My friend Julie came with me to Bikram yoga for the first time ever today. She was a trooper! Wow. She stayed in the room and made it through the Standing Series without sitting down. I know the heat wiped her out, but I think she'll be back. I was proud of her.
Two years ago, when I first tried Bikram, I still had a child at home. I liked the yoga itself, but couldn't feature paying a babysitter for three hours a day while I went to a yoga class. I figured I'd do what I'd always done: pop in a yoga DVD, roll my mat out in my room, and do yoga by myself.
But now that everyone is conveniently in school and I've been going to the studio nearly every day for more than two months, one of the things that I treasure is the community. I know a lot of other students by name: Eva (check out her yoga blog!), Megan, Dana, Rainy, Ebonee, Cheryl, Philip, Jamie, Brown, Mitra, Corinne, and others. There are others I know by sight: Hawaii Towel Guy, Awesome Afro Lady, Bellagio Water Bottle Gal, and others.
I don't know them all that well, although we chat a bit before and after class. But I feel a bond with them, because every day, we're there together doing something hard. It's like being soldiers in the trenches (but of course on a much smaller scale); the challenge of something so physically, emotionally, and mentally demanding unites us, and I get a huge charge out of that.
And that charge--that sense of community--will keep me coming back, long after the challenge is over.
Showing posts with label Eva. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eva. Show all posts
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Day 46 -- Energy
Today I got to go to class with my inspiration, my brother-in-law Bruce. He was in town to visit, so off we went to the yoga studio.
There was a great energy in the room, and it was fun to be there with a friend who is so much more advanced than I am. Bruce has made tremendous progress in the past five years; it was awesome to see out of the corner of my eye. Eva was there, too, and she's just created her own Personal Best Challenge for the next six weeks.
(Eva! I need to know where you're blogging about your yoga experience. I haven't been able to find it, and I want to link to it.)
All in all, it was a great class I'm trying to find ease in every posture, even as I work as hard as I can. It's all starting to feel like second nature, when the whole Bikram experience used to feel so foreign. But the energy of the room, the teachers, and the community as a whole are making the studio seem more and more like a home away from home.
There was a great energy in the room, and it was fun to be there with a friend who is so much more advanced than I am. Bruce has made tremendous progress in the past five years; it was awesome to see out of the corner of my eye. Eva was there, too, and she's just created her own Personal Best Challenge for the next six weeks.
(Eva! I need to know where you're blogging about your yoga experience. I haven't been able to find it, and I want to link to it.)
All in all, it was a great class I'm trying to find ease in every posture, even as I work as hard as I can. It's all starting to feel like second nature, when the whole Bikram experience used to feel so foreign. But the energy of the room, the teachers, and the community as a whole are making the studio seem more and more like a home away from home.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Day 39 -- Back-to-Back
Today was a double day--and this time, I did the classes one after the other. I was nervous about this; I started preparing yesterday by making sure I had plenty of electrolytes.
Val's 9am class was first, and it wasn't my easiest. The good part was that Eva was there and had made so much progress that spontaneous applause and hoots of encouragement broke out. Go, Eva!
But I had a hard time focusing, and at one point felt so tired that I had no idea HOW in the world I'd ever get through another entire class, let alone the one I was in. But I forced that fear out of my mind and worked even harder on being in the moment.
After class, I sat in the foyer with a couple of friends I've made, drank my first Vitamin Water, and just rested in the blessed cool air. By the time it was time to go in for Miranda's 11am class, I felt a bit restored.
Half Moon was tough; my neck was just plain fatigued. But then, somewhere in the middle of the standing series, it stopped being quite so hard. A wave of calm washed over me, and I got some kind of second wind. I finished the rest of the class with serenity. And that second Vitamin Water went down pretty smoothly.
When I got home, I felt great mood-wise, but I'm not gonna lie. My thighs felt like two slabs of meat. (Just now, though, Patrick rubbed a bunch of eucalyptus basil stress relief cream into them, and they feel as good as new.) Before all the after school routine started, I was able to snatch a 30-minute nap after making and drinking more of my homemade electrolyte drink, and the rest of the day went just fine.
I'll do another back-to-back double on Friday, circumstances permitting. Now that I've done it once, I won't have the anxiety of the unknown. I can finish this challenge!
Val's 9am class was first, and it wasn't my easiest. The good part was that Eva was there and had made so much progress that spontaneous applause and hoots of encouragement broke out. Go, Eva!
But I had a hard time focusing, and at one point felt so tired that I had no idea HOW in the world I'd ever get through another entire class, let alone the one I was in. But I forced that fear out of my mind and worked even harder on being in the moment.
After class, I sat in the foyer with a couple of friends I've made, drank my first Vitamin Water, and just rested in the blessed cool air. By the time it was time to go in for Miranda's 11am class, I felt a bit restored.
