Toe sox!

A big thank you to my hubby for these super cute sox made especially for yoga! My dog was never more downward facing than today (what?).
I thought I would try some yoga this morning to alleviate some of the horrendous back pain I've been having recently.  I saw a bit on a local news show about a woman who uses yoga to help her car accident related back pain, so I thought I would give it a shot.  It was a bit helpful while I was rocking it- but hasn't fixed my powerful need for a visit to my favorite physical therapist.
I've been without PT for about four weeks now.  I did okay for two weeks, but now I find my spine to be generally cranky with me and my hips to be a bit out of alignment.
I have a couple choices- I could ask for a new referral for physical therapy or I could get my lovely husband to authorize my spending a chunk of change on a massage.
But since he bought me those socks for Christmas... I'm guessing not...

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The Best Laid Plans...

Fun news before I get into it:  This post is also being featured on my friend Lelia's blog, Spinach and Skittles.  I'm hoping while I'm out of town next weekend she can return the favor by posting a healthy recipe or a fashion post or something.  I've been slacking.
So, here's some of the post I did for her.  Leila has been slow to fall in love with yoga (I know she will, though!) so I thought I would help her out.

My blog post is titled “The Best Laid Plans”.  And that would be because I intended to write a post on one of my new toys, a medium-strength resistance band I intended to add to my pool workout today:  Aquatic therapy is a very arthritis (and, therefore lupus)- friendly workout.  It’s also a great way to switch up your workout if you find yourself in a rut.
However, my brother-in-law was here visiting and I loaned him my pool key.  Then, I realized he would need a house key as well.  I put both on the pool keyring, leaving me with separate rings for my car/work and my home/pool.  After I got the ring back I never re-combined them.  I remember locking the house using the pool/house key ring before I went off to visit a client. That's the last time I remember seeing them...And now it’s missing... I'm sure that will cost some money to replace (mostly the pool key). Apartment complexes are cranky what you misplace their stuff. I'll just pretend like it's payback for my leaky fridge.

So, my new plan was yoga, which is nice since Leila hasn’t quite fallen in love yet.  Long ago, I would do P90X Yoga- a part of the Beach Body Workout.  Two car accidents (and two damn big boulders) later, I’ve lost the stamina to complete much of P90X.  In addition, my arthritis makes it difficult to do a few of the poses.  Then, I discovered these little beauties:

Three Minute Eggs- Because your body’s not square!

Rounded yoga blocks have helped tremendously with my form and fixes my issues with my hands in poses such as downward facing dog....

…and triangle pose.

..

...and corpse pose (one of my personal favorites)...

As Tony Horton says, he’s not in great shape because he can do a bunch of push-ups... it’s because he does yoga.  Yoga tones and encourages core strength.  I enjoy it because it slowly strengthens around my joints to support them.  I find that if I do yoga after bicycling or the elliptical my chances of a flare (arthritis acting up) is much less.  Yoga is great for all levels of flexibility, ability, and strength, not to mention great for clearing your mind.
On Leila's blog I took the time to explain why my blog was titled "Sisyphean Effort" and then I posted a very inappropriate photo from James Franco's movie 127 Hours... Then I brought it back to the movie star by bringing up that this is my favorite Yoga DVD:

This is the star of the series (best shot I could find):

They look alike to me.... seriously. Although I would take James Franco over a guy in purple yoga capris any day.
My point (I recognize that I digressed from my point long ago) is that yoga is hard to get into... especially if you’re a runner and you like “feeling it” immediately. In high school I was a hardcore tennis player and weightlifter.  As my lupus progressed, I yearned for ways to nurture my love of exercise. I actually fell in love with yoga with the P90X video- it was fast-paced and fun.  Others enjoy group experiences... that would freak me out as a beginner, but my goal is to be up for some hot yoga by winter!  Some studios offer brief individual sessions to offer personal tips, point out weak areas, and correct minor form flaws.  And let me say- yoga does NOT have to be super spiritual (or as I call it... hippie-dippie).  Find something you’re comfortable with and when you find something you like... STICK TO IT! I once went to a Piloga (Pilates and Yoga) class that nearly turned me off from both forms of exercise forever. Too hippie-dippie and they played music of running water that made me need to pee. I left the class early.  Experiment, and STICK TO IT! Just like I’m sticking to my James Franco look-alike.  



Now... what is stopping you from getting stronger, more flexible, and possibly- a more centered person?  I’m great at pep-talks if you need one!



