This week my girls are out of school so in observance, I am taking a break from the exercises.
Instead, as things come up that are enjoyable for my girls and I, I will share those experiences/experiments instead.
Recently Lillian (7) and I were working on a few gift ideas for Sage (2).
We decided upon multi-colored, heart shaped crayons. We found a mini-heart shaped muffin tray at a craft store. We peeled the papers off crayons and broke them into small pieces. We put the crayon bits into the muffin molds and melted them all together at the lowest bake temperature in our oven.
They ended up with a clear layer on the top which probably could have been avoided if we had stirred them a bit but this falls into the experiment category. They are a great size for chubby little hands to hold on to and Lil and I had fun putting them together!
Happy Spring!
Showing posts with label enjoy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label enjoy. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
This Week...Stretch!
This week’s exercises turned into a series of stretches that will also engage and strengthen your muscles. In this review I changed the order a bit to improve the flow, finishing it up with the sun salutations. Next week the exercises will be done with a stability ball. If you don’t already have one, it is a great fitness tool to have in your home.
1. Stand with your feet hip distance and parallel, bend your torso into a forward bend and walk your hands out to plank position keeping your shoulders away from your ears and your core engaged. Take a deep breath in plank position and press back into "downward dog". If your hamstrings are feeling tight, keep your knees slightly bent. From down dog, walk your hands up to meet your feet, ending in a forward bend with your hands on the floor. Take a breath, walk your hands out to plank, press into down dog, walk your hands to your feet and so on.
Great to get your blood flowing, engage your arms, core and legs, stretch your hamstrings...love it!
2. Begin standing, feet together, shoulders down and back, core engaged and your arms by your sides. Take a deep breath and bring your palms together with your arms straight out in front of your chest. While opening your arms to your sides, just below shoulder height, reach your chest forward, hinging at your waist. As you are leaning forward, find your balance on your left leg and extend your right leg out behind you, lifting your leg off the ground and keeping your hips level. Take a deep breath and return your lifted leg to the ground. Repeat the cycle, balancing on your right leg and extending your left leg behind you.
Repeat this series for 10 repetitions, switching legs each times.
3. Stand with your feet hip distance and parallel, drop your shoulders and engage your core. Take a large step, about leg length, back with your right leg and drop into a low "runner's lunge." Engage all the muscles in your extended leg, reaching back through your heel. Reach your arms straight overhead, all the muscles in your arms engaged.
Take a deep breath and on an inhale, bend the knee of your extended leg while maintaining the lunge of your front leg. Straighten your extended leg and continue to bend and straighten your leg for a series of 15 repetitions, working with your breath. Step your back, extended leg up to meet your other, lower and relax your arms. Take several deep breaths and repeat with the other leg. Perform 2-3 sets.
4. Root around in your cupboards for a couple paper plates and sit on a hard surfaced floor. Place your heels on the paper plates with your knees bent and your feet hip distance apart. Sit up tall, drop your shoulders and engage your core with your palms rooted to the floor, fingers forward, just behind your sits-bones/butt/hips…inhale and slide your heels forward on the plates, bending your elbows and leaning slightly back. With your exhale and maintaining your core engagement, slide your heels back toward your body and return to your seated position. Repeat for 3 sets of 15.
You can modify this by maintaining the upright body position, sliding out one leg at a time, twisting and engaging your obliques when you return to seated, crossing your arms at your chest and eliminating them as balance, etc.
This will target your hamstring, glute and core muscles. Have fun!
5. Sun salutations 6-10 to get your blood flowing and welcome your day!
Have a great weekend!
1. Stand with your feet hip distance and parallel, bend your torso into a forward bend and walk your hands out to plank position keeping your shoulders away from your ears and your core engaged. Take a deep breath in plank position and press back into "downward dog". If your hamstrings are feeling tight, keep your knees slightly bent. From down dog, walk your hands up to meet your feet, ending in a forward bend with your hands on the floor. Take a breath, walk your hands out to plank, press into down dog, walk your hands to your feet and so on.
Great to get your blood flowing, engage your arms, core and legs, stretch your hamstrings...love it!
2. Begin standing, feet together, shoulders down and back, core engaged and your arms by your sides. Take a deep breath and bring your palms together with your arms straight out in front of your chest. While opening your arms to your sides, just below shoulder height, reach your chest forward, hinging at your waist. As you are leaning forward, find your balance on your left leg and extend your right leg out behind you, lifting your leg off the ground and keeping your hips level. Take a deep breath and return your lifted leg to the ground. Repeat the cycle, balancing on your right leg and extending your left leg behind you.
Repeat this series for 10 repetitions, switching legs each times.
3. Stand with your feet hip distance and parallel, drop your shoulders and engage your core. Take a large step, about leg length, back with your right leg and drop into a low "runner's lunge." Engage all the muscles in your extended leg, reaching back through your heel. Reach your arms straight overhead, all the muscles in your arms engaged.
Take a deep breath and on an inhale, bend the knee of your extended leg while maintaining the lunge of your front leg. Straighten your extended leg and continue to bend and straighten your leg for a series of 15 repetitions, working with your breath. Step your back, extended leg up to meet your other, lower and relax your arms. Take several deep breaths and repeat with the other leg. Perform 2-3 sets.
4. Root around in your cupboards for a couple paper plates and sit on a hard surfaced floor. Place your heels on the paper plates with your knees bent and your feet hip distance apart. Sit up tall, drop your shoulders and engage your core with your palms rooted to the floor, fingers forward, just behind your sits-bones/butt/hips…inhale and slide your heels forward on the plates, bending your elbows and leaning slightly back. With your exhale and maintaining your core engagement, slide your heels back toward your body and return to your seated position. Repeat for 3 sets of 15.
You can modify this by maintaining the upright body position, sliding out one leg at a time, twisting and engaging your obliques when you return to seated, crossing your arms at your chest and eliminating them as balance, etc.
This will target your hamstring, glute and core muscles. Have fun!
5. Sun salutations 6-10 to get your blood flowing and welcome your day!
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The Irony!
My internet connection is down at home for the 2nd day. When I noticed had quit working yesterday I spent at least 45 minutes unplugging, resetting and restarting, no luck. When I woke up this morning, the first thing I checked was the internet and packed up my things to get to a wireless spot. I also went through the resetting ritual and shared 45 minutes of my day with tech support. My internet should be back up tomorrow and I am still checking all the lights on my router each time I am in the vicinity.
Distracted? Yep. Mindful? Nope. Enjoying the moments in my day? Not really, I have
missed several.
So my thoughts are heading in this direction. What happens when distractions we take for granted are gone? How much of our days are dictated by the convenience of technology? We are living in an immediate world, that is not ground breaking information. What parts of our lives do we take for granted? Immediate information, instant contact, food in a moment, we live for the quick fix.
As I am sitting here wondering when I will be able to surf the internet again, I am also trying to identify the things that I have come to take for granted and what my life would look like if those things were not always available. For now I need to refocus and enjoy the moments without the World Wide Web. The reminders just keep coming.
Distracted? Yep. Mindful? Nope. Enjoying the moments in my day? Not really, I have
missed several.
So my thoughts are heading in this direction. What happens when distractions we take for granted are gone? How much of our days are dictated by the convenience of technology? We are living in an immediate world, that is not ground breaking information. What parts of our lives do we take for granted? Immediate information, instant contact, food in a moment, we live for the quick fix.
As I am sitting here wondering when I will be able to surf the internet again, I am also trying to identify the things that I have come to take for granted and what my life would look like if those things were not always available. For now I need to refocus and enjoy the moments without the World Wide Web. The reminders just keep coming.
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