serendipity

 

The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.  

Let's just say that this week has been full of surprises.  Ups, downs, knowing what to do and finally doing the right thing.  I won't get into too many details, but this has been a breakthrough week.  Not really in yoga but because of the yoga (and through lots of prayer).  Funny how life works.

My challenge has suffered somewhat because of glitches in my personal schedule and I've missed a handful of days at my challenge.  Will I make them up?  Do a week's worth of doubles?  Um, probably not - (well, maybe) but my NEW goal on this 60 day challenge is to keep going no matter what the setbacks may have in store for me.  Yes, I still have my calendar on the wall with happy face stickers, and it will be filled up with stickers in probably under 70 days.  Maybe less.

I thought about just abandoning the challenge altogether but that's no fun and I've already done one challenge that I got to 56 days and said "forget it"  - I was just too burned out.  Hey, it happens.  But, this was a good decision for me to just keep going no matter what.  

Having some time off from the yoga - 3 days in a row- during my challenge was like starting all over, though.  I had made progress in my most difficult postures up to that point and now I'm back to square one.  Square one dealing with the heat,  making up my mind to go to class, and feeling like a beginner once again.  I'll get it back, though - new challenges arise daily.  For those who care, my Triangle pose still sucks.  

Standing Bow Pulling Pose got a TOTALLY new meaning yesterday in class thanks to Nita - a wonderful teacher and friend.  Something strange going on with my hips - I must have had that frustrating look all over my face after the correction when she said "Welcome to my world".  Thanks, Nita - I no longer feel alone.  :-)  

My husband, the Sailor, has been regularly taking classes at Bikram Hot Yoga Mobile and is making progress of his own.  I never thought I'd hear this from him, but he actually looks forward to going to yoga.  He drives 40 minutes to get there.   What a trooper! 

Inspired

Had a wonderful class last night.  I have gotten into the habit of taking the 8:15 pm class lately and I'm digging it.  I get all my stuff done during the day then.... off to yoga!  What a great end to the day.  Once my eating and hydration is in order, I'm pretty set.  I've actually met some people that I have never seen before at the studio just because I switched up my class time.   I'm also inspired by these people, who, after a long day at work and taking care of their families actually come into the room for the late class. 

I almost didn't go to class last night - some old aches and pains have reappeared - but after just a few postures, my body was smiling and so happy to be in the hot, humid, achy-free room.  I got to burn all the aches and pains out and leave them on my sweat drenched towel.  I'm also glad I made it to class because I reconnected with a student that I hadn't seen in a while.  We ended up practicing next to each other and chatting after class.  There are no coincidences.

When I got home, there was an update to a blog I subscribe to
www.ombyoga.com 
I read an amazing entry and it almost brought me to tears and reminded me of why I love being a yoga teacher.  Here's the entry:  http://ombyoga.com/2011/01/20/an-open-letter-to-a-new-student-on-their-first-class/
It's so worth the read. 

In class last night I had a tiny, tiny, tiny breakthrough in Triangle posture.  I really "pushed my knee back with the help of my elbow" and it helped so much.  If you don't know my struggle with Triangle pose, I'll just say that we go way back.  A strained relationship, really.  It has been the most frustrating part of my yoga class in, well, since I've been practicing yoga.   Maybe I've gotten the help that I need by "trying it the right way".  Updates later.

Concrete!

On day 22 today - haven't gone to class yet.  Feeling pretty good, a little sore, but classes have been fun.  Exhausting, but fun.  Back bends are coming along, too.  I did 10 more back bends last night, which put me up to 60.  I'm certainly feeling it in my upper back.  Wow! 

I also had the opportunity to read an interesting article from Details Magazine.  Interesting is the only word I can use to describe it.  Check it out for yourself.
http://www.details.com/culture-trends/critical-eye/201102/yoga-guru-bikram-choudhury
I don't agree with the article or the title:  The Overheated, Oversexed Cult of Bikram Choudhury.  I have to just laugh because when I was in teacher training, I either didn't catch on to the shenanagans or was too tired to notice any outrageous behavior.  But.... people have to sell magazines and Bikram is a character. I guess he's an easy target.  The article didn't really say anything about the benefits of Bikram Yoga either.  I guess I'm a little protective of Bikram yoga.  I teach it, I live it, I see people's lives changed.  

