Things you should know before reading this blog:

Things you should know before reading this blog:
Bikram yoga is hard. I know I'm weakling and whine about everything but this is seriously not some girly cop-out excuse for exercising. Its not for the faint of heart! Bikram yoga, commonly known as hot yoga, earned it's name. Over the course of 90 minutes there are 26 postures (each is done twice) that are practiced in 105-110 degree studios with speaking instruction from a certified Bikram teacher. If you weigh yourself before and after a class, you're likely to see a 3-5 pound difference. Granted, its just water weight, but still that's a lot of sweat. By the end of class, you'll look like you just took a shower. Not only is it extremely hot in the room but the postures themselves are hard. When I begin my first class, there will probably only be 5 or 6 postures I can hold correctly without taking "beginners shortcuts" (bent knees, unlocked elbows, shortened stretches, etc). It takes so much strength, endurance, and patience to do things like kick your foot over your head and hold it there for thirty seconds without falling & knocking everyone in the room down like a domino. I'll get there... hopefully. In the meantime I'll be the tall brunette laying flat on the mat like a dead man, sweating my ass off.

So what's a 30 day challenge?
A 30 day challenge is the Iron Man of Bikram. Basically it entails daily practice, every single day, consecutively, for thirty days. By agreeing to a 30 day, you're agreeing to never miss a class. Ever. Now, the yoga community is pretty understanding that maybe there might be something during your 30 days that comes between you and your yoga class. Miss a class? Fine. Take 2 the next day to make up for the one you missed. Good luck with that. My 30 day starts Jan 31 and ends on Mar 1.

Why am I documenting this?
Well I wanted a way to see how much progress I'll make by the end. I dont think my fellow yoga do-ers would appreciate me bringing a friend into yoga to take pictures for me... Nor do I particularly want my picture taken in the hot room (talk about unflattering) so I'll keep track of everything via this blog. But of course its also just so you, my lovely family and friends, can follow me through the ups, downs, bends, and twists of my very own 30 day challenge. Really, I'm so excited to watch my own personal progress through improving the postures and gain all the health benefits that Bikram is so famous for. Yes I'm somewhat forced to keep record of this so I can present my results in June but I'll try my best and keep it interesting despite all the whining and moaning that's bound to happen. Good, bad, and ugly.. What's the worst that can happen in 30 days??

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Day 17

So saturday was day 17 and the studio was only hosting an 8:00am class. I really try to do anything in my power to avoid morning classes... something about waking up and first thing going into such extreme temperatures is nauseating. Not to mention the fact that you've been laying in a bed for 8 hours so you're body is still stiff and not ready for that kind of movement. Ugh, morning classes are just all around not enjoyable for me at all. I was so nauseous and I knew the second I got to class it was going to be a loooong 90 minutes because I took one look in the mirror and saw how pale my face was... That's when you know. 
Just what I wanted to see at 7:00 in the morning.
Not to mention my snow brush has disappeared so picture me cleaning this off with an umbrella. Yeah... idk. 
Besides feeling as if I was going to die or barf I managed to make it through class and came home and slept for literally the rest of the day. Like I think I got on the couch at 10:00am and stayed there until 2:00pm. Usually theres one thing I hold onto during class to get me through like "ok if you just make it through 90 minutes you can get a coffee after" (I dont drink caffeine on yoga mornings because it dehydrates you. Me without coffee is SO scary.) But yeah so this day all I could think was like if I made it through class I was going back to bed and that's exactly what I did. 

What I ate when I woke up from my nap. 
A giant boston creme eclair courtesy of my sister/ the Red Arrow. 






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