YES!

 My husband, two stepdaughters, Abby and Ashley, and Abby's boyfriend, Austin did my sixtieth  class with me. I know they would have preferred to be anywhere other than the torture chamber during  last Tuesday's 6:30 class but there they were: stretching, sweating, and doing savasana by my side.  I was already on big yoga buzz after doing three doubles in three days. But between  Austin holding his breath during the poses and letting out  loud gasps at the end of each pose and looking at my husband's grimaces in the mirror,  I was fighting  fits of hysterical laughter during the entire ninety minutes. At one point during the class, Gianna jokingly said, "don't you guys ruin Heather's sixtieth class!" Yikes! Wouldn't that have been a nightmare  to redo the sixtieth class over again? But we made it through and celebrated with  breakfast for dinner at Austin Java on Barton Springs and an Elvis cupcake from Sugar Mama's for dessert after class.

This challenge was soooo much harder than last year's. Between going out of town for four days and living a lot further from the studio, the notion that the hardest part of class was getting inside the hot room was elevated to  a whole new level. I counted 8 doubles on my report card this time around and  four of them  I completed the last week of the challenge. There were times that I thought I was going to lose it in class and lose it at home. But it's all over now! Done! Finished! Ready or not new body, new life, new mind! Here I come! 

6 till sixty

Everyday I daydream about not going to yoga. Especially today.  I began the day driving out to Bastrop to volunteer and run in the Run for the Bluebonnets Race my school puts on every year. It's a short 5K race that my husband, Ashley,( my stepdaughter) and I ran/walked through downtown Bastrop. Abby, my other stepdaughter ran the race and won a second place trophy! WOO HOO! It was fun to see everyone from school but it was cold even underneath my twelve layers of clothes.
After the race we celebrated with burgers, fries, and yummy desserts at Bastrop's Roadhouse. If you have never been there it is super worth the drive. Anytime I am in the Bastrop/Cedar Creek area, it is my numero uno choice in places to eat. My black bean burger wasn't the best but they have great chicken sandwiches if you don't do cow meat, and their salads are great, too. Did I mention the apple pie and brownie we shared? AMAZING! The food was good, the company was great, but throughout the morning I was thinking what a  perfect  day it would have been if I didn't have to do the 3 or 5:30 yoga later. Let's face it, yoga compliments running. You become less prone to injury and you can stretch out your sore muscles. Some people even boast that it makes your run times get faster. But running does not compliment yoga. Your muscles are more tight and sore. You can't do the poses as well especially if you are like me and were not born with a gumby spine.

Greg, "Bluebonnet's Cardinal", Ashley, and ME

Greg and Abby

 So I was  dreading  the hot room with extra tight muscles from the morning run and  the 54 classes of yoga under my belt. But it seems like the more I dread a class, the better it is and the three o'clock with Giana was awesome! I know I wouldn't have gone  to yoga today  if I weren't for this DANG challenge! So this 60 day commitment gave me a little gift today. Surprise! Surprise!

happy heart

 After last week's roller coaster ride of tightness, fatigue, and frustration, today I am finally wearing my happy smiling face.  My two year anniversary of my first Bikram class will be this Friday! Unfortunately, I won't be celebrating it in the yoga studio since I'll be on a plane to A-TOWN, Georgia for some family fun time with the in-laws.

Now that I'm seeing everything with rose-colored glasses, I'll attempt to  make sense of my very disturbing week in the hot room. I don't understand why  in the last four classes, I have felt like I'm suffocating in CAMEL.  I panic to the extent that I rush out of the pose early and my heart feels like it will burst.   I wish I could say that this was followed by some  spiritual encounter with Jesus or Buddha.  But after obsessing about camel-time for most of the standing series today, I decided to put my mouthpiece in and breathe through any discomfort, feelings of panic, or visions of Elvis and it worked!!!! Cheesecake from here on out!! Fifteen classes to go!

just breathe

This is the point in the challenge that gets...uhhummm.... challenging. My body is so sore that even after a massage it is still sore.  It's a miracle that I make it into the hot room everyday despite the millions of distractions that pop up from happy hour at a coworkers house, heavy traffic during rush hour, or after- hour work and family obligations! ughhh! When yogis say that one of the hardest things about the yoga is getting your booty in the hot room, they are not kidding!
The other day in Michael's class he  said that we could get through any intense or uncomfortable feeling (inside AND outside) the hot room by just learning how to breathe. I can tell that after two years of practicing Bikram that I do deal with stress better, am more relaxed, and even happier. But I still struggle to breathe in class. Sometimes, when I'm really freaking out, I catch myself gulping copious amounts of my beverage instead of just BREATHING through it. It is just like when I'm stressing out at work and reach for my jar of Hershey's kisses or a piece of cake in the teacher's lounge. I wonder if there is a way I I can make deep, long breaths taste the same way as a dark chocolate ?

