Power Yoga Rant

Power Yoga, whoever invented this monster was certifiably insane. :) And Thank You. The routine I follow are advanced moves in which have been really helping me on my lower abdomen and core muscles, a location that helps with my lower back.

When I went from Beginners (Yes, I have been doing the beginners for a while) to the Power Yoga I was like, I got this! Ha! Too funny Brenda, I think someone slipped you something. Which just for future reference I do drink occasionally but it is rare and far between and not much at all. I am not opposed to drinking I just don't do it often.

Anyway, a new pose I have learned that kicks my butt is Warrior III.

http://www.yogabasics.com/asana/warrior-iii/

Helps balance, memory and concentration, and tones the body. :)

Getting into this pose after the stretching and the workout they put you through is hard. I mean, it's tough enough for me to maintain my balance with my leg back, staring at the floor with my fingertips barely touching, let alone dare try lifting my hands! Talk about a life threatening moment as I swayed towards my yoga buddy. Granted, it is funny as heck, but AHHHHH, that's what I want to say about that.

UPDATE: Amazingly enough, I have been doing this for longer then five days and I must say I have noticed improvements. My leg muscle are tightening up and I feel more control over my stance and more confident to raise my hands out. Keeping my leg high is hard and I still feel the want to shake and lean my body, but slowly I am getting there.

To everyone that does yoga, y'all are amazing and I give you props. Keep it up. Yoga is hard than it looks but very rewarding.

I would also like to say that doing it with a buddy can be, not only, challenging (especially if the two of you keep giggling) but so much fun. It really helps having that support when you want to drop out of pose. They are a cheering squad and a motivation that I know I need and I am grateful to have. Cross your fingers we continue to do this.

-Brenda

5 days in January

I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. We are officially five days into 2016 and already so much fun and so busy. Between reading and writing, which I talk about on my other Blog “Into My World. . .” My life stays pretty busy. And I really don’t know how! What’s so hard and time consuming about sleeping in, hours of peace from your husband while he’s at work, lots of free time to write? You can eat and nap whenever you want. I think I am part cat.

Seriously though, life is pretty busy. I spend a few hours a day at the computer typing away for a book, even when I don’t feel like it. You always want to stay on some sort of writing schedule, it’s much like working out, and once you skip a day it’s a heck of a fight to get back in working order.

I also read at least a chapter (which leads to at least three when I’m done) a day. Working on reading the first ten Nancy Drew books this month. Yeah! I haven’t ready them in a long time, but I drift. Then 1-3 times a week I am spending time at my grandparents, where I have started to master the art of the Bobby Pin for doing my grandma’s hair.

Oh, then there is eating. Haha And I know they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I can’t help it, I tend to skip it and grab something about ten or eleven in the morning. Does that count as breakfast still? No, darn. I also have a bad habit of writing for too long and forgetting to eat. That is a no, no. Plenty times Shawn, my husband, has reminded me that there is such a thing and that I can’t survive off of air. I’d be long since dead without those sweet, annoying, little reminders.

Also the extra little things that fill up the day, like watching a show, spending time with family, remembering that working out is still required at some point. Darn you laziness you are so mean, and I love you.

Writing all this down it doesn’t seem to crazy. Now that I am really looking at it I think it’s just a matter of time management for completely all these in a timely manner. The day will still go by but perhaps I won’t feel as worn by the end of it.

Okay, add that to my New Year’s resolution: Time management, or clone yourself and have them do everything. I don't know if I could stand another me wandering around, so I might have to skip that one. Darn.

Now, speaking of busy, time for a run. :) Y'all have a wonderful day.

-Brenda

New Year's Resolution 2016

My first goal of the year is to get over my cough. Okay, that’s not really a true New Year’s goal, but I would like to put it in the category of being healthy, so I think it counts.

Speaking of being healthy, I know it is among the most promised act of people starting the New Year, as well as the most broken one, but I would like to try my hand at it. . . Again. But I’m going to be a little more reasonable. I would love to loose five pounds by May, because I am going to be a Bridesmaid. So five pounds would be great and maybe gain a little more arm muscle. Yeah. Then, by the end of October, I would love to loose five more pounds. Then, I won’t feel bad when I gain ten pounds in November and December. I think that is a very reasonable goal, don’t you?

Now, everyone knows how I love to read and this year is the same as the last. I want to read A LOT! My Goal this time is 50 books, starting with the wonderful Nancy Drew books which I haven’t read since I was a teen. I own just about 20 of them and haven’t had the time in 2015 to sit down and really enjoy them, so I am going to do that this year. I mean, who doesn’t like a little mystery from time to time?

Staying with the bookish theme I hope to publish two more books this year and have them available as paperback before Christmas.

Now, a New Year resolution is not just about setting up goals for the New Year it’s about challenging yourself, trying something new, and being a better person. Just because you break the healthy streak you are going for, only read 49 out of 50 books, lose 4 pounds instead of 5, doesn’t mean you failed. Yeah, you didn’t reach your goal, but heck! You tried! That is the point of the New Year resolution to me. It is that you tried, experienced, and had fun. If it wasn’t for little or big goals sought after then we wouldn’t accomplish or appreciate things as much as we do already. You wouldn’t have gone to that gym where you found a best friend, read the book that changed your views, ate the food that was horrible but gave you great laughs, or failed at yoga only to discover you prefer jogging since you have the cute outfit. I think you get my point.

Failure or not, I hope that your 2016 is filled with lots of resolutions, friends, good times, laughs, adventures, failures, and triumph!

--Brenda Franklin