Fridays are supposed to be relaxed and a time for catching up since I have “Summer Fridays” from Memorial Day through Labor Day. This means that Monday thru Thursday all summer we come in 30 minutes early and stay 30 minutes later so that Friday afternoon at 1pm most people can leave.While I rarely get to leave at 1pm, it is nice not to have any meetings planned after 12.
My Friday started with a quick Weight Watchers stop. I lost .5 lb this week which all things considered isn’t horrible. In addition, I picked up more of my favorite oatmeal and had a great chat with the leader their about my experience thus far. Some people have asked whether I’m going to the meetings. As of now, my schedule doesn’t allow for a 30 minute meeting and I’ve seen results historically without the meeting. Therefore, I go to their “open hours” where you can walk in and weigh in without waiting for the meeting.
Breakfast was refreshing and energizing! I’ve found that my oats stay with me longer when I add flax seeds so this week I’ve tried to get back to that. In addition, I’ve been easing into Maca Powder.

1/2 c blueberries (0 points)
1/3 c Chobani yogurt (1 point)
2 Tbsp flax seeds (2 points)
1 Tbsp Maca Powder (0 points)
1 package Weight Watchers Vanilla Oatmeal (2 pts)
I worked like a crazy lady going meeting to meeting until 1pm. I spent the next hour working through my inbox. Doesn’t it feel great to make it through your inbox and actually file, delete, or respond to everything? Before heading to my PT appointment, I had a quick call with OpenSky to discuss my upcoming shops. I’m really excited about this venture and am equally thrilled that it will launch sooner than I expected.
Unfortunately, I lost track of time which meant I had five minutes to reach my PT appointment. Friday afternoon traffic meant a cab wasn’t possible so I power walked a mile to the appointment as quickly as possible. I’ve really come to love my mile walk to and from PT. We’re making great headway in therapy and finding that a lot of my issues also come from tight hip flexors. He couldn’t believe how tight they were yesterday when he spent 20 minutes digging at them. Luckily, he’s set me up with some great stretches that I can do everyday at home or in the gym.
After my appointment, I planned to head back downtown towards my normal Equinox for a great workout but instead literally ran into an Equinox at Broadway. I love that there are locations throughout the city. It makes working out so much easier!  I ran 15 minutes at 6.2 on the treadmill which is great headway! I’m still worried about getting into marathon shape but it’s a great improvement versus two weeks ago when I could barely walk due to my back injury. About 15 minutes into my elliptical HIIT session that I found on Fit Sugar I realized that my Yogaworks groupon had to be activated by July 2nd and it was in fact July 2nd. I was literally going through my weekend checklist in my head while working out and realized that I’d always thought July 2nd was Saturday which would fit my workout schedule perfectly.  After muttering a few select words I quickly dashed into the locker room, changed, and called Yoga Works. I was hoping they’d say that I could show the Groupon on my Blackberry. Unfortunately, I had to bring the actual coupon which meant I had to rush 20 blocks back to my office, print the coupon, then grab the Subway down to Union Square for the 5pm class.  

My Yogaworks experience was wonderful! The studio was a little cramped overall but our individual studio had huge open windows which allowed fresh air to flow through. The sunlight and fresh air helped put me in a relaxed state of mind. I was apprehensive about the Level 2 Vinyasa Flow class as I wasn’t sure what their level system meant. But, this hour long class was the perfect end to a stressful day. It definitely challenged me as the instructor included many poses that I’ve never done before and 10 minutes of inversion work. Janna, the instructor, really made this class for me. 

Janna did a great job adjusting us throughout the class, describing the poses, and helping us focus on our breathing. My goal for the class was to make a conscious effort to breathe into and through each pose. I successfully held warrior three for an entire minute and did a wall hand stand and head stand without assistance!
I would love to include this 5pm YogaWorks class into my normal schedule. It shed the stress of my Friday and helped me “let it all out” before arriving home to Bo for our date night.
How do you let your stress go after a long day and week?