Well...here we are again, at that awkward place where I update my blog and apologize for not having done it sooner. Again I'd like to point out that since my last post I have completed almost three graduate classes (9 credits). Which, by the way, is a PAIN. This M-F 9-4 class situation is a pain. BUT after tomorrow I will be HALFWAY done my Masters degree!! Woot. Just so you're all aware, I fully intend on making a big deal out of it when I graduate. You will think there has never been a Master's degree given out before.
Anyway, let's move on, since also after tomorrow I can officially start summer vacation! Things I hope to do this summer...slash am definitely doing:
-beach with the fam in a few weeks
-going to SEATTLE! to visit my twin with Kels
-move out??
-help a former coworker with her twins
-make some jewelry with my coworker and former art teacher :)
-tutor
-get Brewer out here PRONTO
-another Bikram Yoga!
-Take 15 classes at Merritt...also a Groupon purchase!
-Learn to slalom ski...oh WAIT I DID THAT YESTERDAY!
-weekly prayer/craft meetings with my Erikins
-hang out with my cousin returning from Kenya in August!
Ok I think that's enough for now...I actually have to go call Krysten back...later kids.
Showing posts with label Bikram yoga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bikram yoga. Show all posts
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Bikram Yoga
So this has absolutely nothing to do with Father's Day, but I did say I would blog about my yoga adventure. On some fateful day in May, Groupon offered 5 sessions of Bikram (pronounced "beek-ram") for $20. Since yoga can get pricey and summer was coming up, I was quite interested. Bikram yoga is also known as "hot yoga," and I don't really know the technical differences except that it's yoga in a 105 degree heated room. Supposedly all the sweating detoxifies your body.
Since I'm obviously intrigued by new experiences, I was pretty excited to buy my yoga mat and get started. I even made a bag to carry my yoga mat in! I rolled over to Cockeysville (which, to be fair, is a far roll) and tried not to look too ignorant about what I was doing. I stuck my stuff in a locker, grabbed my water, towel, and mat, and headed into The Room.
The first thing, in my opinion, that you notice about The Room is the smell. There's no way of sugar-coating the fact that it's pretty bad. I can't explain it. I don't think it's like that everywhere, though. Maybe just that location. Anyway the obvious second thing, or maybe you realize it simultaneously, is the heat. No brainer, right? But it's also humid, and since there are no windows, it feels stuffy too; the air has nowhere to go. So I thought I'd be all cool like the other folks and lie on my mat and wait for 15 minutes until class started but there was no way. I set my towel down and went back to the bathroom and pretending to look for something in my locker until the last possible second.
Once class started, the instructor informed us that we'd probably start to feel sick and lightheaded, like we were going to pass out, but we wouldn't. I nodded and thought, Do you know where I lived for a year? I can handle anything.
And about 30 minutes later, I reversed my position on that. I was pretty sure that she was wrong; I was going to pass out. Or die. The yoga itself isn't the problem; it's the heat and humidity that gets to you. Also the sweat that runs into your eyes burns. But dang it I was going to stick it out, and I did. And if sweating detoxifies you, then I'm pretty sure I got a lot of toxins out.
After class was over and I staggered, blurry-eyed into the hallway and the bathroom to retrieve my things, I could only assume that this is how one feels when they've smoked some bad weed. As I left I checked with the instructor just to confirm that the sweating is good for you...I wanted to really make sure that there was some benefit to this situation.
I won't lie; I wasn't really sure I should drive home, but there were things to get done so I sailed off trying to refocus my brain. Let me tell you, that's one of the best showers I've ever had.
So. The conclusion. The next day I noticed I didn't feel as hungry as usual, and that kind of continued for the next few weeks, which cause me to lose weight since I wasn't consuming many calories. Now that could be due to a ton of things: stress, the ludicrous amount of vitamins I'm taking, whatever it is that is currently effecting my joints, but I like to think it was the yoga. So was it hot and miserable? Yes. Did I see benefits? I think so. Will I go back? Definitely. I payed money for those classes and I fully intend to use it up. And if it alter my appetite, all the better. Would I pay $17/class (the normal price)? Not unless it radically alters my health.
I'm also wondering if I should just get a yoga video and set it up outside on my deck on a hot, humid July day to get the same effect...
Since I'm obviously intrigued by new experiences, I was pretty excited to buy my yoga mat and get started. I even made a bag to carry my yoga mat in! I rolled over to Cockeysville (which, to be fair, is a far roll) and tried not to look too ignorant about what I was doing. I stuck my stuff in a locker, grabbed my water, towel, and mat, and headed into The Room.
The first thing, in my opinion, that you notice about The Room is the smell. There's no way of sugar-coating the fact that it's pretty bad. I can't explain it. I don't think it's like that everywhere, though. Maybe just that location. Anyway the obvious second thing, or maybe you realize it simultaneously, is the heat. No brainer, right? But it's also humid, and since there are no windows, it feels stuffy too; the air has nowhere to go. So I thought I'd be all cool like the other folks and lie on my mat and wait for 15 minutes until class started but there was no way. I set my towel down and went back to the bathroom and pretending to look for something in my locker until the last possible second.
Once class started, the instructor informed us that we'd probably start to feel sick and lightheaded, like we were going to pass out, but we wouldn't. I nodded and thought, Do you know where I lived for a year? I can handle anything.
And about 30 minutes later, I reversed my position on that. I was pretty sure that she was wrong; I was going to pass out. Or die. The yoga itself isn't the problem; it's the heat and humidity that gets to you. Also the sweat that runs into your eyes burns. But dang it I was going to stick it out, and I did. And if sweating detoxifies you, then I'm pretty sure I got a lot of toxins out.
After class was over and I staggered, blurry-eyed into the hallway and the bathroom to retrieve my things, I could only assume that this is how one feels when they've smoked some bad weed. As I left I checked with the instructor just to confirm that the sweating is good for you...I wanted to really make sure that there was some benefit to this situation.
I won't lie; I wasn't really sure I should drive home, but there were things to get done so I sailed off trying to refocus my brain. Let me tell you, that's one of the best showers I've ever had.
So. The conclusion. The next day I noticed I didn't feel as hungry as usual, and that kind of continued for the next few weeks, which cause me to lose weight since I wasn't consuming many calories. Now that could be due to a ton of things: stress, the ludicrous amount of vitamins I'm taking, whatever it is that is currently effecting my joints, but I like to think it was the yoga. So was it hot and miserable? Yes. Did I see benefits? I think so. Will I go back? Definitely. I payed money for those classes and I fully intend to use it up. And if it alter my appetite, all the better. Would I pay $17/class (the normal price)? Not unless it radically alters my health.
I'm also wondering if I should just get a yoga video and set it up outside on my deck on a hot, humid July day to get the same effect...
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