I started doing "Itsy Bitsy Yoga" (a book by Helen Garabedian - given to me by a friend) with Ollie this week and I can't believe I waited this long to begin. I was obviously doing some of the activities throughout the day as they can be as simple as jumping your baby up and down, but I hadn't made a time to sit down and do a few poses together on the yoga mat. I skimmed the book again last weekend to refresh my memory, because I read it during pregnancy but it flew out my memory once baby was ... View the Post
Yoga and exercise during my pregnancy
[Disclaimer: I am not a healthcare professional, I am just a person telling her story. Please consult a prenatal yoga teacher or healthcare professional for expert advice on exercise during pregnancy.] Allow me to hit rewind for a second before I start talking about yoga and exercise during my pregnancy. At the beginning of 2016 I started doing a type of yoga called "Bowspring." It's very different to the "traditional yoga" and I was enjoying it a lot until I took an Iyengar style class in ... View the Post
Teaching my first yoga class
When I took my training at Y2 last Summer (I can't believe it's been a whole year already) I thought I would dive into teaching so naturally. I knew if I started before baby arrived I would take a break but I didn't think it would take me this long to finally get the courage up to teach. I also didn't expect to find it difficult especially having taught in some form (Elementary School) for eight years. I love being good at things right from the beginning (silly and unrealistic, I know) so ... View the Post
My First Hot Yoga Class
I can't believe that I did my yoga teacher training at Y2 Yoga last year and only took my first hot yoga class three weeks ago! Craaaaazy! Granted I was pregnant for what felt like the whole year (January 1 - October 6) and I had never done a hot yoga class before so I didn't want to start something new with baba on board. I was excited to try the hot class but thought I was going to come out grumbling that I would never do that again. Boy, was I wrong! I loved it! Here's ... View the Post
Our Favorite ThanksLiving Recipes
The holidays can be filled with amazing food, family, and travel, but they're also tough as a vegan. I'm not quite sure how a holiday meant to celebrate the harvest (and peace between European settlers and Native Americans) has become symbolized by a turkey, but it has. In yoga we talk about avidya, which means ignorance or blindness to the truth. Aprons or signs with a happy-go-lucky turkey emblazoned with words like "thankful" would be an example of avidya. Turkeys aren't thankful or grateful ... View the Post
Keeping It Simple + I Taught My First Yoga Class!
Last night I realized a longtime dream and taught my very first "official" yoga class. What a rush! Teaching yoga has been a dream of mine since I was a teenager taking classes on the beach with my mom. I auditioned last week at a local studio here in Charlotte, and was asked to sub for another teacher just a few days later. Even though I was super nervous, I was also glad that I didn't have too much time to worry about it. May as well just dive in headfirst, right? I had a great group of five ... View the Post