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 ?