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??

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

day 7

if i dont fall asleep before the end of this it will be a miracle. this is going to have horrible grammar so excuse me in advance. i did a 430 class today and it was taught by natalie who was actually in a class with me last thursday. thursday was my day 1 so i didnt do that well but i remember seeing natalie and thinking how good she was - i had no clue she taught! i went to the gym after school which just wasnt a good idea because i didnt cool down between the gym and yoga. i literally put my mat down and then went back and stood outside in my spandex in the freezing to cool down before class. it went really well im still not doing so hot on the balancing ones as always but my tries are getting better everytime.a lot of my floor postures are almost perfect because they always came pretty easily to me so getting them perfect hasnt been as much of a challenge as getting the standing series. with one week under my belt i will say that im very happy with my body. a lot of people have asked me if ive lost weight and honestly i havent weighed myself (refuse to.. im not a number on a dumb scale!!!) but that wasnt the point of doing yoga. however, i feel so much more flexible its crazy i feel like a spaghetti noodle or something but at the same time i feel so powerful like i'm in the best shape of my life. really proud of the things my body can accomplish cause i never wouldve dreamed of being able to even try some of these things.

things i thought about today during savasanas:
 
Yeah, that is Usher. Before savasana, Natalie kept saying "relax on your back" and my mind immediately went to that overplayed Usher song with the line "relax and get on your back" and so it was stuck in my head all class..

the only other thing i wanted to comment on about todays class is the fact that there was a lot of girls my age in class today which is sort of unusual everyone is usually a lot older. they dont go to my school idk who they are but this wasnt their first class. first of all, there were 3 girls behind me that kept talking to the point where they had to be asked to be quiet in front of everyone. now yoga is not a kindergarten class, natalie cant be more than 5 or 6 years older than them and she had to ask them to be quiet? it was embarrassing to watch. but worse is that one girl next to me had her phone in the hot room and kept periodically checking to see if shes received any messages. i was legitimately shocked.. they ask that you dont have your phone out at all in the studio let alone DURING CLASS! I dont think Natalie saw her otherwise I have no idea what you would even say. I dont mean to be a yoga snob but theres a level of respect among everyone in the practice and you should respect your teacher and the other members of class enough to not be a distraction. It was disappointing, honestly, and a poor reflection of younger people doing Bikram. Thats my rant for tonight. and i didnt fall asleep!
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