Last week, I learned a fascinating new fact: Gorilla glass, the unbreakable glass on my phone, is manufactured in Corning, NY. Strangely enough, Corning is a town that I had never heard of until, oh, about one month ago. Continue reading Corning, NY: Sweating it Out(side) in the Crystal City
Over the summer, my mother hurt her knee and, for a few weeks, she wasn’t able to walk. A difficult task for someone living in a second-floor apartment and a keen desire to make the most of every hour of the day!
During the healing process, should would periodically observe that an injury in your upper body is doable and livable. An injury in your legs or ankles? You can’t go anywhere or do anything. To quote Captain Obvious, your feet are your foundation. Continue reading Yoga for Healthy Feet and Ankles
There’s little as exciting as pulling out your suitcase and beginning to pack for a new adventure. No matter how many times I do it, I love the feeling of pulling up to the airport, baggage in tow, getting ready to explore a new city or place. It’s the wide-open sensation of possibility. Continue reading On the Road: Staying Healthy While Traveling
“Why don’t you just stop for now?” Gustavo was practically pleading with me this morning.
“No,” I sniffled and growled. “I’m not going to not finish.” (For some reason, when emotional, I default to double-negatives.)
I rubbed my palms against my eyes to remove the tears, took a deep breath, and stepped under the bar. Continue reading It’s My WOD and I’ll Cry if I Want To
The past weekend, Gustavo and I competed in our last competition in a while: the Survive Challenge. Rather than going alone this time, we paired up as a team. It’s rare for competitions to offer mixed-gender teams in CrossFit, so when we have the opportunity, we usually jump on it. Continue reading Survive Challenge: Staying Focused
About a week ago, I was offered the opportunity to start doing 1-1 coaching with the head coach at my box. He has a fantastic style that I appreciate — he’s extremely observant, honest but not judgmental, and perceptive to a tee.
In the first few weeks of training with him, he started giving me some extra workouts to prepare for WODSunset. Each time I looked at his prescribed workouts, I just started laughing. It was like staring at a long list of every one of my weaknesses. How did he know? Continue reading How to Prioritize Rest and Recovery
(Thanks Cesar for the idea!)
Between working in technology and spending the rest of my time doing Crossfit, I see a lot of mobility issues on a daily basis. Mobility isn’t a one-time thing, but an ongoing practice. Even now, almost twenty years down the line, I still have to remind myself that I can’t do a split like I did when I was taking gymnastics classes. At least, not without a proper warm-up like my little ten-year-old self could do. Continue reading Top 5 Flexibility Wins
After a few long, long months of hard training, work, sweat, and tears, WODSunset came last week. It’s rare for there to be an individual category in which I can compete in most Crossfit competitions, so when this one came up, I jumped on it. In our first competition, Gustavo and I were able to compete as a team, but neither of us had the opportunity to test our skills and rankings as individuals. Until last weekend, that is.
Almost every day, at some point, Gustavo pokes my leg and announces, “There’s a stone in there!” Over the past few years, and months especially, I’ve noticed that my muscles have a tendency towards tightness, even despite all of the stretching and (what I thought was) recovery work. In particular, my arms were in brutal shape just after I learned how to hook grip. Presumably, all of those muscles in my forearms were scrambling to figure out why they were being called upon all of a sudden – and so much, too. Continue reading WTF Happened to Your Legs, a.k.a. Recovery is Important
Planning out my classes was always my favorite part of teaching yoga. Over the weekend, I’d write out what my goals were for the class and how to get them there. The experience was a lot like planning a choreography. Which movements will bring us closer to our goal and how can we get there gracefully? Continue reading How I Plan a Yoga Flow
I am on my final sips of a lukewarm mug of tea that I started almost an hour ago. During an interview once, the woman I was meeting with looked down at her takeaway cup of coffee and announced “Ah, these are just props anyway.” Each time I reach for my mug, I remember I’m just using a stand-in for what I really want: strong, hot, caffeine-laden coffee. Continue reading Morning Tea
I arrived in Panama at seven in the morning, right in the middle of a soccer match. Walking through the terminal, everyone was glued to their cellphones, watching the team’s progress against England – not so different from Brazil, except if you consider the fact that the stores were even open to begin with. Game day is a holiday with which I was completely unfamiliar until this past month. Continue reading PTY
I’m a Crossfitter (CF-L1), yoga teacher (RYT-200), and traveler.
Barbell Asana embodies a combination of functional fitness, yoga, mental and physical health. Whether you’re just getting started or you’re an experienced athlete, I’m here help you feel, perform, and live better – wherever you may be in the world.
