What do tigers dream of . . . .

. . . when they take a little tiger snooze?

This post isn't about tigers.  It's about my prenatal yoga experience.  I have never been able to successfully complete a yoga session.  I could never keep up with the breathing.  I've had bad sciatica for about two years now and it's worse now that I am pregnant so I decided to give prenatal yoga a try. 

My friend and I found a Groupon for Joy Yoga Center in the Washington corridor.  So we decided to check it out.  I must say I am very pleased.  I love my instructor! Absolutely love.  She has one of those voices that makes the back of your neck tingle and she is so sweet.  We introduce ourselves every class and we share our experiences with the group.  On our first session I told her my previous yoga experiences and she was very nice and said she would try to focus on the breathing more, she said some instructors don't.  So far it's been great.  My sciatica is better, my neck and shoulder pain are gone.  I love it.  I feel very zen. 

Based on this great yoga experience my friend and I decided to add another class during the week.  Joy Yoga only offers one on Tuesdays so I told her that the Motherhood Center offered a free class if you checked in on Yelp! so we went on Thursday.  OMG! What a difference.  This is like hard core yoga. Seriously. The other class is baby cakes compared to this one and all this instructor says with each pose is "3 rounds of breathing".  I don't know when to exhale or inhale but thankfully because of the other class I did pretty good on this one not great but otherwise I would have been terrified.  I left that class sore and bewildered.  Now I know why Jennifer Aniston has such an amazing body and attributes it all to yoga.  It's because yoga is hard and extremely disciplined. 

I left that class with so many questions.  How can these pregnant women be so flexible? And why is it called tiger pose? What is the point of me doing this crazy pose up against the wall? I've never seen a tiger pose like that. Tigger bounced on his tail. 

Even though this class is a lot more intense I am very happy with it.  I am going to continue yoga two times a week, Tuesdays at Joy and Thursdays at Motherhood Center. 

I am a complete convert.  I think yoga is amazing.  I'm even considering a doula . . . that's how much 4 prenatal yoga sessions have changed my life. Actually, I'm not really considering a doula, I thought about for a hot second and yoga hasn't really helped with my anxiety that much yet but it has helped with my aches and pains. 

Here are some of my favorite poses, probably because they're the only ones I can somewhat do comfortably, I still need more practice.  

Tree pose. Tiger pose. Squat. Happy Baby.

OOTD: Aneka by New Balance yoga pants, Tie Dye Balance Collection tank, Hind long sleeve top
Calvin Klein workout pants, mpg top *
*All my workout clothes are either purchased at Marshall's, TJ Maxx or Nordstrom Rack. 
 

My hump . . . my lovely lady lumps

Thanks Fergie! I wish this blog post was about my lovely lady lumps but it's not.  I realized that my biggest fear, aside from dying a young, premature, painful death, is having a gut bigger than my behind. When I gain weight it's not the way normal people do. I can deal with the rolls and muffin tops. When I gain weight my tummy looks like a beer belly. No doubt. I feel so gross.  I've accepted the fact that I'm never going to be bobble head skinny. You know when you're so skinny your head looks bigger than your body?  So I work out as often as a can and eat as well as I can. It's hard sometimes because I love cheese! I've stopped eating cheese however because aged cheese triggers my migraine. I can't have Brie without a terrible migraine to follow. Anyway, I'm not one of those who can follow a strict workout plan. I usually just wing it. I run for about 45 minutes or the equivalent of 3 miles. Then I do a whole bunch of crunches. Then I make my rounds through the machines. I follow V around and he spots me. All 20 lbs of it. So this year I've decided to try a more structured plan.  Here's a few of the plans I found via Facebook, Instagram and general internet searches.  I'm going to try them.  Join me!  I'm not an expert or a fitness guru but I think this will be a good start!  What do you think?

Sexy Leg Workout: 2-3 sets 3 times a week
20 squats
30 lunges
40 calf raises
50 second wall sit
100 jumping jacks
50 second wall sit
40 sumo squats
30 leg raises
20 squats

Sexy Arm Workout Courtesy of Women's Health Magazine
Use 5 to 8 lb weights.  Do 15 - 20 reps of each exercise and go from one move to the other without rest in between.  Do this three times a week (2-3 sets).  Pictures courtesy of Women's Health Magazine (online).

Move 1:Reverse Fly                        Move 2:Biceps curl             Move 3:Dumbbell cross jab
  

Move 4: Lying triceps extension

Sexy Ab Workout 2x every other day   

10 crunches                                                                 

15 bicycles                                                                  

30 second plank                                                             

20 second side plank                                                  

10 crunches                                                 

20 bicycles

20 second side plank

10 crunches

30 second plank

20 leg lifts                      

                                              This back workout is courtesy of Julie Michaelson                           

Growing Wings Back Workout
Back Workout
Exercise	Sets	Reps
Wide Grip Pull Up	5	8 to 10
Wide Grip Lat Pull Down	4	10
Hammer Strength Unilateral High Row	4	10
Seated Cable Row - Narrow Grip	4	12
One Arm Dumbbell Row	3	12
Straight Arm Lat Pull Down	3	15 *Chart courtesy of muscle and fitness (online), click on exercise for demo video

I'm also taking cardio classes at the gym.  Here's a little motivation . . . I bought a pair of Cut25 trousers that are a size 0!!! I kind of fit in them now but I think they could fit a little better. Let's do this!! Oh and don't forget: abs are made in the kitchen! 

My friend is a paleo enthusiast and you can find yummy recipes on his blog: Paleo in the streets or you can follow my friend  @ilefitness for healthy, non-paleo recipes! :0

My motivation: size 0 cut25 trousers.  Let's hope this works out.  

Cut25 trousers