Class 27 + 28 - - - BIKRAM ROAD TRIP!

Started out my road trip with 8am class at my studio yesterday morning. Left for Portland right afterward. Stopped only for an Egg McMuffin and to fill up my gas tank. Spent time with friends yesterday. Crept out of my friend's house this morning for 8am yoga in Portland. The studio was nice and I liked the studio and instructor. Of course every time you practice somewhere new, there are weird little hiccups, but overall, I was happy to be there. That was followed by more q.t. (quality time) with my pals and a fairly uneventful drive home. Wish I could have stayed longer because I love Portland but overall it was a good trip and I'm glad I got to practice down there. It's nice to have a change of scenery :)

Class 26 + H. + M.

Did class 26 tonight. Over 30 people at Friday night yoga. Ugh. And someone near me smelled like Thai food. Of course my first instinct is to blame the guy next to me who was in spandex shorts but really it could have been anyone. As I may have mentioned here before, I tend to get sort of obsessed with certain foods and there was a period of time (ok, years) where I was a Thai food addict. I've even been to Thailand twice and even though I got so sick on the first trip that I thought I might be dying, I still have very fond memories of the green curry. That being said, fish saucy Thai food smell during Bikram was really grossing me out. The smell seemed to be less intense on the floor so I kicked it on my mat much more than usual tonight.
And I saw one of my new-ish yoga acquaintances H. She has a friend named M. who I talk to as well. I have hated not having "yoga friends" (besides Jenn but she's a teacher and knows everyone so she doesn't really count) but now I have H. + M. so that makes me happy. Plus their initials sound really catchy together :)
Off to Portland tomorrow morning (after 8am yoga) and will be practicing down there on Sunday. There is a studio in my friend's neighborhood so that will be uber-convenient. Had hoped to practice with @secretmuffin again, but I don't think our schedules will work out. But alas, there will be other trips to PDX in the future :)

25 down, 76 to go

Wow - those stats look kind of depressing when written out like that! And after today, they're only going to get worse since I'm not going to be able to make it to the studio after work today. This is a marathon, not a sprint... this is a marathon, not a sprint... THIS IS A GODDAMN MARATHON!
Ok, end crazy lady rant.
I guess I'm just looking at where I am - physically feeling pretty good. Except for some sporadic knee pain, the physical aspect of the classes has been mostly fine. Mentally I'm kind of all over the place. While the 90 minutes of moving meditation is great, I'm struggling with how much time it takes. There's not time to do too much else on the weekdays besides go to work and go to yoga. I miss happy hours! I miss being lazy! Yes, these are my white girl problems and yes, after this is over, I will probably appreciate my "freedom" even more. But I just wanted to say that doing Bikram yoga every day is hard!!!!!
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Class 25 was decent. It was hot and the studio smelled kinda funky. I went to the late class so there was more space, yet the guy next to me still managed to be sweaty and weird and hit me during full locust. I guess yoga will slowly help me overcome my desire for personal space!

Class 24 pwned me

Ugh. Class 24 completely kicked my ass. It was the teacher I suspect
did drama (or show choir) in high school... and now I suspect that
SHE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO OPERATE THE HEAT/VENTILATION IN THE YOGA ROOM! I'm serious. She was opening the windows yet I think the heat
in the room was actually still on. Gah. It was definitely a Bikram
torture chamber. Considering how freaking hot and sweaty and terrible
it was, I only sat out a few postures, but I could never really get
into a groove in class and my mind was all over the place. I haven't
felt this bad after class since some of my first classes. I went into
the locker room after class and ate a fruit leather. I still felt
gross and there was a line for the shower so I went back into the
yoga room to fill up my water bottle. I ran into H. and M. (my new
yoga friends!) and they were complaining about the heat, too. I have
NEVER felt the room that hot in between classes before. Then I went
back and took a shower and got ready. I had been planning to go buy
my birthday present for myself after class (an iphone!) but I just
wanted to go home. I swung by my neighborhood market to pick up a
sandwich. I ate it and watched a bit of "30 Rock" and I still feel
completely wrecked. This is what I felt like after my first couple of
classes. My very first class I did with my sorority sister from
college. I thought it would never end and after class I went and got
McDonalds because all I could think was that I needed a Coke and
greasy fries! That's how I felt tonight but I got a Reuben sandwich
and chips instead!!! Oh and can I just mention that a Reuben has lots
of salty savory awesomeness? It's no peanut butter and pickle but
it's pretty damn close.

