Outside of the dizzy spell, it was a really great class.  I moved to the front of the room for the first time today and it was like an entirely different class!  I really liked it.  I was able to have laser focus and I guess with being in the front, the instructor can see me better so I got some great corrections on my poses.  Since it was another 10am class, I had a lot of energy and I think the added pressure of being in the front row made me work extra hard.  I’m looking forward to heading back to the front for my final class of the challenge tomorrow.

Today’s Awkward Pose was super hard.  This is one that my instructor really corrected me on which changed everything for me.  I had to really bring my hips forward for the middle sit-down and that killed me!  But in a good way.  I definitely couldn’t hold it like I could before, but that’s because apparently I’ve been doing it wrong.  What a difference this made.  I’m sure it’s going to kill me again tomorrow too because my thighs just feel tired overall these days.  I’m looking forward to having a few days off and coming back to see if I can keep improving on this one.

I was really looking forward to Standing Bow Pulling Pose with being close to the mirror.  And it definitely helped.  I was able to keep my focus so much better and really hold it longer than I have any other class.  I still fell out a few times, but I hit a sweet spot a couple of times before my balance waned. It was a really great feeling to hit that though.  My goal is definitely to hold this the entire pose some day.

I had a great accomplishment on Toe Stand today!  I actually held the full pose the entire time on the left side with both my hands in prayer, and even 3/4 of the time on my right side.  This has never happened before so I was super excited.  I focused on a spot on the floor this time, like you’re suppose to (and I have a hard time doing, I usually look up) and apparently that is the key!  Go figure.  It was cool though and I was smiling from ear to ear after this one.

Well, I’m wrapping up the challenge finally.  One day left!  Amazing!  Just need to get a good night of sleep to prepare to kick some major ass tomorrow.  I think it’s going to be an exciting 5:45am wake up call because I’ll be on my way to huge accomplishment that I can really be proud of.  I’m actually looking forward to that early wake up for the first time.

In general it was a really great class.  I still had some of my normal balance bobbles, but even there, I see some major improvement.  I was able to feel that point in Standing Bow Pulling Pose where I hit the right balance, now I just have to keep it there.  For Eagle Pose, I still can’t come close to wrapping my foot around my calf, but I can balance well and I’m getting more and more aligned.  I still can’t hold Standing Head to Knee Pose the hole time, but I’m getting better on locking my leg and today I even got a full grip (thumbs crossed and everything) under my foot and kicked out, even if it was only for 15 seconds.  These are still little things I’m proud of.

I had a great Cobra Pose today.  My instructor corrected me a bit and I moved my hands in a lot closer and was really able to lift up further with my spine strength and bend further back then I have in the past.  It’s always a great feeling to make those small changes and really feel the benefits of the tweaks here and there.  This was one of them and I feel like I’m building some great strength with this pose.

I also had a great Bow Pose today.  I pushed on this one since it’s been a struggle point for me recently.  I have been getting tired around this time and not really into it.  With all my new found energy today, I was really able to push into the back bend and even roll forward onto my lower belly like I should be.  I can see my feet over my head and this is another pose, when I push through the tired stage, that I can really see and feel the difference from practicing this last month.

I went straight from yoga to hang with friends today and went to a Russian bath house for about 4 hours.  From a couple of hours of heat in the morning, to 4 more this evening, I’m spent!  I can’t even think of anything more to say because I’m just that tired.  Off to bed where I’ll probably sleep like a rock, but I’m also sure it will give me another great practice full of energy tomorrow.

It was an ok class today.  I was excited when I got to class, mainly because it’s my last 5:45am wake up on a Friday for a while, and was looking forward to kicking some ass in class.  I did really well until about the last 1/3 of class.  Then it just fizzled away.  I still made it through all the poses, but just came out of quite a few a few seconds early.  I think I was just tired.  I’ve been lucky to have 2 4-day weeks this month with a couple of holidays in there, but I think by Thursday with the early wake-ups it starts to hit me, and then Friday is just brutal.  So I guess today was just one of those days.  Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

I think my worst pose today was Locust Pose.  This is the point in the class where I could feel things starting to fizzle and just had an overwhelming feeling of just being tired overall.  I still did it, but without much heart put into it.  I didn’t even really go for it when lifting both legs.  I can promise there were no higher than 4 inches, and I feel like that was a lot for me today.  Tomorrow I’m going to really work on that one.

I had a really good Fixed Firm Pose.  I feel like the pressure in my ankles is getting less and less each time, but it’s still extremely tight.  I just do my best to release the pressure and breath through how uncomfortable it is.  I also have to come out of it pretty slowly because that’s when I really feel it.  But no matter how uncomfortable it is, I feel like I get a ton of benefit out of this one.  I see obvious improvement and I just know it’s helping me.  Now if I can just get my knees closer together!

