For a long time I've wanted to find a way to merge my love of running/marathons/triathlon with raising awareness/funds for children with special needs. As a full-time pediatric (and part-time geriatric!) Speech-Languge Pathologist, I have a heart for people with special needs...in particular those with impaired communication skills.
I've decided to dedicate my training and participation in Ironman Wisconsin 2013 to the children I've worked with and fallen in love with at Easter Seals Central Illinois.
Check out my fundraising page to learn more...and consider donating to this fantastic organization.
My Ironman Foundation Fundraising Page
Thank you for your support!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
do it for savasana
I'm in love...
With yoga.
My good friend, colleague and co-worker Laurel introduced me to yoga in September of 2011. I am so, so eternally grateful to her that she did!
In September of 2011 I was starting a new job...and the unraveling of my marriage was becoming more and more obvious and harder to ignore. I was enduring many big changes in my life and developing maladaptive coping mechanisms (such as not eating...not sleeping...having emotional outbursts...working out excessively...avoiding friends...etc.).
Enter yoga.
Now yoga is something that had never appealed to me in the slightest prior to that September. I was intrigued by it...but only because I was curious as to why someone would possibly choose to do yoga over a sweaty cardio workout (I've always been a bit of a cardio-fiend). I tried a yoga class once at the student rec center during graduate school, but I definitely couldn't quite figure out how to "turn of my mind" to "stay present in the moment" or anything like that. The hokey (in my opinion) meditative stuff weirded me out and the slow pace did nothing for my somewhat-ADHD tendencies.
I quickly threw in the towel on THAT crap.
But when Laurel suggested I come with her to try her "amazing" yoga class on Tuesday nights...for some reason...I said "yes."
After my first class with her, I rarely missed a Tuesday night class. Later that spring (2012) when the instructor stopped teaching at the particular gym she had been at on Tuesday nights, I rearranged my work schedule so that I could attend her Monday pm classes instead. There was NO way I was giving it up!
I started attending yoga classes in other cities (the first was a Bikram studio in Chicago with Laurel and some of her friends). I've sought out new yoga studios while on vacations in cities such as Washington DC and San Diego, and attended classes at an amazing studio, Bikram Durham, almost every evening while I was in the Raleigh-Durham area for two weeks of continuing education classes in June of 2012. And, in November of 2012 I discovered an impressive studio in Peoria, IL (Body The Fitness Boutique) that offers a variety of amazing classes, including hot power yoga which has quickly become one of my favorite classes. My only lament is the hour drive both directions!
Why yoga?
Well...I've found that yoga is a wonderful complement to my triathlon training. I've become much more flexible, have noted that my core is stronger and I have gone a long time without an injury (knock on wood!) since introducing yoga to my training regimen. I've challenged my body in new ways and tried things I never thought were in the realm of possibility for me. I have a LONG way to go before anyone would consider me a "real" "yogi"...but I'm starting to really get it!
I attend yoga classes 2-3 times per week now. I look forward to the classes for the camaraderie with the other students, for the amazing workout, for the sense of accomplishment and for the unbelievable feeling at the end of a great class. There aren't many things better than the feeling you have after an intense yoga practice...when you're lying on your mat, eyes closed, ankles together, toes slightly splayed to the sides, palms open facing up...taking some breaths in sweet, sweet savasana.
With yoga.
My good friend, colleague and co-worker Laurel introduced me to yoga in September of 2011. I am so, so eternally grateful to her that she did!
In September of 2011 I was starting a new job...and the unraveling of my marriage was becoming more and more obvious and harder to ignore. I was enduring many big changes in my life and developing maladaptive coping mechanisms (such as not eating...not sleeping...having emotional outbursts...working out excessively...avoiding friends...etc.).
Enter yoga.
Now yoga is something that had never appealed to me in the slightest prior to that September. I was intrigued by it...but only because I was curious as to why someone would possibly choose to do yoga over a sweaty cardio workout (I've always been a bit of a cardio-fiend). I tried a yoga class once at the student rec center during graduate school, but I definitely couldn't quite figure out how to "turn of my mind" to "stay present in the moment" or anything like that. The hokey (in my opinion) meditative stuff weirded me out and the slow pace did nothing for my somewhat-ADHD tendencies.
I quickly threw in the towel on THAT crap.
But when Laurel suggested I come with her to try her "amazing" yoga class on Tuesday nights...for some reason...I said "yes."
After my first class with her, I rarely missed a Tuesday night class. Later that spring (2012) when the instructor stopped teaching at the particular gym she had been at on Tuesday nights, I rearranged my work schedule so that I could attend her Monday pm classes instead. There was NO way I was giving it up!
I started attending yoga classes in other cities (the first was a Bikram studio in Chicago with Laurel and some of her friends). I've sought out new yoga studios while on vacations in cities such as Washington DC and San Diego, and attended classes at an amazing studio, Bikram Durham, almost every evening while I was in the Raleigh-Durham area for two weeks of continuing education classes in June of 2012. And, in November of 2012 I discovered an impressive studio in Peoria, IL (Body The Fitness Boutique) that offers a variety of amazing classes, including hot power yoga which has quickly become one of my favorite classes. My only lament is the hour drive both directions!
Why yoga?
Well...I've found that yoga is a wonderful complement to my triathlon training. I've become much more flexible, have noted that my core is stronger and I have gone a long time without an injury (knock on wood!) since introducing yoga to my training regimen. I've challenged my body in new ways and tried things I never thought were in the realm of possibility for me. I have a LONG way to go before anyone would consider me a "real" "yogi"...but I'm starting to really get it!
I attend yoga classes 2-3 times per week now. I look forward to the classes for the camaraderie with the other students, for the amazing workout, for the sense of accomplishment and for the unbelievable feeling at the end of a great class. There aren't many things better than the feeling you have after an intense yoga practice...when you're lying on your mat, eyes closed, ankles together, toes slightly splayed to the sides, palms open facing up...taking some breaths in sweet, sweet savasana.
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