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!!!

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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.

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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.