Yoga on the Hill

As mentioned in my last post entitled "Stress Busters - Pregnancy Edition" under my Fitness and Wellness section, I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather we have been getting + free events across my city, and do #yogaonthehill. I made sure to plan my day around this outdoor activity so that I could make the most of it and ensure I did not miss it.

To begin, my day started at 7:30 a.m. My pregnancy led me to crave oatmeal cookies that day, so I quickly ran out of the house unshowered (oops!) to get a couple of missing ingredients, and got crackin' on that baking! While I waited for the oven to preheat, I took a quick shower (no dirty people around here!) and started forming my oh-so-delicious-I-can't-believe-I-just-made-these oatmeal cookies. And by 10:30 a.m., all was done, the kitchen sink was full,and I was scrambling to get all my things together before heading out to my first outdoor Yoga sesh! My "things" included my new +Thyme Maternity exercise gear, my +Ray-Ban aviators, a tall bottle of ice water, washed and cut up lemons as well as fresh-from-the-garden mint leaves—and my Yoga mat, of course!

I made sure to get downtown early so that I could park far and get a bit of cardio in before and after my main workout. It was such a perfect day, it was the best option! This way, I got to save money on expensive parking fees, do some complementary exercise, get some fresh air, observe people as they whizzed by me and really increase the appreciation I already have for MY city.

By 11:55 a.m., I finally arrived to Parliament Hill and found myself a spot. Not a great view of the instructor, but with hundreds of others there, I expected nothing less. Plus, it's refreshing to just be in the presence of so many others wanting to do good for their bodies.

At 12:00 p.m. sharp, the class started. NICE!!! I was so proud of myself for taking initiative and being part of something like this! As we furthered into the class, my body recognized a lot of the moves (as my mother was a Yoga instructor for many years, and I attended many of her classes) and flowed with all the other yogis. The only thing I could not do were all the exercises involving laying on my stomach. (But justifiably so—after all, I AM 6 months pregnant!) During those periods, I simply alternated between doing the cat/cow poses and looking around at my surroundings. I did all that while soaking up some awesome Vitamin D.

Tourists seemed especially intrigued by and interested in this activity, and I noticed that many seemed keen to take pictures of all the participants. This event really adds to Ottawa's unique charm and fitness-oriented #lifestyle.

Seriously, I am planning on doing this all over again next Wednesday. It's too good, too fun, and too temporary not to every week (or at least, when possible).

Until next time!

-Alesia D.

August 7, 2015