I've been going to Bikram on average, about 3 days a week and still battling light headedness, sometimes feeling like I am making progress, but not sure. The heat and sweat doesn't bother me much anymore, but I don't like feeling light headed. Because then I have to stand still and wait it out and miss a section of a pose.
After class one day, I guess this lady overheard me complaining about getting light headed and she said, "Try getting more potassium in your diet before class". She also said that when she ran cross country and got light headed, her coach told her to get more potassium and that she just took supplements. Cool, worth trying!
I ate a banana before the next class... and it worked! I only had to battle the poses and not resting for feeling light headed! YAY!
I either try and drink half a coconut water, which has a ton of potassium and electrolytes or have a banana before class. So far so good!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Recruiting!
Garrett left at the end of April for his PCT adventure and I was determined to stay busy, stay active and accomplish checking off items on my to-do list. Staying active, probably the hardest. Not because I don't like being active, it's just I'm not very good at it managing into my days. After the 8 to 5 and commute, we all find it hard to squeeze more than dinner before bed. This leaves me with walking up to 3 days a week with Ali when I work in Palo Alto and Saturdays and Sundays.
Rachel is my sort of neighbor who rides the morning bus at the same time I do. Being the shy person I am... I of course started yapping and got to know her. I was telling her about practicing Bikram on the weekends and she was interested in trying it out. I warned her that I prefer going to the early morning class - 7:45am and she was still interested! She did the 10 day trial and liked it so much she signed up for a package and now I have a buddy! Soooooo much nicer! So much more motivating! We go Saturday and Sunday mornings and at least one night a week. The night class is from 7:45-9:15 so it makes for a late night for me, but worth it.
...to be cont.
Rachel is my sort of neighbor who rides the morning bus at the same time I do. Being the shy person I am... I of course started yapping and got to know her. I was telling her about practicing Bikram on the weekends and she was interested in trying it out. I warned her that I prefer going to the early morning class - 7:45am and she was still interested! She did the 10 day trial and liked it so much she signed up for a package and now I have a buddy! Soooooo much nicer! So much more motivating! We go Saturday and Sunday mornings and at least one night a week. The night class is from 7:45-9:15 so it makes for a late night for me, but worth it.
...to be cont.
Vacation - ugh.
Garrett and I went to Texas for 10 days for some quality time with my Dad & Donna in Flatonia, then headed into Austin to stay with Chandra, Josh & Isabella for few days and finally some time with my Mom and brother. The Friday before we left Chandra hosted an engagement party for us for my Texas family and friends! :) It was a wonderful visit!
But then we had our first day back at yoga from our glutenous & lazy vacation - ohhhh boy. It sucked. My very first day at Bikram wasn't even as painful! I had to sit down, fight off dizziness and just generally felt like I had no effort to push myself in the poses. Garrett said he too even had to fight off a bit of nausea in one pose. We mentioned it jokingly to our instructor after class and she said it was very common after a bit of endulgence in food and alcohol to come back and have those toxins pouring out and not feel so hot.
By the next class we were already feeling back to normal. Still fighting being light headed though... hoping to condition through this.
But then we had our first day back at yoga from our glutenous & lazy vacation - ohhhh boy. It sucked. My very first day at Bikram wasn't even as painful! I had to sit down, fight off dizziness and just generally felt like I had no effort to push myself in the poses. Garrett said he too even had to fight off a bit of nausea in one pose. We mentioned it jokingly to our instructor after class and she said it was very common after a bit of endulgence in food and alcohol to come back and have those toxins pouring out and not feel so hot.
By the next class we were already feeling back to normal. Still fighting being light headed though... hoping to condition through this.
Garrett Tries Yoga!
Our good friend PJ and Annou have been going to Bikram for a while and PJ was able to convince Garrett to give it a try! The studio we go to, Bikram Seacliff offers 10 days in a row for $10 and then if you join with in the trial period you can usually get a discount on a package. I joined for 6 months - let's see what I think in September!
Garrett is a very active guy and has a very active mind... impatient if you will. I wasn't sure he was going to dig yoga. He asked how long the class was and I said 90 minutes. "NINETY MINUTES!?" was his response. eeek!
He did amazing!! He's less flexible than I am but so much stronger. His legs are muscular and like big tree trunks so he was able to hold some of the basic parts of poses that I am still all wobbly on. Those of you who know me know that trying to balance on one leg... well I might as well get a gig with the flamingos at the San Deigo zoo. I blame my balance on my high arches.
Garrett enjoyed the physical challenge and we went to a few more classes during his 10 days and by the end he was very proud that he could touch his toes without bending his knees!
Garrett leaves for the PCT adventure soon, so I plan on being really good about my 3 days a week yoga mixed with my 2 mile 3 day a week lunchtime walks with Ali.
Garrett is a very active guy and has a very active mind... impatient if you will. I wasn't sure he was going to dig yoga. He asked how long the class was and I said 90 minutes. "NINETY MINUTES!?" was his response. eeek!
He did amazing!! He's less flexible than I am but so much stronger. His legs are muscular and like big tree trunks so he was able to hold some of the basic parts of poses that I am still all wobbly on. Those of you who know me know that trying to balance on one leg... well I might as well get a gig with the flamingos at the San Deigo zoo. I blame my balance on my high arches.
Garrett enjoyed the physical challenge and we went to a few more classes during his 10 days and by the end he was very proud that he could touch his toes without bending his knees!
Garrett leaves for the PCT adventure soon, so I plan on being really good about my 3 days a week yoga mixed with my 2 mile 3 day a week lunchtime walks with Ali.
First Class - Bright & Early Sat. 7:30am!
