Monday, January 31, 2011

I know, its been awhile. Camel pose revisited.

OK I been busy with a number of things.
1. Muay Thai sparring. Its a new thing I am doing and I DO NOT love it. But its hard and challenging and I want to not get hit in the head SO damn much.
2. Teaching more Yoga! YAYY!
3. Still doing Bikram. This is my last week with it and honestly I am not really into it anymore. Not that I was to begin with. I don't have the craving for it that I have with the other things I do (Muay Thai, Vinyasa, running)

So my post today is about Camel Pose or Ustrasana. I love backbends! So this is going with my Bikram trial the past month...in that its part of the Bikram series. Here was my previous post about Ustrasana. I am also revisiting this post because it is beneficial to those who have Thyroid diseases. So listen up Thyroid Disease sufferers, do this pose! It helps balance the hormones...we have general hormone imbalances -not just thyroid hormones.

Here are the benefits of the pose:
-Compresses the kidneys and adrenal glands, helps reduce excess production of cortisol
-Eliminates toxins from the body
-Stretches abdominal organs and cures constipation
-Stretches the throat, thyroid and parathyroid
-Good for reproductive organs and digestive system
-Stimulates the nervous system
-Good for anxiety and depression

Thing to note: you will feel dizzy and out of sorts after this pose, so don't be alarmed. Just take a rest and breathe. It's not recommended to drink water before or after this pose

You should NOT do camel pose if:
-You have severe back pain
-heart problems
-high blood pressure
-people who have had abdominal surgery
-pregnancies in the second and third trimesters

How to get into the pose:
1. Come to standing on your knees. Bring your knees about hip distance apart. Toes can be tucked or untucked.
2. Place your hands on your lower back/booty as if you're putting your hands in your back jean pockets.
3. Pull your ribs in and start bending in your upper back first. Keep the hips above the knees.
4. Drop the head back and if you feel comfortable enough, bring your hands to the top of your heels.
5. Don't let the fact that you're feeling dizzy and out of sorts freak you out! Breathe it out.

Another reason why I wanted to write about the pose today was because I am working on getting into the full backbend of the pose which looks like this:























Right now, I am at the point where I can get the top my head on the floor behind me but I can't seem to figure out how my forearms or elbows are supposed to lay on the floor like that without my body snapping in half. Something to work on!

Friday, January 21, 2011

When life gives back to you

Because I am always sharing goodies and baking treats for people...today 2 people gave me lil gifts! Both completely unnecessary and extremely thoughtful.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

New Year's Resolutions

This is overdue in the sense that its well into January but to be fair I am ethnically Chinese so I am just getting ready ahead of time for the year of the rabbit.

The other day I attended an all day seminar about called "Living With Thyroid Disease". It was great and extremely informative. Mary Shomon seems to be THE go to woman on all things Thyroid. She was specific, not preachy. So with that said I walked away with a plan on how to deal with my own thyroid issues and hopefully this leads to a better way of living for me. Some specific things I decided to work on was my diet. I am really good about exercising (seriously 7 days a week) but really bad about eating correctly. I can have steamed fish and veggies for dinner, eggs for breakfast...but what happens in between I cannot be responsible for! So my #1 resolution is to cut my processed foods almost completely. Which means I have to start forgoing things that come in packaging. Living with a thyroid disease means I cannot afford to have anymore toxins in my body. So I will also be going as organic as possible. I already am organic with eggs and milk but I will have to be better about things I juice, especially apples.


I have a TON of other resolutions like:
paying bills ALL ON TIME
running a 5k at some point in the year
volunteer an hour once a month
more spinning
get at least 3 stamps on my passport
get hit and kicked in the head without feeling sad about it (in sparring)

more outdoor running, longer runs

Friday, January 14, 2011

Hoody Design

I collaborated with an artist that did the drawing.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

I introduce to you...

...Senor Raffy the Pinata Lover

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Who likes mixtapes?! Check H.I.M. out!

Of course the art was done my none other than...me!

WE: Funky Fanny's and HE: Qool DJ Marv Present H.I.M.