mini-breakthrough

New Lululemon tank. check
Appointment for massage at Milk and Honey Spa. check.
If I were a whiny baby I'd start complaining about how sore I am after twenty-six classes. But in the spirit of channeling my Bengal tiger strength, I'll refrain for the time being.
I really have no room to gripe especially after my  day off of work today!!! The rain last night caused major flooding in Bastrop  so the elementary school where I work at was canceled.  YIPPEE! I hit the ten o'clock yoga, had a light lunch with my hubby, and napped for 3 hours!!! HEAVEN! Between school prep, driving, yoga, and family time I haven't had time to breathe.  This was my day to refill my chill cup and it was exactly what I needed.
After confessing that she could read our thoughts while we were sending her visions of throwing our water bottles at her on the podium, Afton gave us some encouraging words by telling us that once we got past our walls of pain, tightness, or frustration during the challenge we would experience a breakthrough in our practice and our lives! Today I am celebrating a mini-breaththrough thanks to the rain. After keeping my nose to the grindstone, the universe granted me a little repose and I am so so so grateful!

baggage

My favorite scene of Wes Anderson's movie Darjeeling Unlimited is  when the three brothers have to toss all their luggage to the wayside in order to get on the train they are running to catch.  Being a third grade teacher, I carry so many bags for my lunch, yoga clothes, papers to grade, and computers that my husband has started calling me his bag lady. Heavy as these bags weigh on my shoulders, they are very light compared to the all the emotional baggage I carry around with me especially at the end of the day. But no matter how bad a day I have had, being in the torture chamber forces me to let go of my "weight." After the yoga buzz sets in after class, I feel lighter.
I couldn't find a clip of the scene I was referring to but watching the "official trailer"  makes me want to rent the movie again.

almost half-way

"Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second. Give your dreams all you've got and you'd be amazed at the energy that comes out of you." William James

AFter sixty classes in sixty days I'm wholeheartedly expecting to access this elusive second wind. But in order to get to thirty and beyond, I'm rewarding myself with two very special gifts: a massage from Milk and Honey Spa and a new Lulelemon tank. The last time I had a massage at Milk and Honey was seven months ago right before my wedding.It melted away every ounce of pre-wedding jitters  and I  know that it will be the perfect salve for my very stiff body.  As for the tank, my Target yoga tanks are looking rough and I need to upgrade. Sixty dollars is a lot to spend on a top  but I hear the Lulelemon clothes last a long time. Whether  they endure the soaking salty sweat of the torture chamber is still up-in-the-air  but I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt. At least until they prove to me otherwise or I find a new obsession.

cleansing from the inside out

My New Year's resolution  every year is to lose weight and this year I am more optimistic! Unlike in previous years, this year I  have a secret weapon--- the Glowing Green Smoothie. To be more specific, it is Kimberley Synder's  Glowing  Green Cleansing Smoothie. I have been drinking it for breakfast every morning since November. I'm not going to lie, it looks like baby poo but if you can get over the color, it tastes  pretty good.  I sneak a packet of stevia in my husband's smoothie  and he loves it !The  fiber in the smoothie fills me up  so I'm less tempted by the junk food and coffee in the teacher's lounge. Check out this video to get the recipe and hear more about the smoothie's amazing benefits.

you don't have permission to give up

Casey told us one day before class that master Bikram instructor Emmy Cleaves said that you have to ask your body permission to do the yoga poses. My body and I must have had some kind of miscommunication between my first and second class today. The first class was awesome and so I naturally expected  second class to be even better.  My body was lose and warmed up. I  hydrated with coconut water, fueled my body with a Lara Bar. I was fired up and ready! The class began and that bar sank to the pit of my stomach and weighed me down during the standing series like a 10-ton brick. To make matters worse,  my legs wouldn’t stop shaking during hands-to-feet, awkward, and eagle. As I pulled my legs apart for standing separate leg stretching pose my hips screamed, “Nuh uhh! Oh noo you didn’t !” For the first time in two years I moved my legs about six inches apart and touched my toes and that’s all I did during the posture. I couldn’t breathe during camel and I rushed out of the posture early without putting my hands on my hips. Lisa must have a keen sense of when students are slacking off and when their bodies are hitting a wall. She never said a word to me about “clocking in” when I physically could not move one millimeter more in a posture. But whenever I tried to sneak a minute of repose in a posture Lisa busted me. “Wheeler, hips down. Wheeler push forward, Wheeler...” I like that she pushes everyone, not just me but it’s hard when your best isn’t getting the job done like it normally does. But if I wanted easy I’d go take a stroll around Town Lake and not endure 180 minutes of yoga on my Saturday.

