"Never Regret Coming to the Hot Room"

It's summer time in beautiful Victoria, and here I am being a prodigal yogini. It has been a week since I last practiced. I have been missing the yoga, but at the same time, I have been enjoying these lazy summer days.

So today I decided to get back into the yoga groove. I love coming to the 9:30 when hubby and daughter are not around, but since they are these days it is tricky to be in the hot room at this time. They are not early risers like me, and they start their day at around 10:00AM. Which means breakfast time is soon after that. I love having a leisurely breakfast with my family. So the 9:30 will not work in this case, but the 1:45 will.

After not having practiced for a week, the monkey mind gets the better of you. I get apprehensive. I get scared of being out of breath and not being able to hold the posture. But practice I must and TODAY is the day. When I arrived at the studio, the place was deserted, save for the front desk ladies, our instructor and four other students. Entering the hot room, I saw that my favourite spot was available. To recap, this spot is at the upper right corner where I have the front and side mirrors to guide me. I had trepidations--will I survive without the comfort of being right by the door for some drafts of cool air seeping through the cracks? I made my decision and parked my mat on my favourite spot and hoped for the best.

Surprisingly, I survived the week-long hiatus. I didn't feel hot at all. I made sure I hydrated well before class as I am still determined to keep up with not taking water during class. I'm sure the room was heated to the regulation temperature of at least 105 degrees F. It must be the lack of bodies that provide the extra heat--there were only nine other students with me. As it is with practicing in the afternoon and the benefit of a week-long rest, I was more flexible and less achy. My Standing Head to Knee was good, as was my Cobra. I thought I had a good Floor Bow, until I felt discomfort in my left hamstring, so I had to relax and pull back a bit. But I was happy with it. I think I was able to kick higher this time. I'm not supposed to look at myself in the mirror, but hey, it was just a small peek :)

"Never regret coming to the hot room, as after class you will always feel so much better!", was what I took away from Niecia this afternoon. That pretty much summed up my practice today. I had my apprehensions and trepidations, but I'm glad I went ahead and faced the challenge. True enough, I felt like a million bucks afterwards! And that's all that matters!

Good night, Mommy. I love you.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010 = Changes Are Good!

A few of us in the hot room resist change. Some stick to the same spot on the same side day after day, class after class. Some stick to the same class time each day, although this might be dictated by one's daily itinerary. But for those of us who have some flexibility, it is nice to shake things up a bit.

I had planned on showing up at 6:00AM. But a very, very late night "watching TV/falling asleep/waking up to watch more TV" until finally some shut-eye at 1:00AM(!!!) kiboshed that plan. The 9:30AM was out of the question as my little one's camp starts at the same time and I have to sign her in. So my next option was the 1:45PM. I have not tried this class time before so I was curious as to how I would do.

After 5 straight days of practice, 1 day off, 2 days on, then 2 days off, my body was screaming at me at this point. I was very, very sore. I did the 30 Day Challenge in April, and although I felt sore most days at the time, I had enough momentum to keep going. But I feel that I am much more flexible these days than when I did the challenge. For one thing, my "nemesis", the Standing Head to Knee Pose, is slowly but surely becoming my friend. My lower back is loosening up. I am very close to consistently locking my knee each time I do Hands to Feet Pose. Yes, my lower back and glutes are screaming at me all day long, but thanking me profusely at the same time! :)

I came out of that room feeling fantastic! I heard one of the other students say that the room was not that hot today. Maybe so, maybe not. I liked it, it worked for me, que sera sera. Tomorrow's another day, and I look forward to being back in the hot room. Hmmm, I wonder what it's like to practice just before bedtime?

Good night, Mommy. I love you.