Day 23 - Another morning class. Aghghg [ Class 24]

I couldn't make it to the studio lat night. I am still very sore from a power yoga class I took on Tuesday night. It was crazy. We did over 50 crocodiles or chaturangas. Now, if you don't know what this is, picture a very sloooow push up, holding plank position for few seconds at a time.

This morning I woke up at 5:15am and got ready for class. Now, if you are an aficionado of my blog ;) you know I don't like early classes. The room is too cold, my body is stiff, etc... Same story this morning :(

Day 21 and 22 - Is this considered a double? [Class 22-23]

Monday 6:00 pm
41 students in the 6:30 class last night!! The energy was amazing and Jake taught a fantastic class!!

Tuesday 6:30 am
Well, you know how I feel about morning classes. I don't like them. Room is cold, body is stiff, only few students = low energy levels. No matter how good the teacher is, this class is not for me. Let me review the positives, I can pick pretty much any spot I want in the class. What else? After class, I am done for the day. What else? Hmmm, that's it. I spent the whole class in la-la land, thinking about Pedro Almodóvar's latest movie which I watched last night or should I say 5 hours before class. Zzzzz so sleepy.

Day 19 - A Double!!! - Day 20 (class 21) - Back row

Friday - 4:30-6:00pm and 6:30-8:00pm

I planned for a double on Friday afternoon. I knew I wasn't going to make it on Saturday, family plans. Someone suggested that I take a shower in between classes. Do you ever do this? It was tempting. I had extra clothes with me but I didn't. I was so tired I'd have probably ran home after the shower. My body is feeling very sore and stiff lately. My first class was just good. The second class was relaxing BUT only after I completely surrendered. I had a little anxiety attack towards the beginning of the second class. It usual happens when I do a back-to-back. My train of thought was "I've already been in the room for 90 minutes, I don't need to stay for another 90. Gosh I already told the teacher. Wow, 180 minutes. Do I really need to do rabbit pose again?". I am glad I stayed in the room.

Sat - OFF

Sun - 8:00 am
I took a back seat since my body is tired and practiced in the back row. It felt really weird. This is my first time practicing in that spot. I usual stand in the front rows, all over the room ( left, right, middle). Not sure I liked the back though.

Day 18 - I pinched a nerve

Yesterday, I pinched a nerve on my left leg two times. It was very painful. I couldn't move or put my leg against the floor. Not sure how to describe the feeling. This was my first ever. It was like a Charley Horse but pinching sensation throughout my entire left leg all the way to my left hip. How you ever experienced this? It just happened after I stood up from my chair at work. I wasn't doing anything crazy. I wasn't hanging upside down or anything like that. It eventually disappeared.

In the afternoon, I went to Bikram with some concerns. I told my instructor before the class started, just in case. Her advice was to take it easy and do everything very slow. So I went to the torture room worried. Pranayama ( =piece of cake). The leg is not that involved during this pose anyways. Next, padahastasana. I slowed down. As I was doing the first forward bend I thought "ok, this is it, I am going to pinch it again". But it didn't happen. Then came awkward pose. Again “ok, this is it, I am going to pinch it again". But it didn't happen. Then Standing Head to Knee Pose. "Aha, this is it". I was wrong again. Wow, we really stretch our legs in Bikram. I actually spent the whole 90-minutes worrying about my left leg. I did every pose very VERY sloooow with a mixture of "hope it doesn't hurt" feeling and "maybe I can dupe the issue, identify which pose is causing this and fix IT". I know, call me masochist but that's what I do for a living. In order to fix problems with our servers, I sometimes need to troubleshoot and duplicate the issue first. In this case, I was not able to "dupe" it. Maybe it had nothing to do with Bikram and all the stretching that we do regularly, but I doubt it.

I managed to complete the class with no physical pain. But what's most interesting is that my mind was so busy worrying about my leg that the class went by in a blink.

After class, Jimmy brought more fresh coconut for us. This time, he brought straws and everything. Well, everything except pineapples and rum. hahaha

Day 17 - Happy St Patrick's Day

I hope you had a great St Patrick's Day, full of beer and lots of green. Oh wait, no green in Bikram. No green mats, no green towels, no green clothes, no green drinks, no green PERIOD. You might ask why, here is a great post explaining it all.

How did I celebrate? I went out for lunch with my co-workers to a local brewery / restaurant in Carlsbad. We all tried the special St Patrick Day's oatmeal stout. The description read " brewed with roasted malts and rolled oats for coffee-like flavors and dark chocolate undertones". Yes, I could taste all this. It was delicious and I am not a stout fan. I love beer though. It's in my Austrian genes.

Three hours later, with a clear mind, I headed to my Bikram studio. I arrived 3 minutes before class started. The room was packed and the only spot left was by the door. I've mentioned before, in previous posts, that I don't like practicing by the windows or door. Well, the room was so hot (or maybe it was the beer ;) that I really welcomed it last night. Nobody left during class but the door kept opening up during final savasana.

The highlight of the day was not the visit to the brewery ( although it was a nice impromptu trip). The highlight was trying fresh coconut water. One fellow yogi brought fresh coconuts. He opened them after class and let us try it. It was DELICIOUS. 100 times better than Zico. It tasted nuttier, kind of like a cashew drink. Mmmm, if you never tried it before you should check it out.

Day 15 and 16

Day 15 - Monday 6:30pm - "Gut" class
Love our instructor Stephan. He has a great sense of humor and a similar accent to Arnie, our Cali "governator". During padahastasana, "from the side you look like a Japanese Ham Sandwich, zo warm, zo juicy, zo delizious, mmmmmmm". During wind removing pose "you need to be more compact, like a smartcar". During some compression pose "stomach in, if you don't like what you see, ZUCK it in" hahaha Right after paschimo "ok 1 more posture and I promise I'll shut up. Sounds delizious". Great class!!!

Day 16 - Tuesday 6:00 am - Coooooold
The room was soooooo cold and my body was so stiff this morning that I couldn't even do a proper sit up, my head would not touch the knees. Agghghghg. I kept thinking throughout the entire class about the Yoga Championship, wondering if the contestants had a hot room in the hotel to warm up before competing. Anyone knows? So difficult to stretch when the room is cold.

Day 14 - Happy Daylight Savings Time and Selection Sunday

It feels like Spring already!! My backyard is blooming (see my pic). I love it. I also enjoy the long days and short nights. At work, March Madness is about to start. Today was Selection Sunday, the day when the NCAA College basketball tournament participants are announced, placed and seeded accordingly.

I signed up for this Bikram challenge knowing that March Madness was going to be the busiest time of the year at work. My thinking is, if I survive this, I will survive anything. My blogs are going to be short for sure.

About today's class, I went to the studio at 4:30 pm. It was unusually crowded. I talked briefly to the studio owner who mentioned that many people missed the morning class due to the daylight savings time change. We were 40 students. I only recognized four. It felt weird. We also had a guest teacher who delivered a not too exciting dialogue. His voice was too soft and I had trouble hearing him at times. I was looking forward to a SUPER class but got an OK one.