Five Friday Favorites 2/19/16

Totally forgot to publish this on Friday. Woops! My first Friday Favorites will just have to be a #SundayFunday recap!

Who doesn't love talking about things they love?! This idea of summing up the week with 5 awesome things is just amazing! Here we go...

DADDY-DAUGHTER SKI DATES

For the last ten days I was in Park City, UT with my dad. He just retired two weeks ago and in celebration is going on two 3-week ski trips and then to the beach for three months with my mom! Yeah, he's pretty stoked on life right now. So it was back to Utah for the first time in probably 10 years. I grew up skiing at Snowbird, so this was familiar in so many ways, and yet awesome to be exploring a new ski town and mountain! We didn't have any powder dumps while we were there, but enjoyed the adventure of finding good snow, getting back into (ski) shape, getting new boots (waaaaay overdue! Mine were 12 years old and disintegrating!), and finding our groove in a new ski town. It's amazing how even though I'd never been there before, I fell right back into that lifestyle! It was a great "homecoming!"

IMPROMPTU AIRPORT RUN-INS

A great example of why social media rocks. I posted a picture from the Salt Lake City airport before boarding. Becky, my co-worker at Sweat Pink, saw it and commented that she too was at SLC. We were both preparing to board our separate flights, and thought we wouldn't have time to meet up. As I was standing in the boarding line, she was walking back to her gate and spotted me. Keep in mind, we've never met in person before. OMG the amazingness of this!

HEALING (MOSTLY)

I was pretty nervous about this ski trip, due to being injured only the week before. Luckily my amazing chiropractor got me mostly patched back together just in time! After weeks of self-care, aka laying prone in my pillow fort on the couch, I was stoked but nervous to get back on the hill! I eased into it, or as much as I'm capable of easing into things, and was surprised at how well I did! I even went to a yoga class while I was there (Christa at Tadasana Yoga Studio is awesome!)! I did attempt a handstand, though didn't push it. The wall was funky and the sky was blue, so I couldn't resist. But it didn't feel super awesome, so I haven't attempted again since. I'm pretty sore and ready to see my chiropractor for a session, but am so excited to be getting back to normal!

AUNTIE STATUS

While away on vacation, my good friend gave birth to her little baby girl, JG! I can't wait to get some baby snuggles in! I love being an auntie!

SKINNING

Not only did I get to ski a bunch with my dad last week, but I got to return to skinning frequently! It started as a substitute for running or the gym in the winter, but this activity quickly became one of my all-time favorite things! Dripping sweat, huffing and puffing, legs feeling like lead, sometimes having to get up in the pitch dark and cold, it's all worth it! It's truly moving meditation for me! 

Happy weekend, y'all! 

Funky #ForearmFriday! #poseoftheday

Happy #ForearmFriday, sweaties! Today for #sweatpink's #poseoftheday, we're talking Funky Pincha (Option 1 is Tripod Headstand).

This pose used to be incredibly awkward for me! I had a regular Tripod and Forearmstand practice, but every time I tried to kick up into this hybrid inversion, I was at a loss. I felt lopsided. I didn't know how I was supposed to hold it when my balance wasn't centered.

But that's the yoga. (Oh boy, that's a discussion for another time...)

I've established my affinity for trying postures that scare me on the beach. There's no fear of falling in the sand. So after not attempting this pose for a while, I tried it out on the beach a few years ago when it was a pose-of-the-day for another challenge. It was awkward, hard, and unnatural, but I got up there. And got some hang time!

The theme for the day back in October of 2013 was a pose that felt impossible. I'd been really focusing on my forearmstand (this was the same trip I tried handstand away from the wall out on the beach and again surprised myself!). I knew I could hold forearmstand AND tripod headstand, so this was in fact physically possible for me. I just had to try, and try, and try again. 

Holding it long enough for my mom to capture a shot was the motivation. I knew I could get there, so now I just needed to keep working and progressing. It's not a super regular part of my practice, so when again it was a pose-of-the-day a while later, I was reminded that I hadn't been including this in my flow (well, handstand really eclipsed so much of my practice....hello, #handstand365). Because I had been training so hard for handstand, I had the core strength to float right up into this funky pose. I was shocked! 

