Measuring Up My #tieyoga Practice Sites

         I've attempted a "different" way of blogging this go around. Thanks to Christopher Lister for being the first in our #tiegrad cohort to post using Thinglink; overall I'm happy with my experience using this new-to-me tool. I worked very hard to try to find a way to embed my soundcloud audio clips so that if you clicked on one it would just play, rather than take you to the soundcloud site. Needless to say I was not successful with this. If this is indeed achievable, and someone does know how to make that work, I'd love to hear from you!

         Otherwise, these Piktochart visuals offer up a summary of my assessment of my various online yoga resources. Please don't feel the need to listen to every single link (unless you're considering taking up yoga online!), but pick and choose to get the gist of what I liked or didn't like about my online yoga sites.

Namaste

Stretching My Practice #tieyoga

Okay, it’s off to the races. I’m trying a new strategy tonight: blogging in 45 minutes or less. Since my last #tieyoga post and revised plan for regular practice via Haiku Deck, I have had more success with my #learningproject.  I've been more regularly practicing yoga and trying to focus on poses that will support the 5 key postures I identified as targets to improve on. 

Several key factors have contributed positively to my improved yoga practice over the course of this last week.  First and foremost, my Accountability Log, the log of accountability, my #tieyoga journal; it allows for a concrete view of my success (or shortcomings). I leave the Accountability Log  open on my computer (it’s just a basic word document) and as I log out of my yoga site, I open the document and plug in the date, the name of the video I used, running time, yogi’s name, and how it went.  Bam.  Done. And I know it’s there waiting for me on days I’m not so inclined to practice, which often (not always) kicks me in the general direction of the yoga mat.

 My motivation for practicing yoga at home has climbed to a more positive place; I think it’s because I am actually noticing some improvement in my flexibility…What? WHAAAT??? Yes, that’s right, increased flexibility.  That’s a good hook for me. I noticed a similar phenomenon with my #tiefit participation (the #notmylearningproject fitbit thing).  I am feeling so incredibly good with all my #tiefit walking, that I am currently getting out every day. I don’t want to miss a single day. I have set personal goals, such as nothing less than 10 km a day, 12 000 steps minimum as a daily total and walking to/from work at least twice a week.  While the #tiefit community drew me in, it’s now my own progress and improvement that is propelling me forward. Bingo.

Photo Credit: Bikram Yoga Westshore

Lastly, I follow my local yoga studio, Bikram YogaWestshore, on Twitter and Facebook and recently they shared these 3 photos to emphasize the progress we can make with regular practice over a fairly short amount of time.

Photo Credit: Bikram Yoga Westshore

Photo Credit: Bikram Yoga Westshore

 These photos inspired me to use some of the photos I started my project with, along with some I've taken more recently, in a different way.  I plan to create similar “collage” pics as a way to compare my own growth in my 5 targeted postures. It’s one thing to feel you've improved, but it’s quite another to see you've improved.  I’m excited to see what my #tieyoga growth looks like as I move through these weeks and weeks of practice. It is inspiring to me to see the personal improvements in these pictures over the course of one, two or three months!








It turns out that #tieyoga is alive and well when, a week ago, I thought it might have crashed and burned altogether. It’s challenging to have to figure out my own obstacles to learning and problem solve ways around them without other learners who are working on a similar thing. Many of our #tiegrad group are working on #learningprojects, but the projects are all so different.  Seeking out support from  my peers can be helpful when I am simply looking for a new strategy for my own project or trying to overcome a specific obstacle, but sometimes just to get going you need a buddy who is working on the same thing. Being part of a team is a huge part of our #tiefit success. Being a lone yogi at home has been my greatest #tieyoga challenge. 

In light of my recent shift, I’m now wondering if pursuing this #learningproject on my own is going to make success taste all the sweeter. We shall see….but for now, Namaste.

PS:  30 minutes for the writing. Pics & video took a little longer though.

Entering into week 3 with #tieyoga -- An Update

This week I thought I would try something different. This is a little out there for me--oh my goodness, listening to my own voice is not my idea of a good time--so thanks in advance for enduring!  I don't think I'll blog this way again, but it was good to try.  So, here I am, on Soundcloud, bringing you "Entering into week 3 with #tieyoga -- An Update."

And once you've had the pleasure of listening to my audio-blog...enjoy this fun Harold's Planet cartoon, Yoga For Wine Lovers!

#tieyoga – Day 8

So, it’s been just over a week since I started working on my #LearningProject for EDCI 569, #tieyoga (yoga online) with the goal of practicing 5 times per week.  In terms of frequency, I’m pretty much there. My motivation is extremely low, however, and most days it’s like a cloud that hangs over my head and when I go to practice, it’s often done begrudgingly.

 

Problems:

Border Collie Lex loves yoga.

