let your heart run free/a giveaway with dimvaloo active living

Everything I'm wearing in the photos above can be found at Dimvaloo Active Living in Ladue.  

Yoga has been a big part of my life since college, and it's been the biggest commitment I've ever made to an exercise routine.  I really believe in it as the perfect workout - it does so much for your  physical & mental well being, and well-taught yoga works for every body type!  I love running, but after Claire was born and I needed to slowly step back into a workout, I went straight back to yoga.  Not only do I think it made me capable of running again so soon, I think it's what keeps me sane and reminds me to live in the moment as a mother.  Claire & I even go to mama/baby yoga classes every Friday - I'm starting her early!  

I hate to admit it, but on days when I'm going to yoga, I pretty much wear my gear all day long.  It certainly helps if it's cute!  Dimvaloo in Ladue has to have the most fun yoga clothes on the market.  I love the prints, the brights, the patterns - I mean come on, those lime green pants!  Their clothes would make a great gift for the yogi in your life, or as a little incentive to really get after your New Year's resolution (which is to go to yoga more, right?)  Luckily I can help you get a head start on your shopping.  Kate at Dimvaloo is giving away a $50 gift card to one lucky reader - and you can enter below!  This is just the start of an ongoing collaboration that I'm incredibly excited about.  I'll be teaching a class and hosting a "Wine Down Wednesday" event in January with the amazing Jess of City in a Jar, and there will be even more fun prizes to win at that event as well.  More details to come!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

operation post baby body/adult recess

This week, I officially hit my pre-baby weight.  Do I look the same as I did at this weight before having Claire?  Nope, I absolutely don't.  But I can still do this: 

and I can still run for miles

3 miles, on this night, to be exact but I'm running 6 this weekend and plan to be up to 9 in December.   

It feels good to be back in fighting shape but if I'm being totally honest, I'm not quite done.  It's going to take more than just weight loss, because things just aren't the same as they once were.  Still, hitting my pre baby weight and fitting into my 6s again is worth celebrating, so I decided to do just that.  With a little yoga thrown in for good measure.  

Yoga Buzz STL is an awesome organization started by Elle Potter, a local teacher whose praises I have sung here before when I reviewed a collection of St. Louis studios.  Yoga Buzz has a pretty simple mission - bring yoga to the masses, whether it's through beer, wine, or even a trip to Italy.  

A non-profit organization, their classes at local breweries & wineries raise funds to send experienced instructors to areas that are underserved in physical education and especially access to yoga.  Knowing what a difference it has made in my life, that's a mission I can get behind.  

Elle likes to describe yoga as adult recess, and I wholeheartedly agree.  One of my favorite aspects of yoga is having the chance to try to fly, and maybe fall, but TRY because my mat is a safe place to experiment.  I can't count how many times I fell on my butt attempting crow pose before I got it, but when I did it was like the joy any kid feels when they complete the entire row of monkey bars for the first time.  Adult recess, for sure - especially with a pint of Budweiser beer when class is dismissed : )   

You can check out upcoming Yoga Buzz events here.  Stay tuned for further post-baby body updates - I may have hit my previous weight, but I'm not done just yet, there are so many more miles to run.