In the beginning of my teacher training, the very first lecture given by Bikram, he told us to "ignore the bad, and embrace the good".  I knew he was going to say a few things that I didn't agree with and were, at some times, shocking.   I would just laugh at his comments, and, well.... focus on the good. 

Now... The good news....
Concrete is being poured, retaining wall is being built, and this is SO exciting!!!!! 

And a little peek at the new Brookshire's Fresh grocery store

 

Day 19 - MUCH better

Had a great class today @ the 12 noon.  My favorite time to take class so I was happy going in, happy in class, happy in my backbends, and happy on the way out the door.  This was the first class in a l-o-n-g time that I haven't felt like I wanted to run out of the room.  No need to dwell on the past - nothing we can do about it.  What I WILL do is celebrate my wonderful class I had today. 

Okay, I was a little stiff, sore, my Head to Knee all the way through Tree Pose was a little dodgy but I was just happy to be standing up the whole standing series.  Maybe my "yoga slump" is over.  (?)  I added 10 more backbends to the end of class today.  That makes 40 throughout the whole challenge.  My goal is to make it to 500 by the end of the challenge.  Someone asked me today "why" I was doing backbends after every class.  I didn't really have an answer but now that I think about it, I want to see what it will do for my body.  Will I be stronger?  How will it help my regular Bikram yoga practice?  Will I get to 500 at the end of 60 days?  Could I do more? 
I found this picture of the "evolution of a backbend" on the web - pretty cool and VERY inspiring.

It was also great to see so many new faces in the yoga room.  I only personally knew a handful of people.  Can't wait to meet more of the new folks.  :-) 

The Sailor has regularly kept up his yoga practice at Bikram Hot Yoga Mobile in Alabama.  He has been pretty consistent for a while now - only a few days off here and there but really likes the yoga, the studio, and the new friends he has made in just about a week.  Hopefully,  I'll be out there in a couple of months to see the place, practice with my hubby, and actually meet Lucille, the owner, in person.  We have met over the phone and through good old Facebook. 

Going to hit the road to Tyler in a few days to do more business stuff and check out the yoga studio progress.  Hopefully, I'll have some pics of the progress on the studio. 

Day 17: Breathing and Backbends

Day 17 and I feel pretty good - I've gotten my butt kicked the last 3 days of class and somehow managed to make it back and do it all over again.  The last 3 classes have been tough for some reason - I have no idea why.  It's easy to get obsessed about exactly why your class was good, bad, or even ugly. 

I decided to focus more on my breathing today and just do the best that I can do while breathing normal.  Class was better.  Thoughts kept trying to creep into my head but I had to constantly go back to breathing.  That's really the only thing that helped. 

I also incorporated some backbends at the end of class after a nice savasana.  I've been doing 5 after class but for day 17, I did 10.  I know that doesn't sound like much but it's a lot harder than I thought it would be - especially after the 90 minute class.  Yes, I woke up very sore this morning but it was the good kind of sore - my back is happy :-)


 

Studio foundation is being laid

I just received these from my real estate guy.  It doesn't look like much but several months ago this was just a forest. 

Above is the view from our front door (I think)

That's about it! 

Day 14 was great - had a wonderful class and got to sweat like crazy :-)

Day 13 - Crybaby Chicken

The challenge was really "challenging" yesterday.  Up until yesterday, I have been able to stay somewhat motivated to go to class, pack the bag full of yoga clothes, towel, water, stay hydrated, empty stomach (very VERY important) and ready to go.  But for some reason yesterday I had made up my mind that I was going to "skip" yesterday and just teach.  I was tired, I didn't eat lunch until late, and my decision was made. 

