Crystal Madrilejos

Design & Creative

On Being

Momentum

On Wednesday and Thursday, I got up super early (5:30!) to go to the Rec Center to get my cardio on. I really wish that there were more things in my life that required me to get my heart rate up naturally. And by naturally, I mean that the sole purpose of the activity isn’t to “work out” – this is why I need a farm that requires me to toss huge bales of hay or something. Basically, I want to be a young, Amish man where I raise barns all day. How many Amish guys do you think need to “go for a run” to get exercise? Not many, would be my guess. Or maybe I need to take dance classes or yoga classes because at least I’d be learning a skill at the same time. I’m looking into 6am yoga or barre classes in the area because when I get motivated, I turn into a glutton for punishment. Kidding! I actually enjoy being active. Though I’m not a fan of running, no matter how hard I try to like it.

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If any of you are on Instagram, I’m sure you’ve come across at least one person posting yoga pictures. If you aren’t into yoga, you might find these annoying just like when someone posts too many photos of their kids. Another thing I may or may not be guilty of!

For the month of October I’ll be partaking in the YogaFlightFest challenge on Instagram, so if you’re looking for some motivation and want to join me click here for details.

There are a million yoga challenges on Instagram every month and a few months ago a co-worker decided to do one and I figured, why not? I’ve followed a few yogis on Instagram, most of them I found through following BexLife, and had already been inspired to practice more, why not join in a challenge while I was at it? I had already been doing some yoga on my own at home through my subscription to yogaglo.com, so I wasn’t jumping in blindly. I’ve practiced yoga off and on for a few years, but never anything consistent and unfortunately haven’t gone to many classes due to my schedule. But I found that doing a yoga challenge helped me be more consistent in my practice, even if I wasn’t able to do all the poses yet.

The photo above and the ones below are photos from the first challenge I did called YoGratitude back in August

Let me make one thing clear, I’m no yoga expert. I wouldn’t even consider myself intermediate. I enjoy doing yoga and I know my limitations. I know there are some yogis out there of the mind that yoga challenges on social media are not safe or healthy because it does not necessarily encourage regular practice. You see all these super advanced yogis doing amazing feats of strength and flexibility and if you try these things without knowing what you are doing, without being properly warmed up and without knowing how to listen to your body, you could end up injured.

I definitely see that as a valid standpoint, and I completely agree with the notion that people shouldn’t jump into a yoga challenge as an ego boost. However, I do think that yoga challenges can be a source of motivation and inspiration. I don’t like the notion that I’ve seen people bring up, that people who do yoga challenges are somehow doing a disservice to the practice itself as if yoga is only to be practiced by people who are “serious.” To me, if someone is inspired to get up and move and is motivated to do it because of an Instagram challenge, then more power to them. I also don’t think there is ever any harm in spreading the goodness of yoga to the masses and possibly changing anyone’s preconceived notions of what yoga might or might not be.

With that said, I will post occasional updates here on my progress throughout the challenge. And also, if any of those photos I posted seem deceiving, well they are. Because this is really what doing yoga around our house looks like:

xo,
c.

On Being, Uncategorized

Routine

I’m exhausted right now, so I’m going to try to keep this brief. Nike Training Camp kicked my butt tonight and my legs are like jello (as is my brain, so bear with me!)

Been trying to get back into a routine of regular physical activity. Here’s what I’ve been up to on the days that I can muster up the energy to get in a workout:
Started running on a treadmill in Andrew’s parent’s garage (when the weather isn’t too cold.) Any of you who have been following this blog for awhile, may remember my previous foray into running
I’ve done a couple P90X videos, though I haven’t felt the desire to commit to the entire program like last time. I like the P90X yoga video, but it’s so damn long. I only have so much free time to do this stuff. I know it’s important but I have very limited time to spare. I’m happy if I can get in 30-45 minutes in without cutting into other important things, like loving on my babies! I can’t be spending an hour and 45 minutes doing yoga with Tony Horton. Maybe once Ellis is a little older and is getting to bed at a more consistent time, I can plan for longer workouts. However, two P90X videos that are great if you are in a time crunch are Cardio and Ab Ripper – both are relatively short at 30 minutes and 15 minutes, respectively.
Also, I downloaded the Nike Training Camp app, which is great. It has different levels and programs oriented around different results you are trying to achieve. Right now, I’m mainly focused on doing cardio since my current goal is to just get my heart rate up and get my body used to regular activity again. None of the workouts I do on the app require any sort of equipment, which is another plus and it has workouts in the 30-45 minute range. Get the app here.
Somedays I just do some Sun Salutations and some basic yoga poses. Anything to have some level of physical activity after sitting behind a desk for 8 hours a day. Though, I am seriously considering a stand up desk at work.
Here are some previous posts about working out that made me laugh when I went back and re-read them:

Thanks to all of you who have been inspiring me to get back to it! If you’re looking for some inspiration check out these wonderful people:
xo,
c.