I woke up at 6:30am on Saturday... seriously, this is easier for me than running, I'm telling you exactly how challenging running was for me - not a fan. I can try anything now! :)
PJ picked me up so we could arrive by 7:15, get signed in, our mats in place and get in a little relaxation (or adjust to the heat a bit I guess). I have to say, living in a warm climate like Austin, I would never attempt this! Who wants to go from 100 degrees outside to exercising in 100 degrees inside and then for a "cool down", go get in your 120 degree car? Ha! So yeah, San Francisco is quite ideal in my opinion for practicing Bikram yoga. Much more motivating I think.
The class is always the same, which I really like. I am not the most coordinated or the most graceful person I know and all those classes that switch stuff up usually have me trying to find someone to watch who knows what they are doing and then attempting a very sad imitation of mimicking their movements. It's not pretty and very discouraging. If I wanted to spin in circles looking confused I could stay home and do that without the mocking wall of mirrors.
26 poses that begin and end with a breathing exercises. The first to expand and stretch the lungs, which "according to Bikram, many people only use up to 50 percent of their lung capacity, and just like any muscle, the lungs must be stretched and with time will be able to withstand holding more oxygen. When one is practicing the pranayama he or she will eventually be able to enhance oxygen conversion and absorption, as well as improve blood circulation. (Choudhury, 2007)" The first breathing exercise was, lol... for me a little confusing - surprise surprise. It involves a tad bit of coordination, I'm sure I'll figure it out in no time. Then there are a series of standing poses and then a series of ground poses. I like those. Only because I battle light headedness with the heat and standing, much less the poses, is very challenging. Start with little ability and there is nowhere to go but up, right? :) The instructors continuously talk you through all the poses always reminding you of little corrections you should be making to be sure you are working on the correct form of the pose and not just how deep you go. I have to sit down on my mat a lot to recover in between lots of poses, but I know there is only room to improve, so that is motivating!
Lots of sweat. Not sure I'm a fan yet. It tickles my face... I'll keep you posted!
PJ picked me up so we could arrive by 7:15, get signed in, our mats in place and get in a little relaxation (or adjust to the heat a bit I guess). I have to say, living in a warm climate like Austin, I would never attempt this! Who wants to go from 100 degrees outside to exercising in 100 degrees inside and then for a "cool down", go get in your 120 degree car? Ha! So yeah, San Francisco is quite ideal in my opinion for practicing Bikram yoga. Much more motivating I think.
The class is always the same, which I really like. I am not the most coordinated or the most graceful person I know and all those classes that switch stuff up usually have me trying to find someone to watch who knows what they are doing and then attempting a very sad imitation of mimicking their movements. It's not pretty and very discouraging. If I wanted to spin in circles looking confused I could stay home and do that without the mocking wall of mirrors.
26 poses that begin and end with a breathing exercises. The first to expand and stretch the lungs, which "according to Bikram, many people only use up to 50 percent of their lung capacity, and just like any muscle, the lungs must be stretched and with time will be able to withstand holding more oxygen. When one is practicing the pranayama he or she will eventually be able to enhance oxygen conversion and absorption, as well as improve blood circulation. (Choudhury, 2007)" The first breathing exercise was, lol... for me a little confusing - surprise surprise. It involves a tad bit of coordination, I'm sure I'll figure it out in no time. Then there are a series of standing poses and then a series of ground poses. I like those. Only because I battle light headedness with the heat and standing, much less the poses, is very challenging. Start with little ability and there is nowhere to go but up, right? :) The instructors continuously talk you through all the poses always reminding you of little corrections you should be making to be sure you are working on the correct form of the pose and not just how deep you go. I have to sit down on my mat a lot to recover in between lots of poses, but I know there is only room to improve, so that is motivating!
Lots of sweat. Not sure I'm a fan yet. It tickles my face... I'll keep you posted!
My new Experience: Bikram
So after I finished my first half marathon with Team In Training, I had this wonderful, powerful feeling! If I could find the motivation and determination to stick with training to run a half marathon, and by the way... I didn't even like running 10 feet before attempting this... then to stick with something and give it 100% to then make the decision whether I liked it or not, was the way I wanted to experience all new activities. With my busy life, barely being able to find time to go to the gym or make plans with friends, I feel I have to really commit to one thing at a time to fully experience it and determine if it's something I am going to fall in love with or simply enjoy for the experience that it was. I was prepared to not fall in love with running, but I did it anyway so I could really know. My body was not a fan and mentally it drove me mad. Unless of course I could run every time with a friend and make it a social activity, then it was actually pretty nice! (minus any injuries... again my body wasn't too happy with this choice of activity).
I decided Bikram (hot) yoga was going to be my next physical challenge. Why? I'm not entirely sure how I decided that. I wanted to do yoga because I really enjoy stretching and I need to do activities that strengthen my core due to my lower back issues. However, Bikram sounded like much more of a challenge. I don't enjoy being hot and I don't really enjoy sweating... so to do yoga in a 100 degree room with sweaty people definitely sounded more challenging and physical. I ran... I can sweat for 90 minutes... right? I procrastinated a bit on this... until one day our friend PJ said he went all the time and I should join him one weekend morning. So I did. :)
I decided Bikram (hot) yoga was going to be my next physical challenge. Why? I'm not entirely sure how I decided that. I wanted to do yoga because I really enjoy stretching and I need to do activities that strengthen my core due to my lower back issues. However, Bikram sounded like much more of a challenge. I don't enjoy being hot and I don't really enjoy sweating... so to do yoga in a 100 degree room with sweaty people definitely sounded more challenging and physical. I ran... I can sweat for 90 minutes... right? I procrastinated a bit on this... until one day our friend PJ said he went all the time and I should join him one weekend morning. So I did. :)
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