PSA: If you screenshot your amazon or barnes and noble review of Namaslay to @ybcsneakpeek, we will send you a free gift. If you screenshot your app review to Lauren, we'll send you another free gift. (Apparently we are just full of free gifts, what what?!) In other news, we've got our Italy, Greece and Kenya yoga retreats filling up so be sure to check those out if you're in need of a little escape. Lastly, our Namaslay merch storefront is now open for business. Thanks for supporting us!
We've been receiving a lot of emails recently asking about our next thirty day program, and with the New Year around the corner, I understand the excitement around resolutions and intentions, so I'm super excited to present January's 30 day program! By request, it includes both yoga, strengthening and hiit workouts so that you can grow your yoga practice, build strength and tone up. But before we jump into it, you know I can't offer a program that aims to build strength and tone up without talking about the elephant in the room.
So, here's my little mini pep-talk for my people joining this program who may be coming from a place of hurt. This is for my people who set resolutions and intentions out of anger and frustration about their current state. This is for my people who use working out as a punishment and food as a reward. Listen up, my friends:
December 2015 - December 2016
Last December, I snapped my first progress photo, which you see on the left up above. I'd set out to try to build strength and tone up for the photoshoot for my book Namaslay. I also wanted to feel better than I did. At the time, I just didn't feel great, and I wrote all about it in my macros posts, if you're interested. Over the course of the last year, my yoga practice has grown significantly due to the increase in muscle. I feel, overall, really good. And I have learned a lot about myself in the last year when it comes to fitness, and I'll talk about that more in next week's Workout Wednesday, but the biggest thing I've learned is self-compassion. Talk to yourself and treat yourself like someone you love. Set goals from the angle of self-care and self-improvement. Put yourself through workouts as a way to celebrate your strengths and abilities rather than as a punishment. Feed yourself nourishing, delicious food and treat yo'self every once in a while with your fav junk of choice because you love it and it brings a big ol' smile to your face when you taste whatever it is. But don't use food as a reward. Use food as fuel. Be joyful when you eat, no matter what it is you're eating. It's cheesy as heck to say but I'm going to say it - moving through life from a place of joy and gratitude will yield better results than if you're stressed and fighting yourself every step of the way. Let where you are right now be enough, and be okay. And each day do something to get to where you want to be, and try to do it from a place of happiness. This is just a thirty day program, but perhaps see if you can extend the goal of moving from a place of self-love for longer than the thirty days. Try for maybe three months and see how you feel. And if you feel great, try for six months. Or maybe try for the whole year. Anyway, I digress. The bottom line?
Check yourself before you wreck yourself. Listen to your self-talk and pay attention to how you treat yourself. If you aren't hearing things that uplift you, and if you aren't being treated well, feel free to break up with that voice inside your head and get yourself a better voice. You deserve it.
I'm psyched to kick 2017 off with a new 30 day program! This 30 Day Yoga Fit Program is meant to:
- help you deepen and develop your yoga practice
- help you tone up and build strength and endurance through hiit workouts
- help you connect with other likeminded YBCers through instagram with #ybcyogis and #ybcyogafit
Here's how it works:
Program Overview:
This program is suitable for all levels of yogis. The program is free, and is all listed here, but will pull from elements of my book Namaslay, so if you have that, keep it handy so you can use it as a reference. To complement this month's 30 Day program, I've created a calendar of never-before-seen content that will be featured on the exclusive section of the YogaByCandace Official app, so be sure you've downloaded and subscribed (it's free to download and it's $1.99/mo for the exclusive section). You can download it here for ios and here for Google Play. We'll take photos along the way and share on instagram with #ybcyogis and #ybcyogafit so we can connect with others following along. Here's how it works:
Follow us on Pinterest, and pin this image for easy reference later.
1. Pick a pose and recruit your friends.
Since we're working on developing our yoga practice, and strengthening and toning up, pick a pose that is a challenge for you because you currently lack the strength needed for the full expression. You'll snap a pic your first day of the program and continue working on it in conjunction with the suggested yoga and hiit program and keep track of your progress with the pose throughout the month. (Don't worry, it's all explained in the suggested schedule.) Not sure what pose to pick? Here are some suggestions:
Beginners
- warrior 1 or warrior 2 - seeing how many breaths you can comfortably hold the pose
- side plank or side plank variation - seeing how many breaths you can comfortably hold the pose
- modified boat pose (keeping the shins parallel to the floor) - seeing how many breaths you can comfortable hold the pose
- staff pose
Intermediate
- warrior 3 - seeing how many breaths you can comfortably hold the pose
- boat pose - how many breaths you can hold the pose
- crow pose - how many breaths you can hold the pose
- headstand (different variations and how many breaths you can comfortably hold them)
- baby grasshopper pose - how many breaths you can hold the pose
Advanced
- grasshopper pose - Both sides, and seeing how many breaths you can hold the pose for.
