Onto Bigger and Better (hopefully) Things Next Week….

Well, I have decided this is the last week that I will be following alongside beginner yoga videos.  Next week, I plan to move to more advanced yoga moves, and hopefully follow alongside an intermediate video…wish me luck!  Since I plan to move on to more advanced moves next week, I thought it would be best to refresh my memory on all of the yoga poses that I have done so far, and refresh my memory on the correct form while practicing these moves.  I took a trip down memory lane and re-read all of my previous learning project posts, and re-watched the videos that I posted.  I also partook in some yoga while refreshing my memory, and it felt so good!  I am really starting to love yoga and the way it makes me feel once I am done.  The stretching hurts so good (if that makes any sense at all).

I decided to showcase my studying of the yoga moves, by taking some pictures.  I then created a photo on Instagram using the story feature.  I had never used the grid feature on Instagram before, so I thought it would be a perfect time to try it.  There were different layouts that you could use, but I liked the one layout where you could showcase up to 6 photos at once on the grid, so that is the layout that I chose.  When you are creating your grid, you can either take a photo for each specific square, or you can choose a photo from your photo library.  You then add photos to each square, and while doing so you can adjust the placement of the photo in the square, which is a feature that I liked.  Here are some snapshots of what it looks like while creating the grid:

The photos that I chose for my grid are some of my favorite yoga moves.  My favorite moves so far are the cross-legged seat, tabletop position, low lunge, child’s pose, bridge pose, and camel pose.  Here is the photo that I created:

I now want to give a brief summary of each of these six poses, and why I love them.

1. Cross-legged seat – I love this pose because it really allows my hamstrings to stretch out.  When sitting in the pose, if you slightly press down on your knees, it stretches your hamstrings, which feels really good!
2. Table top position – While doing this position, you can breathe in and arch your back, and then breathe out and drop your stomach towards the floor.   I like this position because while doing the breathing and arching of the back, you can really feel the muscles in your back being stretched, which again feels good!
3. Low lunge – I love this position because just like the cross-legged seat, it really stretches out the hamstrings.  I am a runner, and so this pose really feels good after going for a long run.
4. Child’s pose – This just stretches everything in your body.  I love this pose and how it allows me to just relax.
5. Bridge pose – This pose stretches out the back, which helps make my lower back feel good.  It also uses strength to hold your body up, which is really working the leg and arm muscles.
6. Camel Pose – This pose was difficult for me at the start, but now I love it.  Once you get your form down, it feels really good to stretch out your chest and stomach.  It also uses the strength of your arms, so you are building muscle in your arm at the same time, which is a bonus!

Well, that is all for this week.  I hope you enjoyed my explanations of my favorite yoga moves, and I’m excited (and maybe a little scared) to try some more intermediate yoga moves next week!