Thank you to lululemon for kindly sponsoring this post and providing me with this comfortable workout-at home outfit.
Trying New Yoga Mat Workouts At Home
The key to at home workouts for me is to make time for myself, and set goals. By committing the time for connecting to myself each day through fitness, it’s become a part of my day I really look forward to. I find that working out without the distractions of the outside world around me really helps me focus on and listen to myself better. My brain shuts off and lets my body take over in a way I’m not able to do with the distractions of a studio or gym.
There are many online resources available now to try out new yoga mat workouts at home – both free and subscription-based with equipment and without. lululemon has some pretty great content available from guided meditations and yoga, to strength training classes. You can find their free online classes here. I really can’t wait for the mirror to be available in Canada. I’m sure I’ll be first in line to order it. In the meantime, I’m taking full advantage of the freedom I have working out at home to try some fitness classes that weren’t possible for me to test before for various reasons.
What I’m Wearing From lululemon
Shifting My Fitness Goals
I’ve always wanted to try barre and pilates, but it is so expensive, and there aren’t any studios near me. I used to pay a pricey gym membership that kept me locked into one style of workouts. I love my gym, but it kept me from exploring other things because of time constraints and cost. Even just travelling to and from a gym and following a specific set schedule is a constraint that I am not missing. Sometimes when you are part of branded fitness regimes and lifestyles, you become agnostic to everything else fitness related. I was all in, adopting eating styles, embracing calluses and scraped shins, prioritizing strength training. It isn’t very comfortable to admit, but I kept paying for my gym membership for a really long time after I stopped going. I wanted to maintain my membership in that community and didn’t see fitness outside of the gym as viable for me long term. All my health and wellness goals centred around that specific gym community and not myself. Although I do miss my gym people, I’m excited to be able to be more open and playful with my workouts and less rigid with my focus.
And of course in spring I will be back to stair climbing at my favourite trail, and running through the woods.
How I’ve Been Working Out Lately
I’ve been indoor cycling from home for the past few months and enjoying it. Indoor cycling is such an intense workout, and it never gets boring for me. My legs have developed some strong muscles! It’s such an intense workout that I’ve been wanting to balance it out with something lower impact, and slower paced.
Today I tried a 30-minute barre class from the comfort of my living room, and I enjoyed it. At first, I thought it would be a low-impact workout and maybe a little boring, but actually, it was intense. My legs were shaking! It works out the small stabilizing muscle groups that you forget even exist. After a 30 minute class, I could no longer ignore those tiny muscles. They have been screaming at me as I climb stairs. I think I’m going to incorporate these workouts once a week.
Another class I want to try out soon is a kundalini yoga class. I’ve been so intrigued by kundalini yoga but have been a little nervous to try it out in person. At home I can just close the curtains, give it a try and see if I like it enough to pursue it.
Get My Gear From lululemon
I am a forever fan of the align pant. I think I’m up to 10 pairs in black (some of which my daughter steals) and several colors and prints but this is my first navy pair. I was so happy to finally grab the navy pair which I’ve been meaning to do forever. Navy is a perfect neutral for Spring/Summer. I also really love the Gather and Grow Tank. It looks equally cute worn casually with jeans as it does on the mat with my align tights. Isn’t the yoga mat the prettiest? I love the rainbow lettering. My daughter steals this from me too to do her zoom Irish Dance classes.
Thank you lululemon for generously providing me with this outfit!