- forearm stand - Seeing how many breaths you can hold the pose for.
- scorpion pose - Seeing how many breaths you can hold the pose for.
- wheel pose - Seeing how many breaths you can hold the pose for.
- handstand - Seeing how many breaths you can hold the pose for. If you're very advanced, you can also focus on different variations of coming into the handstand - press ups, jumping from downward dog, etc.
Once you've picked a pose, announce it on social media and tag your friends to join in. If you'd like, share the above image on Pinterest so you'll be able to easily find this post each day you check in to the program.
2. Start the program
We'll all officially start on January 1, 2017, but feel free to start whenever works for you. Snap a pic of your chosen pose, and post it on instagram with #YBCyogis and #YBCyogafit. Then, click on the hashtags and say hello to the others within the community to show them some love and support!
Follow the suggested schedule (it'll be posted on Friday of each week and updated with links at the end of this post) and if you have questions, need support or want to find a yoga accountability buddy, head over to the Yoga Forum. There are so many knowledgeable and kind people willing to help out and I'll be popping in when I can to say hey as well!
3. Enjoy!
No pressure, no stress, no such thing as perfect. Aim for consistency. Aim for compassion. Aim for a goal that speaks to you, lifts you up, and makes you feel incredible. Believe in your inherent strengths, in your body's own wisdom, and in your greatness. And don't take any shit. #namaslay
Troubleshooting
- Not sure if you're a beginner or intermediate? Just set a goal, and reevaluate after a week or so, and switch your goals if necessary.
- Can't do the hiit workouts as fast as you'd like to? Don't worry. Just learn the movements by watching the instructional portion of the video (and tuning into the exclusive section of the app for more tips), and do it at whatever pace works for you. It's more important that you get through the workout at your own pace than stop the video because the pace is too fast for you.
- Don't have time for each day of the suggested schedule? That's ok. It's just a recommended schedule. You know your body and state of mind best. If you happen upon a day when you're overworked and exhausted from the night before, feel free to modify the schedule to make it work for you. Don't be a slave to the schedule. Make the schedule fit into your life and have no regrets about it.
- Need an accountability buddy? Head over to the yoga forum to connect with someone from our tribe.
Ready for the first week? The suggested schedule for days one through twelve is listed below. Who's in?!
Suggested Schedule
Day 1: All: Guided meditation, 5 min warm up. Check in on instagram with #YBCyogis and #YBCyogafit.
Beginners: 20 Min flow for beginners. Pause vid in the middle and spend 1 - 3 minutes practicing your chosen pose.
Intermediate and Advanced: 30 Min power flow. Pause vid in the middle and spend 1 - 3 minutes practicing your chosen pose.
Day 2: All: Hiit warm up (4-7 breaths in each pose). 20 Minute hiit workout. Spend 1 - 3 minutes practicing your chosen pose.
Day 3: All: 30 minute restorative yoga practice.
Day 4: All: Rest day.
Day 5: All: Start with a meditation. App subscribers can do the guided meditation from Nov 1. Then, all: warm up and core work sequence.
Beginners: 20 minute yoga practice with a yoga strap.
Intermediate and Advanced: Stay positive sequence. When finished, spend 1 - 3 minutes practicing your chosen pose.
Day 6: Push up party! #worstpartyever Be sure to log onto instagram and check in with #YBCyogis and #YBCyogafit.
Beginners: 1-5-1 push up party
Intermediate: 1-8-1 push up party
Advanced: 1-10-1 push up party.
All: Spend 1 - 5 minutes working on your chosen pose. Then, cool down with this.
Day 7: All: Rest day.
Day 8: All: 60 minute vinyasa practice. Pause video in the middle and spend 1 - 7 minutes practicing your chosen pose.
Intermediate and Advanced add on (best to do in the middle of the above video, before practicing your chosen pose): 10 Minute headstand yoga practice.
Day 9: All: 9 minute heart-pumping hiit workout. Then, spend 1 - 7 minutes practicing your chosen pose.
Day 10: All: Rest day or optional yoga nidra deep guided meditation.
Day 11: All: Yoga for core. Yoga tone up sequence. 15 Minute vinyasa flow. Spend 1 - 7 minutes practicing your chosen pose.
Intermediate and Advanced add-on (to be done after the 15 min vinyasa vid): Practice headstand to forearm stand funky transition and eagle pose to headstand.
Day 12: All: Ten minute gentle warm up flow. Five minute hiit workout. Then, spend 1 - 7 minutes practicing your chosen pose.