I was having dinner with a friend of mine last night when the subject inevitably turned to "Why are you doing 30 days of Yoga?" Apparently even my friends are not reading my daily blog. So I figure that today, on Day 24, is a good a day as any to address that subject again.
Obviously, or maybe not so to you, I am not doing this Challenge as a physical thing. I teach classes 6 days a week. 25 classes a week to be exact. I'm a runner as well, although I have had to put that aside for the duration of this Challenge. I don't need or really want to do more "exercising". I am not trying to promote Bikram Yoga. I do believe that it is not a practice for everyone. You have to do the research and find a Yoga that speaks to who are individually.
From an exercise physiology perspective, I have some major issues with some of their verbiage. Every time an instructor says "lock your knees," I cringe. Locking's one knees is an invitation to ongoing knees issues and hamstring issues. I think that what they really mean is to engage your quads and inner thighs but Bikram dialogue doesn't really explain that. Another major pet peeve is "go beyond your flexibility. Push. Push. Push." This is ridiculous as well as dangerous. In a 105 degree room, you will automatically be more flexible than you should be and should never, ever, go beyond your flexibility. If anything, especially for newer practitioners, a little conservatism is called for.
Those things aside, I find it to be a good practice for me. I have been practicing on and off since 2004 and have been an athlete most of my life, so doing 30 days of daily yoga is something that my body can handle. I also did The Challenge in '04 so this is my second time around as I mentioned in my Day 1 blog.. I do not recommend that anyone without the proper foundation and yoga base should attempt a 30 Day Challenge.
So back to what my friend asked me. "Why?" The why can be found in my daily blogs over the last 24 days in detail. But in a nutshell, I'm doing this as a way to connect to my inner self and spirituality. A way to deepen my own Yoga practice. A way to take care of myself and my body on a daily basis. After the Challenge is over, I will go to a practice of 3-4 classes a week.
My point really is this. This 30 Day Challenge is about me and nothing else. It is my hope that in my daily blog posts, you will find something that is useful to you. You don't need to do Yoga or anything daily. Hopefully, you will see the larger picture of what I'm doing. Connection to self and to whom we really are is paramount. Whatever avenue you choose to maintain that connection is up to you.
That wraps it upon Day 24 on the mat. Looking forward to Day 25!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Bikram Yoga 30 Day Challenge--Day 23: Saturday, 12/10/11
Day 23 and not much to report. Another great class. Seems my body knows what to do. My mind is always more relaxed on my day off and so it was tonight. I'm also now in the final few days of The Challenge. One week to go. My hamstrings are a little tight. Doing Yoga everyday will do that to you. My back though is the most open it has been in years. Had an amazing dinner at Cafe Blossom after class. Their vegan chocolate cake is to die for. Final week...here I come!!!
Bikram Yoga 30 Day Challenge--Day 22: Friday, 12/9/11
One of my favorite things about Yoga is that it is such a community. You end up meeting the nicest people in a Yoga class. Whether it is at Jivamukti, Sonic Yoga or Bikram Yoga, the positive, infectious energy abounds.
Day 22 today and I have met some truly amazing people. I am drawn to their stories of how long they have been practicing yoga and how it has changed their lives. Our common bond of 90 minutes in a super hot room is literally and figuratively a melting pot. The conversations after class in the locker rooms are indeed priceless. It's one of my favorite parts of my new ritual.
This day comes and goes with ease. My enjoyment of the class, and the energy that surrounds me during class and after class. I soak it up and realize that it's always been there all along. It's always been there all along!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Bikram Yoga 30 Day Challenge--Day 21: Thursday, 12/8/11
I've been thinking about this all week. The concept of Yin Yang. Not so much the Western definition of Yin and Yang. But the traditional Taoist philosophy. One of the definitions I like of Yin Yang defines the principle as "complementary opposites that interact within a greater whole, as part of a dynamic system." For example, you cannot have the back of a hand without the front.
21 days in a Bikram Yoga room and I am struck by the complimentary opposite of Yoga practice. They say that everything has both Yin and Yang aspects. Light cannot exist without darkness. Pleasure cannot exist without pain. Enlightenment cannot exist without suffering. The more time I spend on the Yoga mat, I'm beginning to see that when I hit a "peak" in my practice that the natural order is for there to be the necessary "valley".
