Free April Desktop Wallpaper Calendar

Since I couldn't think of a good April Fool's joke, I'm sharing a new April wallpaper desktop calendar. Just click here for the larger image. Once it appears in your browser, right-click on it and "Set as Background."

Happy April!

Welcome to Recovery Week

What could feel better than entering into your final Recovery Week of P90X? Oh wait, I know . . . finishing your LAST day of P90X! And that day will be this Friday. That's right. I said this Friday. I have to admit, it's not quite as thrilling as it was last year, but none the less I am looking forward to it. My husband is insisting that we should continue the workouts as if we never finished. This is the same guy that I had to beg and plead with last year to give this 'P90 thing' a try. Now I've created a monster and I can't stop him.

I really need to shift my focus over to yoga starting next weekend. This whole P90X thing has really gotten in the way of my yoga teacher training. I've done a good job with the book portion of my training, but now I'm to the point where I have to create and practice my first lesson. I have it on paper (seems the paper portion is much easier for me) and now I have to commit it to memory. My goal is to practice my own lesson plan every day next week and perform on tape by May. If all goes well, I'll have my certificate by my birthday in early July. That's the goal anyway. I need to hop to it.

My New Recovery Drink

I found my new recovery drink—POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice. I have been intrigued by the magazine ads lately, and finally decided to give it a try. Tony always mentions the importance of drinking a ‘recovery drink’ after the P90X workouts, but I never tried his. The reason is that I didn’t want to get hooked on some expensive drinks that I had to order online. I wanted something healthy that I could just buy at a grocery store. Enter POM Pomegranate Juice.

First of all, the bottles are so darn cute I almost have a hard time tossing them in the recycling bin. I’m constantly trying to come up with a craft project to re-purpose them. At first I thought the bottles were so little that I would need to drink 3 of them after a workout, making them just as expensive. But there are a couple of reasons why that is not the case. First, you only need 8 ounces of this wonder juice to reap the healthy benefits of it. And secondly, I discovered that mixing the juice with my favorite pomegranate-seltzer is a real treat. I compare drinking the straight juice to a glass of Merlot; strong and bold. But mixing it with seltzer gives it a lighter and yummy twist. Perfect for an after workout guzzle.

And speaking of red wine, tests found that ounce for ounce, pomegranate juice has 17% more polyphenol antioxidants than red wine. With incredibly high levels of very potent, naturally occurring polyphenol antioxidants, POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice is truly the antioxidant superpower. And I don’t know about you, but guzzling red wine really puts a damper on the rest of the day.

Scientists believe that antioxidants may help protect the body from free radical damage. It makes sense that exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables including antioxidant-rich POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice may help you stay young. It’s cheaper and more pleasant than Botox so I’m willing to give it a try.

Urban Zen Foundation

The Well-Being Initiative of the Urban Zen Foundation is committed to changing the current healthcare paradigm to include integrative therapies and promote patient advocacy. Their vision is a healthcare system where the patient is treated, not just the disease… a system where eastern healing techniques, yoga therapy, aromatherapy, and nutrition are used in combination with western medicine in a holistic approach to patient care.

As part of the Well-Being Initiative, the Urban Zen Foundation has launched two new programs in 2009 featuring instruction by Rodney Yee:

The Urban Zen Yoga Teacher Training Program is an in-depth 200-hour yoga teacher training program that can be completed on its own or taken as a suggested pre-requisite for the Urban Zen Integrative Therapist program. This program begins March 13, 2009, in New York City, and will run through September 2009, one weekend a month, with a break in July.

The Urban Zen Integrative Therapist (UZIT) Program is a 500-hour advanced program focused on integrating multiple therapies into patient care. The current year-long program started in NYC in January 2009 and the next training will start in January 2010.

For more information visit www.urbanzen.org

One Step Closer

• 50 question written test -- DONE
• 3 page essay on yoga and health -- DONE
• 1 hour lesson plan for my first yoga class -- not even close

I have to admit, I'm completely intimidated with building my first lesson plan. This is the class that I will need to lead in order to achieve my certification. It needs to be perfect. It needs to address all the different aspects of a well-rounded yoga class. It needs to take into consideration the different issues of special needs students. It needs to include only poses that I CAN DO. It needs to be an hour long. And most importantly, it needs me to be serious and on track for the duration. That will be the biggest challenge. My mind has a tendency to drift . . . . Where was I? Oh yes, worrying about how I will lead my first one hour class with the stress of a camera rolling the entire time. Yikes.

