How to Perfectly Combine Coffee & Yoga | R'stoyours Review

Some days are must-have-coffee days.

In the true yogi spirit, though, it's hard to stomach the massive amount of trash, clutter (k-cup stash!), and environmental impact of k-cups. Finally having a Keurig to simplify life = not so simple. Well... having a k-cup machine at the school parent group anyways; I'm donating these to the school after writing this.

Being a systems person I am pretty excited to share my solution to yoga happiness + coffee bliss.

3 Yoga Poses That Perfectly Match Molecular Structures

Visual learner + Yoga Poses + Chemistry = ...

I've been thinking of how to work with the theme of "stretching the limits of expression"--because I definitely need a fancy (read: DIY) logo. Wouldn't it be awesome to make a play on the word "limit" as in Calculus? Oh, don't worry, I'm not a Calculus nerd. Yet. This concept definitely pushes me in that direction.

The 4 Essentials for Cold Weather Workouts | Urban Athletic Running Belt Review

Let's get out there!

As promised here's a little insight into getting outside and being active when it's COLD! I've broken down the four bare essentials you need to go run outside when the world is telling you to snuggle into your covers.

Winding down after Stretching--on chilly days | Influenster #Voxbox Review

These cold days are taking a lot more motivation in the workout department. I've been trying some new tricks to get myself out there (more on that another day) and putting in some effort to make my workout time extra special. If it doesn't feel good, we're not going to do it, right?

Something hot

My favorite post stretch (and during stretch!) indulgence is to get some hot chocolate or soup next to my yoga mat.

I've been doing a lot of lunges in the morning sunshine and right up until it got way, way too cold sipping on something hot did the trick. Now I sit in front of the window--anything to get my morning sun--and sip. I would advise against anything solid if you're still doing a little stretching simply because stretches like cobra make it a bit too easy to choke (I should know, ha!).

Here (above) I'm going with Annie's Organic Tomato Soup--which I highly, highly recommend if you like the idea of tomato soup but hate any trace of that canned taste (these come in cartons). I was lucky enough to receive this and the other items mentioned so I could make this review for you all.

A Little Multi-tasking

You know how I love to strive to get everything done.

So of course it makes it just that much sweeter to wash my go-to yoga mat while I stretch on my extra pretty mat. (This I didn't get to review from Influenster, I got the pretty mat  from Yoga Design Lab, in Blush, and the mat I've washed from a local hardware store--really!). I have done this before and it worked, surprisingly.

I put it in on the cold cycle with a few other items (more multi-tasking) and then air-dryed it. It was really, really filthy from going to the beach, sitting in the summer sun and rain, and being dragged everywhere I caught a whim to stretch. Fall is a perfect time to recover from summer chaos and the ensuing dirt!

As you can see, the Tide took off most of the dirt. You can get a better sense by comparing these starting from the sun-bleached strip next to each number. What I love most is that there was no detergent scent afterward.

For finding time for myself

Lately we've been having bathroom catastrophes with one of the kids. Serendipitously, these Fiber Choice gummies came in my #Voxbox from Influenster and saved me from lots of time waiting around in the bathroom. If there are ever kids in your house, you know what I mean--their extra potty time requires morale support. Luckily these are tasty!

Morale of the story: ENJOY

Cold days make steam rising from hot soup and chocolate delicious. They make clear windows a magical portal for morning sunshine, yet not for blasts of wintery air. 

I hope you take a few of these tips to get yourself back into your stretching routines--or to not fall out of them--when everyone seems to be saying the cold air means it's time to hibernate.

How will you get into stretching on these cold days?

I'd love to know which of these ideas  you are planning to try--OR what ideas pop into your head? Let me know by leaving a comment!

How to Plan for Superman Abs | Review: Live Infinitely Stability Ball

Here I am coming off months of slowly progressing strength training--maybe you can relate. Months of trying to fit in workouts + lack of motivation = blah. So I'm trying something I've been resisting for awhile.

A dream plan for Superman abs! 

From 2 Hours to Delete

I slid away from posting to Flexines--but the bigger problem is a decision I've made.

For a long time I've been struggling with centering Flexines--until I realized that I had no idea what I wanted this magically stretchy-dreaming place of the internet to be. I didn't even know who I wanted to be!--until I tried this new shift.

When we want to try a new pole routine we start with the feel of it, right? Immediately the song, or at least the type of song, comes to mind. We imagine glaring spotlights or lush green outdoor pole scenery or darkness and glitter. I saw... 

Nothing. And everything, in a huge jumble. So I stepped back for one day that slid into months and burst into a huge breakthrough for me and, ultimately, for you my lovely readers.

Expect more art. More light and dark--chiaroscuro.  Maybe I'll resurrect video chat and maybe it will become something new, a way to hang out in a higher quality setting. Two hours before this site expired I stopped considering deleting Flexines and took a leap. It was a decision to center Flexines around artistic expression was beautiful and horrible--it gave me an idea but no clue on where to start until today.

We're starting on Wednesday, bright and early. Check back every 1st Wednesday of the month for the relaunch #AllOverWednesday, a celebration of everything flexibility and artistic movement. 

