Days 12-16; The Tuesday Curse Continues

After a day of recuperating from a double on Wednesday including the advanced class, I was eager to get back in the hot room on Friday. It was not a really noteworthy class in any way, but nonetheless it was a good way to round out the week. I did feel that the front sides of my hips felt like they had opened up a bit from the advanced class and I was able to get a little deeper in both standing bow and floor bow. Saturday's noon class was number 13 and it was a relatively cool and calm class. I guess when I'm used to practicing at 6:30 on weekdays anything else seems less crowded by comparison. Except that 9:45 classes on Sunday are usually wicked crowded... evidently Bikram yogis are not a church going crowd.

I didn't go to class on Sunday as I had been out with friends on Saturday, and a good friend was only in town for the day on Sunday. I figured that with my relaxed work schedule for Monday and Tuesday would allow time for a double so I wasn't too concerned. I went to a 4:30 class on Monday and I was in the zone and felt amazing. I had also bought a few huge cartons of Zico coconut water at Whole Foods over the weekend that were $3 each (as compared to the tiny cartons of an inferior brand of coconut water that they sell at the studio for $3.50) and that has been a good after class treat. I was in a state of total euphoria as I left, and couldn't help but think how lucky I am that I stumbled upon a habit that I enjoy so much and keeps me healthy.

Today, Tuesday the 8th, I had off from work for election day so I decided to make up for my slacking Sunday and rock out a double. More like, rock out the first class and barely survive the second class. I really enjoyed practicing at 9:45! There was more of an older crowd with a calm energy as opposed to the energetic young professionals/ college students that tend to frequent the later classes. Plus, it was taught by my favorite teacher who has a contagious positive vibe. After showering, eating a healthy lunch, finishing my paperwork, hydrating a lot, and voting I thought I was ready for class again at 4:30. It was one of those sweltering hot classes that had me drenched in sweat by the second posture. I felt extremely flexible at first so I went really deep into the postures. I'm proud of how my body held out during the standing series, but after savasana I my body decided that it had enough yoga for the day. I kept control of my breathing but fell under the same Tuesday curse of overheating to the point where I lost feeling in my finger tips and toes, so I took it easy and only did selected postures.

As always, I felt amazing after class even if it was a challenging experience. So far I have really enjoyed the motivation that a 101 day challenge has given me. They say that the first 30 days of a challenge are all about physically adjusting to the regular yoga and the next 30 are about mental adjustment. I can feel parts of my spine tweaking and moving around, so hopefully that's realigning things as they should be. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night with a pretty dull ache in my lower back. My ankles have been cracking nonstop and I have had a little bit of odd soreness in my wrists and elbows. As they say with Bikram yoga, you just have to "trust the process". So far it seems to be working out. I've lost 5.5 lbs already without changing my diet at all, I've had absolutely no trouble falling asleep, and I actually feel more energized throughout the day. Can't wait to see what the next 85 days bring!