Yes, I know how it all interrelates, but it was still amazing to me. The awkward weight distribution between a hand and a forearm wasn't a factor. The focus of getting my hips up over my shoulders without losing the integrity of my spinal alignment within handstand completely translates across to all of our favorite inversions. 

Don't you just love that sensation of when you surprise yourself with what you can do?! When you drop the expectations and give something a go just for the hell of it?! That happened to me over the summer with another forearmstand variation: palms touching. This always seemed impossible too. And then I gave it another go. 

Have fun with funky forearmstand (or any variation or Tripod Headstand) today, sweaties! Show us your variations! #sweatpink #flexandflow #poseoftheday #stopdropandyoga #yogaeverydamnday @FitApproach @Lizwilsonyoga

BALANCE! Theme of the…decade?

As we end the second week of the #BOSUStrong challenge, I'm filled with reflection on the theme we've talked about: balance.

There's the pure physical element of balance, which I of course love. Balance is a huge part of our every day lives: to work on handstands and forearmstands, to #stopdropandyoga on hikes and runs and everywhere else, to essentially just make it around on two feet (or two hands ;) ) half the time. Balance is incorporated in pretty much every physical exertion.

But let's get into the other side of balance. The idea of balance in your life. In high school I was really goal-oriented on studying hard and getting in to Chapel Hill. Done. In college I was really goal-oriented on working to get into law school. I interned at different firms every year, sometimes multiple at a time. I was on the dean's list, had two majors and a minor, was part of a pre-law frat, was researching law schools… I was on the right(?) track. When I couldn't find an internship for the summer before my senior year beyond a week-long shadowing of an immigration attorney at a huge firm in Atlanta (this was post-recession when all the college grads that couldn't find jobs and went to law school were interning and trying to find jobs), I took a NOLS course. For a month I lived in the woods. I hiked up mountain peaks with a 45-pound pack on my back with all my food and gear I needed for 18 days, and paddled on a river for 10 days. I had two pairs of underwear and three shirts, no facial cleanser or tweezers or razor or mascara, no coffee shop with foamy lattes, no Facebook (this was pre-Instagram, but I totally would have missed that too!). I had no deodorant. Or wine. Or toilet paper. For a month. And I had the absolute time of my life! 

After returning to the "real" world, and shadowing that attorney for a week with my epic Chaco tan still gracing my feet, I started to doubt my path. Did I really want to be a lawyer? I was on the track for three hard years at law school followed by grueling hours as an associate at a firm, assuming I would have been able to find a job in a saturated field. My hippie-lawyer father convinced me to take some time off, and not by interning at another firm like I'd been planning. But to move out West and ski and travel and live. Though living in a ski town and working in the tourism industry wasn't sustainable for me forever, it taught me something very important. The idea of working to live rather than living to work (also the lifestyle I love and appreciate in the locals in Costa Rica). I worked hard, and at multiple jobs, but I had time almost every day to do something active outside, to have wine with friends, to take epic vacations. 

People ask me about my thoughts on law school now. Well… It's been 4 and a half years since I graduated from college, and law school is NOT on the horizon. (And a lot of lawyers cheer me when I say that!) I've talked through many of the motivators for successful lawyers to go through the hells of law school and long hours of being firm newbies, and I don't really have any of them. I would have been a good lawyer, but… My years in Colorado taught me that I value a balanced (and fit) lifestyle. I want to work hard and make money, but not if it means not seeing the light of day for days at a time. I want to enjoy my work, but to have passions outside of the office. I want to have the balance between finding success in a career field, but also living my life to the absolute fullest! To not look back and wish I hadn't wasted years of my life under fluorescent lighting for a job I wasn't passionate about. 

The thing about balance, much like the Scales of Justice symbol of the law, is that there's a fine line on which you're always teeter-tottering. Fitness is super important to me, and a huge counter to sitting behind my computer for hours at a time. But I also have a tendency to being too active and too hard on my body. Rest days and self-care have become a huge part of my routine. Well, I'm trying hard for them to be. Time with friends, eating, drinking, hiking, shooting the shit, is a major part of my life. But I need to remember to have "me" time. To have quiet time in my space reading, doodling, blogging, watching movies, or even hitting the trails by myself. 

I want to do all the things all the time! And I think it's totally doable. But it's all about the balance. You make your decision, deal with a little natural "what if" doubt, and then enjoy where you're at! 

