For 6 weeks during January and February, every Monday I left work stressed and tired, and headed to a top floor yoga studio hidden away in Battersea. For 90minutes I stretched, relaxed and breathed my way through yoga poses designed to help with achey, tight runner's muscles, and allowed my mind to reset too. I was encouraged to re-channel my energy into positivity, allowed myself to dream big and got my negative thoughts out of my head and scrawled down onto the page.
This was all part of Jasyoga's BELIEVE: Yoga for Runners course and I firmly believe that it played a major part in my success at Brighton!
The course is centred around the BELIEVE journal created by two pro-runners, which is so much more than just a workout log. It's a training diary that allows you to record mileage and stats, as well as pages to check in with your progress, be honest with yourself, and help inspire you to become a better athlete.
Throughout are motivational messages and hand drawn illustrations- it's a lovely book to own, and I'm really enjoying taking the time every evening to reflect on my workouts that day and actually write on paper rather than on a computer!
If you'd like to try one of the questionnaires from the journal, click here ---> Are you a warrior or a worrier?
The Yoga course was led by Erin, who is awesome! The group was small, only three of us and it was a friendly laid-back, and chatty atmosphere. Each week had a different focus - from creating a solid foot foundation, to waking up our glutes, identifying smarter ways to stretch your hips, and, perfectly for me (the day after Brighton Half!), the final session on the importance of recovery.
We used straps, bolsters and blocks to hold poses for long periods of time so our muscles could fully relax. There was lots of "legs up the wall", a whole session on upper body opening- chest and side body stretches, and twists. I may have to invest in a bolster now!
Every week I felt I had something new to take away, even just as simple as taking time away from my desk to stop, close my eyes and breathe! Alongside the physical stretches, we talked about creating a stronger mind, finding a mantra to cut through the doubts, and how to manage setbacks.
If you'd like to sign up for one of Erin's courses she's holding a regular Month End Reset- the next one is on Sunday 29th March- and is launching a video platform very soon so you can "Hit Reset" anytime, anywhere!
Beki x
![[GRUFFALO] Exploring the #Gruffalo Party Trail @forestryengland Salcey Forest, celebrating 25 years of the Gruffalo!
Arthur is Gruffalo OBSESSED at the moment, so this was the perfect trail for us to walk together as a family, stopping to complete the activities and enjoying the beautiful autumn colours 🍂
We missed the Gruffalo sculpture halfway round - not sure if there was a signpost - and someone's legs were a bit too small to walk the whole 1-mile route, but we enjoyed the den building area and wooden enchanted houses en route. Good places to stop for a sit down and a snack! 😆
.
.
.
#gruffalotrail #salceyforest #forestryengland #exploremore #explorelocal #bedfordmums #bedfordshiremums #outdooradventures #outdoorbloggers #outdoortoddler #outdoorfamily #lovetheoutdoors #autumnleaves #autumnadventures #mumstagram #motherhoodjourney #mumlife #toddlerlife](https://www.misswheezy.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
This sounds amazing Beki! What a great way to focus and renew at the start of the year, I'd love the opportunity to do something like this!
This sure sounds lovely 🙂 Like a mini-retreat every Monday night! That diary looks cool too. I have the Daily Greatness yoga journal, which I love, but I must say that I sometimes find it a chore to fill in and I don't need another chore in my life! 🙂