Day 10

10 days have passed since starting my 30 day Bikram Yoga challenge and since my Day 1 post detailing my Challenge within a Challenge.  This is somewhat consistent with the Detox theme of the challenge.

OVERCOMING FEAR
Until now, the most consecutive days I attended a Bikram Yoga class was 4 days in a row. Usually time constraints or exhaustion prevented me from continuing past 4 classes.  Honestly, I was also a little afraid that I might get too tired and have a miserable class.  There is nothing worse than entering that hot room tired with little to eat or drink.

Now that I am challenged with consecutive classes, I find they actually get more tolerable and  rewarding.  After a break I find myself fighting my body to maintain a posture.  Now I can just get right into it, for the most part.  As a result of my Real Food Challenge, I know I am eating well and continue to be very vigilent about staying hydrated throughout the day:   usually between 2-3 liters of water before each class.

IN THE STUDIO
Once I enter the studio, that is MY time.  Time away from work, family and everything outside those four walls.  I try and make the best of it (and enjoy the silence).  This means concentrating on myself, my breathing, and all 26 postures; all while trying to keep my mind clear and open.  I make every effort to take what I have learned from my instructors and posture workshops to improve some aspect of my practice during every class.  I realize it would be easier to just go through the motions with minimal effort and still receive some benefit.  Instead, I prefer to approach each class like I approach life:  making the most of it by appreciating and enjoying it NOW since you don’t get that time back.

BODY
I generally go to the last class of the day after putting my boys to sleep.  I wake up sore every morning so I must be pushing my body every day and receiving benefit.

On Day 5, I left class feeling some pain in my left hamstring which was not usual garden variety soreness  I have endured some micro-tearing here in the past that resulted in pain and bruising as I tried to work through it. The standing separate leg stretching pose is usually to blame.  As a result, I have been taking it easy on the left leg in a couple poses bending it when necessary to prevent further tearing.  Yesterday, I felt that I could start taking that leg deeper and am slowly incorporating it back into the postures.

“You’re never too old, never too bad, never too late and never too sick to start from scratch once again”
-Bikram Choudhury