I know I did one pose really well this morning and that was Balancing Stick.  I locked my legs well, stretched as far as I could stretch, really kept my balance and held it the entire time.  Your heart really races during this pose and it was a great feeling to nail it on both sets.  During this one I just watch the drips fall off my nose, eyelashes and hands and just watch them hit the mat.  I always get to see a little design of drops a the end of this one.  Hot huh?

Well…3 days left!  Even with a kind of “blah” practice today, I’m still excited to finish up and I’m definitely proud of myself for sticking with it.  I’m hoping to get a great night of sleep, have some coffee and breakfast in the morning and have a lot of energy for my final 3!

I wasn’t feeling Bow Pose today.  I did the first one fine and pushed it as hard as I could, but I just didn’t have any more “oomph” for the second one.  This seems to be the pose in class where this happens the most.  I’m not sure why.  So now my new goal is to push through both sets and get my “oomph” back.  I’ll work on that tomorrow.

I had a great Awkward Pose today and I really made sure of it too.  I have been focusing on getting down just as low in the 2nd part as the first and really staying up on the tops of my toes, moving up and down slowly on the 3rd one and keeping my arms up the entire time.  All of those parts are equally hard and it’s only the 2nd pose of the class, so it’s tough.  I really feel like I’m making good progress though.

I’ve really adjusted my Separate Leg Stretching Head to Knee Pose lately.  I’ve been really focusing on turning my body more inward when I go down, getting my forehead higher up on my knee and still moving my elbows down by my calf.  When I get to it, this is what Standing Head to Knee Pose should look like once I get my leg locking and balance down.  Flexibility is definitely not my problem.  My problem again is my short arms.  In order to get my elbows down I have a really hard time getting a good grip on my foot.  I have the same problem standing.  Frustrating, but a work in progress.

As this challenge is coming to a close, I’m starting to realize how proud I am of myself.  Deep down I always knew I could do it, but this month has taken an enormous amount of discipline and willpower.  But it’s a great feeling!  Doing something like this makes me realize that I can really do anything I put my mind to.  I’m excited to come up with something new and do something different, but I’m also looking forward to continuing with Bikram in a more relaxed state.  I really hope I can keep up with twice a week and keep working on all the little things.  This has been a great growing experience for my yoga, my body, my mind and my life in general.  I’m excited to add a bit more balance to my life while still incorporating my practice since I’ve always struggled with balance.  I’m more of an extreme person, which is probably why I’m doing with this challenge!  Time will tell!

Bit of an issue with Half Tortoise Pose today.  I’ve really been trying to use my core as much as possible and get my head on the mat before my hands, but I just couldn’t come close today.  Hands first, and super fast.  Doh!  I think I just felt tired or something.  I still got a great stretch once I was down there, but getting down and up is still a struggle.

I had a great Half Moon Pose today.  I think I’m able to get a bit deeper each week.  I also think I’m doing a better job of pushing my hips to the opposite wall and putting more of my weight backwards to really help open up.  It’s still a rough one for 1st thing in the morning, but by the second set, it’s amazingly better.  It’s a hard one to start with, but it’s a good one to start with because it really gets the blood flowing to start the class.  I’m also getting further back with my backbend which is exciting, but painful at the same time.  I just have the hardest time breathing while going back, so that’s what I have to put most of my focus into.

I’m also making good progress with Spine Twisting Pose.  I’m able to turn completely around now and look almost to the opposite wall.  Each day I pick a point further and further to take my twist a bit deeper.  I never really take my back arm around to grab my inner thigh because my arm just literally won’t reach.  Again, the short arm problem.  I think from now on I’ll at least wrap it around my waist the best I can, but it just doesn’t come close to touching my thigh at all.  Oh well, limitations I just have to deal with.  But at least I’m getting a great twist in the spine and feels really good.

I’m glad these days are all good ones this week.  It’s a great ending to this challenge.  I hope they continue!  It sort of feels like an overall breakthrough because of all the high energy I’m feeling.  This is also making me a little scared to stop, no matter how excited I am to sleep in!  I hope that with going 2-3 times a week I’ll still be able to see progress, I’m sure it will just be slower.  But I think for my sanity, it will be great.  Also, I’m really missing lifting weights.  Even though I know I’m definitely gaining strength with my practice, it’s not the same as lifting weights and focusing on building some real muscle.  I feel like muscle is the missing piece to really help me on my weight loss goals because the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn throughout the day.  Plus, I just like muscles. (no, not body builder type muscles)  They shape you and I think they are sexy.  I think a main piece missing from Bikram is arm strength.  There are a couple poses that really help your shoulders, and you’re always locking your arms, but that’s not the same as being able to hold your own body weight, or lift your own body weight with your arms.  That will be a big focus for me after this.  Good ‘ol push ups and pull ups!

