Day 5 of Hip Openers

It’s Hip Openers Day 5!

My hips are starting to feel a little loose. How are yours doing during this challenge?

My hips have been super tight for the longest time. I regret not taking the time to stretch after my intense leg or cardio sessions (unfortunately this was for years). But there is no need to dwell in the past, we can all push forward with new determination to learn how to better increase our flexibility. That’s why I am hosting 27 days of hip opening poses to help you increase your hip openness.

Today we have another new pose known at fire log or Agnistambhasana. With this pose you would have to do it on each side to make sure that both hips are nice and open.

Fire Log/Agnistambhasana

So full disclosure – you may not be perfect in this pose and that’s okay. If your hips are super tight, you may have your knee in the air or your placement of your ankle/foot may be off. That’s okay. WE ALL HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE!! Just breath into you hip, send your breath there. As you continue to breath and relax that area, you’ll notice your hip will start to relax drawing your leg down to the floor.

So how do you try fire log pose? Read below:

1. Sit comfortably on the with your legs extended out in front of you.

2. Bend your right leg and bring it toward body with side of knee and side of your calf on the floor/mat.

3. Bend your left leg and slide it on top of your right leg trying to get your left ankle on top of the right.

4. If your hips are super tight, its okay try to get your with your left foot in the crook of your right leg (the corner where your calf and thigh meet, at the knee), do what you can without any intense pain. You may be uncomfortable, but there shouldn’t be any intense pain.

5. Sit here and focus on your natural breath.

6. Sit up nice and tall, keeping the natural curve of your spine.

7. Sit here for a few breaths ~10. And then try this on the other side.

Let me know how you feel after trying this pose in the comments below.

#funjoypeace #hipopenerpose #firelogpose🔥 #agnistambhasana #februarychallenge #learnsomethingnew #increaseflexibility

Day 4 Hip Opener

Day 4 here for our hip opening challenge in February!

How are you doing so far? Today we have new yoga pose for you called Paschimottanasana OR Seated Forward Fold.

This is a pose that helps stretch out your hamstrings. Sometimes our hips can be tight because our hammier are tight so we have to stretch them too.

Now my hamstrings are really tight, so I had to use a yoga prop- strap to properly forward fold. If you just rounded your back, which most people can do, you change the intention of the stretch which was supposed to be for the hammies and are now stretching your back.

To try this pose follow theses instructions:

1. Sit down on your mat with your legs out in front of you.

2. Sit nice and tall.

3. Hinge your upper body forward trying to reach for your toes. If this isn’t yet within your practice, its okay. Grab a strap and loop it around the arches of your feet and gently go as far as you can with your back naturally straight, not rounded.

4. Hold here and you can play with the tightness of your grip.

5. Breath into the pose, sending your breath to the hamstrings. Hold for 5-10 breaths and see how much further you are able to go.

Comment below and tell me how you feel!

Just remember if your hips are tight, it just takes some practice and more stretching. But you can do it!

#FunJoyPeace #Paschimottanasana #seatedforwardfold #hipopener #februarychallenge

Day 3 Hip Opener

It’s Day 3 For our Hip Opening Challenge in February!

Are you sitting all day? Hips feeling stiff? Not sure what to do?

Try Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose)

This will give you a nice stretch within your hips and also groin. If you find you have a rounded back when you sit on the floor, try sitting on a block like I am. Ideally if your hips are already open, your legs would be on the floor. However, my hips are tight, what can I say I’m a work in progress, that is why my knees are somewhat up in the picture. If you lift a lot of weights… which I do and haven’t focused on stretching in the past… I didn’t. Then your hips can be really tight! There is no shame in that, we just need to work on stretching it out and getting that area more open so you don’t feel so stiff.

If you want to work on hip opening with me (A journey together) read the following instructions below:

Baddha Konasana or Bound Angle Pose

Baddha Konasana

1. Place a block underneath your sitz bones (your butt).

2. Bend your knees and draw your feet together so that the soles of your feet touch one another.

3. Try to sit up nice and tall if you can and reach forwards towards your feet/ankles.

4. I like to press my elbows into my knees/inner thigh gently to get a little more of a stretch, but that’s up to you.

5. If you feel a little discomfort that is normal. Focus on your breath. Big inhale through your nose and exhale out of your mouth, do this a few more times.

6. Send the breath into your hips and as you focus on your breath check to see where your knees are, typically you will see them start to gently get closer to the ground.

Did you try it? How did you feel? Let me know below.

#funjoypeace #baddhakonāsana#hipopenerpose#Yoga#cincinnatiyoga#februarychallenge#Letsstretchtogether

Day 2 Hip Opening

It’s Day 2 of our Hip opening challenge!

