Hey yogis!
I’ve made it to the half-way point of my 30-Day Challenge! Already I feel a million times better than I did on Day 1 (that is a technical measurement). Now that my practice is pretty much back to where it used to be, I feel as though I can finally get back to goals that I had set for myself a while back. One of those goals was to attain a full Hanumanasana, or split pose.
Not me…my hair is curly…
Since I have been noticing greater flexibility in my hammies, I decided to choose a practice that would stretch and lengthen my hip flexors, which are extremely important factor in whether or not you can do Hanumanasana. I chose Lunging into Freedom from Yoga Today. It is a shorter practice, and feels even shorter because she includes a guided savasana in there (often they will lead you into savasana and then advise you to stay for 5-10 minutes) but man, was it effective. Some of the lunges (including lizard pose) were extremely intense and had me focusing on my breath to get through them. Yet, unlike some hip-focused classes, this one was quite balanced, with plenty of vinyasas to get in a bit of upper body strengthening and bridge poses to clear the hips after the deep lunging. Next up, I’ll choose a class that includes Hanumanasana to see if I’ve made any progress!
Yoga Snax Remix: Remember this scrumptious treat that I wrote about last year? Well I was really in the mood for some avocado toast today, so I made quick work of toasting some good 7-grain bread and mashing a perfectly ripe avocado…only to realize I didn’t have any lemons or limes! It crossed my mind to just salt the avo and put it on the bread, but that seemed boring. I scanned my kitchen cabinets, saw the balsamic vinegar and was reminded of the awesome bruschetta I shared with my best friend last week at Eataly. So with that inspiration, I drizzled a little balsamic over the avocado-blanketed toast (rather than mixing it in with the avocado like I would the lemon–a little balsamic goes a long way, trust me) and I have to say–it was pretty delicious. Creamy avocado mixed with a little salt was nicely complimented by the sweet balsamic. Give it a try some time!
Yoga Snax 