Athletic Yoga Coach

My child suffers from extreme FOMO.... naps are mostly only about 30 min... mostly (I do get lucky once & a while) Sometimes she doesn’t let me workout while she’s in her rocker..... so those days I incorporate her into my workout. Parenthood lessons I’m learning are have options, be flexible & creative, a schedule is sometimes just a suggestion.

ARE YOU SITTING TOO MUCH DURING YOUR QUARANTINE?

Our low backs (QL’s) can get super tight. These are a few of my favorite poses to help stretch & release tension. You can do these sitting on the floor or even in your chair.

PICTURE 1 Seated easy pose with a lateral flexion
Making sure the hip on the raised arm side is rooted to the ground. Reaching the raised arm up and over trying to keep as straight as you can. Using the other arm to bend to ground you & allow the flexion.

PICTURE 2
Seated Gentle twist
Placing the left hand on the right knee (crossing the body) the right hand behind the right hip. You can look over your shoulder for a deeper twist. Remembering to twist from the mid back (thoracic spine), not the hips.

PICTURE 3
Easy pose with arms raised
This is a great one to open the chest, stretch the forearms, and great for posture.
Trying to get the biceps at the ears and tucking the pelvis down creating a flat low back. Chest lifted up and can either look straight keeping the chin parallel and neck back to align the spine or look up for a great stretch through the front of the neck & chest.

Taking 5-10 min to breathe & stretch a day will help get the body moving & reduce stress.

Happy Practicing 🙏🏼 @ Calgary, Alberta

Happy international Women’s day! “Queens fix other queens crowns” 👸🏼 as women we need to support & cheer each other on.

I can’t believe a week went buy & my mom brain forgot to post on my athletic yoga account & my summit account 🤦🏼‍♀️ sorry friends

McKenna Ann Donovan arrived a whole week ago on Feb 1 at 11:51pm. 👶🏻
We got to come home Monday evening and have just fallen more & more in love with this little human & doing great.

If you want to follow my personal account for all the baby spam & our day to day life please do so 📲.donovan.yyc

I promise to get back to yoga posting once things settle a bit. 🧘🏼‍♀️🧘🏽🧘🏻‍♂️

Sending everyone love & light 🙏🏼 @ Calgary, Alberta

As we get ready to start our new adventure becoming a family of 3, I decided to start a personal insta to share our new life/baby pics/etc. 🤰🏼

I will still be very active on this account, but more for Yoga, prenatal/postnatal fitness, general fitness, wellness, nutrition, etc. 🧘🏼‍♀️

Feel free to follow me on both, but I know some of my yoga/fitness followers may not want to see all the baby spam. 👶🏻

Follow me here: donovan.yyc

Merry Christmas from our little family to yours. Great day just the 2.5 of us + the 2 fur babies hanging out, eating, walk in Canmore & relaxing. Couldn’t have asked for a better day. Eat, Drink & be Merry this holiday season 🎄🎁🌟❤️🤰🏼

Christmas Eve walk at confederation park to see the lights. Hope everyone is enjoying some time with loved ones. Merry Christmas!! @ Confederation Park, Calgary

Happy Winter Solstice! ❄️

Yesterday was the first day of winter, and I’ll be honest I’m typically not a fan of winter, as I don’t love the cold & would rather play outside in the sunshine of summer. ☀️

What I’ve learned is winter is a time of recovery, rest & stillness. I’ve learned to appreciate how the snow covered ground creates a quieter stillness that can be so healing... how a slower meditative yoga can do so much for the mind & body... now I know this is not something you can do for 3 months straight, but to remember to allow yourself to take the moments of rest, recovery & reflection. This is self care.

The fact that the winter solstice is the shortest day of they year meaning the days will start to get longer as the days go on. ✨

Embrace the Winter & all it has to offer. Stay safe & warm & Happy Practicing 🙏🏼

Thinking back to the spring when we were in beautiful Siletz Bay, Oregon. ☀️

I got to wake up every morning & practice with these views. (Im facing the crashing waves of the ocean) 🌊

Keeping your body moving even while on vacation is so important.
Barrett loves to find a little gym, sometimes I join him or hit my mat. “Have mat, Will travel” 🧘🏼‍♀️

What so you like to do while on vacation??? ❓

I’ve been focusing a lot on including at least one yoga pose that will help stretch out you QL’s in my teaching. 🧘🏻‍♀️🧘🏽‍♂️

For people that suffer from low back pain or for athletes who may not have super active glutes your QL’s kick in & become soooooo tight. 🍑

There are so many different poses to help stretch out your QL’s this is one of my favorites. Now you don’t have to grab your foot with your hand but making sure your hand is up & over your head past your ear & really rooting through your sits bones will get those muscles to slowly release.

Try it in your practice or do it before you go to bed for a more restful sleep. Happy Practicing 🙏🏼

I’m loving this quote from an anonymous 8 year old I had to post. Is yoga easy.... well it can be. There are so many styles & types of practice if you haven’t found one that works for you yet, don’t give up... try a different style, studio or teacher. I’m not a huge fan of restorative yoga (cause honestly I fall asleep during it) but others love it. I have a lot of people tell me they have tried it & didn’t love it, but I always ask what kind of yoga did you try, what was it like? Yoga is not just one thing, keep going & find your practice. 🙏🏼

Just a little motivation (or more wisdom) for your Monday morning.

A little while back I really focused into the fact that “I CANT CONTROL EVERYTHING” but what I can control is the perspective of the situation & how I can deal with it. It’s simple.... but it’s definitely NOT easy.
Sometimes it’s dealing with the issue straight on & other times it’s walking away from it cause it’s not meant to be your situation to deal with. (And ofcourse everything in between)

Trust me when I say this was a huge weight & a lot of stress lifted from my life.

