New Summer Routine

A few weeks back I told Katelin once school was out I was going to make it a habit to do yoga after breakfast and after yoga take Ruby (the dog) for a walk. 

Today we began making this goal a reality. 

I realize that sentence just made this seem way more bad-ass than it may actually be.

Upon waking up this cloudy morning and filling my stomach with my favorite cereal Katelin found us a yoga routine we had never tried, and we set to opening and energizing our bodies. 

We had to stop the thirty minute video after fifteen minutes, because it was so flippin' difficult. 

I was sweating like when I did cross-fit, and my upper-thighs were burning from the squatting positions the yoga video had flowed us into. 

Stopping when I need to, whether it be in yoga, school, or eating a meal, has been extremely hard to learn, and I'm still learning. Little things like this--stopping a video halfway--used to (and sometimes still does) make me feel like a failure. The cause would become that I sucked and was incapable, and I'd never do it again. 

Over time I have reached the point where I know that stopping when my body speaks up means I am strong. Strong enough to hear my body out and accept it's need with love, not frustration. This has taken years to reach, and I still have a long way to go. 

I don't always hear my body, and I don't always listen to it, but when I do I can feel the appreciation radiate through my muscles. It's a happy energy that flows instead of the blech-y feeling that sits in my stomach when I push too far. 

With muscles shaky and legs like jello but revitalized (you know it's good yoga when you have this!) my girlfriend and I took a short break to chow down an apple and take our vitamins. Then we harnessed the pup and hit the neighborhood! 

Let me tell you: a walk can do wonders for your body, your mind, and your soul.

This sounds like something to roll your eyes and laugh at, but on a day with wind ruffling your hair and cooling your skin (not blowing you down the sidewalk) and the last of the blooming flowers sharing their fresh, perfumey smells with you through the air... a walk is like magic. 

We meandered past bunches of lilacs (my favorite), fields of dandelions, and pink and white petals floating from trees. 

 

I was even so sweet as to pick one of the finest dandelions for this beautiful girl. 

This morning was definitely a healing experience, and I hope you will find as much magic in a walk or morning routine as I have.