To help me prepare my class I'm reading one of the text books provided in my training kit. It's called "The Sivananda Companion to Yoga" and it is a wonderful book. I just love it. It is beautifully illustrated and well laid out. My biggest gripes with my other text books were the cheesy illustrations and the horrific pictures. But this book is simply lovely and will be an invaluable source of information as plan my lesson.

After reading a few chapters and watching a long DVD of instructor tips I thought I was ready to use my husband as a crash test dummy and lead a little yoga class at home. I did positively no planning and tried to just wing it with my newly gained knowledge fresh in my head. Well, it didn't go too good. We both ended up silly and laughing. How on earth will I pull off this taping?

Fitness is Addictive

I’m currently in the seventh week of P90X and I skipped today’s workout. I still can’t believe that I skipped it. I can’t seem to get it out of my head and I feel consumed with fret about it. I’m going to blame my husband for this one. He was trying to be the voice of reason by advising me that, given my current blinding migraine, it might be best to skip the working out. I know he’s right, but if it was up to me I’d be upstairs right now doing Legs & Back; no matter how much my head hurt. Somehow I would get through it.

What is it about a fitness program that makes me so addicted? All I can think about now is, “What do I do from here?” Should I do Legs & Back tomorrow or should I do Kenpo, which is our normal Thursday work out? The best scenario would be to skip our Friday rest day and do both workouts this week. Only problem is that my husband and I have a date planned for Friday. Is it bad that I’m sitting here wondering if he would be mad if we postponed our date so we can get our full P90 week in? Oh God, I’m sick. This addiction must stop. Why can’t I be like normal people and not give slacking a second thought?

Problem solved. I just devised a plan. I will use my lunch break tomorrow to work out my legs and then do our regularly scheduled Kenpo after work. Phew. I feel much better now. I can finally relax for the rest of the night.

Yoga Teacher Training Moving Right Along

This weekend I finished the written test which consisted of 50 questions. I think my answers totaled seven pages worth of information. So much to digest and I wonder how much of it I’ll really retain. My next step is to write a three page essay on yoga and it’s relation to health. I have decided to write about how yoga can have positive benefits to cancer patients because restorative yoga is where most of my interest lies. I don’t have any intention of going out to a yoga studio to get a part-time job leading classes. But if I could ever utilize my knowledge to help people that really could use some extra help as they battle their way through a terrible ordeal, that would be very meaningful to me.

Once this step is complete it will be time for me to devise my own one-hour class routine. This is the part that scares me the most. I know I can happily do yoga by myself for an hour and cover all of my favorite asanas. But my ‘test class’ must be in the proper order and must address every group of poses, making sure to make special modifications for special needs students. This is the part of distance learning that is the most challenging. Nothing beats have the instructors in front of you showing you the proper moves. I have some videos to watch and I’m hoping I’ll get enough out of them. But maybe I should just focus on one step at a time. It’s time to start my restorative yoga research . . .

Plyometrics Revisited

This week I tackled P90X Plyo for the first time this year. I’m following the same schedule I did last year. I start off with, and complete Phase 1, doing the “Lean” version. Then during the first or second week of Phase 2, I replace Cardio with Plyo. Something about just ‘jumping’ into Plyo right off the bat scares me. And I think this method is really working because I got through the hour without any trouble. Seems that P90X is much easier your second time around. I remember talking to a friend who was also doing P90X for the first time last season. When I commented one day that I was planning to do it all over again the following year she was shocked and amazed. She told me that at the end of her 90 days she was planning to drive over all the DVDs with her car and never wanted to see them again. LOL.

I’m not sure if it’s because I know what to expect, or my body is still stronger from last year, but I haven’t had one day of dreading my workout or feeling as though it was too hard–and I’m a year older now! Is it possible that the conditioning I got last year is still paying off? That would be amazing, but it just may be.

Some random observations after starting Phase 2 include:

• My flexibility has improved. My down dogs are near perfect and I feel very strong in the position. I can also reach the floor on all the stretching moves.
• I finally figured out the real way to do the Drya rolls. Suddenly it just clicked and I found myself flying up without having to push with my hands. That felt great.
• My steam engines improved greatly. My knees are now flying up much higher and much easier than they were at the beginning of Phase 1.
• Unfortunately I’m not as strong with the push-ups or pull-ups as I was last year because I have not been supplementing with weight lifting sessions outside of P90X. This time whatever strength I build, I’m building solely from P90.

