When I lived in my first apartment in Maryland, my kitchen was tiny. It was painted yellow and I had a picture of Frida Kahlo on the only wall space that was not cabinets. It was only large enough for me to stand and chop vegetables. I probably could have done other fun things in that kitchen, but I honestly never tried.
Could have been because I had a horrible landlord who allowed the entire building to become infested with cockroaches, which made being in the kitchen extra terrible.
But if I’m honest, when I was younger I always just figured kitchens were for cooking.
Glad I grew out of that limiting belief.
When I’m in my kitchen now, I have dance parties, do yoga poses, and even sometimes do full workouts.
Now you might be thinking, “but Naomi my kitchen is tiny,” to which I would say “did you see my YouTube video 2 weeks ago?”
Your space is what you make of it.
It took me having kids to learn that my yoga mat was not the only place I could have a “real workout.” I’d find myself in the kitchen prepping a meal or cleaning dishes and my body would be achy.
I was achy from holding a baby, from sitting and nursing the baby, from not getting enough sleep, from not feeling at home in my own body.
When my body feels achy, my instinct is to move her.
So I’d stand in tree pose while doing dishes. I’d take breaks to stretch my spine, pulling away from the sink. When I really wanted to move I’d do some lunges or sun salutations, even when I barely had enough room to move my body. A few times, I did full restorative poses in the kitchen after my kids fell asleep.
My point is that you that you don’t need to limit yourself to your yoga or workout mat.
You can move anywhere you want. Location doesn’t make a practice more legit.
Be creative. Use your countertops for shoulder stretches or assisted squats.
Get down on your floor with some rags and do some creative “cleaning” using lunges and planks.
In my latest video my YouTube channel, I share an entire workout you can do in your kitchen. Plus, I’ve shared some additional quick tips in reels on my Instagram channel.
You can watch the full practice here:
