Everything but the kitchen sink update.

Consistent, I am not.  I guess I've taken to microblogging after all.  I remember trying Tumblr and I just never got the hang of it.  Instagram is more my jam.  Lol.

So, if you want to see daily updates on my fitlife journey, go check them out there. @fullhouseofroyals 

For those of you who come here often, thanks! And...sorry, for being MIA.

Here's a quick update on what's up since my last post (25 days til that Half Marathon that happened almost 2 months ago, whoops)

Well, 4 days after that post, I went on a long training run (14 miles).  Something felt "off" but I figured it was something that would shake off as the miles went on.  Long story short, it didn't and I injured myself by continuing. I'd give the details of the injury except, here we are almost 3 months later and I am still dealing with it and STILL uncertain of exactly what the heck it is.

It's basically hamstring/glute/sciatica with a sprinkle of foot pain and a whole lot of biomechanical problems.  I've been to an ortho, chiropractor, had knee and lower back xrays and even a knee MRI along with stem therapy, ice therapy, cryotherapy, massage therapy, stretching, physical therapy and finally active release technique therapy which seems to be aggressively working each annoying area. There has been improvement, but ever so slight. 2 1 milers is all I have run since the half marathon.

Oh, yea.  The half marathon.  I'll have to get around to writing a race report on that. But the gist is that I stopped running cold turkey after that training run.  Not really by choice.  I just could. not. run. The shooting pain in my leg with every step was ridiculous.  But, it was a destination race.  Flights were bought, hotel was reserved AND my friend/coach signed up and was coming to run the full marathon too.  I was definitely going to Miami!!

My attitude was always that I would show up.  I was uncertain if I'd even participate but I would be THERE.  Going to packet pick up and seeing the excitement around the race area (our hotel was a few blocks away), I knew that I WOULD participate.  I planned to walk it with as much strength I could and hoped that walking for that long wouldn't be utterly painful.

I showed up.  I walked with the rest of my corral up to the starting mat and then I ran.  I ran and ran and never stopped until I crossed the finish line.  And I knew that when I stopped, the pain would be rushing in.  And I was right.  I got a PR, an awesome medal and some amazing appreciation for my life and all that is in it.  Deep, I know, but it was truly a mind over matter race and I had all the feels.

I hobbled profusely for a couple of weeks after.  I could barely walk.  Followed by all the therapies I mentioned above in 2+ months time, I have run 2 1 milers, like I said.  The most recent, YESTERDAY.

We are still working through it and I am told I need to lay off glute exercises for the time being to let things just calm down.

I suspect that doing a 40 day yoga challenge (5 days a week of intense yoga practice) while maintaining a weight training, spin (we got a peloton!) and pilates regimen didn't help in calming things down.  Meh.  It's too hard to remain idle.

Oh yea, we also created a home gym.  This is also worthy of it's own post which I will share soon when it is finally done.  The joys of dealing with home renovation contractors.  Haha.

So that's a wrap. I've rambled long enough.  So here's a funny pic as a reward if you are still here.

Thanks for stopping by!  Updates on the gym, Miami Marathon race report and 2017 Goals update soon!

Happy hump day.

Valerie

Two weeks, 44 miles

That's what's happened since my last update.  Yikes.  I guess I am healing pretty well, huh?

This is how it all went down.

The chance meeting with my friend basically telling me I was going to run (post here) was what I needed to get me off my break and get out there to see how the foot would feel.  I was a bit terrified of going for 6 as she suggested demanded but luckily, my kid's birthday party kept me so preoccupied that I completely forgot to connect with her and set it up.  (Dodged bullet, haha)  Even luckier for me was that she forgot too.  Phew!

A couple of days later, I went for that first run.  My ankle was a bit twitchy, I admit and I was very nervous that I would be over doing it too soon.  After about a mile and half, all was well and I finished 4.  I did that two more times during the week and each time, it felt pretty much the same.

I reached out to my coach, gave her an update and we scheduled a long run.  "Let's shoot for 9" she said.  NINE.  UGH.  Really?  NINE?  I haven't run that many miles in....6 months?  And...I only did it once!  Yikes.

I put my big girl pants on, didn't whine and especially didn't let her see the fear in me.  We did a loop around the park and then ventured off to a secret iced down water fountain near the Polo fields.  It was humid and tough but I realized that talking while running sure makes for faster miles albeit out of breath ones.  By the time we made it back to the park, I was at 8!  I was in shock.  I even told her to check her watch because I just couldn't believe my Nike app.  We hit the 9 and I was elated that I could do it!  Yay!  My ankle didn't fail me!