Then, I had a change of heart.  The Last Minute Larry that I am,  I  decided at 3:30 that I would take the 4:30 class and then turn around and teach the 6:30.  I was not feeling it but I went anyway.  I was in the first breathing exercise and really wanted to leave class.  That was pretty much all I thought about for the first 3 postures.  I would just explain to Sherry - who was teaching - later that I just couldn't handle a class today.  Not today.  No particular reason.... I just did NOT want to be there. 
Then I had a little talk with myself during "party time" (the first water break).  "Come ON!  Seriously?  You can't handle a class?  You went to teacher training, did 2 classes a day for 9 weeks.  Get a grip girlie."  Then I laughed to myself and remembered Bikram in training when he called us a bunch of Crybaby-Chickens about week 3 into training.  Made me just get out of my head, quit feeling sorry for myself and just have a great class.  I would find something to improve upon. 

Then it hit me!  I was in standing head to knee pose and it dawned on me that my grip was pretty wimpy.  I'm still focusing on and trying to improve on the little things in hopes that my asanas will get better overall.  The grip is supposed to be 3 inches below the toes and I was just grabbing my foot where ever it felt comfortable, which was too close to my toes.  I would seriously lose the grip (partly because I am sweating buckets by this part of class - barely 30 minutes into it) and get frustrated then come out of the posture.  So, the 3 inches below the toes actually works!  How long have I been doing this yoga?  Long enough to know better than to try it my way instead of the right way.  What a revelation! Now I have something new to focus on.  Not just the "thumbs included" in the grip but the whole grip itself.  Okay..... those of you who do not do Bikram yoga are probably bored at this point.  Bikram yogis who are reading this are right there with me celebrating.

I still had a very hard time staying motivated and not give in to my thinking process.  We were almost finished with class - second to the last posture - almost over when I got a sudden burst of energy and was SO happy that I was there, struggling, taking class with everyone else.  I had more than enough energy for the next class I was going to teach.  Again..... a happy ending. 

In other news..... my husband, The Sailor, decided he would take a class at the closest Bikram Yoga studio, which is about an hour away from where he is working, at Bikram Yoga Mobile.  He decided to rent a car for a while, drive an hour after a long work day and take a well deserved Bikram Yoga class.  That is so inspiring to me. 

Day 9 - Taking and Teaching

This is always a tricky one for me.  Taking class then teaching one - back to back.  The good - I'm in the yoga room a lot, I like to listen to the dialogue / instruction before I teach, I sweat out the nervousness of getting up in front of a lot of people by killing myself in class, AND I only have to make one trip to pack the clothes for work / taking yoga.  There are all kinds of great benefits of taking class / teaching class back to back. 

On the other hand, the sweat pumps have been turned on and nothing can turn them back off for a couple of hours.  I sweat like a man.  I drink tons of water - then sweat some more.  I can't complain about it, though, because it's good for my skin :-) and detoxifying.  Here's the weird part.... I can just think about taking a hot yoga class and start sweating.  Strange. 
Well, I was trying to find something that wasn't so good about teaching and taking back to back (the pros and cons) but its all good! 

The class itself was great!  I had a little "emotional" moment and was all set to start bawling so I covered my face with my towel.  Then (here's the funny part....... wait for it........ wait for it.....) the teacher asked me if I was playing peek-a-boo with my towel.  If you have ever had the pleasure of laughing and crying at the same time, you know what a release it is.  It got me out of my funk in class and we had a good laugh about it later.  I wasn't really crying because of sadness, (I don't think), I just started thinking about our little house that we just put up for sale, the process of owning my own studio, and all the tiny details that go along with it - a little overwhelming.  But... everything is fine now :-)

Later on, I was talking to some friends about the peek-a-boo story, and admitted that I was a little sad about selling the house and that we live on the most awesome street.  Blessing.  Nothing can top living on Blessing!  Unless, you lived on  a street called Praise the Lord Lane, or Heavenly Avenue or something (I initially thought Pearly Gates Drive but that would take on a whole new meaning). 

Today will be day 10 of my 60 day challenge.  It's good to challenge yourself every now and then, give yourself a little kick in the pants, set new goals.  I'll be doing this yoga forever but I like to - about once a year or so - kick it up a notch and see what the challenge has in store.  It should be called a 60 day LIFE challenge :-) Managing your life while doing Bikram Yoga for 60 days. 

