Saturday I woke up feeling a tad under the weather—I could tell something was up because I actually wanted to stay in bed and read! I was kind of bummed, as I’d been looking forward to starting my weekend at the gym with a stupid magazine, but I’ve learned that when my body is trying to tell me something, I’d better listen!

After a leisurely breakfast (complete with the paper), some caffeine, and ibuprofen, I took advantage of still being in my pajamas (Old Navy yoga pants are the best) and unrolled my yoga mat. I used to have a hard time doing yoga podcasts at home because I would get distracted, but this winter, they’ve been a life-saver. My favorites are the Yoga to the People podcasts, but I’ve been meaning to try Dave Farmar’s as well. After a long week or a too-short weekend, taking an hour to get a good stretch and focus on breathing dissolves stress.

Since returning to yoga after an injury, my practice has been completely different—I’m much more present and willing to take things slow and breathe rather than breeze through the hard parts. I also used to cheat myself out of savasana at the end, not understanding the importance of taking a couple minutes to center myself before facing the rest of the day. Now, I challenge myself to enjoy it until the very end, no matter how many tasks might be calling my name.

I’m not good at staying inside and resting, but sometimes you just have to do what you need to do! Luckily, by the evening, I had enough energy to try out a new soup recipe, which made me really happy, since earlier in the day, I hadn’t even wanted to drag myself off the couch to go get a green juice two blocks away.  It’s the little things, people.