The beautiful area and amazing tucked away iced water fountain!

Obviously, I am STILL running this Half Marathon.  I had written it off (sorta) when I got injured but my friend saw that I could do 9 so guess what?  I am DOING it.  Come hell or high water, this mama is going to show up.  I just needed (from this particular day) to make it through a few more runs, one long run and the race.  Easy peasy, right?

Sure.  So last week I decided to up the miles during the week but just run twice.  I ran a little over 6 on Tuesday and on my birthday went to pick up my new shoes (Wednesday).  I broke those babies in on Thursday with another 6.25 and then I waited for the text to set up the long run. Duhn, duhn duhhhhhhnnnnnn!  And like clockwork, on Friday, "10-12, pick you up Sun at 7" came through.  

My new kicks: Asics Kinsei 5 (last year's model=discount!)

I had my protein powder, new shoes and the confidence that I had just done 9 without any major issues.  What I didn't take into account was that my schedule on Saturday was packed tight and that I would have a brain fart about my nutrition and my access to food.  Yikes.  A protein rich green smoothie is great but it's not good enough for the ENTIRE day.  Golf lesson, class and a tournament across town did not give me much of a chance to stop to eat and like a DUMMY I forgot to pack snacks.

All of that to say that Sunday's run was not so great.  My lack of nutrition and water the day before was affecting me BIG TIME.  It was brutal and I got in trouble for it.  Lesson learned. :)
In any event, I ran.  She said 10 but in my mind, I had said 11 so I pushed a little to get to the next loop.  And when I accidentally paused my app at 10.17 and she said we were at 10.47 I could've punched myself because I knew that we weren't going to stop when she hit 11, rather when I did.  So...effectively, I ran 11+ because I wanted that round number on my device. (yep, that's me).

Proof that I finished with both legs still attached. 

My ankle felt great.  However, the knee on the OTHER leg started acting up.  UGH! By the end of the run, my left quad was super tight (I know it was protecting the knee).  I knew this meant I'd have to roll it out and take a break or my half marathon was going to be a big mess.

I am supposed to run 2-3 times this week.  She said 5,4,3 or 4,4 or even 4,3.  I foam rolled Sunday night and I ran out of time last night so I jumped on my bike for almost an hour.  Does that count?  I can't run tonight or tomorrow night so I am creatively thinking how I will get it done.

We'll see...I am also supposed to get a massage in no later than tomorrow.  As fantastic as that sounds, I don't think that's going to happen.

Stay tuned.  I am actually amazed that I've done so much in so little time.  I've got my fingers crossed that my ankle and knee both just chill out for at least a week. My son got a a Hover Board thing and I told him I was holding back from even attempting to get on until after the race.  Because...me. (Avoiding a clutz-o move at all costs.)

I'll post as soon as I can but in the mean time, get more frequent updates on my public instagram account at: @FullHouseofRoyals

Happy Super Tuesday y'all!

~V

Hello? It's me.

I was wondering if after all these months you'd like to read
'bout how I fell off the workout wagon
They say that rest's supposed to be good for ya
But it made me weak

Hello, can you relate
I'm at work dreaming about who I used to be
last Summer when I trained for hours
I've forgotten how strong it felt before the school fell at my feet

There's such a difference between us (me then and now)
And a million swim/bike/run miles 

Anywho.  I'm not going to go on with that...you get the gist.  I unintentionally broke up with my training because life took pole position.  It was crazy there for awhile but then it wasn't.

I had many opportunities to kick it back up in November and December.  However, the Holidays and Travel made a pretty good EXCUSE (that is totally what it is) to push the workouts aside.  Honestly, I just didn't feel like it. There.  I said it.  I was not motivated and I could care 3 Fs about suiting up and working out or making it a priority. I had a million other things on my plate and my mind and body didn't crave it.

I ran exactly ONCE each month since I last posted here.  LITERALLY. One 4 miler in September, one 4 miler in October and one 5 miler in November...I didn't even bother with being consistent in December (although I planned on running in Central Park on our trip, but didn't).