Win a Free YogaDudes T-Shirt

Although I am enjoying all my teacher training homework and all the fascinating reading, I sometimes ask myself, “Why am I doing this?” I have full-time job and a side business to run. I’m not planning to go out and actually teach yoga classes. This is just something that I feel I need to do. Sometimes the days aren’t long enough and the stress level is high. Sometimes I think I’m just crazy for taking more on my already full plate. So I’m looking for some inspiration . . .

Please answer my simple question, “Why should I become a yoga teacher?” by leaving a comment in the Comments Section below. Please be sure to include your email address in the comment. A winner will be selected on Valentines Day and notified via email.

It’s All In Your Head

Yesterday I proved this theory when I tackled P90X Yoga with a better attitude. Instead of dreading it, like I normally do, I looked forward to the challenge. I put myself into the right state of mind and what a difference it made. I completed the whole thing like a champ. I almost felt silly for complaining about it last week. It wasn’t so bad.

This just proves the power of the human mind and the theory of meeting the expectations that you set. If you expect something to be hard and grueling it typically is. If you expect a bad day, chances are you will get it. From now on I am expecting to enjoy my P90X Yoga routines.

The Real Secret

I have officially recovered from my mental setback and I thought it prudent to publish a new blog post BEFORE I attempt P90X yoga today. I had a week to fall back in love with yoga and it was easy to do from reading more of my teacher training textbooks. The book I’m reading now (and I’m sorry that I don’t have to title to share at this moment) goes over more of the science of the human body. This stuff completely fascinates me. It explains how every single thing you do requires you to exert energy. Even just a mere thought of doing something flexes your brain to send a signal to the muscles required to perform that action. It went on to explain how human emotions can waste exceeding amounts of energy. For instance, getting upset and angry makes your heart beat faster and affects the body in so many negative ways. Just minutes of anger can waste a day’s worth of energy.

The more I read about the physiological effects of yoga on the human body, the more I think that yoga is the true ‘Secret’ to human kind. How could anybody read these textbooks and not embrace yoga with both arms so tight and never let it go?

This weekend I saw a report on 60 Minutes about a new drug called Resveratrol that is supposedly going to slow down the aging process in humans. The report went on to explain the different studies, like calorie restriction, and its affect on mice. I kept finding myself saying, “That’s what the yogis do.” No Resveratrol needed and these yogis seem to have figured out the natural way to reduce the speed of the aging process. I’m sold. Of course this doesn’t mean that I won’t be first in line once they release Resveratrol! Taking that supplement AND doing yoga should keep my young forever.

A Mental Setback

I’m halfway through with my second week of P90X. I managed to squeak out last week with convincing myself that my 30 minute Rodney Yee Power Strength yoga was an acceptable substitute for the P90X yoga. Who was I kidding? Truth be told I hate the P90X Yoga and I would gladly bike 50 miles or lift weights for hours in place of it.

Today was the dreaded yoga day and I ran out of excuses for not doing the real thing. I only had time for 45 minutes of it and it kicked my butt. Not only did it drain my strength, but it drained my spirit. I hate swallowing the fact that I lost most of the strength that I spent months building last year. But even harder to swallow was the fact that 15 minutes into today’s session I was cursing yoga. I mean I think I really hated it. It was just too hard. This past weekend I read an important part of my yoga text book. It clearly stated that a good yoga program ‘should not go to the point of fatigue.’ Well, that means that I shouldn’t go past the first 10 minutes of P90X. It’s such a double-edged sword. If I lift weights and don’t feel sore the next day I’m disappointed and feel as though I didn’t work hard enough. I know that if I attempted a yoga session that didn’t hurt and pose a big challenge I wouldn’t be satisfied. Yet I long for a yoga session that I really enjoy; one that leaves me feeling refreshed and mentally renewed instead of drained and depressed.

Doing the P90X yoga is definitely not good for my dream of becoming a yoga teacher and it’s going to be hard to maintain my passion and love for yoga during the next 90 days. Maybe I should go back to my plan of substituting yoga that I actually like in place of the dreaded program. I have to keep reminding myself that yoga is about more than just the challenging poses. Maybe I should type that 100 times over to get it through my head.


