September Book Club

So, September may be more than half way through, but that is not to pick up a great book! Some friends and I recently started up a book club that will be meeting once a month to discuss some monthly reading. We will each take turns hosting, picking the book, bringing snacks, and bringing drinks. This month, I got to choose the book and decided on We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. I heard good things about it and have also heard that the ending is a complete surprise. Other than that, I know nothing.

If you would like to join our monthly book club, that would be so great! We can read them together each month (I promise to notify you of that month's reading sooner than this one) and then come back for a book review. Of course, there will be a spoiler free and spoiler filled section easily seen. That way everyone is super happy with how little or how much information we have.

As for this month's book, I can tell you right now that is fits in the YA category and is based on a wealthy New England family. Two things I had no idea about when deciding on the book! Another thing I have learned is that it is a pretty easy ready. Really. I was halfway through with it after one sitting.

And, since there have been very few fitness related posts this week, I added in some workouts that were recently discovered from Brooke Burke-Chavet's YouTube Channel. Did you know that she had a YouTube channel? I had no idea. Brooke's channel, Modern Mom, is all about health and fitness with guest trainers (Tara Stiles was the most recent), healthy eating, and lifestyle tips. I am officially addicted.

So far, the two workouts that I have done include the Bum workout with Tara Stiles and this one for hip slimming. Both were fantastic and kicked up quite the sweat. They did not make me super sore, but were still great! If you looking for a bum workout that will make you super sore, just wait for the one coming out later this week!

Yoga for Hangovers

First off, Happy St. Patrick's Day! Are you wearing green today or celebrating tonight? We will be doing both by way of some cute BR green jeans on my part and an Irish Pub for some celebration. If you are planning to go crazy tonight, this post is just for you (and possibly me) tomorrow morning.

Sometimes, we do go a little crazy and pay for it the next morning in the form of a hangover. Whether or not that will be your tonight, chances are it will happen at some point. When I was younger (am I really that old now?) hangovers were not a thing. Now, more than two glasses of wine and I am in the zone of possibly waking up in a haze. But hey, that's ok as long as I get some yoga in and plenty of water. Usually, no matter what haze I wake-up in, water, vitamin B12, and yoga will fix it.

Tara Stiles released a yoga how-to for all of us who had a bit too much fun the night before. This flow is wonderfully short and focuses on getting blood flowing to our brain and cleansing our bodies. At first, the idea of doing any sort of inversion sounded like the worst thing I could do when my world is spinning. Turns out that Tara Stiles is right again. Inversions will help! Here is another great Tara Stiles hangover flow for all those fantastic, overachieving yogis out there!

P.S. In case you mix last week's run down on which drinks are better for you, you can find them here and here! Here are a few yummy (and healthy) St. Patrick's Day recipes as well.

This Week in Workouts

This week was normal and great except for the whole we are going to Disney thing- ahhhh, I cannot wait! The hubs has my whole birthday trip planned out and I am seriously excited. Here are a few of the things that have turned me into an sugared-up four year-old this past week.

1. The weather: It is perfect right now and the best thing to do in this sunny, 72-degree beauty is spend time outside. Specifically, outside with Disney characters around.
2. The new Festival of Fantasy Parade is up and running and I CANNOT wait to see it.
3. We will be staying at one of my favorite Disney hotels.
4. Raglan Road and EPCOT UK pavilion will be AWESOME on St. Patrick's Day. Along with all the other great things Disney will be doing in all the parks for this super fun holiday.
5. Silly, but I have this new pair of Tom's shoes that are ridiculously comfy and I will be able to wear them, possibly, without icing those toesies at night.
6. Looking at the almost completed Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. It. Looks. Awesome.
7. The annual funnel cake I allow myself to eat without sharing. Birthday traditions are the best!
8. Cronuts. EPCOT has cronuts.
9. Refer to number eight. Cronuts.
10. For the first time in 2014, neither the hubs or I are sick. That is enough reason to party for me!

My hope is to have a nice little sum-up after we get back with lots of pictures of foods, parades, festivities, and maybe a yoga shot or two. We will see how things roll. I will also be instagraming pictures (side note, is intagraming a word?) while we are there, so if you are not following me on instagram yet, be sure to start. Click here to follow. And now, to the workouts!

Since I had the mental capacity of a four-year-old on ecstasy this week, not a whole lot got done other than our corporate taxes (happy that is over and I will not think about it for a year), business goods, writing, writing, and more writing, and a couple of workouts mixed in. Actually, this week was quite productive, maybe I should get crazy excited more often?

Sunday: Lots of handstand practicing that left me feeling like my niece in her gymnastic classes. Then, this yoga flow and this one. Look, I am talking like her now too.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: 2-mile interval run followed by core work and a great post-run yoga flow. I will share it one day, promise.

Wednesday: 10-minute ballet fusion arm workout that will be up soon. Then, this yoga flow. I also did this inversion flow with more handstand practice.

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: 2.5-mile jog followed by that infamous post-run yoga flow.

Saturday: A day exactly like last Sunday :) I know, this week was the epitome of workout creativity. What can I say, I have Disney (and taxes-boo) on the mind.

Did you know that San Francisco is getting rainbow sidewalks? You can read about it here.

Dale Partridge also wrote a pretty neat-o article for anyone wanting to switch life up. Read about it here.

Weekend Challenge 2

We have talked about yoga a lot on P+K. Of course, it is great for forming lean, toned muscles and wonderful as a low impact workout. Yoga is not necessarily a cardio workout and does not guarantee high calorie burning results. Because of this, it is sometimes easier to forgo the yoga for some cardio toning or strength conditioning. 

Lately, I have been taking a focus off the massive cardio and strength conditioning and placing more interest back on my first workout love, yoga. This simple change has done some major good to my cardio workout and my body. Yoga aids in lubricating the joints, increasing flexibility and balance, toning muscles, burning fat, and will also help increase the results we see in our other workouts. Sure, a 30-minute yoga flow will do some major good when it comes to all of these perks, but when was the last time you completed a 60-minute yoga flow and how did you feel after? If you have ever done this before, chances are, you felt great after your extra long yoga flow.

Our challenge for this week is a bit more of a time investment, but that hour will go a long way towards your health. Plus, you will get some massive toning and a total body workout at the same time! 

This Tara Stiles 50-minute yoga flow is the best free yoga flow that I have yet found. Funny, but after sifting through a great deal of yoga freebies, there seems to be a desert theme among the 45-minute and longer videos. Not quite sure what the desert has to do with long yoga flows, but if you have any ideas, please enlighten me.

This desert themed flow has poses that are great for everyone from beginners to the advanced yogi. Tara Stiles is also extremely instructional and her voice is calming without being ridiculously soft. Try to complete this entire yoga flow at least once this weekend, and better yet, twice. I have a feeling you will enjoy this a bit more than you think! Plus, who would not want those lean abs and toned arms of yoga's poster child Tara Stiles?