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??

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Day 3: LOTS of Pics

On Friday's class during final savasana, Pubali jokingly told the class the importance of "detox to retox" and how we should enjoy our weekend and not be so hard on ourselves when it comes to bad eating (or drinking) choices. Naturally, my friday night retox can be summed up in just a few words: fried mac and cheese lobster balls, cookies, and chocolate. A lot of it. Let's just say I learned my lesson. I've barely had any bad food in weeks leading up to my challenge so this was definitely overboard for me. Not only did I have the worst headache from my body re-adjusting to all the shit (sorry, but that's what it was) I put into it, but I woke up this morning feeling literally swollen. It was disgusting and finding the energy to go to class this morning was almost impossible. Remind me to not take "detox to retox" so literally next weekend..
 
The hot room. I took this after everyone left. It looks like a giant sauna, but that's basically what it is..  Usually there's like 40 people lined up in two rows. The idea is beginners go in the back, advanced in the front. Somehow I always get to class too late and end up in the front, god help me.

Besides the fact that I felt like a sluggish walrus (seriously this is the only way I can describe it) class went well. Still having so much trouble with the balancing postures. I'm ridiculously flexible on the floor and even on 2 legs but the second you ask me to do something on one leg, its all over. But I got to take my beginner's pictures today, drum roll PLEASE~
Phones aren't allowed in the studio during class so while I was waiting for Mindy to come take some pictures for me I took full advantage of the selfie photo-op, of course.

LOL if you aren't laughing you have no sense of humor these are hilarious. But ok in all seriousness from left to right thats rabbit pose (sasangasana), standing bow (dandayamana dhanurasana), and standing head to knee (dandayamana janushirasana). Say those names 10 times fast I dare ya 

Big thanks to Mindy for staying after class and taking these pictures for me.. and for being sweet enough to say she wishes her rabbit looked more like mine:) I wish you could see my face in rabbit pose though I'm dying laughing because I felt so ridiculous getting photographed like that. Talk about face down.  However the other two.. not so good. Its the balancing postures that kill me. The idea with bow is to kick your foot high enough that your leg is almost straight (foot over head in the mirror) with your torso parallel to the floor... Yeah. Get back to me in 27 days on that one. And in head-to-knee your head is supposed to be on your knee. This is actually the first time I've ever even gotten my legs locked in head-to-knee so hopefully making some progress there, even if my head is nowhere near my knee. 

Also, I wanted to say thanks for everyone who's supporting me through this! If you read these posts, you're awesome, or even if you put up with my twitter and instagram posts about it you're equally as awesome. If anyone ever wants to try yoga and come with me to a class, let me know!! 


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