Half Moon was tough; my neck was just plain fatigued. But then, somewhere in the middle of the standing series, it stopped being quite so hard. A wave of calm washed over me, and I got some kind of second wind. I finished the rest of the class with serenity. And that second Vitamin Water went down pretty smoothly.
When I got home, I felt great mood-wise, but I'm not gonna lie. My thighs felt like two slabs of meat. (Just now, though, Patrick rubbed a bunch of eucalyptus basil stress relief cream into them, and they feel as good as new.) Before all the after school routine started, I was able to snatch a 30-minute nap after making and drinking more of my homemade electrolyte drink, and the rest of the day went just fine.
I'll do another back-to-back double on Friday, circumstances permitting. Now that I've done it once, I won't have the anxiety of the unknown. I can finish this challenge!
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Day 32 -- Waves
I just finished class #30! I'm halfway through the Sixty-Day Challenge. Cue the Bon Jovi.
Changes I've noticed so far:
* I have a lot less tension in my shoulders and neck.
* I've experienced much less "mental fog," depression, and anxiety.
* I've lost many inches, including 5.5 at my waist and 2 at my hips. (FIVE POINT FIVE!)
* I've lost four pounds.
That's pretty significant, if you ask me.
But I was dragging this morning after yesterday's double. I might have skipped yoga today, but the thought of adding ANOTHER double--when I still have two more to go--to my calendar persuaded me that I could gut it out and go. I wasn't feeling sorry for myself--not quite--but my enthusiasm was low.
And then I walked into class and saw Eva.
Eva started doing Bikram at about the same time I did--about six weeks ago. Eva is severely disabled with Cerebral Palsy and comes to class with her aide, Megan. She does the standing series in her wheelchair, and then gets on the floor with the rest of us for the second half of class. Val led class today and remarked several times on how much progress Eva has made in the past six weeks through hard work and sheer grit. She. Is. Awesome. If Eva can strengthen her mind and body through Bikram's yoga, so can I. She has no idea how she's affected me for the better. (But I did ask her permission to write about her today.)
We all affect each other, for good or for ill. When you're in a very hot, humid room with fifty other students and focusing on stillness, you notice the slightest movement of the people around you because of the motion of the air. When the class releases upheld arms after Half Moon, or turns as one in the full expression of Triangle, it makes a very slight breeze that you can miss if you're not paying attention. I've written before about the waves of blessedly cool air that come into the classroom as people leave, but this is much more subtle. Today I noticed when the woman next to me got up for a minute to get a tissue. The wake of her passing by felt good on my sweaty skin.
Basic physics tells me that we're all making these waves in the air as we move around all the time. We affect one another, even when we don't realize it. But I do want to realize it; I want to be more aware both of the waves of influence that wash over me and those I cause for others. We're all connected, I feel, but we'll miss those waves and connections--unless we're very still.
Changes I've noticed so far:
* I have a lot less tension in my shoulders and neck.
* I've experienced much less "mental fog," depression, and anxiety.
* I've lost many inches, including 5.5 at my waist and 2 at my hips. (FIVE POINT FIVE!)
* I've lost four pounds.
That's pretty significant, if you ask me.
But I was dragging this morning after yesterday's double. I might have skipped yoga today, but the thought of adding ANOTHER double--when I still have two more to go--to my calendar persuaded me that I could gut it out and go. I wasn't feeling sorry for myself--not quite--but my enthusiasm was low.
And then I walked into class and saw Eva.
Eva started doing Bikram at about the same time I did--about six weeks ago. Eva is severely disabled with Cerebral Palsy and comes to class with her aide, Megan. She does the standing series in her wheelchair, and then gets on the floor with the rest of us for the second half of class. Val led class today and remarked several times on how much progress Eva has made in the past six weeks through hard work and sheer grit. She. Is. Awesome. If Eva can strengthen her mind and body through Bikram's yoga, so can I. She has no idea how she's affected me for the better. (But I did ask her permission to write about her today.)
We all affect each other, for good or for ill. When you're in a very hot, humid room with fifty other students and focusing on stillness, you notice the slightest movement of the people around you because of the motion of the air. When the class releases upheld arms after Half Moon, or turns as one in the full expression of Triangle, it makes a very slight breeze that you can miss if you're not paying attention. I've written before about the waves of blessedly cool air that come into the classroom as people leave, but this is much more subtle. Today I noticed when the woman next to me got up for a minute to get a tissue. The wake of her passing by felt good on my sweaty skin.
Basic physics tells me that we're all making these waves in the air as we move around all the time. We affect one another, even when we don't realize it. But I do want to realize it; I want to be more aware both of the waves of influence that wash over me and those I cause for others. We're all connected, I feel, but we'll miss those waves and connections--unless we're very still.
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