SUP Yoga on the Cape

While vacationing at the Cape, I got to try SUP Yoga.

I connected with Danielle Nardi Yoga who does Beach Yoga and SUP Yoga on the Cape. We met up with Danielle for a 90 minute session at the Kingman Yacht Center in Cataumet.

Before hitting the SUP boards, we all "confessed" our lack of experience. I've done SUP (you can read about it here) and a little yoga in the past, my BFF Sandy and littleC had only a little yoga experience. Of the others in our group, one had her own SUP board and the other did a lot of yoga.

Danielle assured us that we would all have no problem and got us ready to shove off on our boards. We paddled through the marina to a private cove area out of the way of boaters, but in the full morning sun. It was beautiful!

After dropping anchors, Danielle led us through yoga poses starting low on the board and working our way up to standing. She also offered modifications for poses that might bother body parts (like knees) and showed us ways to make them easier or harder.

Even though Danielle made doing SUP yoga seem easy and fun, the star of the day was littleC. She looked like a PRO on her board!

As you can see, it was a gorgeous day for SUP yoga and thanks to Danielle taking pictures with her waterproof camera, we have the images to look back on and share!

Have you ever tried SUP yoga?

Vacation Life on the Cape Part 1

Hello from the USA!

Since my last post, life has been crazy busy. We left Shenzhen and arrived at the in-laws. After a couple of days of visiting, we picked up the dog and headed to the Cape.

We've been running.

Exploring Martha's Vineyard.

Watching sunsets at the beach.

Putting some miles on the bikes.

Simply loving life!

This morning we are off to SUP Yoga class with Danielle Nardi Yoga, a fellow ZOOMA Cape Cod Ambassador.

Do this one thing and every workout will feel brand new!

Sometimes I am not super excited about my workout.

After waking to a rainy day, I took one look at my stability ball and yoga mat and thought, ugh. So instead of hitting the floor, I grabbed a second cup of coffee and went out on the balcony.

It felt so nice (it's in the low 80s today)! That's when I decided to move my workout outside.

As usual, I brought the stability ball into things. Today I worked on single leg squats. Just like when I use the ball during wall squats, it aids the motion of moving up and down. I still get the burn, but I feel "safer" especially since the ball is pushed up against the door.

In addition to my normal strength exercises, I mixed in some yoga poses that specifically work the quads. Here's a ***list in case you are looking to add yoga into your strength workout:

chair pose
warrior 1-3
crescent lunge (low & high)
goddess pose
bridge

***I linked to GaiamTV because I think it has the best information and step-by-step directions for beginners like me.

It's amazing how doing one little thing, like moving your workout to a new place, can make it feel brand new. It works with my runs, so I should've thought to use this trick with my strength workouts too.

------------------------------------------------------------

Another amazing thing that I want to share is dinner from last night. Back home we always grill the blackened salmon fillets, but here in China my only option was the microwave method. I usually steer clear of using the microwave (except to reheat), so I had a backup plan to order pizza if it didn't turn out well. It was DEE-LISH-OUSSS!! Oh my GOODNESS! I can't wait to have more.

In case you want to get some for yourself, here's the exact brand we buy from Sam's.

I saw this on Instagram and definitely think I should get it. mrC and I run a lot together.

The links I shared in this post are just from me...no compensation was made to me on behalf of any product or company.

New Running Partner and New Gear

We had a mellow weekend. We went to church Sunday afternoon. It takes about 45 minutes to get there, so we combined it with a shopping trip to Sam's Club (along with about 100,000 Chinese locals). We did score some Blackened Salmon, which we'll be having for dinner tonight. I love finding favorites from home.

On the walk to the church from the metro, we stopped to buy some water and I saw this Pea Protein. I'd never heard of it, but I guess it's all the rage now especially if you are on a plant-based diet.

Today I met up with my expat friend for our first morning run together.

The weather was on our side: no rain, but lots of clouds. It was still warm as heck, but so much nicer than trying to run when the sun is out.

We did an easy out an back along the waterfront. It worked out nicely that we have a similar pace in this yucky humid environment and she likes to run for time, not distance, too.

My knee was a little stiff after the run, so I made sure to foam roll, massage, and stretch.

Later while I was surfing Instagram, I saw BAMR Bands was having a bundle sale, so I snagged myself some new gear to celebrate my knee feeling better and because I love my MRTT group.

If you haven't tried BAMR Bands yet, you should. They are super cute, affordable, and a dollar from every sale goes to charity. You can read more here ---> BAMR Bands

To see my Instagram posts, like from my run this morning, follow me --> Running Escapades

Tomorrow is strength day. I'll be putting those videos I shared in my last post to work again.

When you look at the beginning of the week as a fresh start, Mondays don't seem so bad.

It's What We Make Of It

Yesterday I did not go sight-seeing or to the fitness center.

Long story, short: We had a power outage in the middle of the night. Being awake for a couple of hours in the middle of the night makes me feel like a zombie the next day. You get the idea.

Oh, and the thunderstorms that were forecast for Thursday were a day late. It's been raining and storming all day.

Days like this can make me feel a little lazy. Two days in a row and I start feeling like a slacker.

But then I was talking to a friend who reminded me that we don't have to run/bike/swim every single day. There are other ways to get in our fitness. Just cleaning the house can be a workout. Fitness is what we make of it, not how much we can do!

This made me think about what I did do on my so-called lazy days:

1. I foam rolled

2. I did more trigger point therapy on my VM

3. I did some strength training: stability ball, core, knee strength exercises

4. I took walks

5. I let my body rest ---> it's true. Rest is important!

I also did some more reading on the vastus medialis and learned a few more things. Like, a weak VM can cause the knee cap to not track properly and a tight VM can lead to knee pain.

I found a couple of exercise videos that focus on strengthening the VMO, but liked this one the most. I'm sharing in case you are dealing with the same symptoms and because we all need to protect our knees with strong quad muscles.

But I also liked this one from Popsugar ---> leg strengthening workout. 

My left leg is still very weak compared to my right. I'm now on a mission to change that. Otherwise, I fear my knee problems will continue to haunt me. Ever since my knee surgery in December, my range of motion has been limited. This makes doing a simple quad stretch extremely uncomfortable and awkward. The added knee pain made me drop the ball and stop stretching. I had no idea how tight my quad had become or how much relief my knee would feel after dedicating a couple of minutes to this simple stretch.

Today I'm thankful for resting, trigger point therapy, and stretching. My knee continues to feel better. And that makes me happy.