Day 10 of 20 Days of Hot Yoga!

Wow. Half way through my 20 days already. . .

This morning my lower back was pretty sore from volunteering at an event last night. We carried a lot of stuff and some of it was heavy. It made doing the poses just that much more difficult. Even getting into shavasana hurt.

Please Note - my lower back pain today had nothing to do with the yoga class and everything to do with the fact that my lower back is not as strong as it's going to be and I schlepped a lot of stuff around last night. And, it actually feels much better tonight, having done the yoga class this morning. 

I have to say that, being half way done, I'm a bit disappointed by my progress. . . it's my lack of balance that bothers me the most. It's slightly better, but still pretty pathetic.

I wonder how malleable my body really is.

At 47, can I really become flexible enough to do this?:

Can I get strong enough to do this?:

Can I actually get centered and catch my balance long enough to do this?:

You'll notice that his hips are level. When this is done correctly, it simply defies gravity. He should tip over - like I do.

I have a feeling that it's going to take a lot more than 20 sessions to get where I want to go. . .

There is some weird correlation between eating after class and suddenly feeling a deep desire to go to sleep. I drop into a food coma. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat. I haven't tried just fruit. I may try that over the weekend. Maybe I'm eating too much. I am really hungry by the time I get to eat. I need to figure this one out. I don't think it's going to fly at work for me to close my door and crash on the floor for 30 minutes every day. . .

I'm tired tonight. I'll sleep well and tomorrow will be another yoga day. Every morning I hear someone different say "my practice is different every day". So is mine. Sometimes slightly disappointing, sometimes fabulous.

Here are the benefits I am seeing so far:

Better flexibility.

A sense of calm. 

Consciousness and the ability to stay in the moment longer.

Increased ability to listen.

Increased strength and muscle awareness.

And, yes. I've lost some weight. Three or four pounds, which is great.

I do like having a regular yoga practice. It feels really good and like an accomplishment every day. 

Is it worth the time and effort? Absolutely! Can't wait to see what the next 10 days bring. 

Day 3! Hot Yoga in San Francisco!

Hot Yoga!  - Day 3!

Tonight I am going to bed earlier. It's hard to wake up at 6. I am dreaming when the alarm goes off and it's all I can do to keep my eyes open. I literally hit the snooze and woke up from a dream again five minutes later. I either need to go to bed earlier or wake up a little later.

Made it to class a bit early. It felt really good to go into the warm room and lay down on my towel-covered mat. I love to be warm. As those closest to me know, I prefer heat to cold. I am often referred to as being "like a lizard". I need a heat source (a warm rock or direct sunlight both work) in order to be warm.

Today's instructor was male. He didn't tell us his name. Today's session was like yoga boot camp, so we'll just call him Sarge. I'm not complaining. I really pushed myself (and he pushed us all) this morning and it felt great. My balance is still crap, but Sarge offered a bit of advice that worked. If I concentrate on my straight leg being planted like a lamp post - literally meditate on it and look at it in the mirror, I can catch a moment of stillness and it's if time stops, and I feel my body in the pose, and I hear the encouragement, and I go deeper. It's very sensuous when it works. And then I fall out and stumble around.

Sarge kept saying that we were playing it safe and to push ourselves and that our minds were holding us back. So, during tree pose, I did more of the pose than before. Yesterday I watched as people leaned forward, put their fingers on the floor and then sat, bringing their hands to prayer position. I thought "That looks Painful". I did it today, except for the last balancing act, because Sarge was saying that none of us were taking chances, and it was a hell of a lot easier than standing there trying to balance and keep my opposite foot stuck to the front of my leg! I'll be doing that pose more completely again tomorrow.

Another cool thing that happened - during bow pose, I actually felt my hip bones against the floor. Improvement.

I was a little cotton-headed after class. I made a half of an avocado sandwich at the bus stop and ate it while I waited for the bus. Wished I had salt. Made it to work 5 minutes later than I would have liked to. Made and ate another half sandwich with salt. Yummy.

11:04 - Definitely a headache coming on. I've consumed 32 ounces of water so far today. Taking a Tylenol - with more water. Maybe the Heed isn't the answer. Maybe I was just being a wimp yesterday.

12:00 - Not starving today, but hungry. Brown rice salad and a banana. Tasty and no processed sugar!

12:40 - Tired. Could literally lay down on the floor and go to sleep. . . hopefully green tea will help.

1:20 - Green tea helped a tiny bit. . .

4:30 - Went to a meeting at 3:00 - about 3:15 I could feel my face was flushed. It stayed hot the whole meeting and when I went and looked in the mirror, sure enough, it was red. Not terribly red, but red like a mild sunburn. Interesting. Not very pretty, but interesting.

Left work on time. Mr. Green took me out to the Kabuki for a glass of wine and a bowl of shared crab ramen. Yum.  Still thinking that I should go to bed earlier. Or maybe I just need to get up earlier. . .

The yoga was great this morning. I am a little sore. My shoulder muscles are sore if I push on them (so don't push on them) and I can feel my thighs and mid-back.

I'm surprised by how hard I can work in the moment and how not-sore I am later in the day. The body has an amazing ability to recover. So, tomorrow, as Sarge says, No Fear!

Definitely going again in the morning.