Blog post #2

Hi everyone,

Welcome back for GH blog post #2!

Oh boy do I have a lot to say today.

So let’s start-

My main focus for this GH is stretching and my mental health. Speaking of mental health, I’ve been having an off week. I recently moved in with my boyfriend and our dog, but we are living out of town for school. I’ve been struggling with my course load since I’ve only ever taken 4 classes a semester, for me, 7 classes seems impossible this term! Hearing the news of online classes for the winter semester has really crushed my spirit as I was excited to meet my peers and was looking forward to in person classes since I feel so crammed in our apartment.

With that being said, I took it upon myself to.... you guessed it, stretch the stress out.

The way I’m doing this is, 10 minutes in the morning of quiet, relaxing stretching, and 10 minutes at night before bed. I’m definitely a morning person so the morning stretch will be no problem. However stretching before bed- that will be a challenged since when I’m tired, I’m TIRED. I swear I can fall asleep anywhere and everywhere. I remember I feel asleep at the movie theater watching the transformers movie. Y E S that’s an incredibly loud and long movie and I was able to sleep like a baby the whole time!

So again, I’m stretching 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night every day, and trying my hardest to not miss a day. I am human and sometimes we do need a rest day but I’ll do my best to take deep stretches when things get hard.

Things I need for this journey:

• Yoga mat-you need a flat, comfy surface
• Water bottle- you need to stay hydrated
• Yoga blocks- this will help you get into a deeper stretching
• Workout clothes- anything that you feel comfortable stretching in. No skinny jeans!

Don’t worry about flexibility. That comes with time and practice. I have somewhat of a flexible background because when I was younger I was a competitive gymnast, but unfortunately I ended up breaking my wrist and that really set me back. Fast forward to now, at the age of 23, I feel like a stick when it comes to stretching.

This week I started with the basics.

These stretched focus on the neck, arms, back, and legs.

I am no doctor but these stretches feel like they’ve cured my back and neck problems already.

So what’s the verdict here?

So far, week 1 of my GH, I’m giving this statement: morning stretching wakes me up; I feel loosened up and ready to take on the day! At this point, I’m feeling motivated, but my stress levels have been the same, I’m still not feeling great all day long mentally. Maybe this is because I’m still behind in some of my classes, maybe because I miss my family, maybe a mix of both. But what I can say is that throughout my morning stretch, in the moment I feel incredible. As for my nightly stretch routine, by the end of the day I’m exhausted. I’ve been powering through my stretches, I feel good, but I feel like I’m not giving it 100% since at this point I’m sleepy. I will say though, I have been sleeping sooooo much better. And I’m definitely giving my night stretches the credit.

For next week I need to really get on track with school. You miss one thing and then it piles. I’m going to work harder at my nightly stretches and finding motivation to do a good job. Next week I’ll be looking at new stretches, still moderately easy, but a step up from last week. I want to become more flexible each week.

Let’s see where my stretches take me next week. Will I be franticly stressed or will I be in a state of zen? Zen is the goal!

Namaste