Why I prefer morning yoga

At first it was hard waking up an hour earlier than I normally would; given that I already wake up two hours before I leave for work. Having to be at work at 9:30am, I wake up at 6am. Now, I wake up at 5, sometimes 4am just to do yoga. 

Why? 

It is almost better than coffee in the morning. And when you have both... Watch out world!
 

Morning
Ashtanga Yoga.

This practice teaches you a series of poses, breathing techniques and how to quiet and center the mind. I like doing this in the morning because it wakes me up and energizes me for the rest of the day. I enjoy the sweat and burn in the morning followed by a hot shower. It's very refreshing. Waking up earlier than normal gives me more time in the morning to get ready for work, enjoy a healthy breakfast and prepare for the day ahead.

Right now I mainly practice with Hulu Plus yoga videos. 

My favorite video is by Yasmin Yoga. 

Yasmin is simply amazing. She makes every pose seem so easy and gives very precise instructions for every position. I go back and forth through three episodes of hers and pick random ones every once and a while from other instructors. It's been a great introduction to where I can go at my own pace, in the privacy of my cozy home. I've seen enormous transformation within my physical and mental self.

March 23rd.

April 8th.

My butt and arms look totally different! I was wearing a tight thong (TMI?) in this picture so it squished the top of my butt into a point. Never again..

Evening
Form and pose practice.

I like to practice certain poses I'm struggling with or interested in. Right now I'm pretty obsessed with being able to do a proper arm stand so I can eventually do an awesome handstand.

Why a handstand?

If I can do a proper handstand I know I have great shoulder, back and core strength. Plus they look awesome when doing one. Standing upside down increases circulation and re-directs blood flow throughout the body. To condition myself I'm stretching daily and practicing my crane pose and arms stands.

CRANE POSE

This picture was taken March 23rd. I held this position for maybe two seconds.

This was taken April 15th. I held this position for over 15 seconds and was able to cross my feet and pull my abdomen in, focusing more on form than length of time. I have more muscle tone here and overall strength. Three weeks may seem like a long time to nail this down, but with work and a happy love life, I didn't practice this everyday. However, I am excited to see what I can do in another three weeks.

An arm stand is where your forearms are shoulder width apart and flat on the ground and your body is held upright by your amazing shoulder, back and core strength.

Nighttime 
Gentle and soothing yoga.

I find videos online for nighttime yoga. It's basically deep breathing and stretching to get you relaxed for a deep sleep. At night, stretching and concentration on my breath relieves me of any tension or stress. I wake up feeling overall well-rested.

The times where I can practice a couple times a day,
I feel powerful, courageous, confident and peaceful.

I am so passionate about this because of what it's done for me personally. I've struggled with depression for five years and have always felt the need to look fit. It was difficult for me to clear my head of all the pain and heartache I carried.
Yoga may seem overrated and has become somewhat of a trend that rich, suburban moms can only afford. But you don't have to go to an expensive yoga class and buy colorful yoga pants in order to try it for yourself.

I like sharing with you what it's done for me because of how powerful it makes me feel. If I can in any way help someone feel the same, I must share.

It has improved my body, mind, confidence and sex life. The breathing techniques I learned from yoga got me through tough situations, dealing with people that make me nervous.. like when I interviewed for the job I have now. In every interview I've ever had, I literally choked on my words and couldn't even say what I really wanted to say from being so extremely nervous and insecure.
I NAILED my last interview. I did most of the talking, saying exactly what I wanted to say and it ended with me asking my boss the tough questions.
Even now as I write this I am sitting straight up with my legs crossed because I am naturally and constantly aware of my posture and body.


Yoga has been a one-stop-shop for me and I am absolutely in love with it.

The give and take in my world of cooking

I think it's obvious that when you change jobs, move or stop doing the same thing you've been doing for the last several years, your priorities change.

When you do all three, you might feel a little lost.

When we first moved to northern California I had a difficult time adjusting to not being home in time to cook or eat dinner with my love. I grew up cooking dinner with my stepmom and eating dinner with the entire family at the table. As soon as I met my fiance, I tried winning him over with home-cooked meals to show my affection for him much like I've grown up seeing.

