I did an 8am Saturday morning which is equivalent to walking into hell and selling yourself to the devil himself and no I am not exaggerating. I woke up SO GRUMPY didnt even want to move, bitched and moaned about how I should give up now and lie about my the rest of my thirty day challenge (no one was even awake to listen). Stuffed a banana and a greek yog in my mouth (remember what I said about eating dairy before class? why don't i take my own advice?) and then ate these disgusting crackers that I grabbed without looking in the car on the way there. I'm not kidding you I'm trying to find a picture of the brand online but I cant remember what it was. They were like almond crackers or something and I thought "Oh! Almonds! Protein! These'll work!" No. Wrong. Wrong Wrong. I literally exclaimed out loud in my car (am I admitting to talking to myself?): "these are {expletive} DISGUSTING."
I have never sat out more times during a class than I did yesterday morning. I tasted those almond crackers long after I was done eating them, let me just say. Is my 30 days over yet?
My 30 Day Bikram Yoga Challenge
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??
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