OK, the holidays might be over, but that doesn’t mean there’s not still some shopping to be done!

The one thing that I didn’t get for the holidays that I was really hoping for was a new gym bag.  I was actually told that my family had searched high and low, looking for stylish gym bags for women, and had had zero luck.  While I appreciate the effort, I know that they are less ruthless than I am when it comes to doing online research to find what I’m after.

So, after not a whole lot of poking around, I finally DID find what I was looking for… thanks to the gals at [bodyphlo], I know what the latest styles are, as well as the best in functionality in a premium ladies gym bag.  Thanks ladies!

Here’s a little promo video that I found, which is what led me to them in the first place.  It worked for me… hopefully it’ll work for you to if you happen to be in the market for a cute gym bag!

So I recently sent a simple message to my dear friend, and it absolutely made her day!  So I thought… why not share it with more people that might also enjoy it as much as she did?  The message I sent was short and sweet; “Welcome to your second trimester!” along with a little gift from my favorite yoga clothing Anchorage store, [bodyphlo] (which I know she loves too!)  The rest is taken care of in this video, with accompanying transcript for those who find themselves having a bit of difficulty focusing at this time… (like my friend!)

Today, we are going to focus on fitness and yoga during this stage of pregnancy. There are so many changes happening in your body right now With increased blood volume, your heart is now pumping about 20% more blood than it did pre-pregnancy, your placenta is now fully formed and functioning and your ligaments in your abdomen are stretching to accommodate your growing uterus. You may feel fluttering inside, and that’s just the beginning!

So to keep fit, agile and strong for the remainder of the pregnancy and for your labor and delivery, we are going to move through a choreography sequence to help to get the blood flowing. Regular exercise will help to keep you feeling great.

You will want to stand on your yoga mat. Make sure your feet are about hip distance apart, or a little wider (to accomodate your growing belly).

From here, inhale your arms up and over your head. As you exhale, bend your knees and sink your hips back behind you, then place your hands at about mid-thigh.

Pull your chest forward as you breathe, inhaling As you exhale, round and tuck Chin to chest as you gaze towards your baby.

Inhale forward. Exhale back. Do this for four counts…

And exhale… Once more, inhale And exhale back and slowly roll up to stand.

Come all the way up. Roll the shoulder to your back.

From here, we’re going to pivot. Make sure you angle your pelvis towards the floor here and you have a nice, comfortable stance.

As you inhale, take your arms up and overhead. Exhale and sit. Good Inhale and life And exhale Inhale Exhale once more Inhale. And come down Good.

From here, place your hands at the hips and reach across. Find length in the side of your waist Come back And the other side And back Good.

Slowly come up to stand Pivot the back foot The front knee is going to bend As the back knee reaches towards the floor, don’t go all the way down Just a gentle stretch, so you can lengthen the quad and open up the hip flexor

We’ll do this for four counts… Good.

You’re going to pivot the feet again Good. And two, three, four Good.

Coming back to you’re wide-legged stance, inhale, take your arms up and overhead, join your feet together, palms at heart center.