Yogasana and the reclining hero pose

Today I had another fruitful class. We had the replacement yogasana class instead of pilates. The instructor helped correct my one legged reclining hero pose. I've been trying to do this from YouTube because it helps digestion but I kept hurting my knee. Today she corrected me and told me to keep the knees pointing up and put the weight on the opposite side of the body. I felt so relieved after doing it. I found that I have very tight lower back and front thighs. The stretch was good. I must practice this more.

We also did that hip opening thing that looks like a lunge. You have to turn your toes out and your knee out. So both the toes and knee are in the same direction. I could actually go down on my elbows!!!

We also did the child's pose and glided forward into cobra and back. It's good for lossening the tight back.

Last week she taught us the importance of the spinal twist. We have to hold our knees as close as possible to the body, turn back as far back as possible and breath in and out with the tummy. If you feel the tummy, it's the intestines that are filled with stuck food and poop.

She also taught us the alternate nostril breathing a few years ago. I never forgot it. It was the best remedy for headaches and blocked nose. Too bad she is not our regular instructor.

I'm blogging this for my personal reference so I don't forget how to do it. Next week we may not have this instructor so I don't want to forget.

20 thousand Steps! 20150512

Today I managed to register 20K steps on my normal pedometer but my Fitbit recorded only 18k steps instead. Ignore the stopwatch next to it....I was measuring time taken to get somewhere.

My fitbit sleep tracker

I have only started tracking my sleep recently because I have been having insomnia. I didn't want to wear the band while sleeping so I found an innovative way to wear it to bed. Will write more about it later in another post.

Here's how my sleep pattern for Saturday looks. It's bad because I had to wake up early to attend Easter Mass. I took a long time to fall asleep and it seemed to not track that. It only detects movements so if I turn, it will be recorded as restless.

Hamstrings and splits 20150324

My progress has been slow with the splits but I am slightly better than the time when I could not do the dragon pose without blocks. My hips have definitely opened slightly but I'm still not quite there yet.i can now do the lunge without blocks but I've yet to get stronger. More practice required.

Hamstrings and Splits 20150316

My hamstrings workouts are so-so. I can reach my toes but the progress remains there. 

And I'm still a long way off to getting splits. I think I have more than 20 cm before I can reach the floor but I can balance on my hands while attempting the splits. Since I have not been consistent. I should not expect too much. But the lunge practices help me do grounding for my chakras which is good.

Meanwhile I attempted to use the camera kit to connect my fitbit dongle to ipad 2. Sadly it didn't work....:-( I need to sync data with my desktop.

Hamstrings and Splits 20150315

Yesterday I practiced after getting lazy for 2 days. Splits seems like a long way to go but the excerises help me sleep better compared to the nights when I didn't practice. I now combine both hamstrings and splits workout whenever I can practice.

Steps 20150315

I notice that my fitbit seems to record more steps than my traditional pedometer... I haven't try recording my sleep yet. I've set my daily goal to 5000 steps per day as this is just for healthy life style.

This is how the screen looks like below.

Steps 20150311

I finally bought this! My fitbit flex. 

I will still continue to use both trackers and compare them but I can only sync my fitbit during the weekends when I use my laptop.... Check it out....these are my old and new trackers side by side.

Steps 20150309

Today's reading. I have also ordered a fitbit flex which will be coming through the mail shortly.

Hamstrings 20150308

I did not practice for the past 3 days I notice that I've backslided a bit because I wasn't so flexible during Pilates class today. I need to take practice seriously again. Mate I will mix it with the splits exercises.

Splits 20150308

I have just bought the video for the true front splits program on Friday 6 March 2015. I only watched the video twice but I can't remember all the exercises by hard yet. I've written down the steps and I hope to start training soon. Let's see how it goes...

Hamstrings 20150305

So far I notice that for my one leg hamstrings stretch, I can touch my toes with my wrists but when I do the double hamstrings stretch also known as the forward bend, I can still touch my toes but not as far as with the single leg version. They have a separate training video for that. It's expensive but I think I'll target one thing at a time. I was advised that can start training for the open true front splits. I might get it this weekend.

