Monday, May 02, 2011

day 2 of 30

One tricky part of this is working the Bikram class schedule into my schedule. If I want to do Bikram in the morning, the 5:45am class is the only one that allows me to get to work at a decent time. So this morning I went at 5:45. It was cold and dark. I doubt it will happen every day but today it did.

The class was smaller today and the room had a calmer energy. Well, my mind was definitely calmer. I was able to put my personal judgments aside and just focus on doing my best much quicker today. I got into a zone where I was simply enjoying the process of flowing through the postures. I was able to be completely in the moment. I had no worries or concerns, time was on hold, I was just there. My body felt good. My Triangle was deeper than I have ever been and for the first time, my leg was almost straight on Forehead To Knee. I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow. I feel like going again tonight but I don't want to get carried away.

Sunday, May 01, 2011

30 Days of Bikram Yoga

Every day for the next 30 days I will go to Bikram yoga. I will not miss a day. This is my personal challenge.  Why do this?

1. I haven't been able to run for 4 months because of a nagging injury/tightness in my hip, calf, and foot. Chiropractic, ART treatment, LED therapy, deep tissue massage, and all this time without running have not fixed it. I think something in my hips and back is messed up and I am hoping Bikram can help.

2. I just finished an intense 3 month build progression of swimming and lifting and need to change my routine. If running is not an option and Crossfit irritates my hip, I need to come up with something else.

3. When I have done Bikram in the past, even only going twice a week, my body felt healthy. I am very curious to see what will happen with a daily practice. Right now my muscles are tight, my back is sore, my shoulders are hunched over, and my mind is not calm. I trust in Bikram to reboot me back to a happy peaceful calm.

4. Focusing myself to a challenge of workouts that are not swim/bike/run-based makes me uncomfortable. I worry that I will lose all my fitness. The fact that I am taking a step to let the endurance come second for one month is a scary but good step forward for me.

--

Today was day 1. I joined a studio near my house that I haven't been to before (Pure Bikram) and it is a really nice place. Marsha (@princesshungry) told me about it. During the class, my mind was running on overload for the first half of class. I had trouble letting the thoughts go. I got much more in the groove during the seated postures. Overall I noticed that my shoulders are very tight (swimming??) and of course that my injured hip is much tighter than my other one. My balance is still good and my ankle flexibility is better than a few months ago. I made it through the whole class without having to stop or rest at all. That's all I wanted to do today.