Come join Fun Joy Peace in learning different hip openers each day leading up to a hip opening yoga flow on the 28th!! It’s going to be fun! If you are like me, you probably sit a lot at work. Hips can get stiff!!!

One pose that I like to sit in instead of in a chair is Easy pose. Easy pose is also known as sukhasana.

Check out the picture, that’s me in it… if you’ve never gotten into it before read below:

Easy Pose/Sukhasana

1. Sit on your mat or floor with your legs out in front of you.

2. Bend your knees.

3. Bring your left bent leg down onto the floor so the entire outside part of your leg is against the mat/floor

4. Do the same on the other side, crossing your legs together at the ankles.

5. Sit up nice and tall. With every breath feel yourself grow taller. 🧘🏽‍♀️

6. Hands can be in your lap or on your knees with palms facing the sky.

7. And if none of that made sense 🧐just sit on the floor and cross your bent legs in front of you, legs crossing at the ankles kinda like how we used to sit as kids.

Do you already sit like this? If so when do you sit in easy pose?

In meditation or when watching a movie?

Comment below I’d love to hear from you!

#hipopening#yogapose#easypose#sukhasana#funjoypeace#hipopeningchallenge#februaryyoga#cincinnatiyoga#ilovelululemon#lululemon#lululemonleggings

Hip Opening Challenge- Day 1

Today is Day 1!

Child’s pose or balasana is a common pose but a good one! If you do a wide legged child’s pose you have room for your abdomen to come down and settle there as you focus on the stretch in your hips and groin. 

And the best part… not only are you stretching your hips you are giving your arms and the rest of your body a break! I LOVE child’s pose! 

Have you ever done it? If not give it a go! See below on how to get into this pose.

Child’s Pose

Child’s Pose (Balasana)

* Start in table top (on your hands and knees) and shift your hips back towards your heels with your arms stretched out in front of you as if you are reaching for something.

* Forehead is lightly placed on the ground and glutes resting on your heels

* Should feel a nice stretch in hips and groin; if hips are tight it may feel a little uncomfortable, but breath through it

Comment below and let me know how you felt during this pose.

New Month . . . New Challenge

I’m not sure about you, but I always like to challenge myself to see if I’m able to accomplish something new. Well, since its a new month, how about a new challenge.

In February, I am focusing on hip opening poses! Everyone’s favorite right? I’ll be honest, I’ve lifted weights for quite a long time, however I never took the time to stretch. So my hips are freaking tight along with my hammies. But we all need to make sure we are balanced in our approach to fitness. If you want to learn a new pose a day in February, come join me on this journey!

Every single day I will feature a new yoga pose that helps open up your hips. We are working our way during the 27 days to a hip opening yoga flow on the last day on the 28th.

Have fun and gain some flexibility and mobility in your hips!

If you have questions let me know.

-Alaina

Fear Meditation

Sometimes, for no reason we can become fearful for no reason. It’s like the hairs on the back of necks stand up for no reason. Or we are in some pretty dicey situations with our health, daily life stressors, or financial situations. Well, one thing will always stay the same. And that is God. So with this fear meditation I have some scripture for you to mull over and meditate on.

I hope you like it. Comment below what you think.

Day 30

Its day 30 of our meditation challenge. It’s our final Meditation! And to help you with the rest of your year I have a Peace meditation. I hope and pray that the rest of your year be filled with the Peace of God and that you are able to achieve what you want to.

But if you want some more meditations throughout the year, feel free to come back and follow along for our Meditation Mondays! And I’m always willing to hear any suggestions, so reach out.

Peace Meditation

Writing along …

I can’t lie, I was a little nervous for the first writers meeting. Not because I’m afraid to write, although I don’t have a background in writing or literature. But I was more concerned about whether the group dynamic would be good. Would everyone get a chance to talk, would I fit in?

Well, all I can say is that I wasted time and energy because that first class was amazing. Our instructor sets a wonderful open atmosphere. There was only willingness from everyone to learn and dissect our readings for glimmers of wisdom. I am extremely excited every week to see what we are going to learn. And thanks to the topics we discuss I am starting to read with a more critical eye for the techniques that the authors are using. I’m looking forward to going back and rereading some of my favorite books to see what those authors did. 

I can honestly say I didn’t know I missed reading books and discussing the meaning of each scene or what the author was trying to say. And also being able to discuss techniques that we noticed along the way, or our instructor giving us little tidbits of what he and the author had discussed as he was reading their stories. I always learn something new!

Every Tuesday is now the highlight of my week. Our call is a little late, but I always go straight to bed with a smile, excited about what I’m learning and seeing my stories evolve along the way.