Love and Allegras-on-spinny,

Graphic created from: Little Dancer by Degas. CC Attribution 2.0 License.

How to Make Flexibility Progress When You Have No Time

If you are wondering when you will ever find the time to stretch again you are not alone. I wish I had all the time it takes to get all suited up, warmed up, and have time to relax into stretching. Not going to happen!

Even though I have less time than ever before I have found a few ways to get a little closer to getting back my splits. Scroll down and click it to HD, enjoy!

Answer the mini forum question:

What challenges are you facing on your flexibility journey? Comment below and let's get through them together! #AllOverWednesday is your invitation to ask anything right here in the comment section and get a lot of love.

Remember to subscribe and stay inspired!

Get Ready to Let Art Inspire Your Flexibility Dream HERE!

For months now I have been planning, researching, and writing down creative brainstorms on the back of every envelope in reach--resulting in #AllOverWednesday!

What is #AllOverWednesday?

What does fitness mean to you? #BeMoreHuman by Reebok

With my re-evaluation of fitness I have been really thinking about what fitness means to each person. Serendipitously, I recently received an email request to share Reebok's #BeMoreHuman message with all my Flexines, and I had to smile at the included graphic (below). I received compensation in exchange for this post but honestly how could I not share it regardless!



I wish I had known Reebok was going to have such a great commercial (read: containing a pole reference) so I would have thought to tune into the Superbowl for once--if it does not have figure skating or pole dance, the sporting event is wasted on me. I immediately thought of all the sporty pole dancers out there but as I clicked on I discovered a bit more.



You can take the HUMAN SCORE test from Reebok and find out a bit about your own fitness motivation and goals. It asks you to choose between two options, much like those Facebook quizzes to find out which movie character you are, and gives you a score at the end. I fully expected to get a score that matched a couch potato but instead I got this:

The description reads, "Brain Buffs do more than keep their bodies fit - they actively work to regularly challenge themselves to think big thoughts way outside the box. And they are rigorous thinkers inclined to do their own research." As it turns out, I do feel that fitness is an intellectual pursuit for me. It got me thinking about how much that means to me, and how special it is that I can engage so many sides of myself through pole fitness and a new fitness pursuit I am planning to share with you all soon. This multi-faceted quality of fitness is what keeps me going, both in fitness itself and outside of it.

What about you, what were your results?

How I Accidentally Ran 5K | Coping Skills for Anxiety

A few months ago I almost posted this--a post about anxiety and being cut short--only to be interrupted again. This blog is dear to me and I hate to put in the 25% that I have the time to so... that day I put in that 25% and waited for the perfect opportunity to finish. Fall became winter while I added "tomorrows" to my self-imposed due dates--until I read a post that put a spark back into me. Alex Beadon posted about overcoming your fears and I realized that I need to post this NOW in its current state of imperfection. I am not the only one out there struggling with schedule demands, anxiety, or recurring perfectionist issues so if you have been there or are right there with me now I hope this will kindle your spark, too:

Run, run, run.

Crunching to a stop in front of my house I had no idea just how far I'd run, but I knew it was far more than the short circuit I had planned. It's life or death for me. My fitness loves keep me sane and safe and this time was no example--I laced up because too many days had passed me by without being able to type a sentence, do a pole climb, or read a chapter. One grey moment strings to the next and I found myself drowning in doubts, analysis paralysis.... anxiety.

So I ran. The treadmill or my pole room have become snazzy clothes racks--I get as far as the warm up and then sweetest baby cries or the stupid phone rings or I remember to go find freelance work before that bill is due. Outside there is the crunch of fall leaves, the night sky unfolding into infinity, and lung-fulls of  autumn magic.

There is nothing for feeling alive quite like an autumnal run.

If you could ever fall in love with the endorphin high of running it will happen by steps. Turn on your favorite song for moving until you have to get up and just go for a block. This block melts into the next and at a steady pace you forget that you could ever live still in one spot. Drink the air, the sparkling stars, the beat of your heart and your steps running into one, until you move because there is music and not to reach a destination or check off a distance. Fitness is a lifeline to finding yourself again and it re-connects you to your heartbeat, your thoughts, and your inner self.

The next thing I knew I had run to the library and back--a distance I looked up and, sure enough... I accidentally ran 5K. It is truly magic what you can do when you let it just happen.

Getting past fear

It is and it is not true that I do not have time for what I love. I get stopped over and over, never having the solid block of time I want to really get everything just right. When I read that post on Alex's blog I kept asking myself how fear is connected to this anxiety. What I realized is that I am not afraid of failing, but of being mediocre. It is not that I lack time to do a pole work but that I lack time for a full pole workout and in just the same way I have time for a paragraph but not a start-to-finish blogging session. I think often we set a standard for ourselves that we think we have broken down in manageable steps but we forget to allow ourselves to put in 25% when that is all there is time for. I see so many other polers get into serious pole ruts or neighbors that have not worked out since college athletics--we all just want to find this miraculous moment of time when we have time and motivation.

My message for all you Flexines out there, and for myself as well, is to allow yourself to take it slow, then take it slower. I am going to keep stringing together my 25%'s. I hope you allow yourself the same love.