**BTW, the blond beauty doing the poses is NOT me.  In the very first picture, I’m on the far right.  

Great start to the morning!

45 minutes of yoga, followed by some yogurt with flax seed, walnuts, blackberries, and a bit of maple syrup. Today is going to be productive, I can feel it!

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Write it down!

I find that if you don't actually pencil in your workouts you make excuses not to do it and/or tell yourself you're too busy. Kinda like what I did this morning.

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Meal planning, chores, cooking smarter

Yesterday was an awesome day.  The Seahawks beat the Saints (the reigning Super Bowl Champs) and I had a date night with Kevin.  I ended up getting a falafel pita for dinner.  It had pickles.  I was pleased.  Then we went to see True Grit, which was quite good.  I avoided the popcorn and snuck in a bottle of white tea.  I ended the date night with a bite of dark chocolate and some grocery list writing.  It's an exciting life I lead.
As previously mentioned, I'm continuing to do the Food-Lover's Cleanse, but as I'm not following it exactly I don't feel right labeling my posts as such.  I'm mixing and matching the combinations of breakfasts, snacks, and lunches I've had in the past to save a bit of money and use ingredients we already have on-hand.
Today's to-do list is long.  This was made more difficult by the fact that Kevin and I seemed to be in a coma until 9 am.  Late start to the day, that's for sure. I started out by doing yoga with Kevin.
The lateral angle pose is giving me trouble.  My shoulder doesn't like to move in that way and my arm gets tired really quickly.  This is what it should look like if you're a pro:

Haughty bitch.

I have anger issues when it comes to yoga.  I regularly think about hurting the people in the yoga videos, usually because they hold the pose longer than I think it really necessary or because their arm/leg/back/whatever is bent in a way that is just not humanly possible.  I think I should get better at yoga before I attempt classes.

(Source)

So, after I finished my yoga and I showered I made the planned breakfast for this morning:  Sweet Potato Hash with Egg.

Oh my gawd.  This is Kev's manly sized portion, btw.

I did make one big mistake.  I missed the line where the cleanse told me to swap out the three tablespoons of butter for olive oil.  So, my breakfast was extra delicious.  Whoops.

The plan for later:

Lunch/Snack (Breakfast was at 11:30!)
Almond-Banana Smoothie (with yogurt)
Dinner
Salmon & Lime Cakes
Curried Lentil Soup
Salad

I also need to do all of the laundry.  I'm glad Kevin and I swapped chores, my hands really used to hurt after doing the dishes.  That being said, I hate doing laundry.  I may have a drink. I'm really relying on that 3-4 drink/week allowance for the cleanse.
I'm also taking the opportunity to get ahead for the week- I'm making trail mix freezer cookies and a nice big batch of my citrus-shallot vinaigrette.  I bought a trail mix that was on sale- supposedly geared towards women (it has some soy nuts in it).  You chop it up and throw it in the batter.  It has regular all-purpose and whole wheat flour.  I'm excited.
Back to work tomorrow.  I'm so energized I don't even dread the approaching work week.  It's nice.
Oh, and GO PACKERS!  If they win the Seahawks have an easy game next week.  Huzzah!

Day 6- How it actually went.

Yesterday was crazy hectic.  I only had one meeting to go to at work.  So, I slept in an extra hour, did some yoga, and was about to make my poached chicken breast for lunch. Then, I found out that the transportation for my clients fell through and I needed to go pick them up from school.  So my two hour day turned into a five hour day.  I really wasn't able to stick to the diet.

Breakfast

Almond-banana smoothie with kefir and yogurt    The first time I had this smoothie it was just bananas and almond milk.  It wasn't very filling. Thius, the addition of 1/4 cup of yogurt and 1/4 cup kefir.

Lunch
Leftover Beet Soup with Avocado  My avocado was disappointing.  The beet soup was "meh".
Rye Crackers with Almond Butter

Mid-Afternoon SnackArugula salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette   I felt like I needed an extra dose of veggies.
Dinner..... The only meal I actually stuck to!
Bulgur Pilaf  This took a long time to make but it was pretty good.  Next time I'm using ground coriander.  The whole seeds were weird to eat.
Poached Eggs    I fried it instead.  I liked it right over the pilaf.
Oven Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower   I just love the simplicity of roasted veggies.

Evening Snack
2 Tangerines and 1 Ounce of Chocolate      Nom.


It might not have been by the book, but I kept it pretty healthy.