I have recently taken up yoga. I am only a few classes in so I am not going to pretend like I am an expert by any means. I wanted to pass along some tips I would have found helpful before I went into my first class.


Tip #1: Always speak to your instructor prior to your first class about any medical or health issues you are currently going through. This can be both beneficial for you and the instructor. The instructor may be able to guide you into a class that works best for you and your needs.

Tip #2: Verify ahead of time if you need to provide your own mats or any other equipment that may be needed during class.  A lot of places today provide these either complimentary or for a small rental fee.  Never assume they are included in the class cost.

Tip #3: Wear comfortable, yet formfitting clothes. When I went into my first class I was wearing comfy clothes, however they were a little baggy in the legs and I kept getting caught on my pant legs in certain positions.

Tip #4: Leave your phone at home (Or at least turned off). The atmosphere is very quiet and relaxing. The last thing you need is to have your phone going off or your mind on that last message you read right before you walking into class. I find leaving my phone home all together allows me to have a nice peaceful class along with a relaxing peaceful drive home.

Tip #5: Breathe! Yoga is all about using your breath. If you forget to breathe or keep your muscles tense, you could end up pulling a muscle and being sore after.  Never a fun option.

Tips #6: Accept help. Never feel embarrassed if your instructor corrects your position. They are only trying to help you get it correct so you can get the benefit the position is meant for.

Tip #7: Keep a positive attitude while practicing. The energy is amazing with a room full of people all focusing on a better well being. Smile often and always be kind to those around you.

Tip #8: Ask questions if you don't understand something being taught to you. If you allow the question to go unanswered you may become frustrated every time you practice.

Tip #9 Bring extra layers and water. At the end of the class after you have completely let yourself relax, you may become cold. Have water if you need to hydrate after.

Tip #10 Practice what you have learned in your everyday life. Learn to use your breath to relax you in a stressful situation. I have definitely used these techniques a few time and it is amazing how much better you feel when you apply what you learn.

Do you practice yoga? What tips would you add?

Happy Saturday folks! I have been so busy this week I rarely got time to catch up on all of my favorite reads. Today I wanted to share with you my favorite posts of the week and hope you all find them as great as I do.


Julia over at Grace Makes New wrote about one of my favorite subject this week! 5 Ways to Earn Free Giftcard. Love me some freebie advice! Be sure to check out Julia's post!

Kaelyn over at My Fair Daily wrote about The Beauty Sleep Challenge and I fell in love with her pajama pants! I found someone else who enjoys a cute pair of skull pj's!

 Anne over at Love the Here and Now always knows how to brighten my day with her inspirational posts. She didn't disappoint in her post on 10 Ways to Brighten Someone's Day. Great advice!

Hello Natural has been one of my favorite reads lately. Stephanie does a great job at bring some pretty amazing articles. 101 Reasons Why Coconut Oil is Miracle Stuff is awesome! It has great ideas when it comes to this stuff that I just can't get enough of already!

Christine over at The So Called Homemaker is doing a series on Real Estate for Real People. I really enjoyed her segment on renting because this is going to be me soon! Great tips if you are looking for real estate!

I hope you find some good reads folks!


I also wanted to talk quickly about my decision to start offering one sponsorship option on my blog. The only reason I am interested in doing 1 option, is I do not want to commit right yet to a full on sidebar full of sponsors that I may or may not be able to promote.

I have noticed my blog gets quite a bit of traffic on Saturday and Sunday's and I rarely post on these days. I am thinking about offering a blog takeover on one of those days each week. This way I will be able to promote you each week and only have one person to commit to weekly instead of 5 or 10. Once I get the hang of it I may offer more options, but I think this is the best way to start off and not make anyone upset with me. What do you all think? Does this interest you?

Lemme know and have a great weekend!

I have had a legit busy week! Yes I just used the word legit to describe my week. I am back again to link up for H54F! I don't know about you, but I am so happy to see Friday today! I am focusing my five things on work this week. Even though it was busy, I took a lot from it and figured why not talk about 5 things that happened to me.Work and coworkers can be so inspiring when it comes to writing for me.

#1 Walking into work on Monday was rough. I was really tired and had no real desire to work. I arrived to piles of stuff on my desk that was still lurking from Friday. I applied some of the yoga breathing techniques I learned last week and breathed my way though the day. I smiled and that allowed myself to be more approachable and made for an easier day.

#2 Tuesday was better. I cleaned up a lot of my mess and had a really great meeting. The meeting pumped me up for the rest of my day. Had a little mishap with some ordering but made up for that on Wednesday! Ended the day with dinner with my love.

#3 I was able to save my company a chunk of moolah by using my head and asking the right questions. I was so excited for my accomplishment I couldn't wait to give my news to the head honcho. I was rewarded on the spot with a gift card for my work. Make me feel really appreciated. Such a great morale booster!

#4 One of my coworkers is getting married. Some of the conversation about it brought up some blog ideas. I am so thankful for my coworker muses! They say and do the most inspiring things sometimes. If you're interested in some tips, have a look!

#5 After lots of deadlines with a small window of time I was able to get all my work completed before the company meeting. It took a lot of energy but I made all my deadlines and was able to laugh at all the stressing I was doing. I left on time and had a very relaxing yoga session.

Work reminded me this week that hard work does pay off. It may stress me out and and get busy but I get stuff done when the heat is on.  I hope you all had a great week! See you back here Monday :)