Was thinking about doing the 6am class tomorrow but that is not going
to happen! Hope you didn't get thrown under the yoga bus today like I
did :)

No yoga yesterday... and I actually miss it!

Took the day off from Bikram 101 yesterday due to my birthday. My friends got me a princess cake which I thought was hilarious. It made sense to take yesterday off from class, yet I can honestly say that I miss my mat. I feel like my shoulders and hips are finally starting to open up and that I'm really "getting" a few of the postures. I think I finally figured out what Balancing Stick (tuala dandasana) is supposed to feel like! I'm actually looking forward to class tonight! And it looks like I'm going to get to practice with @secretmuffin down in Portland over the weekend so that will be fun.

#22 + #23 - for a few moments, I am just one class behind!

Practiced this morning with my mom. Her very accurate observation before class was "there are some much more normal looking guys here today." It's true - there were some normal looking guys there today. Not sure what it's like where you practice, but there is a stereotypical Bikram guy look around here and it's even mentioned in the Yelp reviews for the studio I usually practice at.
Oh yeah, back to the yoga. I knew I was planning to practice again in the afternoon so I didn't want to leave it all on the mat in the morning. Had an ok class. I love the teacher I had this morning -she gives *great* corrections.
Afternoon yoga was class taught by Jenn. As I've mentioned here, I love Jenn. I will be honest though - I don't want to share Jenn with 50+ other students! My morning class was about 20 and I'll admit it again here - hearing my name every once in a while keeps me honest! When I'm in the back hardly able to see the mirror, it's kind of an invitation to be a slacker. While I'm happy the studio is busy, I am not yet to the point where I can love the group energy and embrace having someone's feet in my face. I had some angry yogi moments in class today. My inner monologue was not very yogi-like. Also I think I was just tired/drained because I had already practiced today. I don't really like doing doubles. This was only my third so maybe I just haven't gotten the hang of them yet.

Kurasu Nijuichi

Did class 21 yesterday. Want to catch up so I'm not two behind. Have been thinking about squeezing in two classes today but will probably not practice tomorrow because it's my birthday and I've got a date with friends and cake. Anyway, class 21. It was hot hot hot. Two people left the room during class. That's quite rare at my studio. I have to say I wasn't all that unhappy when they walked out because I was near the door so I was thinking, "breeze sweet breeze." Overall it was a decent class although somewhat of a struggle. One of my favorite teachers was teaching and she is Japanese. After class she was at the desk speaking in Japanese to a Japanese woman. I could tell she was just about to switch to English to say goodbye to me, but I cut her off at the pass with a cheery, "Mata ne!" (Japanese equivalent of "[see you] later") They both laughed and chimed in with a "sayonara" and a "bye bye." I was amused by it and I think they were, too. It's fun to bust out Japanese with random Japanese people in Seattle because they never expect it.

Class 20 + you're never the same person as when you walked in the door...

Did Class 20 tonight. Kinda bummed that I'm two days behind - I liked
knowing what class I was on by looking at the calendar. Le sigh. The
standing series was pretty good but I kinda died on the floor. My
tummy was not feeling good. Did this happen to me two weeks ago? Yes
it did. Did I eat the exact same lunch two weeks ago? Yes, I did.
Note to self: no Indian food on yoga days. After class, I had a
coconut water and it was MAGICAL! It made me feel alive again. One
thing I love about Bikram yoga is that it makes you appreciate some
of the simpler things in life - a cool breeze, fresh air (especially
when it smells like Mr. Butt is on the mat next to you - note: Mr.
Butt is what my friend and I say is the cause of bad smelling rooms),
icy cold water, the energy you get from coconut water or a snack
after class. Gotta love the simpler things especially when life feels
complicated...

