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??

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Day 22

No I'm actually dead serious there is a knot
in the wood on the ceiling above my spot in the hot
room that looks exactly like this.  No lie. 
Can you believe it's day 22? I seriously feel like this has FLOWN by. Next friday is my last day and I have another double to make up between now and then. I cannot believe how quickly its happened. Today was a wicked stressful day at school taking all those tests so by the time I got home around 1:00 I just wanted to relax and go to the late 7pm class. I finished my paper, Jake came over, and then I got ready to go. Oh yeah and I ate a whole bag of mini rice cake things whatever the hell those are. They're addicting that's what they are. I feel like this whole blog is about food but seriously eating one wrong thing sets off my whole practice. Like, for instance, if you drank or ate something milky before class and then sat in 110 degree heat for over an hour........ Barf.

Class was ok it wasn't packed so it wasn't humid. Thank god. Humidity is gross you are literally soaked in the sweat of everyone else in the room. Now that I'm in the homestretch of my 30 day and have so much going on with school its getting harder and harder to get to class. I definitely dragged bum to the studio today and it reflected in my practice. I came in with a body that did not want to budge and do much of anything. I'll blame the rice cakes but really I just got no sleep last night and have had a very stressful week compared to my usual laid back schedule. I don't think I've done so much homework since I was a freshman. Thank god for the amazing people in my life and Bikram to keep me centered and relaxed because honestly I think I would have lost my mind by now!! Is it vacation yet?



Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)