Le vie de B

Max Studio Pumps - even the men in my office commented on how much they liked these :)

So my 30 day journey comes full circle... what an incredible feeling. As I layed on my mat tonight after my 30th class, a rush of feelings stormed over me. I have not felt that proud or happy about my body in years. The way the human body can move and memorize and grow is amazing. I was hardly able to hold my leg for the full 60 seconds in standing hand to knee, now my head is on my knee, both legs locked. I may not have lost a lot of weight but I gained energy, confidence, strength and love for my body. As I came home from work tonight I was sad that I didn't have my yoga class to return too, my body was looking forward to it. I cant wait to get back into the studio, I hope a few days off will leave me geared up for an amazing next class.

namaste

btw- the above picture is from the free people blog BLDG 25, if you don't follow it already, check it out!

I should really be on class 26 by now but I've had a couple slip ups with work and family so I'm up to 24. ugh. my 30 classes ends on Thursday so between Monday and Thursday I'm doing 6 classes. holy shit. i figured I'd do a double on Tuesday night and thank god I have Thursday off, I will do a double spread out throughout the day.

today's morning class was glorious!! I got a place in the back row directly in front of the podium with no one in front of me. I knew the second our instructor walked in, I was going to be grilled and for sure, I was. For some reason my energy was out of this world so I was able to keep up with her. She pushed me deeper and stronger into every posture -- it was amazing, I felt like I've been practicing for months! She specifically called out my standing bow posture, stating it was one of the best bows she had seen in a while. I was so proud :)! As we got into Dhanurasana - Floor bow pose she came up behind me and I helplessly morphed into a beautiful teardrop resting almost on my chest. its days like this that i love my body and am thankful for everything it can do.....

until the night class. my quads were burning and it was f*ing hot in that room. i love heat and warmth but the second I walked in I lost my breathe. It was a 90 minute battle in my second class. oh bikram, maybe tomorrow I'll be back on my high

I couldn't go to class yesterday, I was so exhausted from the past two weeks I feel asleep at 8. Thinking I was going to have a nice strong class I was so wrong. It was absolute hell. For some reason the humidity was making me so nauseous and I couldn't even recharge laying on my mat. I wanted to run outside into the rain. Ironically, as we are all laying in our final savasana, our teacher said she frequently gets asked if she ever gets bored teaching the same 26 postures over and over. Well the answer is always no. Bikram is half a mental game and half physical, some days you can grab the bull by the horns and have a strong, self-fullfilling class. Other times, you can struggle with every single posture and find it the hardest task in the entire day to just focus on your breathe. So my teacher ends the class by congratulating the new students and states, "welcome to your hot box, your personal torture chamber." Yes, I thought to myself, tonight was absolute hell.

9 classes to go. Namaste.

I'm behind one class -- went out drinking a little too much last week.

I worked so hard this weekend, my teacher was brillant. She truly made us hold each posture for its full minute and made you feel like you have been doing bikram all your life. I was able to bend farther and go deeper than I ever have. But tonight I felt like I was back to square one, as my practice today was absolute shit. My body amazes me, I have been working my quads for almost 3 weeks now and tonight was the first time they tightened up on me. On a good note, I've been able to push through the entire class lately without a break (and I'm drinking less water). Some of my postures have tremendously emproved - I can wrap my leg around in standing tree, my standing triangle is beautiful and I can bend deeper in my back bends. I seriously thought I would be this nimble, flexible, strong and defined person at the end of my 30 days and I was awakened today, that 30 days is just the beginning. I've kept off about 5 pounds but I do look leaner. I wish I could have lost more weight with it. I have more muscle definition but I would have had better results had I eaten better. I didnt go into this to lose weight but I thought for sure the pounds would melt off. not soo much. My energy has been at an all time high and I just feel lighter and healther. I need to fuel my body with good things to bring more balance into my practice.

These next 11 classes I need to set an intention of doing every posture as best as I can. I'm wasting my time if I don't push myself that extra inch. So with that intention, namaste.

I'm offically half way through my bikram challenge. I know I'm not pushing myself in these past couple classes in fear of losing my energy to complete this challenge. I need to stop that -- part of bikram practice is the ablility to go as deep as you can into the position then let it pass. Let's be real, I'm still there everyday sweating my ass off but my body is now adjusting so I need to push it harder. I've been trying to figure out how many calories one bikram yoga class burns and the median answer is around 500-700. that's insane! too bad my scale is creeping back up... i can blame that one on the chocolate chip cookies and excessive drinking. i guess it balances all the detoxifying....


"Love never fails; Character never quits; and with patience and persistence; Dreams do come true" -- Pete Maravich

I am ten days into my bikram yoga challenge and still going strong! The first three days were great, I had energy and was able to really focus and push myself during practice. Well as days 7 and 8 rolled around my energy just died and my body completely resisted. At times my body was shaking, I felt sick to my stomach and my mind was getting the best of me. I was irritated by my surroundings (men in short little speedos), my mind was drifting away from my breathing, and I was completely unfocused during class. Well, I’m hoping the seas have calmed a little because today I feel great! I like to think I’m headed up on my energy rollercoaster. I need to practice strong as I approach my two week mark; I got a double on Sunday to make up for monday's class. that will be a test!

Here’s a summary of the changes I’ve felt up to now:
- sleeping better, even though its been harder to get up in the morning (doesn’t help that my apartment is chilly and my bed is so warm)
- My strength and flexibility has increased. I can hold my position longer and go deeper into the stretch
- I feel tighter in my stomach and my legs look more toned
-My energy during the day has dramatically increased
- I’ve lost a total of 5 pounds

I have to say, I can’t beat those benefits...