In a perfect world

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Malin

I think yesterday turned into a awesome day. As I mentioned before I need to take control back over my own situation. I cannot only do yoga although I love it and could not live without it. But I have to get back on the track, I need to start running and start lifting weights on a regular basis. As most people know it was “Cinco de mayo” yesterday and my 5th grader needed to bring guacamole to school for their celebration so we ended up leaving home super early. This totally work in my favor because I managed to get a 5k in before going into an awesome yoga class with the fabulous Jodi at Lifetime Fitness in Old Orchard…I truly felt like a million bucks and in an amazing mood me and Ms Mira was playing rockstars in the kitchen as we were making dinner.

This morning still on yesterdays high I went to work teaching a private class thinking I would kick some butt lifting a little heavier than I usually do afterwards but on my way into work I get a phone call that I was having a showing of our house in the afternoon. We just put our house on the market, yesterday to be exact and my plans went down the drain and instead of getting a good workout in I ended up going home and spending 3 hours prepping the house. It is almost like making dinner, you spending hours in the kitchen and you calling your family to the dinner table over and over again and when they finally get there the dinner is over in less than 15 minutes. Well, fingers crossed that the effort will pay off

An act of kindness

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Malin

Most mornings I read a precept to my kids and today it was about the act of kindness, so today we decided that all three of us (my husband is out of town) should to a kind deed to someone who least expect it and then over dinner we will share our experiences. I dropped them off to school wishing them a fantastic day and took off to teach my group fitness class and as soon as we were done I was ready to workout on my own. I was warming up on the stairmaster when one of the clients from another trainer came up and told me that his hamstrings were so tight that it gave him lower back issue. Without even thinking about this morning conversation we had in the kitchen I gave him some advise to get into the tight areas and what to think about. Then someone shouted across the room “you should charge him” and then it occurred to me that why would I not give him some advise when he is pain? I think in this “A-type” world we are living in, when at the most part it is all about ourselves it is important stop for a second and look around to see what I can do to make the day a little better for someone else.

Later this morning while walking Gary in the forest I stared humming “See all of my kindness, is taken for weakness”. Then it occurred to me that maybe kindness should be viewed as a sign of strength instead, when you have the courage to give a stranger a smile or when you talking the long walk in the forest that is kindness to oneself as well as to others.

“A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots will spring up and make new tees” – Father Faber

Do I need a title?

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Malin

Without any ulterior motive of inspiring and getting people moving and feeling better I want to write again, write just as it is, as a journal.

The winter has been way to long but finally it has come to an end and the spring is almost in full bloom. Another thing that is coming to an end is my yoga teaching training and to be perfectly honest I am glad it is. This morning I took Gary for a long walk through the forest and when I came home I continued meditating outside on the patio and I realized what is wrong. I have learned so much this past 8-9 months during the teacher training not only about yoga but also about myself but a lot of things that I do to make me feel balanced and good I have had to put on hold.

So starting in May it is time to bring balance back into my life and I do know that I get results when I put it out there in the universe.

Dear diary I have a confession to make…

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Malin

This year so far I have met so many new people who have touch me in so many different ways. Some I have lived near by for years, others I got to know better and some I have randomly met because our paths has crossed. What they all have in common is that they are all unique, I think if we are open to the fact we are all different from one another because of our upbringing, experience, religion or what ever it might we have one thing in common. We do all share that we are “peculiar” to one another and if you can embrace that and listen to their stories I think we become a happier person.

So one of my sweet, sweet Swedish friends and her family are moving back to Sweden so last night we had a girls night out and we had a blast. With great food and a lot of laughters the girls was ready for a sleep in this morning so we canceled this morning class which also meant a sleep in for me, yeah right!

Although I had the house to myself (I think for the first time ever) I still woke up bright and early and made it out for a 3 mile run just before the thunder rolled in over us. It was really humid and I had decided in my head not to go all out because I was going to an “invasion” yoga class afterwards but that was not happening. You know when you start and you feel pretty good and you push it, it is hard to stop! It was far from my greatest run but yet I fought all the way and as I walked trough the door the rain started pouring down as did the sweat at the back of my back.

