Be Strong in Your Convictions

You already know how I feel about yoga and kettlebells.  Yin and Yang… perfectly matched, each one helps achieve a higher level of success at the other.  Today, I’d like to discuss a few things from my yoga practice.  At the start of every yoga class we’re always asked to set our intention. Our intention is something that will resonate through our practice.  It’s quite often something we want to work on… and then we are reminded to think of our intention throughout the class.

I always appreciate this part of class because it forces me to focus on something and be very present.

Today my intention was strength and compassion. I often feel like those are the yin and the yang of life.  I merge these two into a single phrase I can repeat: “Be strong, be compassionate, and be sure of yourself and your convictions.”  If there’s one thing that resonates true for me it is this and it goes for everything… in your business life, in your social life… and, yes, at the gym!  If there is room for doubt, explore it, and then decide.

I’ve complained in past posts about the “busy” excuse. People are too busy these days for their own damn good, and quite often to their detriment. If we don’t take the time to understand people and issues at a deeper level, not only are we doing ourselves a disservice, but we’re quite often cutting others off as well with our “too-busy” attitude.  But this soapbox I’m on goes for understanding oneself as well.

How can we remain strong in our convictions if we don’t truly take the time to understand ourselves?  Understanding yourself well enough to be strong in your convictions takes time, dedication and courage.   It’s worth it.  Once we have achieved a strong sense of self, then we are not shaken by others opinions.  We wake up, we look in the mirror and we know who we are.

My New Year’s resolution last year was to attempt a deeper level of compassion, and learn how to do a free-standing headstand for 1 minute.

With help and encouragement, I accomplished the headstand.  I’m thrilled and have made it part of my daily routine to stimulate my 7^th chakra with a headstand.  I think it has helped inspire my thoughts and my writing.  Compassion is back on my list for 2012.

As the yoga class comes to a close our instructor says: “Let the fruits of our practice benefit not just ourselves, but benefit all of those around us.”  So here it is… be strong, be compassionate, and be sure of yourself and your convictions!   On the mat, we learn how to breathe through some difficult poses.   As we emerge from the studio, I believe we are better equipped to navigate difficult situations.  Breathe.  The fruits of your practice will follow you throughout your day.

Peace Out,
Kate

kettlebells increase yoga strength and balance

Here’s a taste of what’s to come in my new “Yoga meets Kettlebells” workout:

Try this tonight… it’s a great way to increase your strength and balance on the mat.

Get yourself into the dancer pose:  (from a standing position, bend your right knee, grab your right foot with your right hand and press back and up.  Press your foot into your hand, keep hips facing forward, and slowly bring your right thigh parallel to the floor as you raise your left arm forward to balance.  Stay in this position… or if you feel good, lift your thigh higher while staying true to your hips.

Now it’s time to bring in the kettlebell: Place the kettlebell by your standing foot.  Lean forward and pick up the bell, and bring it up to standing.  If you want to do a clean and a press while you’re here, do that, and then bring it back down to the floor pressing your lifted foot into your hand as before, stretching the quad.  That’s one rep.

The Yoga Block and Kettlebells

I’ve just discovered that if you stand a yoga block up on its end, it’s the same height as a kettlebell.  This is great news for doing push-ups using kettlebells, because you can match the height of one of your kettlebells to the block, and then use them both to stabilize yourself when going down.  This won’t help you if you’re going to alternate push ups with rows, but it is useful if you only have one or two kettlebells at your disposal that are different heights.  In fact, I’ve seen some kettlebell push ups done with one hand on the floor and the other on a bell, and I would advice against that, especially if your shoulders give you any trouble, that’s a recipe for disaster because it puts your body out of alignment.

Try the block, and get it ready for my new workout coming soon… Yoga and Kettlebells together.  (I’ve been promising it for a while, but i think it just needs a few more tweaks…!)