Day 2

Such a hard class today. Really really challenging. I don't think I was hydrated enough. Or maybe I hadn't eaten enough. I don't know why but I felt physically gross during class and had to lay down more than I would have liked to.
Oh well - trying to practice non-attachment... so class is over and I am trying not to be attached to how bad I felt during it.

Day 1

Nice small class today so the instructor was able to give lots of corrections and adjustments. He pulled up and back on my arms in half moon, pushed my foot behind my calf in eagle, pulled up my legs in bow pose... and it was totally awesome! Any instructor who wants to touch my sweaty body to help me get into poses is ace in my book :)

30 DAYS OF BIKRAM OFFICIALLY STARTS TODAY!

Due to an unfortunate event, I find myself with more time on my hands as of today. So my 30 days of Bikram is officially starting today. No more excuses. Class every day. I have wanted to do this for months so although I am not pleased about what happened, I am grateful for the opportunity to devote myself more fully to my Bikram practice.

toe stand, camel and other yoga victories

Had a private Bikram tutorial last weekend with Jenn and it was fantastic! Long and challenging but definitely improved my practice. I had my hands on my feet in camel (and Jenn took an awesome picture which I have emailed to my mom and a few friends), did toe stand (although I still can't quite get up from toe stand!) and refined a bunch of my postures. I got compliments from my instructor on Tuesday on a few poses and far less corrections. Yay!
As my social life picks up, it's harder and harder to make time for yoga but I find that setting up a recurring Bikram appointment on my mobile phone definitely helps.
I can't complain too much - my yoga practice is improving and overall life is pretty good.

Life has been getting in the way of yoga

Life, both good and bad things, have been getting in the way of yoga. But I really enjoyed the class I went to on Tuesday and last night I had a little dance party in my room so I'm trying to stay active and happy.

Lost my yoga mojo...

Only did one class last week, but if I do one today as well (woke up too late to get to the 10am class though), that will be a total of two. And I did a trail run that kicked my ass and left me oh so sore. And I drank some wine and had some laughs.
So overall, a bad week yogawise but not so bad in general.

yoga funny

Ok, these have got to be the funniest illustrations of the Bikram poses EVER! I want to move to New York and go to Bikram Yoga Lower East Side - they seem to have a better sense of humor than Bikram yoga studios in Seattle! :-)
http://bikramyogales.com/index.cfm?section=aboutbikram&fuse=postures

Lite yoga week

Made it to Bikram on Tuesday. It was a really good class. I arrived a bit late due to forgetting my mat at home and remembering it only after I was already in my car driving to the studio. Since I was late to arrive, all of the "good" spots (translation: spots in the corners away from the instructor) were already taken. So I ended up almost directly in front of the teacher. And that was intimidating but it was also really good. I care about my form and I want to improve. So really I was getting my money's worth by having the teacher see me and help me with my postures. Although I was definitely dreading hearing my name :-)
Didn't make it to class last night. Drank wine with coworkers after work instead.
Was planning to go to a class directly after work but I just realized that I didn't actually bring my yoga stuff with me... so that's obviously not going to work. Ugh.

Ok, so the grand total is actually 5

I went to 5 Bikram yoga classes this week. Yes, that is 2 shy of my goal of 7. It is also more classes than I've ever gone to in a week before. I didn't make it to a class today. I went to Bainbridge Island today with some friends and shopped and walked around and I was exhausted by the time I got back. I didn't feel like I was hydrated enough to do yoga and I just couldn't handle the thought of going to class.
I now have a better idea of how much commitment goes into practicing every day (a lot) and how much planning it requires to eat properly, drink properly, do more laundry, etc. so that it's possible to get to Bikram every day.

Class 4 (of 7 - or should I just admit now that it's going to be 6)

I only drank water during times when the teacher specifically said it was ok to have some water... and I felt better during class. That's going to be my goal from now on - to only drink water during the designated times. My concentration was a bit off during some of the standing postures. Oh well - no biggie.
And my roommate told me that my face looks thinner. I have cheekbones now :)
If I were to actually get to 7 classes this week, I would be at a class right now, but I needed an extra hour of sleep since I have a bunch of fun (non-yoga) stuff planned for today. I'm still planning to go to an afternoon class which will be class 5 and then tomorrow's class will be class 6.
So what's the plan for after this week is over? I'm really working on getting my life back on track and I think Bikram yoga should be a part of that. Am I ready for a 30 day challenge? Probably not right now. Am I going to change the name of my blog? Probably not. Basically, I'm not ready to give up running completely. While there is something to love about a hot, sweaty funky yoga room (and I'm actually becoming quite attached to my yoga mat and towel), I love the feeling of the wind in my hair when I'm out for a run. And to be honest, I think the way I've pushed myself in Bikram classes is going to make me a better runner. Running seems easy in a lot of ways.