Come One, Come All and Get Your Warrior On!

I’m looking for recruits so don’t be shy because have I got a fitness program for you!

Due to the overwhelming success on the first run of Warrior Rising, my fellow instructor and I are setting the stage for a round TWO!

What is this Warrior Rising you ask? Basically it’s a 4-week intensive practice that’s built upon these 3 pillars:

• A combination of strength training and yoga in one complete practice

• A supportive small group experience designed to build camaraderie and offer individualized instruction

• An opportunity to incorporate healthy habits into your life through weekly at-home challenges

Just walk through this scenario with me for a minute… Imagine this:

There you go, walking out of your house and closing the door behind you… tightly… thus immediately sealing yourself into a comfy and cozy ‘mommy-free’ zone. The cries that were once piercing have instantly vanished (or at best are muffled through the 2 1/2 inches of door that’s now behind you.)

Then there you are, arriving at your destination and walking into this divine openness, literally, as it were once a church, recently renovated yet able to maintain its spiritual character through its airy vaulted ceilings and added plush sofas and chairs that invite you into its quiet and calming space. A true meditative haven.

Spreading your yoga mat onto the floor beneath you, you start to finally breathe a little deeper, allowing your day to roll off you as you settle in for a moment or two of serene meditative breathing with the help of a soft voice coming from the front of the room. (That would be Sarah Rubin, a certified Kripalu yoga instructor who guides you in a brief five-minute meditation before the start of class so as to help you peel away your day and start to focus on yourself.)

Once you feel a little more centered, you rise up, at first moving slowly into a warmup intended to open up your body, allowing the blood to flow to the farthest reaches of your body. Slowly you begin to feel a little more invigorated and you start moving a little deeper and a little faster. Here you spend 35 – 40 minutes working your body out, pushing it through challenging squats, lunges, rotations and presses. Interspersed are quick bursts of cardio that accelerate your heart rate and push you past your mind-created limits and have you asking for more… (or not, I tend to get carried away.)

Immediately following this intensity is a yoga practice designed to open up your heart thus allowing you to take in this life more deeply. You’re encouraged to stretch your body more deeply through fluid motions intended to release the body’s toxins, sending them back from whence they came. Here you spend 35 minutes exploring your body through stretches and poses, again pushing you past those mind-created limiting thoughts.

As you relax into this mode, your heart rate decelerates and you’re ready to delve into a deeper mediative state through a 10 minute deep relaxation that perfectly quiets the mind and allows the body to restore itself.

As you fully awaken afterwards, you feel accomplished, open and restored, able to face the challenges of your day ahead all the while knowing that you finally took the time to nurture yourself, respect yourself and push yourself. We call this the awakening of your inner warrior that rises to the challenges you face in your daily life.

Doesn’t sound so bad does it?

For more information on the program, check out www.warriorrising.spruz.com and sign up now for our new 4-week session beginning March 8! (You better hurry up… I am 8 1/2 months pregnant! But I can still move, albeit not as gracefully ;))