We returned from our NYC Christmas trip on December 30th.  I had mentioned maybe once or twice to the hubby that I felt the time was coming for me to get back up on the saddle.  I really like being healthy, fit and tone.  I like when my clothes fit right...it makes playing dress up on dates nights or GNO that much more enjoyable.  While packing for NYC, I made the realization that some things were fitting a little snugger than I prefer.  Or I just didn't like how I looked in one outfit or another.  Ugh.  Too many indulgent dinners and desserts over the holidays! Damn you NEW YORK CITY for having amazing food!!

I also made it very clear to my husband that although I KNEW these things, I also did not want to DO anything about it. Motivation: zilch.  I may have posted as such on FB at some point and friends came out in droves offering to run with me.  At 5 am.  Uuuuuuuugggghhhh.  Nooooooo.....  No thank you.

But my amazing hubby knew that I could never turn him down.  He knew that if HE offered to go for a run with me, I would never turn him down.  Suddenly, on the COLD, early morning of January 1st, the guy who hates being cold and really thinks running is super boring, dragged me out of my warm bed and took me to Memorial Park for a one loop run (3 miles).

I really wanted to punch him.  Hello?  Who are you?

But I didn't.  We ran.  I was stiff.  I was cold.  I was miserable.  But I was there.

We started off slow and the sad, sad realization that the great pace I had achieved over the Summer was LONG GONE.  Boooohoooo.  I was so slow.  And then, my hubby turned motivational coach and number one cheerleader says...."let's try changing it up....let's run real fast then slow down or walk"  Huh?  Hello?  Who are you again?  So after the boring mundane first mile, we ran a sprint for about a minute and a half.  We jogged for a bit and did it again.  Over and over and before we knew it, we were done!  And, definitely not cold anymore.  It was exhilarating and also exhausting.  I was glad to be done and to go back to my warm home.

The next day, Coach V (as I started calling him), got me to go on another run.  This time in our neighborhood but to the nearby track.  We did the same thing.  Run a  loop and half, jog a loop and half.  It was awesome!

Half a mile from the house, I was looking ahead to some gravel and didn't see the pipe sticking out of the ground when I STEPPED on it.  My ankle completely folded over and down I went hands first into the gravel I was eyeing!  OUCH!

 I got up and hobbled for a bit and finished my run (very achy).  It hurt for a bit but I "walked it off".  The next day Coach V set up a workout at home for us.  Afterwards we went for a short walk and realized it felt better to jog little steps than it did to walk.  The day after that, he had another workout for me and after I went for a short/slow jog with my son (2 miles).

I worked out for a consecutive 7 days.  Hubby got really busy at work again and couldn't coach me daily but he had given me the best gift ever.   My motivation!  He pushed me and got me going again.  I took a day off when I had a crazy carpool, work late at night from home while hubby worked til midnight kind of day. That's pretty much it.  I have been pretty diligent about doing SOMETHING.  Yay me.

Today is January 28th.  I have logged 56.1 miles in the month of January.  WHAT?!  Yes.  That is crazy.

Want to hear crazier?  Yea, on Houston Marathon day, over a week ago, I decided to go out for my longest run, a quarter marathon!  I could do it, I was sure of it.  I had so many friends running the full and half that day and the weather was AWESOME that I felt super inspired to get out there.  And I did just that.  I ran a new route and lost track of my distance from home.  By the time I turned around, I made it home at 8 miles!  OMG.  It wasn't super fast but it was fantastic.  I felt great and could have gone further.

That night, my elite marathon running friend threw a "post-marathon" party.  Unbeknownst to me, in attendance were all her running friends. (Why did she invite me?!)  This group is a hardcore running group.  How hardcore? Houston was my friend's 42nd marathon.  FORTY SECOND.  Because she is 42, she said.  Duh.  Haha.

This year, she will have run Boston, 5 years in a row.  She is running New York in the Fall (which is harder to qualify for than Boston, by the way) and is running the Woodlands Marathon in about 6 weeks.  Why am I telling you all of this?  Well, because I left that party super inspired and motivated and the idea that I actually COULD run a half marathon (Woodlands) in 6 weeks.  I mean, I just ran 8...how hard can another 5 be?  Right?

I signed up.  I ran several times last week plus joined hubby on his P90X quest that he started from Day 1 last week (he's on week 2 and still going strong).  My friend offered to coach me on my endeavor, even offered to run with me on my long run on Sunday.  She is THAT nice.

