Off the Mat: June

Off the Mat is a series on YBC that shares bits and pieces about what goes on off the yoga mat, and in my everyday life. 

PSA: FYI, our video bundles available for yogis of all levels. Don't forget that you'll get a free gift when you screenshot your review of our app to Lauren. And if you screenshot a review of my book, Namaslay, to @YBCsneakpeek, we'll send you a different free gift in thanks. Lastly, the summer Mantra Box® is now available for pre-order! 

Disclaimer: Off the Mat posts are not sponsored, but many of the products I mentioned were sent to me. I've noted when that's been the case, and as always, I only recommend products I truly enjoy and would purchase for myself. This post contains affiliate links, which means YBC earns a small commission when you check them out.

Reading Lately

I've been happy to report I've been doing a lot of reading lately! I think it has helped so much to distract me from an otherwise very tough month. This month I've read: 

• My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry - The fantasy land stuff was a little tough to get through if you didn't approach it with the mind of a child. Once you shift your mindset, though, it's a beautiful, beautiful story.
• The Woman in Cabin 10 - This psychological thriller kept me up at night! I finished it in a few days - great quick summer read.
• I'm Glad About You - This is a good pick for summer. It's an easy breezy story that's not too heavy with just enough drama to keep you entertained. The whole story sort of feels like a mid-western version of La La Land.
• The Dollhouse - I just started this one. The writing is beautiful and reminds me of The Rules of Civility. 

Watching Lately

I recently got back into Homeland. I watched a few episodes on my flight out to Chicago and I was sucked back in. Claire Danes is just so good. I haven't been watching a ton of tv lately, but this movie looks so good. I can't wait to see it when it comes out. I haven't seen Wonder Woman lately, but everyone I know who's seen it is raving about it. Have you seen it? thoughts? 

A post shared by Candace (@yogabycandace) on Jun 26, 2017 at 8:41am PDT

Wearing Lately

I received a sample of the coconut gel dew drops and I've been adding a few droplets to my foundation and it is the BEST. It makes foundation a little more fluid, and offers such a pretty subtle glow that I think is perfect for summer. 

Also got these great high waist leggings from Alo a few weeks back and really love them. I am a big fan of high waist leggings because they don't ride down, and the compression on these is perfect. I also ordered their elevate short because I am a big fan of workout shorts in the summer. I'm picky about my shorts, though, so I'll report back and let you know. 

A post shared by Candace (@yogabycandace) on Jun 20, 2017 at 5:30am PDT

I've been living in these boyfriend jean shorts I got a few months ago at Urban Outfitters which I wore with a lightweight duster from Joah Brown when I went up to Boston last week.

A post shared by Candace (@yogabycandace) on Jun 1, 2017 at 7:09am PDT

My other go-to outfit lately has been my boyfriend jeans with a fitted tank from Splendid (that I thrifted, btw. I'm not paying nearly $50 for a tank!) and loafers (also thrifted from The RealReal).

Traveling Lately

Last week was a whirlwind, with three days in Boston and two days in Chicago for work, but now I'm staying put for the next few weeks until I head overseas for my big summer trip. I'll be teaching two workshops in London, a retreat in Santorini, I have some meetings in Dubai and then ending the whole trip with a retreat in Kenya. I'm really looking forward to it. If you have any tips please lemme know - for London I'm specifically looking for excellent coffee houses, beautifully curated thrift stores and incredible restaurants.

Listening to Lately

I really got into the S-town podcast this month. And by "really got into it" I mean that I listened to the entire thing in one day (there are, like, 7 episodes, in case you've never heard of it before). What a CRAZY podcast! Now I don't know what to listen to :( Any suggestions? I never got into Serial, but am still keeping up with my daily Up First by NPR. 

Gettin' it in on the road - little travel workout at @hotelmarlowecambridge. 1 mile run followed by 5 rounds: 3 push ups (option to make 'em decline push ups as shown here), 6 DB deadlifts (i used 30lbers), 9 DB back lunges (I used 20lbers). Then 300m row. Then 5 max L-sit holds. Then the dreaded pull up work 😑 • #workout #wod #travelwod #yogabycandace #ybcgym #gym #marlowemoment

A post shared by Candace (@yogabycandace) on Jun 21, 2017 at 1:17pm PDT

Workouts Lately

I should probably do a whole Workout Wednesday post on this, but I have been struggling with working out lately. It's hard to find the time and consistency when I'm traveling and have unpredictable gym access, etc.  Further, I hurt my wrist about a month ago and so I needed to take a break from any weight bearing wrist stuff for a while and that interrupted my workout progress (and yoga practice). My body composition is weird too - like in person I don't feel like I look as lean as I did last summer, but when I see pictures of myself, I don't see a difference. Like I feel blah, but when I see pictures, I'm happy with what I see. That has been a conundrum for me. Anyway, I've been trying to incorporate more cardio into my workouts in the form of one mile runs to warm up, or ten to fifteen minute sprints here and there, or sled pushes. 

Quick workout you can do anywhere so long as you have some dumbbells (I used 20lbers), and a jumprope: 1) one mile warm up. I switch this up often between running at moderate pace with a slight incline and walking a slower pace with a super high incline. 2) 4 rounds: 10 bench press and shoulder to overhead. 3) 4 rounds: 25 double unders (or 50 singles), 6 split squats ea side, 10 plank rows, 15 v ups (option to use a yoga block, med ball or something similar as shown). Enjoy! #workout #ybcgym

A post shared by Candace (@yogabycandace) on Jun 19, 2017 at 1:27pm PDT

I've also been trying to incorporate more bodybuilding type stuff into my workouts just because I don't think I do enough to balance out my imbalances and weaknesses, and I am weak through my biceps, triceps and rhomboids. 

Traveling this weekend? Here's a workout you can likely do at any hotel gym: •1 mi run to warm up. Then: 4 rounds - 10 dumbbell squat snatches (I used 20lbs), 10 med ball Russian twists (you could use dumbbell if you don't have a med ball), 10 med ball cleans (you could use a dumbbell for this). • Then: 3 rounds max handstand hold practice - you could do it against a wall if you're not down w freestanding (and including my fall here bc #imhuman) and I broke those up with some tucks and v-ups. Takes under 20 min or so and then you can get on with your day! 🙌🏽I slowed down the first squat snatch and clean in case you're new to them and needed a closer look. Hope it helps! #ybcgym #travelwod • bra and shorts by @sweatybetty, song is differentology by bunji garlin

A post shared by Candace (@yogabycandace) on Jun 16, 2017 at 9:04am PDT

Annnnd then sometimes you just need to hit it and quit it, which you see up above.

When you gotta do what you can with whatcha got - here's a home gym/travel workout I just did: 1 mile run (cardio is hardio for me- I varied the incline throughout the mile between 3-5% incline and 5.8-6.2 speed), then 3 rounds: 20 double unders, 10 dumbbell snatches (20lbs), 10 med ball burpees (think the ball was 12lbs), 10 split squat jumps. Then, handstand walk practice. If you're not there w the handstand walking, you could do handstand holds against a wall or shoulder taps against the wall. I slowed some of the movements down in case they're new to you. Song is year of tha boomerang by RATM #travelwod #yogabycandace #ybcgym #workoutmotivation #workoutoftheday #workout #fitfam • shorts at @lululemon and bra is @sweatybetty

A post shared by Candace (@yogabycandace) on May 31, 2017 at 1:05pm PDT

Annnnd sometimes you have a lot of energy and really give it all you've got.

So that's about it on my end - I'd love to hear what you've been up to lately. How's your life going? What areas of your life are you working on improving? What are you doing to improve? Share with me down in the comments section below!