Hamstrings 20150303

My progress seems to have stopped as at this point. I can touch my toes with 2 inches up from my wrist. I've not gone further. Could it be I need to stretch further? Or is this my maximum? I had done too many sun salutations the day before and my shoulders are still aching. Could it be the aches that is causing my slowdown? I already can't wait to start splits...sigh....

Hamstrings 20150301

It's been a week and a half since I bought that hamstrings video. And yes I do see improvements in my stretching. I notice today in Pilates class that I was able  to touch my toes better. I've been going for class once a week for many years and have never achieved flexibility....but doing the exercises everyday from that video helps. 

Right now I'm able to touch my toes with about 2 inches up from my wrists. I can reach my toes better when I'm leaning forward with one leg stretched out. It's not so good with two legs stretched out but I can still touch them. Right now I'm practicing up to step 5 for my kinosiology hamstring stretches. I think I might raise the stakes and go 10 tonight.

I can't wait to start my splits program but I have to make sure I get my hamstrings stretches right first. I'm also thinking of getting that fitbit wristband to measure my steps...let's see how it goes.

Hamstrings 20150224

It's been a few days since I started practicing the exercises. I do see some improvement in my flexibity. When I walk, moving the legs are easier. During Pilates class, I could stand and reach my toes and touch the ground with part of my palms....after the routine, I can sit and reach forward till I hold on to the middle of my foot. However, my Flexibilty becomes lesser the next morning....let's see if there is further improvement as time passes.

Hamstrings 20150221

Last night was the second day of practicing my hamstrings exercises. This morning I feel a slight soreness at the hamstrings and the gluts. But the soreness is not like the one I feel after a tough Pilates or yoga session. It's is very mild.

After my workout last night, I was a little more flexible. I could bend forward and hold on to my middle foot with my hands. Not fingertips. My hands. However this morning I wasn't that flexible any more. It was back to just fingertips touching the tips of my toes. 

I'm not sure if these exercises can lengthen and provided long term Flexibilty or just temporary. Nevertheless, I'm going to practice regularly and see if there is a any change.

Hamstrings 20150220

I finally bought the video for stretching the hamstrings. I must admit that i am a little skieptical for now. When I first ran the video on Wednesday and then practiced it, i wasn't sure that I was doing it right. I didn't feel any soreness at all. Was I using the right muscles? The next day I had forgotten the exercises again but had no time to set up the computer to watch it. 2 of the exercises were very similar. Last night I used another hour to watch the video again and practiced again. Today I am feeling a very slight soreness but It's the lower legs that feel it and not really the hamstrings. 

Let's see if there are any results in the days to come. I will try to update my progress here. If it works I will progress  to splits and other stretches too.

Splits And Hamstrings

I found another program for doing splits and the criteria before doing splits is to work on the hamstrings first. They asked me if I could touch my toes and I said the best I could do is to touch the tips of my toes with my fingertips. Wtih that I was adviced to try the level 2 hamstrings program....and getting to splits require months of practice. It cannot be done overnight. Yes, yes....patience and perseverance...I'm not sure if I will really get there but I plan to journal about my road to splits like how I do with my steps program. I plan to get the video only after I finish another project and that would be like 1 to 2 weeks from now. Till my next blog entry...

Should I try splits?

I've been practicing yin yoga and gravity yoga for a while I don't have much results and occasionally, my inner knee gets hurt. 2 days ago I found this website from elastic steel that focuses on strength and flexibilty training through YouTube. I tried some of his warmup exercises and I'm tempted to get his video. I'm still considering as I don't want it to end up as another waste of money. I still believe in yinyoga but I think I lack the warm ups and loosening exercises which yinyoga doesn't teach. I'm still considering. It would be so nice to be flexible and strong and destress by getting into a split or some position like straddle pose and rest and meditate like that. Should I or should I not? Please help me decide....

Steps 20150203

Another record time today. Woo HOO!