Rinse, Repeat

Two days and three classes under my belt!

As posted earlier, I am partaking in the 30 Day Challenge at Bikram Yoga Danvers. The rules: complete 30 classes in 30 days; you can do four "doubles" per week. I thought I'd get one out of the way early ;)

Bikram yoga is a 90 minute moving meditation. There are 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises. The yoga takes place in a room heated to 105 degrees that's what it says in the book, anyway; sometimes less, usually more) and SUPER humid. It was created by Bikram Choudhury, who brought the practice to the US from India in 1972. And it's addicting.

I have been practicing Bikram yoga for 3+ years. I go to 3 classes/week on average -- so Day 1 of the challenge wasn't a huge deal. I work from home 3 days per week, and Friday's class was at 7:30am (an hour later than the Mon-Thurs classes) - it was easy-peasy. (Of course, I'm used to getting up early so ended up putting an hour of work in before heading to the studio. I hope my boss appreciated the emails coming through at 6:30am.) Let me tell you - going to a yoga class is the best way to start the day! ...Besides going to 2.

The morning I signed up for the Challenge, the teacher asked if I'd ever done two
classes back-to-back. NOPE. I've pulled regular doubles the first time I did the 30 Day Challenge back in April 2010 (6:15am and 4:30pm) but two classes in a row? Never. My friend and fellow Bikram-addict, Melinda, and I have been throwing the idea around, however, and I had the genius idea of starting the June Challenge off with 3 hours of back-to-back yoga. That's how I ended up in the hot studio on Saturday June 2nd from 7:25am till 11:15am. Yowza...

I showed up at the studio today armed with a change of costume (Bikram-speak for "workout clothes" or "as little attire as possible to withstand the heat"), extra towels, a water bottle filled with ice that was frozen overnight, a banana, coconut water, gluten-free crackers and almond butter. Melinda and Gini (another friend and 30-Day-Challenger) were already in the hot room. I asked Melinda which class she's going to take-it-easy; she said the first one. I was thinking of actually working hard the first class and coasting through the second, but Melinda's thought that "if the first class is too hard, I won't stay" had a certain logic that I couldn't argue with.

The class - both classes - was full. Lots of Challengers! My friends and family think I'm nuts for doing this; it's reassuring that there are lots of crazy people on the Northshore. I took it pretty easy during the first class; I kept my heart rate down by controlling my breathing and realized - why don't I do this for every class? I was still going deep(ish) into the postures, sweating till I felt like I was waterboarding myself, without the breathless panic. So there's my first "a-ha!" moment of the month.

The first class went from 7:30-9. Between 9 and 9:30 I had a bite of the banana, 2 GF crackers with a little almond butter, a few sips of coconut water and, at the behest of the studio owner who tried to talk me out of the b2b double ("during teacher training, it's PUNISHMENT to do 2 classes in a row!"), a packet of powdered electrolytes to prevent dehydration. I also took a cooling shower and changed into Costume #2. Good as new! (But now a little nervous over said-owner's warning...)

At 9:30 I took my place next to Melinda (Gini had mysteriously disappeared...) in
the back row. I usually practice in the first or second row but figured I would put less stress on myself if I wasn't front-and-center. The best part of this location was the cool rush of air about 30 mins into class when the teacher opened the door. Ahhh... felt like heaven! The worst part was I couldn't see a damn thing. Well I saw the chick blocking my view of the mirror in all her tattooed glory... The first half of the class consists of lots of balancing on one leg and other contortions that I find easier not attempting blind.
Overall I felt - and 4 hours later still feel! - great. I noticed right away how much
looser I was, which made the postures easier. I wasn't fighting my own stiffness; just my own fatigue. There were a few postures during which my muscles were just like "No." The second class went by REALLY fast. I was a little thrown off by the no-mirror-view issue, the loud microphone the teacher decided to use for the first time since I've been coming to this studio and, of course, the sense of deja vu (didn't I just do this??) but walked out of there with no regrets! ...and more electrolyte-spiked water :)

Would I ever do this again? Maybe. But it's not something I'd make a regular habit of. Too time consuming!

The best part? My fiancé is in the kitchen making lasagna with homemade pasta. I think I earned it :)