My Third Bikram class

Advice I got from friends who LOVE Bikram Yoga:
Drink a Zico or some kind of coconut water before class
Hydrate before class
Get a spot near the window!
Keep going because you will always feel like you hate it sometimes, but feel good afterwards.























So this morning I decided to get up early and try a 7am class. I am the type of person that likes early morning workouts because they're out of the way and then I have no way of talking myself out of working out later in the day. I drank 2 cups of water before I left, at the studio I drank a small Zico. I was there early enough to choose a spot. I did sort of mess up at first and just pick some place near the window however a heater was point directly at me! My hands started burning in the beginning. During halfmoon! So I moved to the front row, still near the window but away from the heat fans.

WELL! Today I had a pretty awesome class. I got through every posture. Only drank a quarter of my water. So the problems were that I had to pee by the end, kinda bad. Not bad enough to mess up the practice but enough that I didn't drink when maybe I should have and then I was getting headaches during the times I had to sit up and lay down and get back up. It also helped a lot that the class was not crowded at all and I didn't have anxiety in a crowded locker room as I did previously. The first two classes I took were mat to mat PACKED. So maybe the answer is 7am classes. I am going to try the 9:30 and 10ams too.

I am liking that I don't hate it today. :)

Monday, January 10, 2011

Hmmmm Bikram Yoga....hmmmm.

OK I can't really say too much about Bikram Yoga since I've only taken 2 classes, but I do NOT love it. I am doing a 1 month trial with it and I find myself feeling like...what I would think it would be like to be in a sweat lodge! OK so what must a sweat lodge feel like? Forget it! I normally love camel pose bc I am so back bendy but that is the point in the series where I start to feel so UGH I have to skip it! I start getting the feeling I'm stuck in a bed burrito with a 103 fever. Happened at the same time in both classes!















I much prefer Hot Yoga with Vinyasas and wood floors and no one telling me when I can drink water. After my month of Bikram I will be doing an official Bikram Vs. Hot Yoga post according to me. And I will actually take more than the 2 classes I've taken. I do have a few friends who love it and have suggested to me to keep sticking to it and I will eventually like it too, so I'm remaining open to it.

Stars in your eye!

I had some untouched munnies for the longest time and never did anything with them! So for a fun Christmas activity my BF got more munnies and some of the newer shapes like a trikky and a raffy. Here is my Trikky, I call him "Stars in his eye".



Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Black Sesame

So as I've mentioned in previous posts, I have Hypothyroidism. Its not that uncommon but it does suck. Its a constant struggle to maintain normal thyroid levels and I have to get blood tests, A LOT. Also there is so much conflicting information out there about diet and nutrition when it comes to hypothyroidism. The biggest problem I have with it is, hair loss. It just falls out all over the place! So my acupuncturist suggested to me recently among other things, black sesame. Which is kind of cool because there are lots of yummy black sesame snacks out there. So here are 3 black sesame products I like.

This candy is chewy and kind of peanutty tasting. Very yummy!

The powder form is good to mix with hot water and some milk. OR can be sprinkled in oatmeal or cereal.

And my favorite. These come in a back of tiny little cracker type candies.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Start your New Year off right!

Over the holidays I spoke with a friend who lives in a very remote area, so Yoga classes aren't on every corner like my neighborhood, I suggested podcast to him though I had never done one....butI did a podcast Yoga class for the first time on New Year's day. Wanted to practice with my good friend but since there were a limited number of Yoga classes going on, they mostly got booked up as well. We turned to podcasting and grabbed a Thanksgiving class that was taught at Jivamukti. It was pretty fun for my first podcast. I like starting the New Year's with doing something new, wearing something new (a very Chinese tradition) and of course seeing family and friends which I did. So check out Yoga podcasts on iTunes, there are so many free ones.

In other news, I am teaching a group class soon at this new and amazing space called Thai Spirit. Its one of those over all awesome type wellness places. They are doing all kinds of Martial Arts and Eastern medicine practices. Acupuncture, Tui-Na, massage, Kung-fu, Qi-gong and Yoga -by me! Here is the info on my classes: