YWA April Calendar: REFRESH

[CBDB]

Spring has truly sprung; the Japanese cherry outside our bedroom window provides a joyful view every morning.

And in our forums, I can see this part of the year gives many immense motivations to get out there and run or cycle and rekindle our excitement about working out and getting that little bit more into shape.

I am off the injury couch, and have begun another Couch25k journey, and also have set myself a workout regime.

It looks a bit different this time, accommodating that I have also added rowing into the mix. And that means I will not be doing daily Yoga but rather choosing 2-3 days where I will do the day’s YWA session.

So the plans for my weekly routine look like this:

- 2 runs per week (to give sufficient recovery time as I get used to zero drop shoes)

- 5 rows (as indoor rowing is gentler to the body while still giving a great workout)

- And 2 -3 Yoga sessions per week (as I don’t fit more into my week)

In addition to the above, I also do post-run and post-row stretches, each lasting another 15 minutes. I might also just add some targeted 7 min sessions for my weak spots: glutes, hamstrings, ankles and toes.

Last week the above plan resulted in 537 minutes of workouts, and I think that’s pretty good for where I am in my fitness journey.

So REFRESH sounds like it will provide me with a great additional choice of workouts, and I see that there are two new sessions planned. Liking her new sessions more than her older ones (I think she has become more Pilates-y), that’s great news.

As Adriene says about REFRESH: “This month we encourage you to shake it off with a Yoga Rinse, to chill it out with Yoga to Slow Your Roll, and start anew with Yoga for the Future.”

Here is to our future (more) fit selves!

Let us know below what your plans are for workouts this month!

YWA February REFRESH, here our YWA LINKS:

★ LINK to calendar:

yogawithadriene.com/calendar/

★ And the YWA playlist is here:

youtube.com/playlist?list=P...

And if you are just joining us, big WELCOME to you and any new Virtual Workout Buddies! The daily practice of the YWA calendar is perfect for getting started with Yoga.

And feel free to - as Adriene says - “find what feels good”, meaning if your knees feel too sensitive, amend that Child’s Pose. And if you find full planks are the stuff of nightmares, rather do half planks than full ones. Do whatever feels right to get the maximum enjoyment from these daily sessions. And definitely get creative with props.

Here is a hopefully helpful post about YOGA props.

★ YOGA PROPS healthunlocked.com/strength...

★ Here was my initial large collection of props, many of which I do not need anymore, but I certainly did in the beginning: healthunlocked.com/strength...

★ And if you want to see what a month’s Virtual Workout Room looks like, here is the one for April ‘21 :

healthunlocked.com/strength...

Upwards, crow-wards, and down dog-wards to another month's practice!

(Save this post to get notified of any updates from everyone here on the mat.)

Happy working out, everyone!

[Bluebirdrunner]

The April Calender looks a good one CBDB..looking forward to it.Covid interrupted my March YWA calender, but I'm keen to get back into routine. A little runette on Monday went well too. 👍🙏

Glad to hear you are off the IC now, and hope your recovery from Covid is a smooth one. 🌷🌷🌷xxx

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to Bluebirdrunner]

“Runette”! Love that term! Great stuff! Yeah, not quite as smooth a recovery as I’d hoped, I do get moments of exhaustion and heart-racing.

[dijep 30D Graduate]

You've certainly sorted yourself a very organized weekly workout schedule, just what I've come to expect from you😄I'm still doing the odd YWA session I quite often try the ones that's attached to her weekly emails. But I'm very wary of the transition from down dog to lunge as I know that it's what caused my knee issues in January, thankfully there are always alternatives.

Glad to hear you are back to running again 👍

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to dijep]

Yes. My practice is alternative-rich, but consequently very happy! 👏👍🏽😃🧘🏻‍♀️

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold]

Day 2 - Ahimsa Yoga (35 min): this session sounded as if it was going to be intensive but it was very relaxing, slow and gentle. No down dogs at all! I also loved the focus on arms with twisting stretches and locking pulls. Not sure what they are called but I’m sure it will benefit my rowing.

I noticed my knees feel a bit more sensitive than usual, so I wonder if that is because I recently re-introduced dairy cheese into my diet to see if it still made a difference. 😞 bummer, it seems it does. So I will have to cut out cheeses again. 😤

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold]

Day 4 - 30 min Yoga for beginners: hubby and I did say 4 today as we wanted to experience the new practice that dropped earlier this week. And it didn’t disappoint! A thorough run through all positions, whilst paying attention to right poses, stances and transitions.

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold]

Day 10 - Yoga to slow your roll: a little 16 min relaxing but bendy session. Couldn’t do forward folds as much or even close to what she was doing, but lying vertically on the rolled up blanket was a great relaxer for back and outstretched arms.

This completes my week with my planned 5/2/2, but I managed to clock up 6 rows, 3 runs and 2 yoga sessions. Also started James Dunne workout today! Pretty pleased with myself!

And well done for everyone still doing their own Yoga practice!

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold]

Day 14 - Yoga for Manual Labor (23 min): Nice one to do just now, it has a few James Dunn moves! So great little on the floor practice. One down fog.

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold]

Day 15 - Yoga Stretch (21 min): Nice short session gentle on knees (only one down dog) but great for back! I’m having a bit of a back ache issue at the moment, (too much rowing?) so this stretchy session was perfect.

I see that for tomorrow there is a session planned to focus on lower back specifically, so I might end up doing that one as well.

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold]

Day 16 - Yoga for low back & Hamstrings (28 min): Quite a few new moves in this one, and a great one to do if you have some back aches, like I’ve had for a couple of days! Also some moves that remind me of the James Dunne moves, similar but different! Nice one to do just for relaxing! No down dogs, or planks, or heroes. All on floor, sitting or lying, on side or back. Love it! 😍🥰