I hurried to change clothes and ran off to the yoga studio for an 1 1/2 prep for handstands. I thought I knew how to get on to my hands but not so much, I guess because when my teacher Jodi Ryan told me what to do it totally made sense. She told me to lift my shoulders through the ribs and engage my core (she probably would describe it in a different way) it was like a “aha” moment and I became an addict. There you go, I am and addict! It is an amazing feeling when you figure out your body and you are able to take it to a new level, you just want more and more. So when I got home I was doing stuff around the house I kept on practicing handstand just so I could get that rush again. I guess this is what yoga does to you…haha. So to sum my day up I have had a great day and I am absolutely knackered and looking forward to get my family back!

Jodi and I playing around after the evening class…like i said I am an addict 😉

The core is everything

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Malin

Being strong is one of the most wonderful feeling that I know and even if the journey can be painful there is few things that beats the feeling when you realize you can push your body to new limits. And as a house needs a strong foundation so does your body and therefore is he core one of the most important areas to strengthen (not only because you will look good in a bikini).

This is a few moves I did yesterday to strengthen my abs so I can do even more fun things at my yoga practice 😉

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I started out doing a slow pull in followed by as equal slow hip adductor and then finish off with a pushup. I did not have to do a crazy amount before I started feeling the nice familiar burn 😉

I kept on working my abs but did a different variation to get deeper into my shoulders and upper back. This was a pike from a shoulder stand…

From there I popped up to my hands and did another 10 pikes from the hands

To finish the series off I oblique crunches…from a push up position you swing your knees to the outside of your triceps alternating the sides.

A recovery run should be easy, right?!

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Malin

This morning the alarm went off at 4.45, I was taking Knut to his early morning skate and although I was tired I knew what I had to do. I went down in the kitchen brewed my coffee, that is a must for me in the mornings and boiled my eggs. I was running around the house getting everything together and before I knew it I grabbed my coffee and it was time to leave. So I thought I have my eggs when I got home, no big deal.

But for all the parents out there you know how it goes when you are about to send the kids off to school. They need to get dressed, you have to pack their lunch, homework and so on, once again time slipped between my fingers and it was time to go to the bus. I had a busy morning in front of me so I put my head down and got to my business and it was not until my way to the gym I realized how hungry I was. It was just so odd because my egg breakfast normally last me until lunch and I remembered I had not yet eaten, the eggs was still in the pot on the stove…haha, what can you do?

I had to run and I was so excited knowing it was my 4 mile recovery run, I told Megan (my trainer) that this was going to be a walk in the park! I knew it was my own fault being so forgetful and I could blame no one. Also I have my pride to protect, right? So all I could do was to make the best out of it and pretend it was a recovery run knowing I had an amazing yoga session in front of me to stretch me out!

This is how it was supposed to feel like…

…but this is how it really felt…haha

It will be what you want it to be!

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Malin

This week has been a little slow and it seems like a lot of people is sick or feeling sluggish and I would guess it’s the weather change. This will only give excuse to the unwell but for the rust of us, we don’t have one!

As you probably have figures out by now I am training for 1/2 a marathon but this doesn’t mean I given up on weight lifting. I like to “feel” that I worked out the day before, yes I sort of thrive on being sore. The thing is, trying to get all the miles in we have planned for every week and being tight and sore is not necessarily a good combination. But to every problem there is a solution, right? And mine is called YOGA!

This hour gives me the opportunity to center myself, release all the tension in my muscles but also focus on the goals I have ahead of me. So yesterday when I was doing my first run of the week, 6 miles. 2 miles warm up then 20 sprints a 30 seconds then running normal pace and legging it the last 1/2 mile and it was tough. The wind was gusting in my face and my heart pounding at 185-190 beats/minute and I’m not lying, it felt like I was running in syrup. That is when I came back to that place I go to when I’m doing yoga. Again it doesn’t mean it stopped hurting but I knew that I could do it and so I did!