Yoga Pose May- Staff Pose & Giveaway Winner!

Hi everyone! I'm super excited to be participating in Tina and Kate's Yoga Pose May challenge, as yoga has become one of my favorite physical activities (aside from running, of course!). The pose of the day today is "staff" pose, which is a strength pose. There are a few variations of the pose, but after perusing Yoga Journal online my interest was piqued by the four-limbed staff pose, or chatarunga dandasana. According to the site, staff actually refers to the spine, or strength of the body, which makes sense, as this pose definitely requires a lot of strength! I still have a little lower to go on my chatarunga but I'm getting there!**



To start, come into downward facing dog by placing your feet about six to eight inches apart, your booty in the air and your hands on the ground (pants on the ground?) out in front of you. Your weight should be evenly distributed in your hands and feet. Make sure that all five fingers are pressing into the ground, and really try to extend your shoulders so that your back is long. Your tailbone should be pressing back towards the wall behind you. I'm working on being able to get my feet flat on the ground. Almost.

Then, shift your weight forward so that your shoulders are in line with your hands. This brings you into plank position. Your core should be tight (and feelin' the burn!) and your booty should be flat. If it is in the air it makes the pose easier and you're not really getting the full benefits of the pose.

Now comes the really fun part. Slowly lower yourself towards the ground, with your elbows IN next to your rib cage. Your back should be as flat as possible. It's essentially a sloooow burning close grip pushup.


Then, continue towards the ground and sort of push through and up into upward facing dog or cobra pose. I always go with upward facing dog.

Hands directly below shoulders, slight arch in back, legs slightly lifted, tops of feet flat on the ground.

Optional- take a picture with your yoga assistant afterwards. Bailey does a mean downward dog but I can never catch him in action!

So there you have my interpretation of the staff pose. Thanks for coordinating this, Tina and Kate!

And now for the winner of my Yoga Journal Subscription/Luna Bar Giveaway: Comment number 5, Danielle of Coffee Run! Danielle, email me your mailing info (fittowed@gmail.com) and I'll get the package sent your way! Also, are Luna Bars vegan? If not, I will grab some other type of fun bar for you. Thank you to everyone for participating in the giveaway and thanks for reading!


**Disclaimer- I'm not a yoga instructor nor am I a certified personal instructor. This post is merely a demonstration of how I interpret the staff pose. :)

Yoga Giveaway!

Hi friends! Happy end of weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there (Hi Mom!). I've had a great weekend; hot vinyasa yoga yesterday plus a three mile run that culminated in me BOOKING home after getting caught in a thunderstorm. I had coffee with one of my besties and got together with my grandmother and some family members that I haven't seen for years for a Mother's Day dinner. Good stuff.

A few months back I won a giveaway from the lovely Shannon over at the Daily Balance. I recently received the goodies and I got some great stuff! Thanks Shannon!! :) Cashew butter (holy), teas, mission skincare items AND a one year subscription to Yoga Journal. Being the magazine addict that I am, I already have a subscription to yoga journal (and glamour, and shape, and fitness, and self, and health...). So, what better than to pass the subscription along to one of my readers?! Source

So, I'm going to give away a one year subscription to yoga journal PLUS a box of my new crack (also known as chocolate peppermint luna bars- to die for!). As a reader of yoga journal I can attest to its awesomeness. There are lots of informative articles that make you stop and think, explanations of poses and how they impact your body, healthy recipes... all sorts of goodness!

Are you a magazine addict like me? Or addicted to the deliciousness of luna bars? You can enter to win three ways:

1. Leave a comment letting me know your favorite yoga pose
2. If you aren't into yoga, leave me a comment with your favorite way to get active
3. Follow me on twitter @ fittowed and leave a comment letting me know!
4. Tweet about the giveaway!

I'll announce the winner next Tuesday, May 18. Enjoy the rest of your weekend friends and again, many thanks to Shannon for all of my fantastic goods!

