Mom Fashion: What to Wear to Yoga
- June 24, 2015
- by Melissa Lawrence
Hello everyone and welcome back to my weekly Mom Fashion post. This week post doubles as fashion post plus an introduction to basic yoga poses. Full disclosure: I am not a certified yoga instructor and some of you might want to write in pointing out that I am doing something wrong!!
Yoga came into my life about five years ago and I’ve never looked back. When time permits, I do all different forms and types of yoga: Ashtanga, hot power yoga, vinyasa flow, and Bikram yoga. No matter what kind of class I choose, I come out of yoga feeling more center, more relaxed, and as if I can handle what life (and parenting!) throws my way. On the flip side, take this mama away from yoga for more than a week, and she feels off-center, more stressed, and certainly less patient.
So now to the basic poses and fashion part of the post. Here are some basic poses I do on my own at home when am not able to get to a class. This is the Warrior Two yoga pose. Over time, I’ve gotten more flexible and able to bend my front knee more — and gained strength in my quadriceps — but, again, I’m no means a poster child for this nor any other pose…
The outfit? This is a pair of exercise pants I found in Spain by Naffta with a matching red shirt. The outfit is not a dedicated yoga outfit, but it’s so comfy and soft that it worked well for me. I fell in love with the bold red and black, the stripes and the simplicity and elegance of the design. When I’m doing yoga at home, you might see me in just about anything: my pajama, a nightgown, even Marc’s boxer shorts. But when I’m out and about, I prefer fitted yoga pants (often black and if not, multicolored, patterned or designed) and a separate (usually brightly colored) top. Since I rarely put on “normal” clothes until early afternoon, yoga clothes accompany a big chunk of my day and are a big part of my wardrobe.
Here I launch into a Warrior One pose. I love this pose because it strengthens your upper back and your legs at the same time. This pose really helped me get over all the upper back pain I developed through nursing, burping and holding my babies.
Now, one of my all-time favorites, the Crescent Lunge. This pose strengthens and stretches the upper and lower muscles in your back, strengthens the legs and butt (love that) and opens the chest. In this picture, you can spot the little purple and white stripe detail which gives this pair of Naffta pants a nice twist.
And now, the Goddess pose. Since I was really trying to suck in my belly, my ribs — full of air — look a little pronounced in this photo, but you get the idea. This pose is great for your quadricep muscles, your butt, your upper back and your shoulders. I think it has helped my posture too. In this picture, you can hopefully see the cool neckline of this Naffta top which has a nice black edge that creates a halter-style.
So that’s it, guys. Four basic yoga poses in a new exercise outfit from Spain. If you haven’t done yoga, please consider it. It’s changed my life. If you suffer from any medical problems though, make sure to talk with your doctor first to make sure yoga is right for you.
I had so much fun doing this post that I hope to do many more featuring exercise clothes, and hopefully more on the advantages of yoga too.
Sending love and gratitude from Spain,
Melissa xoxo
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