Yoga

So far, so good.

Hey chickies!

So, we are officially two days into the PiYo workout from Beachbody and it’s good stuff. I have a decent background with yoga in that I’ve always been in love with the practice and flexibility and strength are so much more important to me than a getting a good run in (AKA fuck running).

Yesterday was the fundamentals, so that basically consisted of me standing around and attempting to perfect my alignment without a mirror.

Seriously, side note to any yoga studios out there:

HAVE MIRRORS! It will help your students with their alignment and they will fix themselves before you can get to them!

Me legit being a little sad about the lack of muscle definition I have. But here’s a BEFORE shot to look back on that isn’t all prettied up with filters!

Anyway.

So there was that 40-min shindig of information and I’ll admit, I got a little worried about some of the moves simply because my strength has been a no lately. But… I literally JUST finished my first official workout, Define: Lower Body and I feel great. It’s an INCREDIBLY short workout but I saw so much room for improvement so didn’t necessarily feel ripped off or that I didn’t get something decent in. I do, however, feel like a little bit of cardio would be helpful with this burst of energy I currently feel.

And that’s just the thing, isn’t it?

We KNOW how good we feel after doing a workout. We know that our minds will be clearer, we will have more energy and we will feel just overall better about life. YET, we avoid working out and instead binge watch episodes of Gossip Girl in attempts to avoid dealing with our own personal lives. (anyone?)

So, my short little motivation to you is this: If you haven’t gotten in a workout today, even 20-30 min, stop what you’re doing and go do it. Do it before you stress over what to make for dinner, what the traffic commute will be or whether or not you are up to par on your adulting skills. This is me being someone to kick you in the butt as I desperately need someone to do this for me half the time.

We only have a day at a time, whether we like it or not. So, might as well start with the now, right?

All my loves!

Follow my journey on Instagram too! @circus.vagabond

But here’s my goals, so PiYo maybe?

I have no idea what I weigh right now.

Honestly, I don’t think I really care.

All I know is that I’m not fitting into clothes. Everything is tight, I’m consistently uncomfortable in anything and I simply lose most motivation to do much except sit around on my computer all day.

The crazy thing is, I know how good I feel when I eat well. I know how energized I get when I work out. I know I’ll sleep better, perform better, think better, feel better if I eat well and work out.

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Me working out on a regular basis. Look how happy!

Yet, I don’t.

I was on the phone with my mom last night and her and I have both struggled with weight basically our entire lives. While I was overly involved in sports as a kid, I was never the fastest or strongest. I wasn’t bad, just not the best. But I loved sports so much. Hated running, so I went for the water sports, but still.

Anyway, she said to me that when she has been most successful with weight loss it was because she had set very small goals for herself. For that week, and that week alone, she was going to do A and B. Then, the next week, she could keep those goals and add on, or change the goals completely. More often than not, she would keep the goals and maybe add one or simply go another week pursuing the same. These goals ranged from drinking 2 liters of water a day, exercising for 30 min per day, having sugar only once and not twice, etc.

I’m jealous of people who can do a full 180 and completely devote themselves to an eating and exercise plan right out the gate. I wish I could but I honestly get burnt out way too fast and I end up resenting all things, including myself and loved ones around me because I’m ashamed I couldn’t keep up.

I’ve always been someone who isn’t great about completely following through. I love to talk about things I’m going to do, and I’ll fall in love with an idea for a few weeks and then it fizzles out. Already, in the past six months, I’ve bought everything for face painting, hot yoga, a new meal plan, makeup, and a cat. The cat is doing great and I’m very on top of that 😉 Face painting is in a box in a closet while my yoga mat sits rolled up at the end of my bed.

Ok, so now it’s out in my living room so I can do a Beachbody PiYo workout with it…

Speaking of which, that’s what I want to start today. It’s Wednesday, so it’s not like MONDAY but I plan to follow the plan perhaps with Wednesdays being my Mondays. I love Pilates and Yoga, and Chalene Johnson is pretty badass so figured I would give it a go. I’m combining it, possible with T25 and the eating plan from Trim Healthy Mama. It’s a lot to take on, combined with drinking at least 100oz of water a day (128oz is the goal).

