Home (hotel) yoga practice
I practiced yoga over the weekend in our hotel room with my mat and eye pillow. There was an odd pillow on our bed, which worked as a bolster for me while in Savasana.
Curt and I stayed in Santa Cruz over the weekend.
I didn’t check to see if the hotel had a gym. I am about 50⁄50 on that. Sometimes I am a rockstar with the hotel gym. And other times my exercise clothes never even leave the suitcase.
This time around I brought my yoga mat with me. And not my travel mat. I brought the full real deal. We drove, which meant I could pretty much bring whatever I wanted.
I practiced yoga yesterday and today in the hotel.
I have struggled in the past to practice what I call hotel yoga. I believe it was easier this time around as I have had a home practice for about six weeks.
My practice over the weekend had to be one I could do without props and not super active because The Husband was snoozing while I practiced.
Some time last year I had written up a short Yin Yoga practice to try out with a friend.
I don’t have a ton of experience with a Yin practice. You hold the poses longer. According to the Yin Yoga website, Yin Yoga targets the connective tissues, such as the ligaments, bones, and even the joints of the body that normally are not exercised very much in a more active style of asana practice. … Yin Yoga generally targets the connective tissues of the hips, pelvis and lower spine.
I did a lot of hip openers and man, could I feel it later.
A few of the poses I practiced were (half) Happy Baby, Reclining Twist, Bananasana, Baddha Konasana. The Yin Yoga site has a list of many Yin Yoga asanas, which includes pictures and some have videos.
When holding Yin poses I like to set a timer so that I am not wondering how long I have been in a pose and that both sides are held for an even amount of time. Because The Husband was snoozing less than 10 feet away I decided to not use a timer and go by the count of my breaths. I held all Yin poses for 30 breaths (inhale exhale counts as one).
The breath practice was a great idea as it kept me in the present, which is a goal and struggle when practicing, especially when in uncomfortable and intense poses.
And an added benefit to practicing in a hotel room on the beach is hearing the waves crash in the background.