Hot Yoga!

I bought 20 sessions of Birkram Yoga at Birkram Yoga Seacliff from Groupon for $20. What a deal!

If you don't know Groupon, you should check it out and sign up. It's a great way to get deep discounts on fun experiences around The City! I've purchased manicure/pedicures, belly dance classes, restaurant discounts and more.

Back to the Yoga. I decided, after reading the info on the Birkram Yoga Seacliff site, to do the 20 classes basically in a row. I am going to take next Sunday off to participate in the Bay to Breakers run. I think a seven mile run and 90 minutes of yoga would be a bit much. Besides, I want to hang out in my Sustainability Girl super hero costume as long as possible! I am leaving myself the possibility of two other days off, so, when I'm finished, I will have completed 20 yoga sessions in 23 days.

Here goes. . .

Day 1
I arrived way too early to the center this morning. I knew there would be paperwork and I wanted to have plenty of time to ask questions if I had any. One never knows what traffic is going to be like, but at 6:55 a.m. it was an easy drive from the Outer Sunset to Seacliff. The class started at 7:45 a.m. and I was set to go by 7:15. The woman at the desk (who's name I don't remember, although it started with a T and was sort of like mine. Tanya? Tamaya? - I hate it that I can't remember names!) was eating a banana when I walked in. She was friendly and helpful and Real, which I appreciate.

The space is comfortable and appealing. There are benches and a fountain in the front, cubby holes in the hallway to hold belongings and restrooms in the back. It is all clean. The restroom/dressing room area is good-sized and has a shower (yea!). I didn't know if there would be a shower and my plan was to bathe in the sink at work, if not, so I was thrilled to see that there was one.

After I was all signed in and oriented, I sat and flipped through a magazine which had an interesting article about the fight against CODEX. If you don't know about Codex Alimentarius, inform yourself. If you want to continue to have real food and real supplements in the future, you will want to pay attention to the madness that is Codex.

Soon people with yoga mats started showing up. After three or four people went into the back, I went back and took my shoes and socks off, stuffed my bag into a cubby hole and sat on a bench outside the room. I had a great conversation with a woman who also had purchased 20 sessions. She was on day 12 and said that she loved it and was totally hooked. She encouraged me to come back tomorrow no matter how I felt after class. I told her that was my plan.

When I entered the room, it reminded me of a sauna. A wall of warm air hit me and I had to adjust my breathing a little to accommodate the heat. It is supposed to be 105 degrees and I'm pretty sure it was over 100 at that point. The room was dimly lit. I threw my mat out in what I hoped was the back of the room (opposite the mirrored wall) and watched others put their towel on top of their mat and lay down. I followed suit.

As it turned out, the instructor was the same person who helped me at the counter. She was great. She encouraged me and praised me when I managed to do a pose fully. It was not easy. There are a lot of balancing poses and my balance sucks. Especially early in the day. I learned some new poses and really enjoyed being in the heat for about the 1st hour of class.

Right before we moved to floor work I started to get light-headed. I drank a bunch of water and kept going. I finished the class feeling light headed and a bit dizzy. I moved out of the room and into the dressing area slowly, got the avocado I brought out of my bag and ate a few bites of it.

When I got out of the shower and looked in the mirror my face was bright red! Yikes! I dressed and mashed the rest of the avocado between two pieces of bread. Wished I had some salt. They even have a blow dryer which means I ended up looking a lot better than I thought I would today. That makes me happy. Off to the bus. Arrived at work later than I wanted. Will probably have to do the afternoon class tomorrow. Showing up at 10 all week isn't going to fly.

10:00 - I wouldn't call this state light-headed. It's more like head-stuffed-with-cotton. Feels weird. I'm sure it will pass. Drinking lots of water. Have finished my 1st 32 ounces and refilled already.

12:04 - Must Eat Now. I'm starving. It's pouring rain outside and I get to go down the block to the cash machine before I can go next door and buy lunch. We have a fabulous cafe next door that has all kinds of fresh veggie salads all the time. Head is starting to ache a little. I'm taking a Tylenol. Not a good idea to let it go, as I could end up with a migraine. . .

12:30 - Lunch is served - Salmon Salad  "Protein good" and a banana. I read on the Birkram site that light-headedness and nausea is caused by lack of potassium and salt. I sprinkled sea salt on my salad, wolfed it down and then ate the banana. Felt better in about 10 minutes. Amazing.

2:30 - Fading. Could literally put my head on my desk and sleep. Am going to have a cup of green tea instead. Co-worker is going next door to get a snack. I go with her and end up eating a piece of honey cake. This is one of my favorite treats and it instantly gives me a sugar high. Not a good idea. Feel nauseous. Blah.

3:19 - Head is starting to ache a little. Feeling rather tired. Think I'll take an aspirin and a multi-vitamin and see how that is. Funny how the headache goes away so quickly when I take a pain killer. I get that that's what they are for, but wow. Thought the green tea would help (caffeine) but it didn't really. Tasted good, though.

3:30 - Feeling rather normal now. Finally. I've consumed 64 ounces of water. . . think I'll back off on the water a little at this point.

7:24 - Ran errands after work. Stopped at Nirvana for lettuce wraps and a pink cucumber. Didn't need the alcohol or the cookie from Hot Cookie for dessert, but they were good! Probably a better food day tomorrow.

Overall - made it through. Didn't fall asleep at my desk. Feel great right now. Will probably sleep well. Ready to hit it again in the morning. . . one drawback - There are going to be a lot of dirty towels and clothes. Even though I hung my shorts & bra top on the back of my door all day at work, they were still soggy. Gross.

I am not the least bit sore and I'm darned happy about it. This is good.