Serious Body Envy!

I don't know what it is this time of year but around April I always develop a serious case of body envy. It might be because I have had my body covered up all Winter and now that the sun is starting to come out it is time to get my head around exposing myself again. Or it could be that I have just enjoyed my Birthday followed by a gluttonous Easter and am ashamed to admit to the effect that the extra thousand calories I have been consuming is having on my body. Or it could just be due to the fact that I keep seeing celebrities flaunting their perfectly toned bikini and gym bodies in magazines or online every day.

I have decided as of today to get back to the drawing board as far as my diet and exercise goes. I was getting great results from my pilates classes last year but due to lack of money and Winter laziness I had abandoned those in exchange for comfort food and cosy fires. This week I will restart my pilates and along with this I am aiming to do one yoga class a week also to help focus my mind and build strength. First yoga class is tonight and after a healthy tuna salad for lunch I am raring to go.

In the mean time I would like to share with you my current celebrity body envies. By looking upon these pictures each morning I can use them as inspiration and motivation to get back in shape. (they will also help my darts throwing arm for my evening's target practice!)

1) Miley Cyrus

I know I know. Myley Cyrus! That annoying loud mouthed teenybopper. Never in a miliion years would I have thought I would put her at the top of my list. In fact I have been oblivious to her fantastically toned anatomy until two days ago when I saw these pictures of her going for her daily run....... Darn it!

2) Leanne Rimes

This love affair with Leanne Rimes' body started after she went from being a human skeleton to being a perfectly toned bikini bunny! She definitely has the best bikini body I have ever seen. Although I can see why she has to maintain it with Eddie Cibrian to impress. Jealous? Yes I am.

3) Michelle Keegan.

Ok so I know this is a bit random. Hardly a celebrity I know. In fact I dont even watch Corronation St but I have seen many a picture of Michelle in bikinis in magazines, enough to let the green eyed monster rear its head. She has it all, tanned skin, toned abs, big boobs and on the skinnier side of athletic. With a body like that I'd go to work in a bikini!


I could go on and on but it is slightly depressing. So I will think positive, go to yoga and try my hard not to think about the other half of my malteasers easter egg in the kitchen cupboard....... arrgggghhh!

Yoga return.

After discovering Pilates a few weeks ago I have really been getting into it. I love the challenge and the more active excercises that are set for us and have already begun to see a few changes and definitely my abs are getting tighter.

However in this new Pilates lust I must admit I had left Yoga behind a little and had started to choose the pilates sessions instead. After a particularly stressed out Monday at work I needed the endorphins that a workout would give me but I also needed to centre myself and block out the world if even just for an hour. Yoga was calling me back to it's rejuvenating powers.

I went to a new Yoga class and luckily it was only half full so I had lots of space to move and be focused. I must admit it was probably the most enjoyable yoga class I have ever been to. So much so that I found myself feeling guilty for having left it behind for a while. Jennifer Anniston is a huge fan and practices all the time, she has said that she gets herself in a bad mood if she misses a practice. So if it's ggod enough for Jen it's good enough for me too.

Lizard pose

We started with some really good breathing and centering excercises and then moved through some new challenging poses that I havent tried before. This Lizard pose will become a new favourite. It feels amazing across the thighs and hips giving a really good stretch.

Balancing star pose

Dancer pose

Next we moved on to some balancing poses. It has taken me a while to get some of these right. It is all about bringing your focus inwards and picking a fixed spot to gaze upon while moving into the pose.

The best thing about Monday night's class is that I discovered I am finally on my way to a perfect Chaturanga. I always found this impossible and would have to bring my knees to the florr first or would find myself dropping down too quickly before moving into upward dog. However it seems that all my painful plank practice in Pilates has started to improve my upper arm strength and I was quite surprised at how much easier I found the Chaturanga.

All in all I have come to realise that I need to find equal placing of my Yoga and Pilates practice in order to feel happy. So that will be my new aim in the next few weeks.......

Pilates Newbie

Now that I'm slowly settling into yoga and feeling more confident doing it, I thought it was time to try something  with a little more exertion. I have always wanted to try Pilates but with funds being a little tighter than normal, up until now I couldn't afford to do both. The Dublin yoga studios have saved the day!

www.yogadublin.com

At the moment they have a brilliant offer for newcomers. It costs only €59 for your first month and you can attend as many yoga and Pilates classes as you like. This gives you a great opportunity to try out lots of different teachers and styles to find the ones you like the best.

My first Pilates was this Sunday morning at 10am. Luckily I hadn't been out the night before so I was up fresh as a daisy and ready to give it my best. My teacher Caroline was great. She was really enthusiastic and funny which definitely helps when struggling through some of the more challenging stretches.

There were definitely similarities with Yoga but with a stronger emphasis on toning. This is exactly what I need. Most exercises are based around a strong core which I am hoping will start to tone my little potbelly. We also toned our arms, legs  and abdomen. All exercises are performed with a controlled breathing system which is actually done quit differently than in yoga.

I must admit even though I have only done one class so far, I think it's going to be addictive. Afterwards I felt full of energy and ready to face the day. Hopefully it will become a new Sunday morning routine. Pilates, Sunday papers and the breakfast!

Celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna and Jennifer Love- Hewitt swear by Pilates to keep them fit and they have amazing bodies. It's enough to keep me motivated that's for sure!

Have you tried Pilates yet? Any tips on pilates exercises? Anybody recommend a good yoga/ pilates schedule?