It's a southern thing and Korean culture to cook for your husband. Cooking for him has always been important to me.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I no longer work 12 hours a day and am home now to cook and eat dinner with my man. 

It's awesome!

It's no surprise that California is one of the most expensive states to live in in the U.S. 

So when we first moved here and a loaf of bread cost nearly $3 and organic milk is $6.50, my priorities had to change.

I was like a child that didn't get my way. When we first went into the store with insane prices and hardly any organic options, I panicked.

What are we going to eat?!?!

I wanted to make mushroom ragout like we did at my old job.. 

I need red wine, herbs, five different types of mushrooms, garlic, heavy cream, I need to make beef stock.. Where are the beef bones??? 

 I stood there horrified.. I started going around picking up any vegetable that said organic and putting it in my basket with my bottom lip so far out you'd trip over it.

My world revolved around cooking and eating. It was all I could think about. What am I going to make, what are we going to eat this weekend, what do I need to buy to make this or that?

I'd spend $50 on ingredients for one meal. 

It got expensive because I was cooking like I was on Iron Chef.

When we got home from the store I realized I couldn't make big, elaborate dinners like before, every single night. We can't afford to. Spending $20 to make a sauce for one or two nights isn't smart. Not for us anyway. 

The slow realization came over me and it actually made me feel a sense of relief. 

There is more to life than cooking and eating. There is more to life than food. 

Yes, we need it to survive. It brings people together, it varies from culture to culture and is a beautiful thing we share with our loved ones. Trust me, I know.

But it consumed my mind, ego and bank account.

When my family back home comes to town or it's Thanksgiving at our house, of course I'm going to cook my heart out. I love it.

Making simple food is still pleasing to both me and my fiance. No one is at a loss, if anything, more of a financial and healthy gain. 

It's a give and take.

Of course, it's easier for us because we are a party of two. I know that one day this will no longer apply and we'll have to buy a little more but the principle remains the same. 

Don't get so worked up when you have to change your routine and a lifestyle you've become accustomed to. It's okay.

It took me weeks to figure out which grocery store I could go to for certain things. Thankfully I found a CSA that delivers in my neighborhood. It costs the same price as a grocery store, it's local, organic and is delivered right to my doorstep.

Farm Fresh To You

This week we got:

red leaf lettuce

asparagus

tokyo turnips

king richard leeks

kiwis

a bag of valencia oranges

a bag of fuji apples

enough for 4 people in this box.

Cost: $33

What I like about this is that it's seasonal, local and organic. Seasonal fruits and vegetables vary region-to-region. So far, this works for us. We get a delivery every week and can add or take off whatever we want. You can even add honey, coffee, trail mix, apple juice and eggs!

The price varies on size and you can have it delivered every week, every other, every three weeks or every four weeks.

I still go to the store for dog food, milk, coffee, etc. The point of a CSA isn't to cut out the trip to the store but to give us seasonal and organic options we can't exactly find in our local grocery stores.

With this I try and stretch as many simple meals as I can.. I always have things like quinoa, brown rice, lentils,  english muffins, dry beans, frozen vegetables and homemade vegetable stock I make with an on-going collection of vegetable scraps from cooking. Simmer vegetable stock for 30 minutes.

Not being so focused on what I'm going to cook every night frees up my time. I took on yoga two months ago and am so glad I did. It has changed my body physically and mentally. 

I used to spend an hour in the store and hours cooking in my kitchen. Before I knew it my night was half gone. Although I know my fiance appreciated the elaborate meals, he appreciates me spending time with him more and so do I. 

It's been a lot of give and take and a fun learning experience for us both.

I'm at that fun point in my adult life where shit is getting real. I'm 27, I'm planning a wedding, working a new job I'm not used to, living somewhere new, our rent is higher than I ever imagined, I have baby fever and am homesick.

I'm thankful for my fiance every single second of every single day. 

He is everything to me.

This blog keeps me going and I like sharing my experiences with you. 

Whoever you are.

I'm so happy it's Friday. 

I can taste the beer now...

Happy Friday everyone!