Thumbs Up Thursday- Yogitoes!

Hi friends! I hope your Thursday is going well! Mine is zipping by! I'm trying to finish up the last of my three presentations- it's a doozy! I took yesterday as a rest day and it was fantastic. I met my friend Kara at her house for dinner and drinks, but was able to squeeze in a mani/pedi before for 35 dolla! Ah, bliss. I picked a light lavender color but it kind of looks bubblegum pink. Oh well, it's still springy! Unfortunately, I already have a chip on one of my nails. Without fail, whether I do it myself or go to a salon, this always happens so quickly! Grr. I love the look of nail polish but the chipping=high maintenance, which I am not. What about you? Do you wear nail polish or not so much?

Tonight's plans WERE to do a hill repeat workout (Ragnar in one week, eek). I'm seriously getting addicted to hot yoga though and may just get a 3 miler in after work and then head to class after that. It's okay though, I could be addicted to worse things :)

Speaking of hot yoga, this brings me to my Thums Up Thursday item of the day: yogitoes!!
During my first hot yoga class I was a hot mess (literally). I had brought a regular old bath towel to put on my mat. Yeah. I was slipping and sliding all over the place. I looked over in envy at the girl in front of me, who appeared to have a towel that was specifically designed for her yoga mat and that stayed in place! After class, I became a girl on a mission to get one of my own! Luckily, I didn't have to look very far, as my yoga studio sells them at a very reasonable price. What's the secret to yogitoes? There are little almost plastic like nubbins on the bottom of the mat, so it literally does not move during the entire class.
I've tested it out twice and am thoroughly impressed. It made concentrating on the postures SO much easier, since I didn't have to worry about the towel sliding everywhere and skidding off of the mat. I especially like the little guy on my towel- it's a good focal point when I'm trying to focus on the postures and not faint.

Apparently he/she/it is ganesha, the God of knowledge, wisdom and wealth, Lord of success and destroyer of all obstacles. The mat is machine washable and I think you can even put it in the dryer, although I didn't.

Today's verdict- two enthusiastic thumbs up!!

What are your thoughts on hot yoga? Have you tried it? If not, would you?

One last thing- Julie over at Julie's Running Blog is hosting a sweet giveaway in celebration of having 100 followers. It doesn't surprise me that she has so many followers; she is so sweet and encouraging and a great runner to boot! Go check out the giveaway! :)

Have a great evening :)

Feelin' Good

Hey y'all! Happy Wednesday... almost the weekend! Since I last posted I've had a great couple of days and workouts. Friday evening I hit up a new Italian restaurant with my bro, his gf and the 'rents. Bri was sorely missed but when he gets leave this December I plan on taking him :) I tried an amazing eggplant rolotini (?) appetizer. I definitely have a new favorite go to dish!

Saturday was my second ever hot vinyasa yoga class. SO awesome and challenging. I can easily see how the heat becomes addicting. I feel so much more limber and can sink deeper into the poses. Speaking of yoga, I'm participating in Tina's Yoga Pose May yoga challenge so I'm excited about that! Be on the lookout for a pose come May 18th ;)

Monday brought an amazing six mile run. I headed to a local park after work and just ran. The weather was SO beautiful- low seventies/upper sixties with just the right touch of wind. Six miles is the farthest I've gone since the 14k back in February! It was markedly different from the 5 miler I did the week before in VB. I'm telling ya, I'm not a hot weather runner! Give me the cold any day. What temp would you rather run in- hot or cold?

Last night I attended hot yoga again. It was different than vinyasa in that there was a lot of Bikram elements, which I've never done. The room was also heated to 105 instead of 95. I was sweating SO much before we even began. I don't mind though, because my skin has seriously NEVER looked better.

My poor pup has something going on behind his ear so I made an appointment to take him to the vet. Poor lil' guy. Here he is (on the right) with his best friend Molly:

Hopefully it's nothing but I'm still worried!

