splits

A little over a month ago, I pulled my left hamstring, just above my knee. Ever since, I've kept it rested, and so it now feels a whole lot better. Not perfect, but usable. Today, I did some garden yoga to start feeling a little stretchier, and my splits have changed quite a bit over this time off.

In the dance classes at the start of the holidays, after I pulled my ham, I stretched my right side more. Now I am more or less flat in my right leg splits, whereas before I wasn't quite there.

My left splits, however, have gone from flat to not, as if they've swapped with my right splits. I didn't take a picture, but I'm sure you get the idea.

Finally, I think I'm a little closer to my middle splits! Check them out :)

I'm immensely proud of myself for these last ones, as I've never been this close before! Thanks Hannah for inspiring me to keep pushing!

yoga

I guess there's just something about Sundays that feels really lazy and relaxed. I finished my GCSEs on Friday at 13:02 (yes, I remember the time!) so with no more revision to do, I had a choice of what to do today! Ooooh, exciting ;)

As it's World Yoga Day, I followed this routine, and despite falling over and hitting my head a few times, I quite enjoyed this, and some of the stretches I got were very good. I think next time I do some yoga for flexibility, I should do some more cardio beforehand to get a bit warmer.

Also, I didn't realise that yoga raised your heart rate so much! Mine was going really fast by the end; it must have been pretty brutal ;)

Anyway, afterwards, I practised my headstands without the use of a wall (for the first time) and actually held it for over 30 seconds at one point. This was between falling over and getting too tense; I found that I held it best when I was relaxed and really spread my weight over my arms, and of course, breathing slowly and deeply.

I wanted to take pictures in this pose, but didn't trust the timer; instead I videoed my attempts and took screenshots. Obviously, the quality isn't great, but at least I captured the moment.

You can see my successful headstand, some earlier attempts, and various other poses such as cobra, up-dog, cat and cow. I'm still buzzing! I intend to continue my yoga practise to hopefully improve my headstand this week. Next Monday I'm heading off to Wales on NCS! That's all for today :)