Runiversity girls worked out in the gym, did pole dancing, ran the trail in the city or even… simply ran in Milan.
But how important it is even and especially in running to find physical balance they realized one morning in Sempione Park with a yoga session curated by Sayonara. And all this to be more ready for We Own The Night.
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Claudia discovers the meaning of the word “yoga”
Fresh air, a nice warm sun, bare feet on the grass, and lots of curiosity to get started!
This is my first time practicing yoga, contact with nature relaxes every part of the body and even if the movements are slow it is very tiring! Yoga, literally, means “union”; union between body and mind, stillness and movement, male and female, sun and moon. With this discipline, every human being contributes to cosmic balance through the attainment of his or her own harmonic state. Even though I was together with the other girls my body and mind were focused only on my surroundings, and by performing the movements I was trying to maintain a mental balance that could help the body as well.
Easy? No not at all! it seems easy to stand still in one position but in fact all the muscles are contracted and it takes a lot of stamina.
But after 45 minutes of yoga, the body is regenerated: light, ready to take on We Own The Night! So super recommended as a post-run workout!
Also beautiful surprise: TRUCKS! Makeups given away by Kiko in the colors of We Own The Night! Hard trials must be faced, but better to do it in style!
Eleanor and the purification of yoga
Close your eyes. Now what you have to do is imagine, nothing else. Around you the thousands of noises become a harmonious background music, the wind just lulls you, adheres to you as if it wants to envelop you. Everything else does not matter, now there is only you.
It begins.
I had already been practicing yoga for more than a year, I know what it feels like (good!); it brought back to me the harmony I could create outside and inside myself and the words of my teacher: take care of yourself whenever, as you grow up, you feel like changing wrong things into right things, remember that the first revolution to be made is the one within yourself, the first and most important one.
Personally, it helped me to stop for a moment, to focus on all that I have become, allowed me to expel negative thoughts, suffering, disappointments to introduce only what good the world has given me and will be able to give me. The post-practice state of mind is something absolutely personal, each of us experiences this differently, it is about joy, mental lightness, physical adrenaline, full awareness of one’s limits and potential. It is able to provoke a sea of emotions and give you a feeling of balance and peace, serenity and perfect conception of your surroundings. You come face to face with yourself and your life. It is a true purification process.
When the class was over we looked at each other and unexpectedly we were all smiling, but the smile was different, it was simple, naive, pure and heartfelt! I wish everyone to be able to feel what I felt with this magnificent experience. To you, Namaste.
Clare regains balance and clears the mind
It was a fantastic day, without a single cloud, and the sky in Milan few times gives us this beauty! The temperature was the perfect temperature for our little feet to get acquainted with the grass in the parks, and the cool mid-spring breeze tickled the tree tops in Sempione Park, which created refreshing shadows.
In short, it couldn’t have happened a better day for us Runiversity girls to do yoga.
I have to admit it was not easy, also because we were right next to the path where people were passing by.
But for a second I was able to completely surrender to myself, helped also by the warmth of the sun that warmed my face and the sounds of nature that reconciled the effort, and I was really able to forget everything else; in that moment all the negativity, anxiety and bad thoughts slipped away and new emotions were added to all those that Nike is making me experience in anticipation of We Own The Night, because running is not only about sweat and fatigue but also, for a few seconds, about stopping and finding ourselves.
Alessandra has a hard time waking up, but not if waking up is greeting the Sun
For me the morning is problematic. It is from the sound of the alarm clock until at least the second cup of coffee. There are not many morning activities that I can do with a smile (or at least without a pout), and yoga is one of them.
The relationship with nature, the earth and everything around us at the park was complementary to the activity itself; it was not only muscular exercises but also mental exercises.
Despite the people passing by us, the sounds of chattering and footsteps, we were as if isolated from everything else, focused with mind and body on toning and relaxing at the same time.
As we performed more complex positions by shifting our weight from one leg to the other, it was not easy to balance! Sayonara advised us to distract ourselves, not to focus on the balance but to open our arms and look around us. Also crucial was the control of breathing: deep inhalations and exhalations accompanied our every movement. (and don’t tell me this isn’t also useful for running… ;)
By the end of class I felt I had worked every muscle in my body, improved my posture, and was ready to face the day without a pout, but with a smile!
Namaste
(concluding greeting: the divine qualities in me bow to the divine qualities in you)
Alina and the balance of trees
The appointment at Sempione Park starts with a wonderful surprise: fantastic tricks strictly in We Own The Night colors for all of us thanks RunLovers ! :)
Yoga has always attracted me very much, but I have never had the opportunity to practice this discipline.
Having found a nice place in the sun because the sun’s rays, they are good for body, mind and spirit we arrange ourselves and let our teacher Sayonara guide us.
It begins with breathing exercises, a series of exercises for the neck, arms and legs moving from one posture to another with smooth movements we find ourselves twisted into uncomfortable postures such as Garudasana which requires strength, suppleness and endurance, but also absolute concentration that can completely calm the fluctuations of the mind.
Every now and then I look at my teammates to see how they are doing, I see them focused, and I try to do the same.
I am standing, balancing on one leg, in the tree position the other leg is bent, with my foot resting on my thigh above the knee of the opposite leg, arms stretched upward, hands joined above my head I begin to relax and follow only the rhythm of my breath I detach myself from everything around me and feel peace and well-being.
Through yoga one gains a deep understanding of one’s limitations and abilities.
We conclude with stretching and the greeting ”Namasté”
After the class I feel very good, serene and at the same time much more energetic!