Yoga pet peeve – Overall I don’t think people smell too badly in Bikram.  Or…we all smell just enough all at the same time that we all get used to each other.  Every now and then I smell a guy’s BO, but really not too often.  But today was a different story.  There was a new girl right next to me in class and her stench was completely overwhelming and overpowering.  Luckily she sat out for over 1/2 the poses due to being new, but when she lifted her arms I swear I just wanted to pass out.  It was horrible!!!  Please people, be aware of yourself and please be clean and wear deodorant.  No matter what ethnicity you are and if that group typically doesn’t wear it, you know you are going to be in a 105 degree room full of sweaty bodies.  Please please please be considerate of the people around you.  We are all working our asses off and the deep breaths we need to take to get through to practice are extremely important.

I had a little freak out yesterday when I couldn’t get my laundry from my laundry place last night.  They had closed early for the Chinese New Year and I didn’t know they were doing that.  So I actually had to do the class in pants this morning.  I don’t own a single pair of shorts (mainly because I think they are the most unflattering piece of clothing on me, so I just don’t own any), so pants were my only option.  Even though I usually wear capris, which only lets my ankles breathe, the pants were becoming a mental block already.  I just turned it around though and told myself that now I’d be able to hold Standing Bow Pulling Pose with no problems and not slip.  It worked and the pants helped.  Was I a little hotter?  Probably, but because I was like a robot just going from pose to pose today, it really didn’t matter.

Not too much to complain about today.  But for Standing Head to Knee Pose, I just concentrated on my locking my leg today.  Didn’t even bother kicking my foot out.  I just tried to focus on my balance and proper form.  The main problem I am finding with locking my leg is the balance in my ankle.  It’s all over the place and usually what makes me lose my balance.  I’m not sure if that’s normal or not, but I’m just waiting for the day where it gets a lot stronger.

I rocked Balancing Stick today.  I locked my legs, got right into it and stretched until I could stretch no more.  My ankle still bobbled around a bit, but my balance was strong.  I have always wondered if I’m really in a T shape or not, but I got a “beautiful” comment from our instructor Rupi today, so maybe I’ve actually got it!  I’ve also been concentrating more on looking for forward and really stretching from wall to wall.  It’s a heart racing pose, but I like this one.

I also did well on Standing Separate Leg Stretching Pose.  I’ve really been working on keeping my legs locked the entire pose and today it paid off.  It hurts to flex my quads that long, but when you do it in this pose, it really opens up your hamstrings to stretch your spine all the way down so your head can graze the floor.  Today I messed up the little wispy pieces of my hairline, so I know I just grazed the towel.  It was a great stretch and I felt super controlled today.

I’m plugging right along on my last week of the challenge and still enjoying each day.  And I had a moment of thankfulness/gratefulness about my body this morning.  It’s a little un-yogi-like to say this, but it helped me realize.  Even though I’m short and sort of stocky in build (at least compared to all the other lean and skinny yogis in the room), standing next to this one girl this morning made me really appreciate everything my body has to offer.  She was extremely tall and lanky and really just looked like a skeleton with skin on top.  No curves, no meat.  Even though we are all far from perfect, and I sometimes feel far from MY perfect, standing next to her made me realize that I kind of like my curves.  I kind of like my shortness.  And I know I love my muscles.  They shape me, make me feel sexy and give me strength.  Do I still want to lose some of the fat on top so more of the muscles shine through?  Of course!  But at least this morning I got to have a few moments where I loved my body and thanked it for supporting me every day as well as make me look like a pretty sexy woman!  It was a good feeling…but now I’ll get back to not comparing myself to others.  It’s definitely a healthier attitude to have. (It’s just hard in a  room full of 1/2 naked sweaty bodies sometimes!)

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.

I can tell that the last couple of classes I’ve been working on locking my knee because my thigh muscles were super sore today.  That made for a tough Awkward Pose and an even tougher Standing Head to Knee Pose.  Again, I really focused on locking out my standing leg and for some reason with this pose, if I fully lock my leg, I just can’t really kick out like I’m suppose to without killing my back.  I think I’m missing a lot of core strength for this pose because I know that sucking you stomach up is suppose to help support you lower back.  Today I just did my best to hold my foot in my hand, lock my leg and stand there.  Still extremely challenging, but that’s the best I could do for today.

Even Full Locust Pose killed me today.  This time from the heat I think.  I just couldn’t hold it the entire time because the heat was just too overwhelming.  So I did what I could and then released to lay there and try to cool down.  I actually like this pose too.  It’s one that I can feel across my entire spine and have been really trying to lift higher each class.  Today just wasn’t my day.