Happy Forearm Friday! 

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by BOSU. I truly appreciate all of the brands that support the Sweat Pink community!

12 ways I get and (try to) stay balanced (and #BOSUStrong!)

6 ways I stay balanced If you forgot to join me last week for the #BOSUStrong challenge or just weren’t up for the cardio, make sure you join me this week as it’s all about the balance! We’re standing on one leg, lunging, and BOSU squatting our way through the week. But balance means more than just being able to stand on one leg, it also means being able to do what you love while making healthy choices at the same time. It means putting in the work and still finding time for vegging with The Mindy Project or a trashy romance novel and a glass of wine. Or eating all the chocolate but balancing it out with a salad. Or walking for coffee (workout) and practicing yoga (workout) at home when you can’t make it to the gym. Here are the 6 ways I stay balanced - what are yours? I make time for myself by reading during breakfast and in bed before sleep. My favorite me time is out for a run, practicing yoga, and snuggling watching a movie. My rule when it comes to a balanced diet is everything in moderation. I make fitness a priority by writing it in my daily schedule in permanent marker, and usually getting it done in the morning! When I get stressed or overwhelmed, my go to is hit a hot power vinyasa class and/or go for a run, especially in the woods. I do make fitness a priority to help my family stay balanced. (My sanity is good for their sanity. :) ) Bonus: Here are my fave 6 moves to help improve your balance:  Warrior III  Core strength building (it's always all about the core!)  Handstand (it's always all about handstand for me :) )  Tuck jumps to prep and build strength for handstand  Dancer pose- it's a backbend, heart opener, shoulder opener, pec stretch, quad stretch, AND you're on one leg! <3 Lunges- great poses to build strength for good balance… I love flowing between lunges and standing balance poses So I want to know - are you #BOSUStrong? Copy and paste the above, fill it in and make it your own and then tag me in it and share with your friends! Let’s all be #BOSUSTRONG. The daily prompts are below. You can also follow along HERE.

DAILY PROMPTS! Monday, 9/21: Happy Monday sweaties, this week we’re all about that balance. Let’s see you stand on one leg - ready, set, GO! #BosuStrong #SweatPink #FitFamily @Bosu_Fitness (Instagram) @BOSUFitness (Twitter) @FitApproach #ad Bonus: Y’all know we love to #jumpjoymonday! Show us your BEST jump shot and tag @BOSU_Fitness @FitApproach #BOSUStrong #FitFamily #SweatPink #ad Tuesday, 9/22: We want to see you #dropitlikeasquat...on your BOSU or perhaps one leg? #BosuStrong #SweatPink #FitFamily @Bosu_Fitness @FitApproach #ad Bonus: It’s time for #treetuesday! Show us your best tree pose. @BOSU_Fitness @FitApproach #BOSUStrong #FitFamily #SweatPink #ad Wednesday, 9/23: Let’s lunge it out sweaties! #BosuStrong #SweatPink #FitFamily @Bosu_Fitness @FitApproach #ad Bonus: #workitwednesday, show us how you’re workin’ it this Wednesday and tag #BOSUstrong #FitFamily #SweatPink @Bosu_Fitness @FitApproach #ad Thursday, 9/24: It’s #totalbodythursday. Show us your favorite total body balance  move! #BOSUstrong #FitFamily #SweatPink @Bosu_Fitness @FitApproach #ad Bonus: Give us a #tbt of a time when you really challenged your balance (feel free to get creative!) #BOSUstrong #FitFamily #SweatPink @Bosu_Fitness @FitApproach #ad Friday, 9/25: #FreeFriday. Show us your favorite way to get your cardio on! #BOSUstrong #FitFamily #SweatPink @Bosu_Fitness @FitApproach #ad Bonus: Happy #forearmfriday. Let’s forearm plank it out y’all! #BOSUstrong #FitFamily #SweatPink @Bosu_Fitness @FitApproach #ad Notes: You do not need to own or have access to a BOSU to participate. By participating you will have a chance to win a BOSU and other fun prizes. And please, if you are using a BOSU throughout this challenge, never stand on your BOSU with the dome facing down (images or moves down on the BOSU incorrectly will not count during this challenge). Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by BOSU. I truly appreciate all of the brands that support the Sweat Pink community.