Yoga is about more than just the challenging poses.
Yoga is about more than just the challenging poses.
Yoga is about more than just the challenging poses.
Yoga is about more than just the challenging poses.
Yoga is about more than just the challenging poses.

Yoga—The Fountain of Youth

I completed my first text book in my yoga teacher training and the part of what I learn that is sticking out in my mind the most is the very sad fact that at the age of 35 the human body starts to decay. DECAY. That is the exact word the text book used. My goodness that was hard to swallow. I also noticed that one of my test questions instructs me to create a yoga routine that would be suitable for somebody between the ages of 18 and 35. I didn’t realize the magic behind the number 35. I mean, who knew that you started to decay after that? How much worrying should I do now that I’m the dreaded 4-0? Yoga was supposed to train my brain to be more at ease. This is not helping!

Armed with this new knowledge that I’ve been decaying for 5 years now, I decided to take some of my free time away from reading books and put some time into getting back in shape. Enough with the books; I was ready to get physical. For the past 15 years of my life I managed to stay extremely fit and active. I’m the type of person that actually feels guilty if I don’t exercise every day. But, like most people I managed to collect a few excuses over the past few months. It all started with a rib injury that completely knocked me out of any physical activity for 4+ weeks. That was torture. From there I entered the crazy holiday season and why start working out then?

So here I am slipping into greater decay. What can I do to get into great shape and fast? I knew the answer to that question . . . P90X. I completed this awesome work out last year and I know exactly what the results can be. Now let me preface this by saying that I was already in good shape when I started this program last year. I was lifting weights 4X a week and trail running 3X a week. When I made the decision to start P90X last weekend I had a sinking feeling that I would never make it through the first video. Here I was starting after doing no working out for over 3 months. Very scary.

I completed the first video which was Core Synergistics and although it was challenging, I was able to do it all, and do it better than I did the first time last year. As a matter of fact, tonight completes my first week of P90X and I was surprised at how easy I got through it. I set my expectations for trouble with my 40 year decaying body, but I proved myself wrong. How can this be? How can I still be in good shape without the constant weight lifting and cardio? I truly believe that yoga is the key to maintaining a strong, youthful body. There is no doubt that P90X whipped me into great shape, but it was yoga that kept me there.

The Bridge Between Yoga and Excercise

I took a little break from my certification text book. I recently ran into a fellow yogi that used to own a studio near my office. I took several of her meditation classes last year and they were my first introduction to meditation. It was those classes that made me realize that I have a lot to learn on the subject. Needless to say I was thrilled to learn that this new friend, Cheryl Jones-Reardon, recently published a book entitled Mindful Exercise, A Bridge Between Yoga and Exercise. I just couldn't wait to read it and since it was relatively short and easy to read I decided to dive right in.

What’s interesting about this book is the emphasis on mindfulness which involves being in the present moment. My experience is that many yoga classes are not mindful. A lot of teachers are still stuck in the old fitness mentality where the Asanas or postures simply replace push-ups. Mindful exercise offers a workout and a “work-in” experience, which cultivates moment-to-moment awareness through the breath and movement. During Mindful exercise we practice paying attention to sensations, thoughts, and feelings. We move the body with compassion, gratitude, and honor for the capabilities of the body as they are in the present moment. Mindful Exercise presents seven spiritual practices, one for each day of the week, with illustrations of their corresponding exercise trios. A specific format for this twenty-minute practice is also presented, and an audio CD is enclosed that guides you through each meditation or movement experience. Cheryl’s book/CD is the perfect tool for beginners and for seasoned yoga teachers who wish to bring greater awareness to their teaching. Mindful Exercise sells for $20.95 and you can order this book/CD at www.themindfulpath.com.

The Beginning of My Yoga Teacher Training

I’m in the process of reading my first text book. It’s called The Complete Yoga Book by James Hewitt. Upon first glance and a quick thumb through I thought it would bore me to tears. It’s mostly all text with some very cheesy illustrations sprinkled throughout. At the rate I normally read books (extremely slowly) I thought it would take me a year to get through this first book. I just couldn’t stop thinking that I’ll never learn yoga through a black and white, mostly just words and no pictures text book. But I reluctantly stuck my nose in the book and got busy.

Here I am two weeks later loving the darn book. I’m on page 266—probably more pages than I ever read in a two week stretch— and I’m completely fascinated. I have been doing yoga as nothing more than an exercise for over 7 years. I like the challenge of the physical exertion and just about all I know of yoga is the different poses. I was very naive to think that teacher training was all about memorizing the different postures. There is so much more to yoga and I’m so excited to dive in and soak it all up.

