Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Winter Warrior

In spite of being weary of winter, there's always beauty to appreciate. With the exception of my speedwork, which is difficult to do outside in wintery conditions, I've continued to take my runs outside. I've talked a lot about motivation...about cold weather running...and more cold weather running.

Determined not to let Mother Nature get the best of me, and as part of participation in the #TaketheLeap yoga challenge, this week, I decided to do the Warrior Series and take all 5 poses outdoors. I wanted to portray a sense of strength, invincibility, and beauty in these poses. Winter really saps strength and energy from a lot of us, and these poses help us to feel grounded to the earth and strong. The poses all have physical benefits for runners as well. Warrior 3 is the most challenging of the series, involving strength and balance.

With the snow and gray skies as my background, the bright colors I wear for my runs served as contrast. Have you ever seen a cardinal in the snow? The beautiful red colors stand out perfectly in contrast to the whitewash of winter. I really enjoyed this series, and I think doing them in the snow generated so much peace and pleasure for me. And as they say, be a warrior, not a worrier.

Warrior 1

Humble warrior

Warrior 2

Reverse Warrior

Warrior 3



29 comments :

  1. Great job!!! I wish I was half this strong. I've failed miserably this winter in many ways sadly!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think that seeing your poses in the outdoors (and others that are doing the challenge) is the only time I've been (slightly) jealous of having snow on the ground. The bright colors of you on the background of gray and white is so beautiful. As are your poses. What are we going to do next week?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know! What do you think? I still want to do triangle and half moon--thought I'd do those on Sat and Sunday. We're almost done!

      Delete
  3. I don't especially love yoga (yet), but the Warrior poses are some of the balance poses that I can actually stick & hold (now the Crescent Pose, that's a different story). Yoga is humbling...it is SO much harder than it looks, it's not "just" stretching and contorting oneself. It's all about strength, focus and discipline.....components that not only enhance one's physical ability but also one's mental well-being as well. Warrior on, FrIeN

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you were game enough to try the poses! Yep, humbling (see my warrior 3 above). Once thing I need to work on is balancing. On the mat and in life!

      Delete
  4. Ugh - this winter has been brutal! I've definitely been trying to do most of my runs outdoors - unless the sidewalks haven't been plowed or it's less than 20 degrees out. But, I find that I run slower and shorter on the treadmill, so getting outdoors is paramount for me! I need to read your other cold weather posts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wrote them mostly as pep talks to get me out the door! We got 5 more inches of snow over night and it's 15 degrees. Spring cannot come soon enough.

      Delete
  5. Wow! You really are Still motivated in the winter Doing yoga outside in the snow. ...Brrrr. -L

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It helps when I'm out there running already! But brrrr is right!

      Delete
  6. The warrior series may be my favorite. It's a nice metaphor for this winter too. Love your pretty colors!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have LOVED this series from you and think it's so cool and creative that you started it up. I just love the yoga challenge. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful pics, Wendy! I was able to get out and run this morning and it was GLORIOUS! Only had to dodge a few snowy/icy spots, so I was thrilled.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love your pics. I wish I were that flexible.

    I have run outside and it slow because I have to doge those icy and snowy spots.

    Looking forward to spring!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I LOVE these pictures! You make me want to do yoga... for real! I'm planning on a longer run tomorrow outside. It's still super cold. But I"m so over the treadmill right now. Fingers crossed the tender hamstring holds out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How's it holding up? Mine talks to me when I run fast...it does ok on long slow distances, tho...

      Delete
  11. I absolutely love that you took your yoga practice outside. Your poses and lines are absolutely gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your pictures and poses make me miss yoga, and I'm not sure why I don't take the time to resume practicing it... Thanks for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This yoga challenge really made me realize how much I love yoga.

      Delete