... and relax!

I just got home from my yoga class and I feel fantastic! A little hot and sweaty but very pleased I made it.

A friend introduced me to a local place - Intentional Yoga (on Westnedge) a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed my first class. But then I got the flu and I haven't been able to get back into it until today.

I thought it would help with my running as core strength and stretching are very important when you start increasing the miles to 13. I struggle getting up hills as I have lost all of my core strength after two babies and a C-section. I have a weak back and I swear my stomach muscles have still not knitted back together after three years! So I am not the most graceful of yoga participants but I am giving it a go and really enjoying it. I am running my second half marathon in May and I hear it has a couple of killer hills so with just a few weeks to go, I need all of the help I can get!

It's done in a warm / hot room so you get very sweaty very quickly but having run in from the car, through a couple of inches of snow, it is very nice to lie down in a warm room and feel yourself start to relax.

It's much harder work than I thought it would be and I soon feel my heart rate getting faster. I even got quite dizzy at one point and had to sit down! As well as strengthening, I am hoping it will tone me (and maybe even help me shed a pound or two or three!).

And I have even got Jeremy hooked on it! He takes the 5:30am class (not quite my idea of fun!) twice a week and says it really sets him up well for the day. He is totally addicted and really misses it if he can't go. I am sure it has nothing to do with a bunch of fit women in lycra and it's all about the stretching and workout!

So I had best get in the shower as I have to pick the kiddos up in an hour. Three days of preschool sounded a lot, but it is amazing how fast time flies when you are having fun!