My text book is divided into three sections and it only took me three minutes to figure out that this is what yoga is really about: Beathing, Posture, and Meditation. I have a pretty good grip on the postures part, but I really know nothing about the breathing and the meditation. I still have a hard time believing that I could read nearly a hundred pages about something as simple as breathing and be fascinated by it all. Non-yogis probably think we are all nuts. After all, what can be so complicated about the simple act of breathing? They have no idea . . .

One of the most interesting parts of this first part of the book was the exploration of the extraordinary feats that very experienced yogis can perform. Now, when I say “experienced yogis” I mean Buddhist monks that dedicate their lives to meditation. But still, the fact that humans can put their bodies into such a relaxed state that they can be buried alive for several hours, or even days, is positively amazing. It proves that the power of any human being’s mind is limitless.

Another extraordinary feat that particularly interested me is Tumo, engendering body heat at will. By combining advanced breath control, concentration, and imagination naked or skimpily-clad yogis can sit immobile and meditate for hours on exposed mountain tops in sub-zero temperatures. I can barely stand to be more than 6 feet away from our wood stove in CT without complaining that I’m freezing. Some good breath control and meditation can do me a world of good.

I’m now in the middle of reading about all the different postures. This is probably my least favorite part of the book. As a graphic designer, I’m a very visual person and I’m having a hard time reading every little nuance of each pose. I would much rather WATCH it than read about it, but none-the-less I’m very much enjoying stage one of my remote yoga teacher training.

Chasing a Dream

After years of thinking about it and wishing for it . . . and a couple more years of procrastination and finding all the reasons why I shouldn’t pursue my dream, I finally decided to just go for it and start my training to become a certified yoga instructor. I am both excited and scared. I do worry that all the reasons I conjured up for not going through with it are still valid. There are some poses that I’ll never be able to achieve. I still have old injuries and funny body parts that will not cooperate in some poses. I am also a little old for a new career adventure. But regardless of all these things I still want to pursue it. Even if I never get out there and teach a real class, at a real studio, it means a lot to me to have the training. Yoga has always fascinated me and my desire to learn more is getting overwhelming.

Due to my current schedule of having way more things to do than time to do it, coupled with the fact that I live in the middle of nowhere, I decided to try a ‘distance learning’ course. This won’t be the first study-at-home certification course I’ve taken. A few years ago I became a certified ‘interior redesigner’ and I was very impressed with the course. I learned a lot and enjoyed every minute of it. I knew I wasn’t going to switch careers, but instead I gained a lot of valuable knowledge that I feel enriched my life. I’m taking the same approach to this yoga training. Although I don’t feel that a study-at-home program is the optimal way to achieve training certification, it will certainly teach me a whole lot more than I currently know about yoga.

My course package arrived just before Christmas and so far I’ve read 90 pages of the text book. My head is already bursting from everything that I learned. It is amazing how much more to yoga there is than what meets the untrained eye. Up to this point I’ve spent the past 7 years just exercising my muscles without really understanding the benefits of the postures and movements. My brain is hungry and eager to learn more and more. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to start my journey, but I sure am glad I’m on my way.

Chakra Balancing Yoga

I find it a little eerie how I never took any interest in chakras before this month and then I all of a sudden felt compelled to buy that Chakra Healing book I wrote about in the previous post. I swear the book found me in the book store. I wasn’t even looking for a book for myself. I just happened to pick the book up and I knew I had to have it. Then, only a couple of weeks later, I was sent a brand new DVD to review — Chakra Balancing Yoga by Sharon Gannon. Do you believe in coincidences? Or do you believe that there are no coincidences? Either way, I’m thrilled to be introduced to chakras. I’m completely fascinated by what I’ve learned so far.

I tried this DVD out today and it was a very interesting experience. I picked the perfect day for it. I was home alone and stayed in the coziest fleece that I own. I didn’t bother with hairspray and make-up and just wanted to be comfortable all day. It was the perfect setting for my first chakra balancing experience.

The video focuses on how to open the seven energy centers of the body to achieve physical and emotional balance. The goal of the exercise is to find new energy, relieve stress, feel more whole within, and more united with the world around you.

