Welcome to the Finish Line: 30 Hot Yoga Days!

Final class of the Thirty Day Challenge. 

It was a challenging class for me, physically.  The power was still out so the humidity was high. 

Going into class my goal was to give 100% in every single pose, but the humidity got the best of me and I had to lay out for a couple of poses.  Regardless, I gave 100% to the poses I did. 

After months of hot yoga and 30 days in a row, I have still not found my ideal water bottle.  It is an epic search, and I know I will triumph...one day. 

I also never fully gripped my elbow tips during the double leg portion of the Wind Removing pose.  I feel like a bit of a backslider, actually, but I think that once my body recovers from the 30 Day Hot Yoga Challenge, I'll get there easily. 

I thank the darling people that have supported me through this process.  Not just the staff at Riverflow, but the other hot yoga students I have met.  I love the sense of community that Riverflow has created.  There are so many talented, successful (and friendly!) people who interact in the front room after class.  My family and friends (especially my mom) were 100% supportive as always, and it is always appreciated. 

From the start,  I told you that I don't usually challenge myself.  I can safely say that after this month I am more comfortable with my abilities and ready for the next challenge!  I'm taking suggestions...

3-2-1...30 Hot Yoga Days Almost Done!

Day Twenty-two
Here it is, people, short and sweet:  I ache all over and am walking like an arthritic person, but I'm feeling good about it. 

At the 6:45am class today Kate even called me "chipper".  It's probably true.  Even though my body's wearing down and might crumble into pieces by day 30, I still love every day in hot yoga class. 

In fact, the 6:45am class might be my favorite.  Great people, great music, and class is over early so I can get on with my day.  And so I move forward... slowly...

Day Twenty-eight: Hurricane edition

I apologize for not writing recently.  Let me catch you up: I stopped wearing a shirt to class. 

Yoga bra and shorts/whatever bottoms, and I'm good to go.  I got over my ego in about 3 minutes on the first night, and now I don't even notice.  What else is new...what else is new... I'm almost finished with the challenge, only two days to go!  I always think of clever insights while I'm in class, and then forget them by the time I sit down to write.  If you catch me after class you might hear some wisdom that doesn't make it to the blog! 

In other news, Rhonda is such a trooper: she is determined to have a class every day throughout the hurricane, power outages, flooding, and general mayhem in Lambertville this weekend.  What a stand-up woman. 

Day Twenty-nine

Monday morning 645AM I had the honor of being the only student, with Rhonda leading me through class.  The power was still out but the heat was on, so we worked out in candlelight.  It was lovely, but I'm only going to remark on one thing: ujjayi breathing.  With just us in the yoga classroom and no outside noises, I was able to hear our breathing very clearly.  I was amazed at Rhonda's ability to maintain even ujjayi breathing throughout the entire class.  The breathing is an important aspect of hot yoga, but I had never realized just how integral it is to practice.  I made an effort to slow my breathing down (I'm fighting a cold so I sounded a bit wheezy!) and count to six with every inhale and exhale.  The result was a more peaceful and thorough workout. 

Since beginning hot yoga I've noticed my breathing outside of the studio and made an effort to balance it out.  No more quick breaths or holding my breath.  As usual, it is a work in progress.  But this morning's class brought me to a better understanding of how important ujjayi is to hot yoga, and how it can improve my daily life.  Inhale...exhale...

Rhonda Makes Me Sweat

Day Eighteen

 

Totally unrelated: we should have t-shirts that say "Rhonda Makes Me Sweat."  Terrible/Great idea? Let me know.  :)

Lately I've been allowing my mind to wander in class. 

Last week I even dropped into Triangle pose before Arielle told us to.  (Can you imagine?!  Why spend more time in that pose than I have to, right?) 

Today was like old times, though: all yoga for all 90 minutes.  It felt great.  I pushed, I was encouraged, I went further in Standing Bow than ever, and I managed to hold it. 

Whenever you see me smiling in class (which is often) it's because I tried something new, I fell out and enjoyed the process, or I'm just totally in the moment. 

With Rhonda teaching today I was able to stay in the room and focus on exactly what I was doing.  It's been awhile since I've taken one of her classes and it was a nice change of pace. 

I'm on day eighteen and the end is in sight, but I don't feel the need to end this experience yet.  It's flying by and there's so much more work to do! 

Downhill Jill

Day Seventeen

Early on I told you that I enjoy falling out of yoga poses because it's a demonstration of the challenges that I'm facing.  Now I fall out because my body is screaming "Enough yoga!  Knock if off, already!" 

But, Dear Body, I refuse. 

I will see this challenge through to the end and you will thank me for it later. And it's all downhill from here. (Well technically, it was all downhill from Monday's class, which was Day Fifteen.)

Yoga is officially part of my daily routine, and I'm still amazed at how different each class is.  My body handles each pose differently every day, and while it'd be nice to have some continuity from class to class, I know that I'll get there eventually.

Jill Gets Yoga Arms

You'll find Jill's initial thoughts on her hot yoga challenge on our Home Page blog posts...here she continues in her heated quest to transform her life with hot yoga in 30 Days of Hot Yoga Challenge!

Day Thirteen

 

I've skipped a few days, dear readers. 

I have no excuse in particular, just that I didn't feel like climbing the steps up to the office to type.  My legs are still tight, but I've learned to accept it as a work in progress.  Maybe next week I'll be a stretchy rubber band again.  As far as the classes go, I'm getting into a groove. 

Time flies by in the yoga room, and I find myself zoning out more often.  I'm not distracted, just more focused on my breathing and making adjustments. 

When I started coming to Riverflow regularly (in May) I struggled with each pose, each breath, each class.  I enjoyed the struggle of making my muscles and bones fight to maintain a pose for 60 or 30 seconds. 

Now that my body is stronger it doesn't need to fight any more, and I find myself enjoying the opposite: I enjoy pushing little by little and making adjustments to my pose.  And best of all: when a teacher suggests that I try a more challenging grip or adjustment!  It's a total thrill. 

(Confession: I'm a TOTAL teacher's pet.  That might be one of the reasons I became a teacher. huh...)   

Anyway, I'm nearing the halfway mark of my challenge, and things are moving along swimmingly.  I'm stronger, my endurance is higher, and I've noticed new definition in certain body parts.  For example, this morning in class I discovered that my shoulders are nicely defined!  Way to be effective, Awkward Pose!  I'm sure that tomorrow morning's class will show me something new.