On Sunday I met with my Ragnar team and got the overview of the legs I am running:

• Leg 4- 2.7 miles. Extremely hilly. Awesome.
• Leg 16- 5.8 miles. Fairly flat.
• Leg 28- 3.1 miles. Easy day.

The only one I'm concerned about is the first leg. I'm glad it's the first leg though, since I'll likely have the most energy for that one. I'm starting to get really nervous!

I have been thinking a lot lately about blogging. I have a lot of ideas for future posts, including:

• My bucket list (via Wendy)
• A ten year review (again, via Wendy :) )
• Eating well while on the road/driving looooong distances
• Bri's guest post on fitness
• A fun topic inspired by Runner's World
• My ten basic essentials for a professional wardrobe

I have some other ideas floating around too. As you can see, they're all random. I don't consider myself to be "fitness" blogger, I'm definitely not a food blogger (although I love reading those blogs!)... I don't really know what I am. I'm just trying to live healthfully and interact with like-minded persons! What kind of blogger do you consider yourself to be? What steered you in that direction?

In any event, it's time to get back to bidness. I hope you're having a great week! See you tomorrow with a new thumbs up thursday post!

Weekend Wrap Up

Hi everyone! Is it me, or did the weekend fly by? My weekend has been quiet but eventful! Yesterday started at the vet, where Bailey got two vaccinations (rabies and lyme disease) AND blood drawn. The vet we go to now keeps him in the room while he does the shots, and Bails didn't make a peep the whole time! He is such a brave little guy.

After the vet, I zipped over to my first hot yoga class. It was a 90 minute "hot vinyasa" session. Holy. I have seriously NEVER sweat so much in my entire life. The class was awesome! The room was heated to 95 degrees, as opposed to 105, which I believe is the temperature during Bikram. The instructor asked if we were familiar with David Baptiste, because her style was similar. There were women (and a man!) of all levels in the class, which made me feel super comfortable. The class was really intense, in a good way. I had to stop at a few points because I was starting to feel light-headed. Hot yoga is no joke, and I am officially addicted! I felt amazing afterwards and last night I noticed that my skin was incredibly soft. Simply amazing! I can't wait to attend more classes.

After yoga, I hit up the grocery store to get some goods so I could put one of my fave wedding presents to use:
Isn't she lovely? Into the juicer went:

• 1 cucumber
• 2 granny smith apples (no coring necessary with this baby!)
• 1 lemon
• Ginger

My take on juicing: yes, please! The juice was fantastic and cleaning up was relatively easy. I like it so much that I had to make some more juice this evening:

• 1 grapefruit
• 1 pear
• blackberries

Ummm, I think I'm in lurrrve!! My dad tried the juice concoction from yesterday and actually liked it (this is huge, considering the look on his face when I asked him if he wanted to try a green monster). Do you juice? If so, any combos I should try?

This morning I met up with my fellow Ragnar Relayers to discuss the race (we are less than a month away!!) This was extra cool because I got to meet Amanda, the inspiring blogger at Manderz Journey to a New Life! She is running a half marathon next weekend after just running the Disney Princess last month. Hardcore.

Our race legs were discussed, and I realized that one of my legs was going to be entirely on a trail. Since I've had issues with my ankles in the past (not running thus far, thankfully) I headed over to Fleet Feet after the meeting to pick up these beauties:

The Asics Gel Trail Attack! They are really comfortable, although I am now questioning my decision to go with an 8.5. I normally wear that size but the last time I purchased my running shoes, the lady told me I was actually an 8. Maybe I am just used to the tight feel of my running shoes? I'm thinking I will need more room in the shoe anyway. We'll see!

Random sidenote: look what I received the other day!

The officers in Bri's command had flowers sent to "Mrs. H" (me, yay!) welcoming me into the Navy family. How sweet, right?!

