Yoga with Adriene - Find what feels good roadshow

Adriene in the green with me and my friends :)

Anyone who knows me will know how much I love yoga and that my journey to cultivating a regular practice came from committing to a 30 days of yoga challenge on the Yoga with Adriene YouTube channel. You can read more about this here.   

The Yoga with Adriene channel makes it so easy to practice yoga wherever I am because it's so accessible, suitable for all levels and it's free! Depending on how my body feels and my energy levels I can have a flick through all the videos and choose one that suits my mood, be it a ten minute stretch out at my desk or a more strength building, energising practice.

There are so many yoga channels on the web but the main reason I always stick with the Yoga with Adriene videos is because Adriene is a wonderful teacher. She's down to earth, super chilled and funny, it's like she's in the living room with me! Her tutorials always promote listening to your body and 'finding what feels good' rather than pushing yourself too much or feeling any discomfort whatsoever.

When I found out that she was going to be doing a road show including dates in the UK, I was stoked! I couldn't wait to practice yoga with Adriene - in real life! So when the day came, I was absolutely buzzing with energy.

The venue, Manchester Academy, not your usual yoga joint was filling up with yogi's from all over the UK. It was so cool to see different coloured yoga mats in rows and people in yoga pants in a venue where I'm usually rocking out to the likes of N.E.R.D! I was super excited for her to arrive thinking I might squeal like a teenager but when she arrived on stage it was like I was there to meet a friend.

Everyone applauded and she greeted us warmly before talking about why she decided to do a road show. She then explained how the theme of the class was compassion - compassion for others for ourselves and love. Love. Perfect. So much so that I got a little teary at the beginning... 

I managed to keep it together for the class though which started out with us laying on our backs and slowly progressed from a relaxing flow to a more energising sequence to a soundtrack that included her video title tune and even a disco track! It was amazing how 400 people were breathing and moving in unison. Even more amazing how even though there were so many of us, it still felt like an intimate class and setting. 

At the end we bowed to ourselves and each other and I just sat and stared at my surroundings, big smile on my face. What a unique experience. I can't say I've ever done yoga with so many people and I was just stunned by what Adriene had created all the way from Texas; a wonderful community of people who were all there to be present, conscious, kind, compassionate, aware, to love and to find what feels good! 

I even managed to get a hug and a picture with the lady herself. She spoke to practically every person that was there and although we were at the end of the queue she was still bouncing with energy and spoke to each of us like a true friend. What a beautiful spirit. Definitely worth the wait. We were probably delirious by the time we got to meet her though! Seriously, we salsa danced in the queue - enough said. 

Days after the class and I still feel inspired by it. It was another highlight to add to my yoga journey. If you haven't already started yours, do give it a try. Yoga has contributed to my life in so many ways. From what started out as a physical practice to heal my spine, it has now become a place for me to spend a little bit of time to take care of myself physically, mentally and spiritually. Yoga doesn't just take place on my mat, I take it off the mat and into the rest of my day. It just makes everything softer. And if it can do that for me, I want everybody to do it!

Start practising today with the very first Yoga with Adriene video that kick started my yoga journey by clicking here. 

 

Just love and namaste

Rina xoxo 

 

P.S. Thanks to Kat for the pictures, my battery died. Typical!

New Year - setting my intentions for the year ahead with #30daysofyoga

I know, I know, New Year's resolutions are a tad bit corny. Why does it have to be at a new year? For all those people that say you can make resolutions at anytime of year, I hear you and agree completely. However, there is something about seeing the words 'January 1st' and feeling like you want to start something fresh and new apart from a 2015 calendar. Just something, be it a gym membership, starting a health kick or joining eHarmony - yup, I did that one January!

Thankfully I'm no longer a believer in New Year, New Man. I do, however, think that there is some value in setting intentions for the year ahead plus a friend of mine asked me the other day, 'Have you made any New Year's resolutions?'.

Now for me, 2014 was a good year so if anything, all I wanted to do was carry this through into 2015.
When I got into thinking about why the previous year was a solid all-rounder I realised that I made a conscious decision to practice gratitude and to try and have a positive impact upon anyone that I came into contact with. This wasn't a New Year's resolution, by the way, it was just something that I decided to do as I'd opened my mind up to consciousness.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have the words 'Just love' inked on the inside of my arm as a reminder of this hence the reason why I always sign off my posts, letters, emails with those words, just to make sure I'm leaving everyone with some positivity. I can't say I have been positive on every occassion. Believe me, there have been some situations where I've completetly flipped my lid but the awareness of my intention has always been within me and it made a huge impact on my outlook on everything.

Simply put, I felt more content than ever before and I attribute it mainly to the feeling of being grateful. I did away with thinking 'what if', 'I wish I had', 'if only' and 'if it wasn't for' and instead focussed on how lucky I am to be healthy, to have good friends and family, to have the most amazing conversations with people that I instantly connected with and to be able to take part in all kinds of experiences from beautiful holidays to long walks with my parents.

2015 for me is about continuing to practice gratitute but complimenatry to that, I have recently discovered yoga and have found that it's made a great positive impact on all aspects of my mind and body. I have dabbled in and out of yoga practice but I've never really fallen in love with it until a couple of months ago when a friend suggested doing it to help with the problems I have with my lower back. She told me how she watches videos of classes on YouTube and I came across a channel called Yoga with Adriene; a yoga teacher from Texas who has a real passion for helping people to enjoy the practice through her philosophy of 'finding what feels good'.

Previously I always felt that yoga was too strict and sometimes way to extreme for me and my tight hamstrings. For a practice that promotes helping one to de-stress, I never understood how I could achieve this when my body is trying it's hardest to stay still whilst being folded up like a pretzel!

Adriene's expression of yoga encourages you to 'find what feels good' by keeping the body moving and by finding that balance between creating heat and enery with the relaxation gained from connecting with the breath to find stillness. Her style feels more playful and less serious compared to the other classes I have been to. The comfort of doing it in my own home means that I'm not worried that I'll look like a complete fool in front of others! Not that it matters because yoga has taught me that it doesn't matter if you're not perfect, it's commiting to the practice that counts! But the best thing is, it keeps me coming back to the mat which is something I've never managed to do before.

So for the month of January I have set myself a goal to take part in the #30daysofyoga challenge on the Yoga with Adriene channel. I'm really excited to join this global community and start my 2015 by breathing deeper and creating good enegry for the year ahead.

I'll be sure to let you know how I get on but if any of you have an interest in yoga I definitely recommend that you check out her page and maybe start the challenge too!

Happy New Year everyone!

Just love

Rina xoxo

If any of you practice yoga I'd love to know why you practice it and how it benefits you, please leave a comment below.