Run Yogi, Run!

I'll be honest, I'm not much of a runner, I prefer activities that I can do barefoot, like yoga, swimming and beach walking. There's something wearing running shoes that makes me feel claustrophobic (it's this same feeling that has me in flip flops all summer.) But every spring, once the snow melts away, and the parks and their paths suddenly reappear, I get the urge to lace up my Asics and run around.

With this incredibly warm spring we've been graced with, my desire to hit the pavement happened sooner than usual, and I celebrated the spring solstice with my first run of the year. In my first few strides, I discovered that my two neighbourhood running paths were closed for construction, and that I haven't updated my iPod with any upbeat playlists in eons. I was tempted to turn back, but instead I told myself that to make this excision worthwhile, I'd have to run at least a few blocks around my Fort Rouge neighbourhood.

In those first three blocks, I discovered a park I had never seen, with paths that wound through tall trees. At the end of the path, a playground. After a few windy loops, and a quick slide down the yellow swirl, I kept running, further from my house, excited to see what I could discover in this beautiful and unknown landscape. I ran until my playlist ended, 45 minutes had gone by without me even realizing.

Once I got home, I found out a sunny spot on my deck to lay out my yoga mat, take off my shoes, breathe and stretch. After a few sun salutations, I did these 10 yoga poses that are great post-run.

Intention for the day: discover something new, weather it be in your own backyard or within yourself. •♥•