Musings-of-fi

Together Let’s lie here and forget the world

Love her!!

Lol :)

Hello everyone! It’s August and it’s time for another yoga challenge! <: Welcome to this month’s August Yoga Jam hosted by Stephanie and I!

Here’s a list of yoga poses that we will be attempting this month:

1. Standing Side Stretch (Ardha Chandrasana I)

2. Bent Knee Side Stretch (Parshvakonasana)

3. Wide Legged Forward Bend (Prasarita-Padettanasana)

4. Rooster Pose (Kukkutasana)

5. Sphinx Pose (Salamba Bhujangasana)

6. Toe Stand Pose (Padangustasana)

7. Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)

8. Standing Mermaid Pose

9. Intense Side Stretch Pose (Parsvottasana)

10. Child’s Pose (Balasana)

11. Firefly Pose (Tittibhasana)

12. Revolved Downward Dog (Parivrtta Adho Mukha Svanasana)

13. Side Plank

14. Both Big Toe Pose (Ubhaya Padangusthasana)

15. Wild Thing (Camatkarasana)

16. Seated Half Bound Lotus (Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottasana)

17. Bird of Paradise (Svarga Dvidasana)

18. Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)

19. Fish Pose (Matsyasana)

20. Upward Facing Spread Leg Forward Fold (Urdhva Mukha Upavista Konasana)

21. Splits Pose (Hanumanasana)

22. Sage Twist (Marichyasana)

23. Reclining Twist (Supta Parivartanasana)

24. Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana)

25. Fish Pose (Matsyasana)

26. Forearm Stand (Pincha Mayurasana)

27. Lizard Pose (Utthan Pristhasana)

28. Triangle Pose (Trikonasana)

29. Extended Hand to Toe Pose (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana)

30. Tortoise Pose (Kurmasana)

31. Corpse Pose (Shavasana)

These poses are little bit more challenging that June’s yoga challenge but rest assured that there will be a lot of variations and modifications so I will definitely make it beginner friendly! <: 

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Post your yoga pose of the day on your tumblr, and tag it with "AugustYogaJam”! I will check the tags daily and reblog/like/comment on them! <: I would love to keep updated with all your progress! (You can also tag me "sassyyogi" and Stephanie "fitnesshealthnutrition" as well!)

2. You can also opt to submit your pose of the day to me or Stephanie.

3. In each pose, we will set an intention for the practice, which is a sort of daily reflection to reflect upon during our own yoga practice. Feel free to pen down your thoughts and reflections as well, I would love to read them! 

4. If you have an Instagram account, post your yoga pose of the day on Instagram and hash tag it with #AugustYogaJam! I will be posting on Instagram as well (@sassyyogi), so feel free to follow me and join in the yoga fun on Instagram! <:

5. Have lots of fun! Don’t worry about being inflexible/not strong enough/any insecurities you may have. Remember, it’s yoga practice, not yoga perfect! We are all here on a journey, and we all start somewhere! <:

6. &, feel free to join in any time you want! <: Have fun and remember to smile!

Feel free to ask me any questions if you have any, and follow Stephanie as well! She’s hosting the yoga challenge with me, and she’s just so amazing and awesome! <:

Namaste you beautiful people! <3

Natasha Ndlovu

Hey POPsters!

I just moved into the new place and am still getting things out of boxes. I’ve been getting a little bit sick the past few days so couldn’t do very much. Not sure if it’s the dust, some extra stress, or both, but I am sipping on some hot cinnamon tea right now mixed with almond milk. So good and soothing going down my throat!!

Today I want to talk about you.

You and your self worth.

Since I was kinda slugging around the past few days not feeling so well, I had a lot of time to check up on you on Instagram and Tumblr and see what’s been going on in your life. (See I’m totes like your personal trainer!) I love the results and I love your enthusiasm for healthy living - it constantly inspires me to be a better instructor!! But I also noticed that sometimes this enthusiasm can turn into an obsession.

I remember that when I was training for my bikini comp last year, weight was the number one thing that was being tracked every week by my trainer. If I didn’t lose enough, I had to do extra cardio and really monitor my calories. Interesting that looking back on it now, I can see why it all backfired. But in the heat of it, I loved seeing my waist and my legs getting more defined every week as the thought of that leopard bikini and those clear heels loomed closer and closer. Nothing really mattered at that point except that I needed to “look good” on stage.

I can close my eyes and clearly see how upset my coach was when we had a week to go and my weight had stayed the same. I felt bad. I felt like I had failed. I felt like I had screwed up.

But you know what? Though I felt those things, and though my trainer shouldn’t have aligned my success with my weight, I know that my weight does not determine my self worth. Every drop of sweat you produce and every rep that you can hold longer and every punch that you can hit harder - it is YOURS. And no one can take that away from you. That strength and that skill that you work to build, it cannot be defined by the weight on the scale. How beautiful you shine and how confident you are when you make a speech in class or nail a presentation at a conference - does anyone really care if you gained or lost 5 lbs? No, probably not.

I agree that weight loss can result in more confidence because you love how you look, therefore you feel good inside too. Cool, totally valid! But don’t let that image in the mirror determine how happy you are.

That’s one part. The other part is never settling.

I kept seeing comments under before and afters that said “too skinny” or “you looked better before”. First of all, I really don’t like these physical attacks. Not cool. Find a better way to say it unless you can diagnose a true disorder and really think the person needs professional help.

Listen, success isn’t a destination. You know what it is? It is progress. It is growth. If you keep getting better everyday, you are being the best you can be and you are successful. I love progress pics because they are milestones of achievement! If you’re looking to change and transform your body, then take a before pic. It’s so good to look back on and appreciate your journey especially on those days when you feel like nothing is working right.

The only profession I can see weight determining you worth (directly and indirectly) is the modeling industry and perhaps any industry where you body/your looks is your money maker. (I suppose I am in one of those…we can’t let the fitness industry get away with this one!) A while back I spoke about how corrupted the tactics used to lose weight in the modeling industry were but never really expanded upon it. So let me do it now. I personally spoke with two male models at a fashion event a couple months ago and they SPECIFICALLY told me how they were constantly being told that they were never thin enough. Yes. These were guys obsessing over being a size 28 pant and how many calories they could intake daily. Do you know what their agencies would do if they were “too big”?

Prepare for this one.

You will gasp.

The agent would reach into a back drawer and take out a cigarette. “Start smoking. It will help.”

This is reality.

This is sick.

Look guys…how important is weight when you have to reach your UGW with cancer-causing methods??? Is it worth it? Is it worth it to increase the odds of dying early and not be able to breathe just so your inner thigh gap can be a little wider? No. Not to me and not even if my income depended on it.

Don’t let the dollars on the check or the dial on the scale dictate your self-worth. Your happiness is determined by you and your success is a journey you paint. Accept your body as you transform and it will make the whole process fun and positive. All we can ask for is to feel warmth in our hearts by surrounding ourselves with the people we love and by doing the things that make us happy. I always say…live like this and you will end up doing what you’re meant to do…and everything else will fall into place as it is supposed to.

Love you so much. Work hard and believe in yourself, because I believe in you :)

<3 Cassey