But maybe I can stick this one out. Maybe.

Yoga, Tequila & 25 Push-Ups

There is a very high chance that I woke up this morning still drunk from last night. While my extreme case of the spins had dissipated, my headache, slightly blurred vision and dangerous lack of clarity was still very present. Tequila had reintroduced itself to me in multiple forms. However, I am proud to say that it did not take on the form of a single shot glass straight to my tonsils. Nope, no shots for me. Just a little orange juice, grilled grapefruit, ice, grenadine and some flavor of bitters… and tequila.

I should mention that tequila and I have never gotten along. We are not friends nor exactly enemies, we just have agreed to disagree on many things. Like margaritas. It is always a good time for a margarita. However, tequila and I have agreed never to meet in a shot glass by ourselves. If we steer clear of that kind of meeting, we usually do fine. But what I fail to remember every time that I do have tequila is that 1) I will definitely throw up and 2) It’s pretty much the worst type of hangover there is. So, last night was a little reminder that tequila, me, new friends and orange juice should never play in the same sandbox. Ever.

So, after a three-and-a-half-hour drive to Rochester, NY, including a very expensive stop at Starbucks and a long line at the US border, I have arrived in one piece. Feeling particularly motivated, I took my hangover by the balls and told it to go fuck itself.

So, I did yoga.

I have always, always, always adored practicing yoga. I’ll admit that there is a part of me that wants to be a “yoga girl.” It’s hot and it means I can bend my body in cool ways. Hello flexibility J But I also have always loved how yoga makes me feel. Yoga is such a personal thing for me and remains to be a vehicle of self-love and grace. I’m not breathless at the end of a yoga session yet I still feel like I worked hard. I always feel a little bit closer to a goal, a little bit more connected and a tiny bit stronger. Maybe it’s because yoga is more measurable to me than many other exercises. Sure, you can get faster or you can lift more weight. But with yoga I can really connect with my body’s performance and what it is doing. I can visualize the present, focus on my heart beating and think about nothing else for an hour. Yoga is something I can do on the road in the privacy of my own hotel room or go to the gym if I’m feeling particularly confident. But afterwards I just feel clearer.

After my 30-minute practice today, I opened the Productive app on my phone. I had put in various goals I wished to accomplish each day and realized that I hadn’t followed through with really any of them since writing them down. A daily goal I had set a while back was to do 25 push-ups every day.

I DESPISE push-ups. This exercise is the devil and usually the most painful exercise out there. Which, duh, of course, is the reason why it’s also one of the absolute best exercises out there but still. I hate them.

Now, I’m not a point currently where I can do 25 pushups in a row. Since I refuse to do “girl pushups,” I must break them up into two sets of 10 and one set of five. This way, it’s not complete hell and it’s a little victory (slash rest break) in between. My goal is of course to be able to do 25, or 50, pushups in a row but baby steps here.

So, I did 25 pushups, I’m writing a blog post and I feel good. These are the moments that I remember how much I love being single. I can chase “passions” or hobbies, do whatever I want with the time I have and I don’t have to work around anyone else’s schedule. Now, of course, I have things that need to get done throughout the day but whatever time I have left is mine and I intend to start taking advantage of that time.

One of the regrets I have is that I binge watched the entire Sex and The City series while I was in Ireland. Granted, I was short on cash and the weather was disgusting, but I still didn’t really take advantage of traveling and seeing more of Ireland when I had the chance. I was throwing a pity party for myself, getting over a breakup and mourning the fact that I “came to Europe unprepared.” Which sucks. While I’m sure, in hindsight, that I needed some time completely to myself, I could have used that time to find new hobbies, gone for walks or even considered freelance. But I didn’t. So, lesson learned.

Overall, I would say that this was a great day. I have a mingling session at 9pm tonight and I’m going to head out to dinner and hopefully begin conversations at the hotel bar. While I have zero intentions of drinking alcohol tonight, I do look forward to meeting new prospects and learning more about this crazy industry that I’m part of.

Try and check something off your list today. Trust me, it’s going to feel amazing.

Photo credit: Sunday Calling

CIRCUS VAGABOND