A few days in the valley though leads me to another peak tonight on Day 21. This day is made sweeter by the hours of sweat I have put in on the mat. I am learning so much about myself with each passing class that it's almost too much to articulate. It is a bit overwhelming.
Struggle does lead to progress and the progress feels awesome tonight. There is no better feeling in the world that knowing that you are aligned with who you really are. In the hot room on this particular night, it is as good as it gets. 21 days of highs and lows that produce this day of calmness and beauty. The real progress though is the recognition that the days this week when I was struggling were equally as beautiful. Because both Yin and Yang are equal. Understanding that makes it so much easier.
21 days in a Bikram Yoga room and I am struck by the complimentary opposite of Yoga practice. They say that everything has both Yin and Yang aspects. Light cannot exist without darkness. Pleasure cannot exist without pain. Enlightenment cannot exist without suffering. The more time I spend on the Yoga mat, I'm beginning to see that when I hit a "peak" in my practice that the natural order is for there to be the necessary "valley".
A few days in the valley though leads me to another peak tonight on Day 21. This day is made sweeter by the hours of sweat I have put in on the mat. I am learning so much about myself with each passing class that it's almost too much to articulate. It is a bit overwhelming.
Struggle does lead to progress and the progress feels awesome tonight. There is no better feeling in the world that knowing that you are aligned with who you really are. In the hot room on this particular night, it is as good as it gets. 21 days of highs and lows that produce this day of calmness and beauty. The real progress though is the recognition that the days this week when I was struggling were equally as beautiful. Because both Yin and Yang are equal. Understanding that makes it so much easier.
Bikram Yoga 30 Day Challenge--Day 20: Wednesday, 12/7/11
Expectations can be a tricky thing. So on Day 20, I am so exhausted from another full day of teaching my own classes...the Bikram Yoga studio is probably the last place I want to be. My last class has just ended. It's 8:30pm. The torrential downpour that's happening outside is not making this any easier. But oddly, I'm looking forward to the 9:45pm class. This is definitely a case of mind over body.
I decide that the only way I am going to be able to have a productive class is to have no expectations. To take it as it comes. I also decide that I need to operate from a place of least effort. To be so relaxed in the poses, that it requires me to practice with as much energy conservation as possible. The first 10 minutes of class are brutal. I have nothing to give physically. I'm tired. I'm tired. I'm tired!!!
But then my body starts to come alive. It is so used to the daily practice that habitually it knows what to do and where to go. I also don't have as many thoughts about anything tonight. I'm too tired to analyze which is turning out to be a good thing. I just go with the flow: a lesson I really could use in my own life.
I feel 100% better at the end of class. Somehow I've squeezed out day 20 managing my expectations on the mat. Way harder to manage my expectations off the mat but working on that one day at a time...
I decide that the only way I am going to be able to have a productive class is to have no expectations. To take it as it comes. I also decide that I need to operate from a place of least effort. To be so relaxed in the poses, that it requires me to practice with as much energy conservation as possible. The first 10 minutes of class are brutal. I have nothing to give physically. I'm tired. I'm tired. I'm tired!!!
But then my body starts to come alive. It is so used to the daily practice that habitually it knows what to do and where to go. I also don't have as many thoughts about anything tonight. I'm too tired to analyze which is turning out to be a good thing. I just go with the flow: a lesson I really could use in my own life.
I feel 100% better at the end of class. Somehow I've squeezed out day 20 managing my expectations on the mat. Way harder to manage my expectations off the mat but working on that one day at a time...
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Bikram Yoga 30 Day Challenge--Day 19: Tuesday, 12/6/11
Aaaah! Finally home. Taught 8 classes. Squeezed the yoga in. Exhausted!!! Quick Blog today y'all. After 3 amazing days... back to the struggle of the hot room today. Not a great class for me tonight but a really good one. I will take that on Day 19! I'm super thrilled to have made it happen today and looking forward to just relaxing for a quick minute with a well earned glass of wine and a quick dinner. Some days The Challenge is just to show up and put in the work. My body is definitely saying "Thank You" right now. Thank You for taking care of me tonight. Namaste....