We met at 7am at Memorial Park.  She had 5 under her belt before we met.  We ran the loop with no issue and left the park.  At mile 5, the ankle decided to hurt.  WHAT?  I felt that turning around would be the best idea.  About a tenth of a mile later, I couldn't run anymore.  Another tenth and I could barely walk.  Putting pressure on my foot was incredibly painful.

It appears that ankle roll from January 2nd had done more damage than I realized.  And all the running I have done probably exasperated the situation. I have iced, taped and rested the thing and I am yet not able to walk normally.  :(

I am waiting another few days before I see a doctor but I know what they'll say.  Stay off of it.  Rest.  I either have a strained ligament or fractured a baby bone in my foot.  Whatever the diagnosis, the treatment will be the same. I am SURE.  But I will confirm it next week.

So where does that put my half marathon? Not sure.  It's 5 weeks away so it's not looking good but I will remain positive and hopeful.  Whatever the case, I am not letting it hamper my motivation.

I rode my bike on a trainer last night for an hour!  My ankle/foot does not hurt at all when I do that!  I'll keep joining hubby with his workouts and modifying as necessary.  I have my fingers crossed that I will be well enough to run it, shoot at this point, I would be happy to WALK it!! I will be sure to come back and post an update on that and to keep coming out here more often.  There are duathlons, triathlons and the dreaded first day back in the pool that I need to still experience and tell you all about.  I bet you can't wait! Haha.

Sorry this post was so long, it's been awhile!  I've missed you! :)

I'm updating my daily workouts and motivations on my new insta account:  @FullHouseofRoyals  (because my friends and family don't want to hear about my workouts! haha)  Come check it out for inspiration, motivation, healthy recipes, smoothie idea and quirky day in the life of pics.  I promise, all positive!! :)

Happy Thursday and I'll leave you with this:

Goodbye.  ;)

V.

#NewYearGetMyAssInGear

So where are we with this thing?

This thing we call a baby fitness blog, you mean? Oh yea. That. I admit, I have been a total slacker (in more ways than one). This blog has fallen so far back on the burner that it's not even in the kitchen. Wha? I have been exercising, which if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter --->, you know of my progress. I just have failed miserably to sit a write about it. Baby #4 is now 15 weeks old and a pure joy in our lives. He is so happy all of the time and flashes a smile so easily that I spend most of my time around him in an utter state of goo and gah. Not even kidding about that. Along with all my other "plans" for 2014, I do intend to keep this space updated with routines, workouts and may incorporate reviews on exercise gear, local "boutique" gym classes and share some of my smoothie recipes that have been a hit (not the beet one...ha!). Stay tuned and hope you'll come visit and join me in my journey on remaining "Baby Fit". ~V P.S. - I'll also start researching on how best to revamp this site. I am not thrilled with it's appearance but unfortunately, writing code is not something I am proficient at. Suggestions and tips welcomed! :)

5 weeks already?

It's time for a post baby update!

I attempted this post at 2 weeks, 3 weeks and 4 weeks and never got passed the first sentence above.  I am hoping I can get to actually post this before year end!

Right from the get go (after the first few days home), I found I had an extraordinary amount of energy, in fact I was ready to start new challenges and was quickly trying to get into headstands just to see how it felt by the second postpartum week.  Perhaps it was the adrenaline and busy schedule that kept me buzzing about the first week (we went from the hospital straight to the soccer field!).   After holding and cuddling with my baby boy day after day while being home alone with him, it made me...well, lazy.  Even after he was changed and fed, I couldn't bear setting him down so that I can get other tasks done.  I had so many projects that I wanted to accomplish while being home and yet, 5 weeks in and I haven't done any of them.  I can barely keep up with the regular chores.  I have absolutely no guilt about it too!  :)

I know all too well that in no time, I will be back at work and the wheels of life will start turning quickly again where I won't have this one on one time with my little guy.  Before I know it, he won't be cuddle size anymore. :(  It's time that I just won't get back and being he's the LAST baby, well, I feel extra indulgent.

I have been extraordinarily lucky not only to have a fantastic pregnancy but also a great post delivery recovery.  It appears that I have bounced back to my normal body (from what I hear all the time) because my tummy has pretty much flattened out (maybe that ab challenge was helpful!) but I know all too well that the true test of the "bounce back" is whether you fit into your pre-pregnancy clothes.  ...and that's a negative. Anything that doesn't have give in the fabric, doesn't fit.  Those slacks and pencil skirts are a far cry from going over my hips but thank goodness for running pants and skinny jeans!

