel so good in class? Today was one of those days. I went to 3 classes at Ignite and they were all great. The first one was Vinyasa Bootcamp where we work on strengthening for our practice. This means we hold the poses for a long time, do lots of reps of chair pose, chaturanga and crescent and a bit of ab work. It was really fun though and, obviously, challenging which I enjoy. The other two were vinyasa classes and both very fun though less intense than the bootcamp.

Tomorrow I'm teaching a donation class! I'm excited to be able to teach again. I'm also hoping to be able to teach some family members while I'm in Dallas. We leave on Wednesday! My boyfriend, Max, is coming with us so he's coming to San Diego tomorrow! It's been two weeks since he last visited and it feels like quite a long time! It seems that we got pretty spoiled during the school year. He lives about 2 hours away which isn't far but when I'm working it's not possible for me to go visit.

I'm so excited for our trip to Dallas. Like I said, Max is coming with us. He's thinking about SMU for law school so we're going to go walk around the campus. I also found a place to go stand up paddleboarding so we'll probably do that. One of my best friends from elementary school is in Dallas for an internship so we're going to hang out with her too. Annnddd...one of my all time favorite yoga studios is in Dallas! So, obviously, I will be getting up super early every day to get my share of hot yoga in! I like this studio because they offer different styles of classes (Bikram, vinyasa) and different lengths of time (90 min, 60 min, 30 min). Lots of fun coming up!!

Clean Eating Plan!

I'm a pretty healthy eater in general...I avoid fat and calorie laden treats like cake and cookies in favor for healthier options; dairy since I'm lactose intolerant; meat since I'm a vegetarian; and refined carbs like white bread and pasta. My diet consists of mainly fruits, veggies and whole grains. However, I do eat some processed foods (protein bars, Arctic Zero "ice cream", veggie burgers and sugar free soy mocha frapps are my weaknesses).

My cousin is getting married next weekend and I know that the food and drink choices will not be as healthy as I usually try to be, so I decided to do a week of "clean" eating before the wedding and a week after the wedding (I'm going to eat as healthy as possible when I'm at the wedding but I will definitely be having a few drinks). This means two weeks of nothing processed at all. I'm allowed to eat as many fruits and veggies as I want along with some non dairy milk (I like unsweetened almond), oats, quinoa, nuts and a bit of olive oil. So far, it hasn't been that difficult, but, then again, it is only Day 1. I think the most difficult part will be not being able to grab a convenient Luna bar when I'm hungry mid afternoon, especially when I'm busy with my nannying job and my internship at Ignite mixed in with daily yoga classes. But, it will be worth it to feel healthier.

This is what I've had today:

Breakfast:
-smoothie with sliced strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cantaloupe, ice and water blended together
-1 cup oatmeal with almond milk
-chai tea

Lunch:
-salad with: edamame, red bell pepper, cucumber, a bit of avocado and carrots
-apple
-small handful of almonds

Snack: 
-cantaloupe slices

Dinner:
-steamed veggies: broccoli, parsnips, sweet potato, carrots
-air popped popcorn drizzled with olive oil

I've been sitting at work (basketball camp snack bar) allllll day and it's been torturous! I haven't even been able to do yoga or workout. I'm planning on doing at least an hour of yoga/workout no matter how late I get home tonight. I know it's important to take rest days but I've been very sedentary today so I would prefer to take a rest day when I'm actually doing something active during the day instead of just sitting.

Tomorrow I'm planning on doing two yoga classes and maybe some strength training or cardio. Also it's Father's Day. My dad has been trying to get in better shape lately so I'll probably teach him yoga and make him a healthy dinner!

Protein for Vegetarians/Vegans

As a vegetarian (and mostly vegan since I'm lactose intolerant) I can't tell you how many times family members have asked me "how do you get protein?" The truth is that a vegetarian or vegan diet doesn't have to be lacking in protein!

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4771/10-Vegan-Sources-of-Protein.html