Day 16

Today was the first class since our big (crazy) decision to make this a 60 day challenge!  C and I went to the 6am class and my younger sister joined for the first time.  I’m not a huge fan of the early morning classes, but I like that they’re always smaller.  A couple of girls were talking about a yoga competition (huh? whaaa?) before class so I knew that we’d be the newbies/least coordinated ones, but I was pleasantly surprised that we had a great class!  My balance was off a little bit at the beginning, but I think that’s because I kept looking at my sister to make sure she was doing okay.  I couldn’t hold my standing bow pose (my favorite pose by far!) for the entire count on either side, for either time.  It was a little frustrating, but I snapped back into focus soon after and ended up having a strong class.  And I got my left toe pose back! (lost the right side again though 😦 ).

I’ve noticed that I’m a lot more flexible and strong on my left side.  I’m left handed so it makes sense, but it’s still somewhat frustrating during class to nail a pose on the left and fall out on the right.  I’ve even noticed that my left shoulder is more toned and relaxed, which makes my right shoulder look fat and lazy in comparison.  I know that I (and maybe the instructor?) am the only one that notices these types of things, but staring at myself in the mirror for 90 minutes, every single day can be taxing.  It’s definitely an exercise in patience and self confidence.  Some days I think I look great and feel like giving myself winky faces and gun shootin in the mirror….and then some days I can’t stop staring at my “fat” right shoulder.

I’m SO EXCITED that C and I are now going for the 6o day challenge.  It’s awesome to see our names on the challenge board.  But even more than that, I think that the bigger challenge will allow us to push ourselves harder and actually reach the goals that we set every day.

Shoutout to my sister: AWESOME job today!  Can’t believe you didn’t sit down at all!

Goal: Buy some shorts…I’m sick of looking like such a newbie in capris!

-L

Today’s 6am class was early. No wonder nobody shows up for class that early. It’s freezing and windy and dark and I was exhausted and hungry and grumpy…and.

So L, me, and L’s sister show up with the 5 other crazy people in Arlington (who all happen to be master yogis) and L and I put our names on the 60 day challenge board together!  On that note, I’m really happy that we’ve decided to extend the challenge because I have a long way to go both physically and mentally.  My body has made a lot of progress thus far but I kind of feel like my flexibility has plateaued and my balance is waning.  It’s going to take a lot of mental determination to get back on track and continuously improve my practice.  Maybe I will have to focus on one thing at a time from now on instead of letting myself become overwhelmed with my progress (or lack thereof).

There was nothing really notable that happened during class. I wasn’t particularly flexible or balanced today, but didn’t struggle much through the class. The heat and humidity were just right in class and didn’t fluctuate too much and each of the students today seemed focus and paid attention to direction , which helped.     One thing that was different in today’s class is that I took my hair down before doing rabbit pose, which I usually wear in a high bun like so:

Think this hair but much less fashionable. Rabbit pose comes right at the end of class, and is meant the counter the deep backbending movement of the camel pose:

 Traditionally I would settle in the pose and not really push my hips up into the air, mostly because a) it is at the end of class and b) my bun doesn’t let me roll much onto my head. So today, I tried actually pushing myself in this posture and I couldn’t believe the intensity of it. As I touched my head to knees and rolled forward onto my head, my spine really opened up.  It was actually painful at first but judging by how I feel after class, I think I finally (after 15 classes) did this pose semi-well.

I’m excited to have an afternoon off today.  Doing the 6am class really does energize me throughout the day and open up my afternoons but lately I’ve been feeling really emotional and moody. I’ve been told first-hand is one of the side effects of a lot of bikram. The 26 asanas (poses) are designed to serve individual purposes, whether it is to stimulate blood flow, regulate and balance the endocrine system, or strengthen specific muscle groups.   I think that as I am adapting to the changes, my body is adjusting and with this comes extreme highs and lows. I’m hoping that this will stabilize soon, and am confident it will.

Lessons learned: There’s no use in cheating yourself out of postures, there are only 26  and each of them have a purpose and shouldn’t be hindered by something trivial (read: high buns)

Goals: Try and stay in savasana a little longer at the end of class instead of running out. Maybe that way the emotional release will stay contained in the studio.

60 Day Bikram Challenge, it is!

See the last two rows right there? That’s us!

Day 15: Decision Time!

Day 15 was the 6am class this morning. (That’s right, I said I would never do the 8pm followed by the 6am again, but I did).  I showed up pretty tired to class with my roomie – it’s really difficult to unwind after the 8pm class, so I only got about 5 hours of sleep last night.  The class was really small though, only about 7 people, so I knew there would be a great group energy and I’d be less distracted. I felt a little rough during the standing series and had to fight a little bit of dizziness, but overall I think the class went great.  The instructor helped push my back down in the standing separate leg stretching pose and I got a lot closer to putting my head on the ground!

I also finally stuck the tree stand toe pose on the right, not for long, but I’ll take it.  Interestingly though, I then couldn’t do it on the left, which is the side that I usually can do it!  You puzzle me, bikram.

Current bikram-related complaints: lower back is sore, thumb is still numb, and my feet/arches keep cramping up.  Other than that, I feel great!

I’ve made my decision regarding the 60 day challenge…just waiting for C to take her 15th class tonight to see if our decisions match up!

Lesson learned:  I know I’ve said it before, but about every other class I’m just amazed at what new pose I can hit or how much farther I can stretch into a pose.  Didn’t know I could do this!

Goal: Push/pull harder to get my head on the floor in the above pose!

-L

Day 15 was the first class I have done by myself (without L or other company) since I started bikram. This presented the challenge of not being able to share the class with friends but also gave me a chance to really individualize my practice and focus solely on myself.  I headed out of work early to the 4pm class which was not crowded at all (about 6-7 people) but there were still some beginners present. I decided for the first time that   start shedding some clothing before class (my usual uniform is a tank and capris) so I chose to wear a sports bra and capris. I noticed that with this small change, I was able to correct my positioning during the standing and breathing postures.

Overall, I had a pretty solid class, despite having zero balance during any of the standing poses. What did bother me, however, was one other student in the class who was a hot mess. First of all, she brought her phone into class (isn’t the purpose of yoga to distance yourself from that?) and proceeded to do whatever the h she wanted during class. She skipped ahead in almost every pose and was completely distracting.  The teacher tried several times to slow her down and correct her, but this woman would just not listen. I really tried not to get distracted by it, but this was kind of obnoxious of her to be flopping around at her own pace.

High points of the class included the camel pose, which I love because a) I’m actually good at it (which I can’t say for many postures) and b) it’s energizing:

I have made my decision regarding the 30/60 day challenge and will conspire with Liz at a well-deserved happy hour with friends!

Lessons learned: You can’t be a rockstar every time you practice, some days it’s just tough to find balance and you just need to accept that and focus on what you can do.

Goals: Stop letting other people become a distraction during class. Their lack of focus is not a personal problem!