Monday, December 5, 2011
Bikram Yoga 30 Day Challenge--Day 18: Monday, 12/5/11
I have to admit that I've never really understood why many of my super packed classes make people anxious. What's the big deal? Until it happens to me. Tonight's 7:30pm Bikram Yoga class on Day 18 of The Challenge. My original plan was to go to the 2pm class but decided against that as I had just given every last ounce of energy in my 12:30pm Cycling class and needed an afternoon break before the yoga. In all honesty, teaching packed classes works for me. Lots of energy. I LOVE a packed class!
In a Bikram Yoga situation...not so much. Sweaty people TOOCLOSETOME is making me very anxious. But then I remember that I have a game plan tonight. There are many things I can't control and this would be another one of them. I am going to get back to my original mindset and use this opportunity to be super focused and disciplined in my practice tonight. As close to zero distractions as I can with minimal wiping, water breaks, fixing my mat. Whatever. Tonight is the time to practice self control. What better way to do that than in a room full of sweaty people packed together like sardines?
And so class begins and I let nothing distract me from my focus on me, the breath, the instructor and the practice. For the first time ever, I only take one water break during the first hour of class. In the interest of full disclosure, I have done what I should today. I have properly hydrated all day long which cuts down the need for the extra water. But more importantly, I decide that I am not going to use the water as a way to disconnect from the practice. I do not fidget. I do not fix my mat even though it's wrinkling and it's kind of driving my idea of order crazy. I simply let it go.
Everything is working for me and then we're on the ground for the floor sequence which is the last 30 minutes of the 90 minute class. Suddenly the girl to my right who is THISCLOSETOME keeps looking the wrong way and directly at me. She's driving me crazeee! After a mini internal meltdown, I ignore her and realize that
I need to get back to myself and my practice. And back I am. I finish class feeling the best ever!!!!
The instructor Georgia and I are talking after class. She points out to me that packed classes are actually better for your yoga practice because it teaches you focus. She says that when there are so many people in a class, it cuts down on one's need to look around and become easily distracted. You have to limit your field of vision. This is why I LOVE LOVE LOVE Georgia! Right she is!
It is in fact easier to focus internally when we are forced into a scenario where we have no choice. More importantly, however, is that it teaches me that when there's chaos in my real world I need to do the same! Focus. Internalize. Connect To Self and Breath. It doesn't make me want to go back to a super crowded class anytime soon. But now I need to see if I can bring that same level of focus and discipline to my next class. Stay tuned!
In a Bikram Yoga situation...not so much. Sweaty people TOOCLOSETOME is making me very anxious. But then I remember that I have a game plan tonight. There are many things I can't control and this would be another one of them. I am going to get back to my original mindset and use this opportunity to be super focused and disciplined in my practice tonight. As close to zero distractions as I can with minimal wiping, water breaks, fixing my mat. Whatever. Tonight is the time to practice self control. What better way to do that than in a room full of sweaty people packed together like sardines?
And so class begins and I let nothing distract me from my focus on me, the breath, the instructor and the practice. For the first time ever, I only take one water break during the first hour of class. In the interest of full disclosure, I have done what I should today. I have properly hydrated all day long which cuts down the need for the extra water. But more importantly, I decide that I am not going to use the water as a way to disconnect from the practice. I do not fidget. I do not fix my mat even though it's wrinkling and it's kind of driving my idea of order crazy. I simply let it go.
Everything is working for me and then we're on the ground for the floor sequence which is the last 30 minutes of the 90 minute class. Suddenly the girl to my right who is THISCLOSETOME keeps looking the wrong way and directly at me. She's driving me crazeee! After a mini internal meltdown, I ignore her and realize that
I need to get back to myself and my practice. And back I am. I finish class feeling the best ever!!!!
The instructor Georgia and I are talking after class. She points out to me that packed classes are actually better for your yoga practice because it teaches you focus. She says that when there are so many people in a class, it cuts down on one's need to look around and become easily distracted. You have to limit your field of vision. This is why I LOVE LOVE LOVE Georgia! Right she is!
It is in fact easier to focus internally when we are forced into a scenario where we have no choice. More importantly, however, is that it teaches me that when there's chaos in my real world I need to do the same! Focus. Internalize. Connect To Self and Breath. It doesn't make me want to go back to a super crowded class anytime soon. But now I need to see if I can bring that same level of focus and discipline to my next class. Stay tuned!
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