Here is my list of the top 5 reasons to do a double.  

#5 Makes 1-ninety minute class seem like “cheesecake”

#4 A promise of more flexibility at some point in the future. Will I ever master standing head to knee? 

#3 Mark off two classes on my report card

#2 10x the normal yoga buzz after class! yay!

#1 FREE PASS TO EAT WHATEVER YOU WANT FOR A DAY! YAY! (going to Vivo for dinner!)

fun Friday

Toward the end of  the four o'clock class with Tyler today, he asked who all was doing the challenge (check) and who all was getting really sore (uhhhhh, check? ) If I'm not really sore after 14 days of yoga does that mean I'm not working hard? Does a whole new body, mind, and life have to come by grueling soreness and suffering for 60 days?  Yes, my joints are tight and today my standing head to knee and bow pose stank! But some of the other poses like triangle felt really good. What gives?
 Maybe a double class tomorrow will help me see more clearly?

  My snacks for tomorrow's double! yum!

be present

I have heard instructors say before class that we should leave our life outside the yoga room at the beginning of class. In other words, STAY PRESENT!  They might as well be speaking Russian or Greek because it is a concept that I completely can not wrap my head around but I do try!  Stretching my limbs from NYC to LA in the intense heat acts like a glue that keeps my mind connected to my body more. But I inevitably  catch myself constantly distracted by negative thoughts.  Inspired by the challenge, I have made a commitment to be more present and more positive. So whenever I catch myself worrying or feeling bitter, I tell myself the same thing that an instructor says when he or she when the pose is over: change. Change is such a simple but loaded word. Instead of move by body into the next posture, in this change, I am going to direct my mind to focus on my new mantra:

 y

One fear in a crowded room

Everyday in the hot room there is at least one struggle that I have to overcome: a bad day at work, stiff and sore muscles, lack of motivation, winter blues.... and today was the crowd. To be more specific, it was the fear of other people’s sweat.  I’ll admit I’m a heavy sweater but most guys in the hot room drip buckets and buckets of sweat during the 90-minutes. Sandwiched between two guys, I knew that I was in for a rainstorm of their sweat, pelting me from two different directions and drenching me and my fluffy white towel. I kept trying to refocus my  inner chatter by paying attention to the dialogue.  But I couldn’t see myself in the front mirror with so many people scrunched so tightly in the front row. Even though Bikram says “Don’t say sorry. Say excuse me for living,” the word sorry goes a long way in a overcrowed yoga room and I heard it  A LOT during class today.  Would you believe those two guys didn’t flick one drop of sweat on me either? 

Warning: Beware of Damp Carpet

I love the carpets at the downtown studio. They are a royal blue color with swirly patterns of black dashes. The best thing about these carpets is their special  surface that makes holding poses like the triangle seem less impossible.   Looking back now, I should have chosen a different place to lay my mat and towel BEFORE class when I FIRST noticed the  damp carpet around my mat.  But being a creature of habit, I stuck to the same area and same row that I normally do without giving it much thought. So during standing separate leg stretching pose, triangle, and standing separate leg head to knee pose my legs slipped and slid  like I was  ice skating on a frozen pond  wearing tennis shoes. My inner thighs didn’t hear my cries of desperation. Squeezing my butt cheek didn’t give help either. Bikram has said that your legs become so strong from doing triangle that you can eventually do it on ice. If wet carpet is any where close to ice, I have a long way to go in my yoga practice, not to mention quite a few days left of this challenge. 

Try It, You'll Like It!

Like most people, I was dragged to my first Bikram class by my friend, Debbie. It was her first time as well as my first time, too. It’s nice to have someone there to send you comforting looks of utter disbelief as you both sweat, stretch, and follow the instructor’s dialogue during your first class: : Lock your left knee , kick out your right leg at a 90degree angle, flex your foot back, suck in your stomach, bend your elbows so they touch the bottom of your calf, lower your head to touch your knee,   kick, kick, kick, squeeze your butt, and DON’T FORGET TO BREATHE! Your mind starts to panic and a fear sinks in that you have committed yourself to a secret (and insane) cult. I won’t lie, the class is HARD. Some people love it and others, not-so-much. Although Debbie’s visits to the torture chamber have fizzled, I’m sooooo grateful to her that she dragged me to that first class.  Pure Bikram is giving a free class pass to  the 60-day challengers after every 10 classes. So if you are curious enough to try it, your first class is on me!!!

