Now that I'm beyond my trial membership and absolute beginner stages, I haven't felt the need to blog about yoga weekly. And you're probably all ok without reading too much about that (well, except for the fine folks at the studio, who probably feel warm and fuzzy when I blog about them, hi guys!). But then, the past few weeks at Bikram have also been a little frustrating, and being frustrated doesn't really jive well with my superhero image. After a few classes where I felt like I really "went deep" and got more into some of the postures that are most torturous for me, my body started to protest physically. My hamstrings went all tight and sore, and suddenly I was having backwards progress in any position involving such elements as "front side compression" or "head to knee" action. So even though my core and my arms have been looking awesome like I want them too and my stamina and other postures all seemed to be coming along, having to compromise and regress in several positions (and have stiff, sore damn legs) was pretty much sucking.
I've admitted to a level of vanity, but my love of eating awesome food ensure I'll never suffer from an eating disorder (other than a medically induced one). But I am definitely susceptible to overexercising in the pursuit of some physical ideal. And getting an unlimited membership for Bikram certainly makes overdoing it tempting in order to get Best Value! and best body.
BUT (I like big buts) - I've had a few lessons in dialing it back. Starting with learning to sacrifice a day of practice in order to be present for actual human relationships (as a for example: going out to lunch with Mommy Scenic is more important than making that weekend practice schedule). And for my physical well being, it turns out days off are good too. It's been easy to let Bikram replace other forms of exercise in life because the structured atmosphere is so appealing and it feels like such a kick-ass workout. But by balancing in my running and biking, either on days off or same day as practice, I felt my legs loosen up and normal out a bit. I don't know if that holds any water scientifically, since running supposed to be terrible for you, but it worked for me. And then this past week I took my biggest break ever - three whole days off - and went back more flexible and comfortable than I had been in a while.
Enough about me: enjoy some yoga humor. Hipster yoga! Star Wars Yoga! 10 characters you may encounter in yoga class! (That last one is funny cuz it's true.)
And remember I mentioned trying yoga with Gabriel - just had word his Tuesday evening open class if featuring "recession special" pricing - $10 per class. Check him out! AND Hartford City Ballet has posted some unflattering photos of yours truly (see above) on their Facebook album from the class of his that I attended, where I struggled to learn in a new style alongside human pretzel Amy, who you too can practice yoga, dance and movement with in a variety of classes.
I've admitted to a level of vanity, but my love of eating awesome food ensure I'll never suffer from an eating disorder (other than a medically induced one). But I am definitely susceptible to overexercising in the pursuit of some physical ideal. And getting an unlimited membership for Bikram certainly makes overdoing it tempting in order to get Best Value! and best body.
BUT (I like big buts) - I've had a few lessons in dialing it back. Starting with learning to sacrifice a day of practice in order to be present for actual human relationships (as a for example: going out to lunch with Mommy Scenic is more important than making that weekend practice schedule). And for my physical well being, it turns out days off are good too. It's been easy to let Bikram replace other forms of exercise in life because the structured atmosphere is so appealing and it feels like such a kick-ass workout. But by balancing in my running and biking, either on days off or same day as practice, I felt my legs loosen up and normal out a bit. I don't know if that holds any water scientifically, since running supposed to be terrible for you, but it worked for me. And then this past week I took my biggest break ever - three whole days off - and went back more flexible and comfortable than I had been in a while.
Enough about me: enjoy some yoga humor. Hipster yoga! Star Wars Yoga! 10 characters you may encounter in yoga class! (That last one is funny cuz it's true.)
And remember I mentioned trying yoga with Gabriel - just had word his Tuesday evening open class if featuring "recession special" pricing - $10 per class. Check him out! AND Hartford City Ballet has posted some unflattering photos of yours truly (see above) on their Facebook album from the class of his that I attended, where I struggled to learn in a new style alongside human pretzel Amy, who you too can practice yoga, dance and movement with in a variety of classes.
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