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And oh yes, life is feeling complicated these days. I'm trying to
take the lessons from the yoga room and apply them to life. Trying to
take the advice from camel - just feel whatever I'm feeling and not
attach to it. But that's easier said than done especially when I feel
bad about what I'm feeling because it's "wrong" and I shouldn't be
feeling it. I know that's cryptic and I wrote it that way on purpose.
I was feeling super overwhelmed by everything today and almost cried
at my desk at work. I'm not saying yoga healed everything or anything
like that because it didn't and it never will, but I do find that my
problems always look a little different after yoga. I always feel a
little different when I leave and sometimes a lot different. I'm
thankful for my yoga practice and while I still struggle with fitting
90 minutes of yoga in daily, I think for me the mental benefits of
the 90 minutes probably outweigh the physical benefits even though
those are great, too. So I guess what I'm trying to say is YAY YOGA!
Now time to hide under the covers and watch some Grey's Anatomy...

Yoga mini-break + Class 19 + the state of my studio

Took a mini-break from yoga last night. Didn't go to yoga which means
that I am now 2 classes behind (boo!), but my mini-break was rad! I
got Chinese takeout and watched Singles and worked on a quilt
project. It was GREAT! I needed a day away from the room, a little
time to veg and really sometimes takeout and a movie is the perfect
thing. I think the thing about the challenge is that it's a reminder
that sometimes pushing through is what we need to do and sometimes we
need to listen to our minds/bodies when they tell us we need a day
off. And of course here I'm talking about us mere mortals, not
@ilovesweat who goes to class every day even when we're not having a
challenge! Anyway, my day off was awesome and I'm hoping to do a
double Sunday to make up one of my classes, but then Monday is my
birthday so I won't go to class unless I do the 6am so that would
make me at -2 yet again. Oh well - no biggie. This is a marathon, not
a sprint!!!

---

It was hot hot and crowded in class tonight but I felt like I was
having a great standing series. The floor was a little different, but
overall it was good and I was happy I was there. I ate less that
usual today due to an early morning dentist appointment which left
half of my mouth (and part of my nose) feeling numb. Work BFF and I
went to get coffee and I had to get mine iced so I could drink it
through a straw! Anyway my breakfast was only yogurt, lunch ended up
being small, didn't get to eat as much crackers + almond butter as I
wanted because my boss came by my desk just as I was passing out
snack to Work BFF #2. Point is I think I actually felt better having
less in my stomach. This is probably obvious to the experience
practitioners, but I really struggle because Bikram makes me
HUNGRY!!!! But I'm going to try to tweak my food intake a bit and
need to send Jenn an email because she said she has some suggestions
for me.

---

Not sure what it's been like at your studios, but it has been packed
at my studio since the new year started. While I think it's great
that people want to do yoga, I (selfishly) am craving a bit more
personal space. There are lots of newbies at class. I feel a bit bad
for them that they aren't getting the personal attention that I got
when I was the new kid. I am so thankful that I started doing Bikram
when I did. I had some amazing teachers who really encouraged me. One
of them recently moved to New Zealand and I'm surprisingly bummed
about it. He was one of my biggest cheerleaders and didn't care about
how sweaty I was - he would help twist my leg on Eagle or pull up my
legs in Floor Bow anyway. I miss that guy!

I have officially hit the wall... + Class 17 + Class 18

Class 17 was Monday. I did the 6pm class which meant I was late to knitting. Class was hot and crowded yet sort of ok at the same time. One of my favorite teachers was teaching and she's one of those people who I definitely trust to get me through class.