• While I have set some goals (improving flexibility and practicing 5 times weekly), I believe my goals need word.  Aside from the frequency of practice, I don’t have any truly measurable outcomes.  As well, I haven’t made a commitment to my method of tracking and reporting on progress.  Basically, I’m lacking an assessment plan.
• Practicing yoga in the middle of the day, in a busy household that has no available “yoga space” is not relaxing. The dogs, the kids bickering, my husband grinding coffee, someone playing loud music or loud…something…almost continuously throughout my 30 minute session somehow impacts the level of relaxation achieved and negatively impacts my motivation.
• Finding the time, even though it isn't a huge time commitment, and ensuring that time slot coincides with those minutes in the day when I don’t feel exhausted…this is a challenge too, one which, again, impacts motivation.

Positives:

•          Some days I practice yoga and I would have done nothing active otherwise
•          I’m getting some coursework completed every time I practice
•          I’m always glad I did it…okay, I never regret doing it.
•          My physical flexibility is showing minor signs of improving

Strategies for improving the success of my online yoga practice:

1    1.  Make an assessment plan

a.       Tracking Progress

                                                               i.      Choose a pose from each target area (forward bends, back of the legs, hips, back bends, for example) and take before, during and after pics to track progress (improved flexibility)

                                                             ii.      Video footage of my practice

                                                            iii.      Each day reflect on the session (just jot down a couple of notes, how I felt, what I noticed, etc)

                                                           iv.      Blog a minimum of once weekly

b.      Record “practice” sessions using fitbit device

c.       Reflect, anecdotal ly,  on my “online learning”

                                                               i.      Using videos, pictures, reflections to record a brief comment following each practice session

      2. Try the other yoga site, Do Yoga With Me and continue to explore other sites through #yoga on Twitter.  Thus far, I've really only explored the paid site, My Yoga Online

      3. Force myself to stick to a scheduled time, when the house is quiet, or quieter; create a #tieyoga schedule, and FOLLOW IT.

      4.   Recruit a yoga buddy or buddies; my husband has said he will practice with me and I’m sure I could get one of my kids to join in an evening session. Misery loves company. Lol, kidding, I’m not miserable.

      5. Set up a #tieyoga space, even if it’s “portable” or temporary in nature, to ensure I have a location in the house that isn't high traffic and to allow my mind and body to make a mental association between the space and the activity.

This sounds like a solid plan, improved from my first blind leap into my #LearningProject on January 14^th. Here are some pics, taken today (Jan 24th), of my postures in these early days of online #tieyoga practice.

Funny how when I'm in the posture, I think I've gone so much deeper than this. Must be the lighting.

Looking forward to more flexibility as it comes.

Watch for #tieyoga updates!

Yoga Online…Really?

I have no time. No, really—I have NO time.  I am married, raising 4 boys, have my 80-something year old parents living downstairs (although my mom has been in hospital for the last 6 weeks, and likely for 2-3 more, due to a full-on collision with her Alzheimers), I work full time, spread between two schools, and I’m doing my masters.  Then there are the other layers of life: pets needing to be fed, walked and attended to, anxiety (which hides in at least 2 of the closets in our house, maybe 3), illness hitting at the most inopportune times, kids’ university applications and job interviews, chauffeur duties and extracurricular schedules, supporting my husband as he transitions out of a 27-year career into a new profession, and, this week, a death and a dog attack.   I know I should really just do an assignment on something I’m already doing anyways (that ever-looming, always-ominous lit review), but I’m recognizing that my life is kind of in crisis mode, so while it feel s a little bit like I’m choosing “more work” , what I’m really trying to do is choose me. 

Yoga online, done at home. That’s my goal.  I figure I can squeeze in 30 minutes a day, first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening, or after school instead of that cup of tea that I never get through.  I’m wondering how long it will take until it feels like it’s just part of the routine, rather than something else I want to fit in.  I’m curious to know if it will really bring a sense of peace to my life.  How will it impact my flexibility?  My hips need opening, hamstrings need lengthening, mind needs calming and back needs bending.  Yoga, 5 days a week, 30 minutes or more, done online and at home. 

I’ve practiced yoga before—that hot and sweaty yoga—and I do like it. However, the classes are 90 minutes and the commute is 20 minutes, each way, without traffic. If I want a “good spot” in the room, which really just translates to me wanting to be near the door in case I decide to bolt, throw in another 15 minutes as insurance, plus 15 more for changing and showering. That adds up to a whopping 160 minutes (2 hrs 40 minutes).  It’s no wonder I haven’t been there much in the last year.  I’m hoping I can change all of that with online yoga. 

I did a little research and found a couple of sites that come well recommended, one being “My Yoga Online”, a paid site (99 cent intro for the first month, and then $9.95 monthly after that) and the other one “Do Yoga With Me”, which is free! I have signed up for both in hopes I can figure out which one I prefer.  I actually started today with a 30 minutes session following yoga instructor Raymond Yee on the paid site focusing on opening the hips. Let’s just say my hips are very closed and I don’t pretzel well. I’ve posted a couple of pictures here for your viewing pleasure.

Wide-legged Sitting Pose

Staff Pose

Failed Pose

Cobbler's Pose

So, please feel free to check out or follow #tieyoga as I track and share my progress and experience as I blog about my newly expanding yoga world!