I still am a “recovering control freak” but I’m way better than I once was & every day gets a bit easier & less stressful by acknowledging this.

Gentlemen do you practice yoga????

Often I hear “yoga is for women” and “men are intimidated to go to a yoga studio”

That’s why I’ve focused on an Athletic based style of Yoga so it’s really welcoming to both men & women.
We typically practice in the middle of a gym around bar bells & squat cages. We listen to chill hip hop, rock, & alternative music.

The goal is to increase your mobility, not to make you a super flexi pretzel.
It’s a huge compliment to any “sport” or “fitness activity” you like to do as it helps prevent injury, increases your recovery time, releases tension so you can be fitter, faster, stronger & can help with visualization and focus.

If you are in the Calgary or Medicine Hat area & wanna give it a try DM me or contact or for my class times.

Thank you to all the veterans who served & continue to serve to make this world a safer place.

Have been working with the last couple weeks to help with their mobility after winning the Can-West Championship & getting them ready for the Nationals in Victoria this upcoming weekend
Barrett has been working with them for Strength & Conditioning since Aug & decided they needed more mobility in their program.
Feed back has been awesome... best quote was “thanks for the dope ass stretch”
I hope the bit of mobility helps with their game. Good Luck this weekend! Go Dino’s!! 🦖

Hello!!!
First off sorry for being absent lately on “the gram”

No excuses to be made but life had gotten in the way of my creative writing, educational posts, & just wasn’t feeling inspired. So instead of just posting something to post I took a mental break. We are allowed those right?!?!

As we are prepping for the arrival of our little girl in the new year I thought this would be a good time to get back on posting. I personally feel more inspired, more productive & more connected when I’m “on it” and posting more frequently.

I hope the next few weeks I can share some cool things I’ve been doing with Athletic Yoga & Prenatal yoga/prenatal fitness.

Stay tuned & Happy Practicing 🙏🏼

Happy Halloween! Little pumpkin is 26+ weeks. (I know I’ve been terrible at posting bump pictures... 🤦🏼‍♀️)

Happy Halloween!!!! 👻💀🧡🖤Hope everyone has a fun & safe night! Make sure to take a few min to “treat yourself” with some self care today, even if it’s just a moment to breathe. 🙏🏼

Happy Champagne Birthday to this guy!!!! I remember the day mom & dad brought you home from the hospital & I fell in love with my little brother.
We have such a special bond & so thankful for that. I’m proud of you every day & admire your kind & caring heart, your music talent, & ability to make everyone laugh & feel so comfortable.
I know this year is going to be the best year yet.
Love you soooo much & wouldn’t ask for a better uncle to our soon to be little munchkin.

Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training Edmonton - 85 hr Yoga Alliance http://www.mamatayoga.com/

Spent the morning finally out on my paddle board. It was so awesome & a great little adventure with my board, nature & myself. Might have taken a bit longer to get there due to some crazy accidents on hwy 1, but worth every minute. What an amazing Saturday morning. Got the board in & packed up just in time before the downpour. @ Two Jack Lake

Happy Canada Day to you all! 🇨🇦 I got to spend the last few days in a little piece of paradise in our beautiful country. Very luck to live in a country that has some of the best country sides & that I have the ability to see it even if I’m completely being cliché spending my time in the “Albertans like to vacation spot” on my map! 🤣 Hope you are all having a fun & restful weekend 😃 @ Salmon Arm, British Columbia

Saturday night vibes! I love that I live 45 min to the base of the Rocky Mountains. Decided after a crazy month & super busy week my little family could use a night away & the weather is just an absolute bonus! It’s important to reward yourself & also know when you need a time out from life. There will always be tasks or work to do, but making memories & unplugging for a moment needs to take priority once & a while.

Ever get “writers block”?? Or a muddled brain
Lately I’ve been feeling that I just can’t get my thoughts down. Reason for not posting lately.
Now this is all on me. I’ve stopped journaling & the more I think about it that might be one of the major reasons why.
Journaling allows for a brain dump.... and lately I’ve been feeling my brain is “cluttered” with stuff.
I didn’t just decide to stop journaling, it just kinda happened. But sitting here I realize when you have an active mind it’s important to declutter it to help you think clearer, become more focused, help motivate & inspire yourself.
So journaling, brain dumping, whatever you want to call it is so important, especially when you don’t think you have the time. That’s when you need it the most.

This past weekend I completed my 85hr prenatal/post natal yoga teacher training. I am honored to have spend this time with such an amazing group of women who motivate me & reminded me what amazing things can happen when women form a community to support & help one & other.
A huge shout out to our incredible instructor that has become not just “an instructor who lead our training”. Her inspiring knowledge & passion & ability to laugh made this course so much more than I expected. Clare your a true gift to the yoga community & to the world 💕
Congratulations again to all these wonderful ladies for such a wonderful accomplishment.
Namaste 🙏🏼

I don’t usually ask much of my Instagram friends but today the votes opened for Kraft Hockeyville Canada. My husband’s home town of Renous NB has made it to the final 4. This little tiny community has some of the most wonderful people in the world & the story on why they want to upgrade their arena is so touching. If you are in Canada & can take a moment to vote I know not only would my husband, who played hockey in this arena & where he found his love for sport, but the whole community & province would appreciate it. I always joke I’m a maritimer by marriage, so today as a maritimer I ask to vote for RENOUS NB!

Spring equinox was yesterday and I’m so excited as it is one of my favorite seasons. In calgary we had a super cold February that I think has made everyone more grateful for this spring to come. I love spring as it has beautiful colours, warmer weather, longer days, the smells, the “re-birth” It is also a great reminder that after some “rest” (winter) what beautiful change you can see or be. Happy Spring my insta friends! 💐🌸🌷