Class 18 was last night. It was super crowded (50+ people) and I was having yoga angst. You know - one of those classes where one's inner monologue is set to super speed. But seriously I do think some of the complaints were slightly valid. The teacher who was teaching is new to the studio (and I think teaching in general) and I really don't think she was managing the temperature right. In the room, there are vents that can be set to let in cool air and there are fans and there are high windows that can be opened. Instead of using the vents, last night's teacher left the fans on forever. The fans were recirculating hot, skanky air. The fans are distracting when I am in yoga angst mode. So that was making me on edge and then the teacher was speaking in a weird voice and was fake smiling a lot. She seemed to think she was very cute when she was fake smiling and all I could think was, "I bet this chick did drama in high school (due to the weird overdramatic voice thing)." I guess part of it is just that I take class from some AMAZING teachers so when the not so amazing ones are there, it's an especially dramatic difference. Ok - that's probably enough ranting about my yoga angst. Class wise, the standing series went quite well but I was soooo drained by the time we got to the floor. I went over to a friend's house after yoga and didn't get home until about 11pm.

And that brings us to today. I could not get out of bed this morning - I was soooooo tired. I'm kind of a morning person (translation: big nerd) and I generally can get out of bed when ye olde alarm goes off. That was not the case this morning. I reset my alarm for 30 minutes later. I didn't even bring my yoga bag to work today. I am officially drained. I need a day off. I know these are my white girl problems and plenty of people work harder than me... but I'm trying to listen to my body which is saying that it needs an evening of Netflix and vegging out. Skipping today will put me two classes behind. But I'm basically at the point where 101 classes in 101 days seems like too much for me. How would I feel if instead for me it was 92 classes in 101 days? 95 classes in 101 days? Even 80 classes in 101 days? That would still be pretty freaking awesome, right?

So today I will rest.

Class 15 & 16 + never make me go to Costco after yoga

Practiced with my mom yesterday. Had a great new to me teacher. She
had great energy and didn't talk to much. Really good class for me -
one of the best ones I've had in a while.
After class, my mom said she just needed to run to Costco for a
microwave. This ended up being totally false. She needed a microwave
which went in one cart and then she filled up another cart with other
stuff. I do not recommend a trip to Costco on a Saturday after you've
left it all on the mat at Bikram yoga! I was not a happy camper at
Costco and even samples couldn't revive me! Went home and rested up
for a few hours before meeting up with friends and then I was a-ok.
Today was class 16. I was there. I was sweaty and tired. Not much
else to say.

class 13 + class 14 + upcoming plans for my sporty life

Class 13 - I know I attended Class 13. I ran into Jenn after Class 13. I stood kind of by the door in Class 13. Basically I remember very little else about Class 13. It existed, I was there, afterwards I ate a middle eastern fried cauliflower pita and tumeric rice. Delish!

Class 14 - Went to class right after work. Classes right after work tend to be freaking crowded although as the month rolls on and the new years resolutioners go away, it's slightly better. But it's not the practice I'm used to. I first started practicing at my studio regularly in the spring of 2008. By spring, classes are getting smaller so the teachers learn everyone's names and give loads o' corrections! Especially if you're a not so coordinated baby yogi like myself! Then for a lot of 2009, I practiced at off hours due to being unemployed. Go to a noon class on a Tuesday and you'll get loads of personal attention. While I know that my practice is for me, the idea that the teacher is watching does help me stay focused. In Class 13 and Class 14, I had teachers who I knew weren't watching me. I was in the back, they didn't know my name.. kinda allowed me to slack a bit. Nothing really wrong with that especially since this challenge is a marathon not a sprint. I guess it's good for me to recognize that I generally have a better, more engaged class if I am taking class from a teacher I know and who knows me.

My post yoga workout life - yes, I'm already thinking about it. New plan is... ... ... wait for it.. ... ... Seattle Marathon 2010! I ran a half marathon in 2008 and my friend and I are signed up to run the Portland Half Marathon in October this year. The Seattle Marathon is 7 weeks after the Portland Half so I'll already be training... Seems like it might work out well. Haven't signed up yet, but it's very much on my mind lately. Unless I find myself a boyfriend, I'm thinking that 2010 will be the year that I am really sporty :)

