I attended the 6:30 class this evening. It was HOT!
The class was beyond full. Had the same instructor as last night and I still don't know his name. Whoever he is, he's great.
It was an intense session. I worked really hard. All that deep stretching leaves me sore when I wake up in the morning, though. I think tomorrow might be a kinder gentler day - if I can remember. I get so involved and inspired that I really push myself and then at the end, when I sit up from the last shavasana, I'm dizzy and can barely pull myself together.
I have to take my glasses off for some of the poses because they get in the way. The instructor almost stepped on them tonight as he was walking around the class. I heard his toe pop as he realized what he was doing. I hope his foot is OK. He checked with me after class to make sure he hadn't bent them. Nice guy.
I found myself thinking ahead a couple of times tonight. It's much better if I just stay in the moment and deal with what's going on right now (or "in the now" as they say). Thinking ahead makes the class a tiny bit torturous. Staying in the moment is much better. For both the body & the mind.
There were a few people who were clearly over-heated tonight. The instructor talked about mind over matter and how a yogi can walk on hot coals simply by telling himself that they are cold as ice. I spent about the last third of the class, during shavasana, repeating "my body is cool, my blood is cool" in my mind, over and over, and it really helped.
Another thing I'm working on is calming my breathing. You should be able to go through all the poses with the same calm breathing. I am still sucking air on some of the more intense ones. It's not easy. As Shaun says, if you come to class and it's easy something is wrong.
There is something else that has happened to me in the last three days. Somehow, I am attracting people who want to talk to me. I've had great conversations. On the bus with a Korean woman who's learning English (her English was a good as mine). With an older gentleman in front of the Castro Theater (he invited me to the movie with him. Too bad I had to go to work). With the female bus driver on the way home tonight (we talked about eating healthy and exercise).
This is definitely a shift. I have no idea what has brought it on. Is it the yoga? Is it the meditation? Is it just that I'm more present so I seem approachable? Or are people suddenly just friendlier? Whatever it is, it's fun. I like it.
I came home and ate a bowl of steamed carrots with parsley and butter (yum) and then ate a half of a tuna fish sandwich. I was hungry. Actually, I was hungry before class. My lunch salad didn't stay with me through the afternoon and I didn't think I should eat anything. Might need to figure out a way to drink some nutrition late in the afternoon. . .
Tomorrow is day 16. Wow.
I like reading these
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