pumpkin spice lattes

day 2: check! 30 min. of vinyasa after work. very relaxing. it was also helpful to have cody home b/c he kept jack entertained..."downward dog" is much more zen without jack licking my face or jumping on my back.

day 3: 20 min. power vinyasa during lunch w/ jack. lots of emphasis on the upper body w/ tons of planks & chaturanga's. goooooood stuff :)

just to be clear, this challenge is not just about making sure i practice yoga everyday...oh no my friends, it is so much more than that! the physical action of the yoga is just the tip of the iceberg.

my dear yogi friend, jessica wrote a great blog all about yoga and it's "magical aspects" as she describes them. you should check out her blog b/c well, she's amazing but this is the specific information that she shares which i would like to pass on to all (eight)of you:

One of the most magical aspects of yoga is that it means something different to each person. The word yoga, from the Sanskrit word yuj, means to yoke or bind and is often interpreted as "union" or a method of discipline.

The Indian sage Patanjali is believed to have collated the practice of yoga into the Yoga Sutra an estimated 2,000 years ago. The Sutra is a collection of 195 statements that serves as a philosophical guidebook for most of the yoga that is practiced today. It also outlines eight limbs of yoga. Each limb relates to an aspect of achieving a healthy and fulfilling life, and each builds upon the one before it.

For the most part, the Western world is familiar with the third limb, the asanas, or practice of yoga postures. But really, yoga is about so much more. Below are descriptions of the eight limbs (courtesy of about.com):

1. Yama: Five ethical guidelines regarding moral behavior towards others:

Ahimsa: Nonviolence

Satya: Truthfulness

Asteya: Nonstealing

Brahmacharya: Nonlust

Aparigraha: Noncovetesness

2. Niyama: Five ethical guidelines regarding moral behavior towards oneself:

Saucha: Cleanliness

Santosa: Contentment

Tapas: Sustained practice

Svadhyaya: Self study

Isvara pranidhana: Surrender to God

3. Asana: Practice of yoga postures.

4. Pranayama: Practice of breathing exercises.

5. Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the senses, meaning that the exterior world is not a distraction from the interior world within oneself.

6. Dharana: Concentration, meaning the ability to focus on something uninterrupted by external or internal distractions.

7. Dhyana: Meditation. Building upon Dharana, the concentration is no longer focused on a single thing but is all encompassing.

8. Samadhi: Bliss. Building upon Dhyana, the transcendence of the self through meditation. The merging of the self with the universe. Sometimes translated as enlightenment

interesting huh? to sum it all up ~ it makes you a better person. and it's soooooo true! when i take time for myself to do a little yoga, i find i am more kind to others, more relaxed, more giving, more grateful...just MORE of the me that i like. so, rock on yoga challenge!

on a completely random note: PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES are back! amen.