Just Like Windex

Remember in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding when Toula’s dad fixed everything from zits to dry hands  with a splash of windex? I feel the same way about Bikram yoga. There are ton of testimonials all over the web that proclaim a regular practice of Bikram yoga can help cure symptoms of depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, obesity, and a zillion others maladies. In my case, my regular practice has helped free me from a lifetime  of intense anxiety and depression. Nothing can beat the winter blues quite like the humidity of the hot room! Top it off with my recent purchase of this super cozy scarf from Lululemon and I am ready for the brutal Austin winters! :) 

I know I'm crazy

I know I’m crazy for doing Bikram yoga. People outside the yogi community don’t get it and most of my fellow yogi friends that practice other types of yoga hate Bikram. They despise the fact that he sues people for doing his twenty-six posture series without spending thousands of dollars to complete his  nine-weeks of teacher training. They resent him for being ostentatiously rich, driving Rolls Royces, and living in Beverly Hills. For me and other Bikram yogis, his yoga works. Close your eyes and IMAGINE the very best feeling you have ever felt in your life. This is how I feel most days AFTER a class. This is why I can’t quit the torture chamber and came back for a second sixty-day challenge. I love to point out celebrities that share my obsession with Bikram yoga. It helps me justify my addiction to the torture chamber to my friends and family.
Here is a collage I made of famous people that drink Bikram yoga Kool-Aid.

Personalize your own collage

Bulldog Determination

It is so funny how once the Bikram obsession kicks in, it takes over your whole life. After my back-to-back double today, I relaxed in front of the television to cheer for my husband’s team, the Georgia Bulldogs. They played  against Michigan State University in the Outback Bowl.  In case you missed the game, here’s a quick recap: Georgia dominated the first half and Michigan came back to tie during the last 2 minutes of the game. Final score: Georgia lost in triple overtime, 33-30. Even though they played with a lot of heart, it wasn’t enough for the BIG W. I couldn’t help making a comparison of this loss to the difficulties in the yoga room. Drenched with sweat, in the midst of a pose, many instructors encourage you to find your English bulldog determination so that you can overcome your urge to lie on the floor in fetal position and hang on to the pose for a longer period of time. According to Bikram, frequent visits to his 90-minute torture chamber strengthens your willpower similar to the English bulldog’s death grip. Holding the poses for the allotted time is sooo hard!!!  It is easy to feel like there is a big L stamped on your forehead when you fall out of a pose. Unlike a high-stakes, end-of-the-season-bowl game, many instructors in the hot room encourage you to make a comeback in the next pose or during the same pose with this saying: "If you fall out, you're human. If you get back in, you're a yogi." -

I’m sending out some English bulldog determination with sprinkles of yogi compassion to the Dawgs. Good season GUYS! 

The Double

The ninety minutes of a Bikram yoga class is lovingly referred to as the torture chamber.  

Why someone would commit themselves to sixty days of torture is a mystery I can’t quite explain even to myself. Last year I did sixty classes in sixty days but I have trips planned throughout the next two months so I am making friends with the double. (Two classes in one day). 

 In attempt to calm my anxiety before two back-to-back classes this morning, I googled “double Bikram class.” Here are a few painless suggestions I found: drink coconut water in between classes and  listen to your body.  One comment  got me really psyched when he described the second class as “euphoric.”  Your body is so warmed up after the first class that the second class is a cakewalk. Thinking this sounded too good to be true, I did a second search and found this from the Scale on Fire Blog:

If you’ve never experienced real stomach cramping, imagine one side of your abdomen melting into your hip, then individual sections of your “six-pack” crunching into themselves and twitching and protruding out as if the tiny alien from “Aliens” or the singing alien from “Spaceballs” is about to pop out of your stomach. 

This guys has to be exaggerating.....right?!!!!

Happy New Year !

When Bikram says “give me 60 Days and I’ll give you a new body, new mind, and new life” he is not kidding.  After last year’s challenge, I got married (after being single for forty-one years), traveled to Hong Kong and Hawaii (yay for honeymoons!), became a stepmom of two teenagers (scary), and moved from 78704 to North (cough cough) Austin.   
It is my hope and intention that my second sixty day challenge will  bring even more wonderful changes to my life!!!

Cheers to the New Year and the New Sixty Day Challenge!