This was definitely a gentle and slow yoga routine, focused more on the mind than the body. The video guides you through poses, affirmations, and chants that open and balance the chakras. The 55 minute video is broken up into different segments — one for each of the seven chakras. You can go directly to any particular chakra that you feel needs awakening, or simply go through the entire series for a total chakra balancing. I completed the entire video in one sitting for the complete experience. I have to say, I was happy that I was alone in the house because at first I felt a little silly with the chanting. Every pose involves chanting of the mantra associated with the particular chakra. Once I got over the uneasiness with the chanting and just let myself go with it, it was exciting. Unlike all other yoga routines that I’ve done at home, this one did not allow my mind to wander away from what I was doing. I found that the chanting made holding the poses much easier. Instead of thinking, “How much longer?” I was focused on the chant which makes the time pass quickly.

The video asks you to think back to your past and pinpoint different people or circumstances that may need healing. I love how it explains how events in your past have a direct affect on your life today. The video forces you to focus and reflect with the affirmations and chants. I have never been able to stay focused on just yoga during any yoga routine in my life. This was the most focused my mind has ever been. As far as my chakras being balanced, I guess I need to learn a little more about them to be able to tell. I am very excited to have discovered this and will continue to do everything I can to unblock and awaken my chakras.

Learn more about the new DVD and watch a sample here.

The Chakras Personality Test

I recently bought a fascinating book called “A Handbook of Chakra Healing.” I’m learning all about the seven chakras, their meanings, and how to awaken each of them. The book included a great little Chakra personality test to see which of your chakras may be blocked and what areas you are more developed in. I loved it and want to share. Hopefully I won’t get arrested for copyright infringement.

Click on the images to bring up bigger versions that you can print out and read. The first graphic above includes the test — 28 yes/no questions.

Once you complete the questions, you should try to replicate the image in the second graphic, by drawing circles and coloring each corresponding number with a colored pencil (as shown in the second graphic) for every yes on your test. My sample graphic shows my completed chakra test so you will have to start from scratch to make your own.

The third graphic shows examples of different chakra personality portraits. What areas are you strong in? What areas are blocked? Check out the book for more info on unblocking your chakras.

More 10 Minute Trainer Observations

I dusted off my 10 Minute Trainer DVDs this weekend and decided it was time to get moving. A recent injury has kept me completely unable to do any form of exercise for the past three weeks and it’s been Hell. I thought that 10 Minute Trainer would be a good way to jump back into an exercise routine.

Yesterday I started with my favorite of the 10 Minute Trainer videos — Cardio. That name is so deceiving because it leads you to believe that it’s only going to give your heart a work out. I think they should rename the video to Buttinator because, just as I suspected, my butt is killing me today. Since I woke up with sore muscles I choose the Yoga video for today’s workout. During those incredibly blissful and fast 10 minutes it occurred to me how the yoga video is the easiest and most pleasant of the five different 10 Minute Trainer videos. How ironic considering that the Yoga video is the longest, hardest, and most dreadful of the P90X videos. Doing this video makes me remember all the reasons why I love yoga. P90X had me seriously doubting my affection for yoga. In fact, I think I almost started to hate it. Yikes, I can’t believe I just admitted that. It’s all Tony’s fault. But I’m back to loving yoga again so all is well.

One of my random observations after watching these two videos leads me to wonder what the heck Tony Horton did to himself between P90X and 10 Minute Trainer. I remember enjoying not only his great personality, but his handsome good looks during the P90X videos. Now I almost can’t bare the sight of him. He looks completely fake and plastic. WHY on earth would he do that to himself? I personally think that it’s even more impressive to be in great shape if you’re honest about your age. It’s easy for 25 year olds to look ripped, but how many folks in their mid 40s or above do? Turning 40 is what motivated me to do P90X in the first place and now that I’m a P90X grad, and a 40 year old woman, I am coming to terms with the fact that my age is showing. Looking in the mirror is getting harder and harder, but at the same time I’m growing more and more proud of the fact that, for the most part (and from a distance), I still look the same as I did when I was 25.

So here is the picture that I intended to post from the day I started P90X. This is me 3 weeks after my 40th birthday and 2 months after completing P90X. And my husband who is 53.

Free Wallpaper

I featured this quote in the November YogaDudes digital newsletter and what great timing that I found a free desktop wallpaper with the same quote and a nice November calendar on it. Please use the following link to download the full size version. Once the full size version appears in your browser, right-click and choose "Set as Background."

Click here to get the free download.