Today was MUCH better! Better temperature and much better class. Back to normal for me. As usual for a Monday morning at 6am, I wasn’t the happiest going to class, but once I started, the energy kicked in and I was pretty strong in all of my poses. I was really happy at the end of class and I felt like I accomplished a lot. Again, I really focused on my locking my legs whenever possible and I think I held every pose until the end except maybe 2-3. I’m feeling really strong these days though and it’s a great feeling.
I haven’t talked about Half Tortoise Pose much, but I still struggle with this one. Not exactly the pose itself, but getting in and out of it. As you go down with a straight spine, your head is suppose to hit the mat first. That has never been the case for me. It’s always my hands. You need major core strength to do this one correctly and it’s just not there for me. I think it’s gotten a bit better, and I get down a little further before putting my hands down, but I’ve still got a long way to go.
Ever since my little breakthrough on Camel Pose the other day, my lower spine has been sore. I can still get into things, I just have to take it slower. Today I really felt it in Fixed Firm Pose. You’d think I’d feel it in my knees or ankles like usual, but with this soreness, that was definitely the spot I had to be careful with. Actually took an Aleve today to help me out a bit.
I think I got a few inches higher in Locust Post today! Very exciting stuff. I worked on putting my hands closer to my knees this time and using more of my arm and chest strength to help me up and I think it worked. I’m going to be focusing on this more and more this last week to see if that’s the secret trick.
I can’t really do Tree Pose fully, but I like it. It’s one of my favorites because I can really feel my hips open up and get an amazing stretch. I feel like I’m getting slightly more flexible with this and while I have no idea if I’ll ever be able to put both hands in prayer, I still really like it and feel like I’m accomplishing a lot with it. For now I just concentrate on my hips and standing as straight as possible while locking my leg. Maybe I’ll try this when I’m not so sweaty and see if I can actually hold it.
Well…only one week left of this challenge. I’m actually a little nervous to stop and do something new, but at the same time, I’m really excited. I just need to work out my next schedule so I can still fit in Bikram a couple of times a week and hope that I still progress. I’m looking forward to doing other types of yoga too to mix things up and do/learn new postures. The variety will be a lot of fun I think. Not too sure what my next “challenge” will be, but I’m thinking about doing a salsa and hip hop dance class challenge. I’ve always wanted to do classes in both, so why not do them as part of a dance challenge?! Who knows…still thinking.