Anyway, back to the weekend haul. I have had a giftcard to Dicks burning a hole in my pocket since Christmas. I have been looking for a pair of running capris but all of the stores I've looked at have always been out of my size. Today, I was in luck:

The running capris, AND a new under armour shirt in a wicked bright orange. I plan on wearing this during the relay- I want to be super bright!

After that, I headed over to a local college campus that is known for being hilly to do some hill training. After coming across these articles, I decided to do 10x100 meter repeats (sprint up the hill, walk down, repeat). I am pretty sure I saw two college students smoking in the woods. Whatever floats your boat. I applied some of the tips I read in the article and it wasn't too bad! I stared straight ahead while running up the hills, and this really seemed to help! After the repeats I jogged around campus (feeling wicked old) until garmie read 3 miles. It was a great workout! Do you hill train?

How was your weekend? It's time for me to decompress with some wine. Have a great night!

Me + Yoga= Calm

Good evening everyone! I hope that you are having a wonderful start to the week. Can you believe that it is almost the end of January already?! It's like I blinked and now it's almost February. Which means we are that much closer to the wedding :-)

Yesterday marked my return to a full week actually in the office. That hasn't happened since before the holidays, with all of the traveling I've been doing! I headed to the gym after work to trod out four miles on the track. I've decided that I really hate the track, although I don't hate it as much as the treadmill. I had big plans to wake up early yesterday and complete my run outdoors, but the rain got in the way of that. I love running in the rain, but only when it's 60 degrees out. 35 degree rain + 6:30 in the morning = turning off the alarm and going back to sleep! I'm all about equations in this post.

Four miles at the track at my gym equals 36 laps. To try to distract myself from the fact that I was running in so many circles as to make myself dizzy, I usually count the laps until the 9th one (1 mile) and then start over. Yesterday I was not feeling that. I was having some stomach issues so I used the restroom after a mile and came back with a new strategy. Count down from 27- each lap is a lap closer to the finish! Right? RIGHT! Ugh, I so could not psych myself up. I slogged it out but it was not pretty. How do you distract yourself during treadmill/indoor track runs? Sometimes I evaluate people's strides, but even that gets old.

After the run I completed 50 pushups and did some core work. I was tired after that! I added the mileage to my monthly running log and I am at over 41 miles for the month! If I keep up my scheduled runs (which I will, obvi) I will have run over 50! That is huge for me. I really feel like a runner. If you are a runner, how many miles do you typically accumulate each month?

Work was pretty relaxed today, aside from some moth infestation (under control) and skunk spraying in parking lot (which I'm glad I wasn't around for!) Today I finally made it to my Vinyasa flow yoga class at the studio I go to. I haven't been since before Christmas, since the class falls on a Tuesday and I had been on the road for the past few weeks. I had been doing yoga all by my lonesome and, while I love yoga download's workouts, sometimes you just need to get into the studio!

Today's practice focused mainly on leg strength and stretching. I could tell that it had been a while since my last studio class; my legs were screaming! I definitely worked up a sweat. The instructor had us in warrior poses, yogic squats, prayer pose and the like. She also incorporated one of my favorite poses, the triangle pose: Source

I really really love this pose. It is a top contender for my favorite. What I love about it is the amazing stretch that you feel in your legs couple with the intense opening on your side/rib cage. What is your favorite pose?

I practice yoga for many reasons, although I am by no means a yogi (yet!) I love how flexible it has made me. I can also feel the balance it gives me- it presents a nice congruity to my weekly running. Most importantly, though, is the calmness that I feel both during and after. Even if you are one that cannot shut off your mind, yoga forces you to focus on the pose, focus on your breathing, focus on yourself. Do you practice yoga? If so, what is the main reason you practice for? If not, why don't you?

Speaking of yoga, the fabulous Shannon at The Daily Balance is hosting an amazing giveaway for a yoga mat sling. Sign me up please! She is hosting a yoga week on her blog; stop by and check it out!


I'm about to settle in with a red blend and some magazines (ahhh, bliss). Have a great night!