I haven't been a complete couch potato though...I still have those other 3 kids that keep me on the go.  I love being home when the bus drops them off and helping them with homework questions and school projects as well as picking up the car pool for their activities.  These are tasks that along with hanging out with baby, I will miss terribly in a couple of months.  (not gonna cry...move on, move on)

We are fortunate enough to live in a neighborhood that has the best of suburban life within the city. I love that I can walk to my daughter's daycare with the baby and take a few laps at the park and then continue to walk over to the soccer field to pick up or drop off the big kids for practice from home.  I am trying to get a walk in daily to one or more of these things and in the last couple of weeks have kicked up the heels and started running too.  It's seems almost a gift that the weather is in the "near perfect" zone (unusual in Houston where's it usually terribly hot & muggy).

At first, I walked half a mile and would up the running from .5mile to .80 to 1 and so on.  The walks in between are helpful but I can feel how much I've lost.  My feet feel like concrete blocks.  I can't believe how much effort it takes to run the shortest of distances!  In addition to walking and/or running 2-3 miles around the neighborhood, I am easing back into yoga.  I started off with stretching and to get me into a solid workout, I am working on doing the P90X Yoga DVD.  I have managed to do the whole thing which I am quite proud of.  I spent the hour and half of the DVD realizing how much strength I'd lost in the last couple of months!  I broke a sweat doing was use to be the easiest of poses!

I am finding ways to stay healthy and fit post pregnancy, slowly but surely.  I am thankful that the crazy sweet tooth I developed in the first weeks is starting to taper off.  I was getting concerned...every baked good, piece of candy or dessert that came through the door got devoured (by me!).  I have continued on the smoothie kick mostly because my sweet husband gave me a Vitamix. The thing is amazing & I can't do him wrong and let it gather dust, so I pretty much have a daily smoothis at least 5 days a week. 

Though I am in no hurry, I am looking to devise a schedule that can work best while still at home that can transition for me when I get back to work.  Nothing is fool proof (or predictable with a big active family) but I've been known to roll with the punches.  I am gearing up for my 6 week ob check up at the end of this week where I will get the all clear to get back to my "normal" activities and take a peak at what the scale has to say.  I weighed in at 160 on my last ob appt (the day before I delivered) and I know from sneaking on the scale at the pediatrician's office that a huge amount of the weight is already gone.  Because I'm nursing, I know that I have "extra" weight upstairs so the comparison from pre-baby won't be apples to apples but it will give me a general idea of where I am at.

So....this is my last week to slack off!  Kidding,  actually it'll be time to set some fitness goals.

My good friend is sending me race links semi-weekly..."how does the Diva Half sound?"...or "what about the Du at Enchanted Rock?" or "10k in the spring, Half in the wine country, Tri over Mother's Day???" All of which I'm excited to do but also realistic in knowing that I am physically not even close to being ready (especially for a Du in November!).  I want to pick and choose things that I can properly train for so I don't beat myself up about it (physically and mentally).  It's too easy to overcommit and then not get any of it done.  I also know that signing up for races is the best way to stay honest with working out and give me something to look forward to.  

Just this past weekend we did our first family 5k as a family of 6.  When I signed up, I figured this was the kind of run that is mostly for fun, especially the kids.  And, I was totally right! The Color Run is something that I can see doing annually just for the fun of it.  We all had a great time and I happy to say that I ran a good bit of the way along the toughest part of the course...over and back high bridges (which is also part of the Houston Marathon Course).

I will think about these goals this week and also a game plan on how to get on a regular workout schedule.  I hope to start posting updates regularly to keep me in shape too! (Pun intended!)

Stay tuned!

Challenging Yourself on the Daily

I'm behind on my weekly updates but when I started writing them up, I realized most of my focus was on the challenges that we've taken up.  So...I'm pushing the update again (what week is this again?) to describe what has been a fun twist to keep things interesting in the way of workouts.

About the challenges: There are two in the month of June (ab & yoga) that in some shape or form have gone from a mere exercise challenge and turned into all out family adventure too.

The ab challenge is one that we are participating in amongst a group of friends.  It's a 30 day challenge that progressively grows with repetitions. We all keep tabs with each others progress (translation: send that "Reply All" email to say "I'm done!, How about you?") which is great motivation to get you to drop down, do the ab work and Reply All again "ME TOO!!". Can't leave your friends hanging after all, right?!