Class 12 + my first day off

Class 12 was a reminder that I really can't get away with eating indian food for lunch on days that I do 6pm yoga. It just doesn't work for my stomach and therefore doesn't work for me. I did not feel that good and sat out a couple of postures. Also my knees were bugging me a bit. I've struggled with knee issues for years. I tried to be very conscious of being easy on my knees and some of the postures felt different. I think that sometimes I must be tensing my muscles weirdly or something and making the postures harder than they are. That's not a very good explanation but it just felt like some postures were easier when I was focusing on not stressing my knees.
I took yesterday off. Drank a beer after work with work people, went out to dinner with friends and then went to Target. My new plan to get through the 101 days is to throw in a few morning (6am) classes and allow myself to take a day of every 10 days or two weeks or so. I was able to do 30 days in a row previously, but I wasn't working. 101 days is a marathon, not a sprint, so I'm all about adjusting things so that I can complete this challenge.
Back on my mat after work today and I'm kinda looking forward to it :)

on a day like today, i look forward to being on my mat...

It is pouring down rain. And my boss called me on my cell while I was on the bus on my way to work. On a day like today, I'm very happy that I get to end my (work) day with 6pm yoga. I'm actually looking forward to getting to my mat today...

kinda sorta threw my own personal tantrum at class today

I am not proud of Class 11. As you may have read in my earlier
entries, a certain teacher's classes have been running late. I know
that if I were an evolved yogi, I would be thankful for extra time in
postures or extra words of wisdom that make class run long... but I'm
still a baby yogi! I WANT MY CLASS TO END ON TIME and if it doesn't,
I get super antsy and I want to cry and whine. I have asked the
teacher in question how to handle my extreme angst at class running
long. He said that I am welcome to leave when the 90 minutes are up.
That's what I did today. I made eye contact with him and whispered
that I needed to leave. I did need to leave. I needed to go get a
falafel, I needed to get on with my life. I could only give 90
minutes to yoga today. In the future, maybe I'll be open to doing a
longer, more free form class with this instructor but for now, it
doesn't work for me. Luckily I have lots of other teachers to choose
from at my studio and the other studio in town so I can pick and
choose classes that don't make me so angst-filled!

In other news, there was someone named Francois in my class. This is
funny if you, like me, saw Youth in Revolt this weekend.

Class 9 + Class 10

Class 9 - my stomach was not feeling good. I blame the indian food I had for lunch. I am not proud to admit that I sat out most of the floor series... but it couldn't be helped because my belly was in pain. I was totally "that guy" - the gross person in class who farts and burps...
I had veggie pho after class and that seemed to help. I think pho is a great post yoga food because it's salty and savory and super delicious.
That brings us to Class 10 which went very smoothly compared to last night's class. One of my favorite instructors was teaching and overall it was just a good 90 minutes.

bikram twitter people

Feeling very thankful for my Bikram twitter peeps today. They have that wonderful combination of pushing me and being super encouraging at the same time. Especially thankful to @jenngemini who gave me a pep talk/scheduling workshop via IM :)

On Twitter over the past day or two, I've been doubting my will to do this challenge. I've been feeling kinda bad about going straight from work to yoga and not really seeing my friends or having slacker fun during the week. But I'm refocusing, I'm going to mix up my class schedule a bit (hello 6am yoga once or twice a week.)

I'm ready to refocus for week 2 and beyond... 8 down, 93 to go. As my man @adamcarolla would say - LET'S GET IT ON!

xo
@bikramanda

Class #8 + new favorite post yoga food

Did Class #8 tonight. It ended on time. It was less crowded than any
of the other classes I've been to this week. Not much to say. Class
wasn't awesome or terrible - it seemed to go by pretty quickly.

----

After class I was starving as per usual. I got a falafel pita
sandwich and IT WAS AMAZING! It's vegetarian which is probably a good
thing considering my stomach has been a bit unhappy lately. And it's
kinda salty/savory which really hits the spot but it tastes fresh at
the same time and has veggies (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, parsley.)
Although it may not be on ilovesweat's list of foods to eat daily
(http://ilovesweat.com/wordpress/?page_id=721), I think falafel may
go on my list of foods that taste even better after yoga. Falafel FTW!!!

