I’m on week 2 of Beachbody’s 3-Week Yoga Retreat, and it feels like week 1 went by really fast. I’m already debating on whether I’m going to try Cize or Barre Blend next because I know the next 2 weeks are also going to fly by, but first… today’s video. It’s called Stretch, and I’m guessing it will be expanding on the moves learned in week 1’s Stretch video as well as some new ones. I’m already expecting some poses that make my legs burn (I’m looking at you, low lunge). Those poses aren’t my favorite, but they help and I need to do my best with them, because I sit for most of the day.
I should also probably note that I ALWAYS modify plank. This is because of my lower back problems. I don’t want to put more stress on that area than I need to until I build up the muscles that protect it. It’s a goal of mine to be able to hold plank without back pain. But there is NO shame in modifying it to protect your back if you need to. You can still gain benefit doing any of these moves in the modified position.
Before 3-Week Yoga Retreat Day 2 – Stretch: It’s 9:20 p.m. I’m actually feeling pretty good. I was feeling tired after work, but I took some time to relax and read, and now I’m feeling more like exercising. I’m also drinking some Beachbody Performance Energize for a little extra kick, and I’m starting to feel that kick in. My lower back has hurt a bit today, but other than that, I feel good!
WORKOUT TOOLS:
1. Yoga mat. Yoga is really, really difficult to do without a mat because it’s much harder to stabilize yourself and hold the poses without one. I learned this from doing PiYo in the past, so if you don’t have one, I really recommend getting one.
2. Optional yoga block. This is handy to have if you aren’t flexible or have poor balance and could use the extra support. I don’t have one and it’s definitely not required.
After 3-Week Yoga Retreat Day 2 – Stretch: Well that had some challenging stretches! I definitely had to modify a few of them, but that’s okay. It’s kind of neat, earlier today, a friend of mine was talking about leg pain from fibromyalgia (that’s not the neat part, that’s the awful part) and another friend suggested yoga. I decided to do a Google search to see if I could find any helpful articles on poses for her, and I found a good one that recommended a few in particular. The neat part is that we’ve done all of those poses between today’s video and yesterday. Including something called the corpse pose, which sounds super morbid, but you basically just lay on the floor, letting yourself melt into it and relaxing tension, while breathing deeply, in and out, letting anything mentally go that doesn’t serve you. It was actually really therapeutic, and yes, I cried again. lol. Like I said the other day, I definitely still have some emotional pain that needs to be released, and things like this help. I’m able to let go more and more each time, and it’s progress.
When it comes to emotional pain and trauma, you don’t have to let it all go at once. That’s unrealistic. But every time you can let go of a piece of it, however small, it lightens the load and lessens the impact. As you let these little pieces go over time, the pain begins to dissipate until the things that happened don’t affect you like they once did, and that’s the goal. Healing.
Anyway, this was another video that I very much enjoyed. We did some very relaxing poses, some poses that my hips and lower back very much needed, and some challenging poses. And I love how the instructor is asking us to be mindful of the things that are going on with us emotionally, as well, because that’s an important part of both physical and mental health.
Tomorrow’s video is “Balance,” and I’m always most excited for these poses because it’s one of the things I want to improve the most. Check back tomorrow for more of my thoughts, and if you’d like to try Beachbody’s 3-Week Yoga Retreat or any of the others in their catalog, please let me know. I’d be happy to help you get started.
April Kolesar
Beachbody Independent Coach