If you have ever done P90X's AbRipper (and survived and gone back to do it again and AGAIN) this challenge should be fairly simple, but by no means easy.  My husband and I were doing it at first and by day 3, the kids were joining in too.  That can a both be a blessing and a curse because they will NOT. LET. YOU. SLEEP. unless you get the challenge done.  You have to love the kid's motivation and enthusiasm and you can't let them down, either! (So get out of bed!!)

I had no issues whatsoever with this challenge but I knew from the get go that I would no way come near doing 100+ situps on any given day during pregnancy.  I went to day 7 doing the full workout with no issues and I found it relatively easy (don't tell my husband) but I have heard and read mixed schools of thought with regard to working out abdominals during pregnancy.  I feel fairly strong and felt pretty good doing them throughout that week, however, the sit ups in particular create a bit of a tightness in the lower abdominals that I am not comfortable pushing without further research.  Given that I haven't been able to post this in 2 weeks, you would have to imagine that I haven't had much time for research either.  So...rather than take a chance, I decided to throw in the towel.  After day 8's rest I split a couple of the days by only doing half the reps required but in this last week have continued strictly with the plank portion of the challenge only.  I can live with that...and I can relish in the enjoyment of having the kids get on my husband every night to get his ab work done before he snoozes off (it's actually quite fun!) Haha!

If you want to give the challenge a try next month or really, start on any given Saturday and see how far you can go, I have included it here for reference.  As the month progresses, the repetitions get pretty high up there, some friends have been splitting up the workouts into sets. Say, take your 60 situps, 75 crunches and 40 leg raises and turn them into a morning set of 30, 40, 20 and a night set of 30, 35, 20.  Good luck!!

The yoga challenge I have alluded to in the past.  I follow a few yoga enthusisasts/instructors/lovers on Instagram and their posts of their beautiful poses are incredibly inspirational. In the last couple of months or so, my daughter and I would randomly pick out poses and try them, just to see if we could do them.  We were never consistent with it nor did we ever photograph each other doing them. But this month, we decided we would attempt at doing the challenges AND taking pics every day. 

I have never been that big of a yogi as my only experience was with the P90X version "YogaX" that I was introduced to a few years ago when I went through the program.  I have attended a few other yoga classes, most recently the one I did as a perk of my previous employer's.  The thing about yoga is that it is really a constant practice.  It's not necessarily taking a class every day or building up weight or reps or pace like in other exercises, but rather a fusion between body and mind withing yourself.  Sometimes, I look at a pose and immediately think "well, there goes the challenge! I can't do THAT!" But then I take a few minutes and think (just as I would ask my kids), why can't I do that? How do I know I can't if I don't even try?

I have learned in the last few short months that I can go from not even getting close to getting my feet off the ground in a crow position (which seemed SO advanced when I did Yoga X, by the way) to doing it facing forwards, the side and with a twisted root too! It has been a learning experience for me and one that I am passing down to my daughter because she is so eager to get into the poses and she is so darn flexible and nimble that for the most part, she can without skipping a beat.  Until she gets to that one pose...the one she just can't do because she can't turn that way or because her arms aren't strong enough.  That's when I can tell her to SLOW down.  Breathe. Focus. Take your time.  I will watch her go from a hurried school girl to a focused, determined young lady that wants to nail the pose.  All the while, I have my phone in hand, ready to click her picture when she says she's ready.  She'll quickly run over and say "did you get it?" and come over analyze the photo(s).  She will look long and hard and sometimes will say..."hmm, my back needs to be straighter" or "my leg is not doing the right thing on this one" and follow it with: "can I try it again?"...and there you have it, PRACTICE. :)

It has been a pure joy to share it with her and with the IG community too.  I am amazed at the poses I can get into even at this many weeks pregnant.  I hope that I can finish the month strong and will keep working on the challenges daily even after the month is over.

If you want to check out the challenge on Instagram, look for the June hashtag #YogainSpace, you'll see all the posts related to the challenge.  I doubt you will come away without being inspired and motivated to give it a try. If you want to follow the amazing yogi's hosting the challenge, follow them!  They are: @laurasykora , @masumi_g , @gypsetgoddess and @beachyogagirl.

Here are a couple of our pics from earlier this month:

As you can see, the challenges have been way fun and exciting to stick with.  If you're bored with your workouts or your routine, these challenges are great way to sprinkle in some variety particularly when you are waiting patiently for the next pose to be posted every night!!  I highly recommend it, give it a try and have fun!

~V