Class 7 - not one of my finer moments

Class was challenging both mentally and physically today. It seems (from Twitter at least) that quite a few of us are struggling with what to eat and when to eat. Physically I just didn't feel very energetic and overall I was not excited to be in the room. It didn't help matters when I saw that the teacher who taught the 105 minute class over the weekend would be teaching. That is not what the online schedule said! But hey - class tonight was only 100 minutes so I guess I should be thankful! But seriously, IT IS NOT PROFESSIONAL to do that on a regular basis. The poses haven't changed. There is a clock in the room. And even though I feel sorry for myself when class goes late (and you know I do feel sorry for myself) it's the brand new yogis I really feel for. And if I wasn't going to class every damn day, I probably wouldn't care as much, but 10-15 minutes late PER CLASS would be over an hour of my time each week. NOT COOL.
Ok, end crazy ranting. Clearly all this yoga is making me grumpy at the moment. And oh so hungry yet with a tummy that doesn't feel that great. Ugh.

Haven't been doing daily blogging, but have been doing daily yoga

My intention was to keep track of each and every class on this blog like I did with my 30 day challenge, but so far that hasn't happened. It's been a combination of flaky internet access at home and just being busy, but I just sent up posting by email for my blog so that should help thing!
Let's take a brief look at the classes so far...
Class 3 - my knee actually felt pretty good in class! I was sooooo relieved. I was worried that I was going to have to stop the challenge before I had even really gotten started. Basically I just felt gratitude for being able to practice!
Class 4 - practiced with my mom at another studio. Great class! I love the teacher who was teaching there. Unfortunately she owns the other studio so I'll never see her at my home studio and that makes me sad. She is truly a gifted teacher and gave me a really helpful correction on balancing stick.
Class 5 - 50 people in class! And I didn't really wanted to be there - I wanted to be at my normal Monday night activity which is my knitting group. But I got to practice next to Jenn and that helped me stay strong in class. She has a great attitude towards yoga/life and I wish you could all come practice with us at our studio!
Class 6 - 50 people again! Super crowded and the instructor seemed to be struggling with the ventilation. The fans were on for a huge part of class which I found quite distracting. If the after work class keeps being this crowded and crazy, I might have to switch to either the 6am or 8pm.

So overall things are going well. Trying to manage logistics like laundry and snacks is going ok because I'm trying to be organized. I had a peanut butter and pickle sandwich after class last night so the weird salty/savory cravings have definitely started!

6 down, 95 to go!!!

testing out posting by email....

is this thing on?

Bikram101 - Class 1 + 2 and FitToes

Well, not the smoothest start to 101 Days of Bikram! Class 1 was 105 minutes long and I believe I have ranted here before about how it makes me irate when classes run long and how I think it is unprofessional! So not a great start. Then during Class 2 in the afternoon, my left knee started hurting. I've been struggling with knee issues off and on for the past few years and my knees have been bugging me for the past few weeks, but still it was a disappointing start to things. I hobbled down to Starbucks first thing this morning and I was really feeling like class was probably not going to happen today... but after reading "Youth in Revolt", chatting with a good pal, and eating some pho, the knee seems to be feeling better. So I'll be doing 5pm class today but I intend to take it easy.

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I know that some of my fellow yogis are anti-product, anti-materialism, anti-brand, etc. While I would like to be one of those people, I am not one of those people. I like to have the right gear for my hobbies! And of course, I have used Bikram101 as an excuse to stock up on gear. I wasn't sure whether I would use my Breathe yoga mat/towel combos during the 101 days or whether to go back to Yogitoes and a yoga mat. My studio sells the Breathe mat/towels for $44.00 which is a great deal. I bought another one yesterday so I'm planning to use my 3 Breathe mats as much as possible - they really do seem more hygenic to me since they are washed after every use unlike my yoga mats. However when doing some research on Yogitoes, I discovered that they have a new discount line called Fittoes. They are sold at Sports Authority and other chain stores. I checked them out yesterday and the nubs on the back of the towel are slightly different than Yogitoes, but they are only $25-$30 and because Bikram isn't flow yoga, you don't really need ubernubs anyways. I would recommend checking them out if you are looking for a cheaper yoga towel.
I'll talk more about my new yoga backpack and yoga wetbag in a future post.