I think The Sailor will be doing his own challenge of sorts - taking class at Bikram Hot Yoga Mobile - updates later. 

Day 8 - much better

Had a great class today.  I was a bit scared at first because my class yesterday was fresh in my memory.  But.... it went well all the way to the end.  For motivation, I brought my absolute favorite drink in the world to reward myself after class.  Amy & Brian's pure coconut juice (with pulp, of course).  We have a new super cold cooler at Bikram Yoga Dallas and it was such a treat after a hot sweaty class.  
 

In other news.... we put our house on the market today.  The sign is in the yard, and it should be on the MLS website by Friday.  I'm a little sad about it but a VERY happy that we are taking the steps to get out to Tyler and bring Bikram Yoga to East Texas. 

5:30 a.m. - Day 7 - what was I thinking?

Anyone who knows me really knows I'm not a "morning person".  Even the phrase "morning person" can be annoying but I made a deal with The Sailor that he'd go to class with me if we could do morning classes.  I thought that was a sweet deal.  So far so good until the 5:3o a.m. today.

I woke up just fine, ready to go, coffee brewing.  See, I love coffee SO much that it's not easy to stop at just one cup.  So, I didn't.  I even told my coffee-loving-teacher-friend Nita right before class that I probably had too much coffee.  She giggled and said, "coffee has water in it, right?"  That's the spirit! 

Fast forward to the 5:30 class.  5:30 A.M.  I tried, I breathed, I focused on my own eyes in the mirror,  I locked my knee, I squeezed my hands-palms tight like glue.  I almost died.  Of course, I didn't but anyone who knows what it's like to have "one of those classes"  can sympathize.  I talked to myself in my head, "fake it till you make it", "just breathe", "you're not really going to die", "it's only 90 minutes", etc.  I even had this little fantasy of what it might be like to actually die in the yoga room.  What would it say on my tombstone?  It BETTER say something about "she really did kill herself for 90 minutes" instead of my joke to the world "Buried alive".  That's probably not funny to anyone but me.

Anyway - I have decided that the 5:30 class may not have gone the way I had hoped today but overall, it was a great class, lots of sweat, and lots of people struggling together to live a healthier, better life through Bikram yoga.  See?  This ended up being a happy ending after all.

Days 3 and 4 - The Grip

The past few days have been quite challenging in the yoga room but getting better.  I started thinking about things I need to work on in my own practice.  I was thinking about this is in savasana when I was supposed to be relaxing.  By the end of class I had a list a mile long.  I guess that is just another great aspect of Bikram Yoga.  Even though it's the same postures each class, there is always something new to work on.  Like not making a list in my head during savasana.

The list starts here and is certainly never ending. 

1.  THE GRIP.  Thumbs included in the grip - I've been really focusing on the thumbs lately.  I've been neglecting to include them in the grip.  The last few classes I've made them a part of the "all 10 fingers interlocked".  Could this be a turning point in some of my most challenging postures?  We'll see throughout the 60 day challenge if I can keep my focus on the "thumbs included in the grip". 
2.  Pranayama Breathing - seeing the wall behind me at least second set of breathing.  First set I'm just trying to get my neck and shoulders to relax and move in sync with my breathing.
3.  Half Moon Backbending - seeing the floor behind me.  I mean right behind me.  I've done that a couple of times but it freaked me out so much that the next opportunity I had to "look back, fall back, way back, go back"  my brain got in the way and I just stopped.  Strange how that works.  I really do believe that it is in the release sometimes that you have the best breakthroughs. 

We'll stop there with the LIST, otherwise this will be a novel-length blog entry.  No one
wants that. 

My husband took class yesterday with me.  The Sailor hadn't taken a class in probably 4 or 5 months.  I was a total nag about him taking a class and he just finally gave in probably to shut me up.  He's good like that.  I actually felt really bad because he had a tough first class back and I think I caught him giving me stink-eye while he was lying on the floor.  I knew I shouldn't have looked him in the eye.  Good news is he is coming back to take class with me today and probably all the rest of the week before he goes back to the rig to work.