There were still a few good things that happened despite of my overall practice.  The full back bend we do during Half Moon Pose was really good for me today.  I even got a compliment of “beautiful form as usual”, which is always encouraging to hear.  I really went for it today and got back further then I think I ever have.  Only by a couple of inches, but in a back bend, that’s a ton!

Another good one for me was Standing Separate Leg/Head to Knee Pose.  I think previously I didn’t have my feet lined up properly because I moved them a bit today and I think it made a huge difference.  I was able to come down and keep my front leg straight and get my head to knee without a problem.  I also think my hips were way better aligned and my hamstrings must be a lot better because I didn’t feel them as much.  I still have to work on keeping my hands in prayer the whole time and balancing, but I’m getting there bit by bit.

So it was just an OK class for me today.  Made it through, had some good moments, blah moments and just plain hot moments.  But I had a good rest of the day.  I went for a 30 minute foot massage and a 60 minute full body massage.  It was much needed and now I’m super relaxed.  Or at least I was until the final seconds of the Ravens game, but that’s for an entirely different blog.  Starting my final full week of Bikram this week and I’m looking forward to kicking its ass.

Today’s observation: I had mentioned yesterday how I find it hard to bend over completely on a Sit-Up after the floor poses that are backward bending, but today something kind of freaky happened.  Same thing was happening, and then when I did Rabbit Pose, the first opposite pose to all of the backward bending poses, my entire spine popped.  Little pops all the way down my spine as I rolled down.  Not cracks, like I normally feel, but something like little air pops releasing from each vertebra.  It freaked me out a bit, but I loved it.  It felt soooo good and then I got into Rabbit Pose with no problem.  Needless to say, the Sit-Up after that was a piece of cake.  Crazy.

I had the owner, Tricia, as my instructor today.  I took my first class with her and haven’t been able to take one of her classes since.  The snow kept a lot of people away for a Saturday class, but people that showed up got a great practice.  The humidity was definitely up today compared to other days, and I loved it.  Tricia really pushes everyone in the class and also pushes each pose to the maximum.  She does a great job of really focusing on each and every person in there, even in such a big class.  It’s always nice to get corrections as well as a couple “beautiful” comments as you go through the practice.  Overall it was just a great class and I feel fantastic.

Not too much negative to report today, which is nice.  Just a couple of observations.  For Sit-Up, I’m definitely noticing the difference after ones that I do right after a lot of stomach/spine work (1st series on the floor) and the ones after any poses bending forward.  After bending backwards so much, I definitely have a lot harder time bending all the way forward at the top of the Sit-Up.  After forward bending poses, it’s really amazing how much my hamstrings are loose and how I can just fold forward with no problems.  It’s a great energizing pose though either way.

Another thing I’ve noticed is the benefits of quickly getting into Corpse Pose after each pose, and how it really makes a difference.  I think you tend to want to get out of the pose and take your time to flip over and lie down, but I’ve found the more efficiently you really get into it, that extra breath you’re able to take and let your body really sink into the floor, makes a big difference.  I think I have the hardest time after Flexed Firm Pose, but I’m working on flipping around as fast as I can on all of the poses to really reap the benefits.

I think I had a breakthrough in Camel Pose today.  I’m not sure why this hasn’t happened before, but this time as I put my palms to my heels and really leaned back, it was really easy to push the front of my legs/hips forward and I felt a cool little arch in my lower spine that just felt really natural.  This also allowed me to lean my head further back and look straight down to the towel instead of the back of the room.  Apparently you should one day be able to see your toes…I’m still looking, but I felt closer!

And opposite to Camel Pose, was Rabbit Pose.  I usually don’t like this one, because it hurts the top of my head and I don’t think I’m doing it right, but recently I think I’m starting to “get” it.  Today felt really good and I really felt that full stretch across my total spine that the instructors keep talking about.  I can’t quite get the 90 degree angle of my legs (mainly because I think my arms are just too short!) but I think feeling the stretch was a good sign that maybe one day I’ll get there.

It’s been a nice change to really be enjoying myself more during classes. I’ve actually even noticed that I’m almost giddy after a pose here and there when I can feel improvements, changes and definitely when I hold balancing poses longer.  I still have the same few poses that constantly stump my body, but I’m learning to live with the little changes and love the things that keep me from fully getting them (big thighs, big calves, belly, short arms, etc.).  All of these things that stump me are still strong and getting stronger each day.  I feel it.  I notice.  Doing a practice like this every day definitely puts you in tune with your body and I think it makes it easy to really appreciate the little things.

I was energized this morning and didn’t have that dragging, I just got up at 5:45am, feeling, like I normally do.  I slept really well and didn’t wake up once, so I’m sure that helped make the difference.  Also, I think the class with less people was just nice and energizing overall.  I am however, very excited to sleep in tomorrow.  Especially since it’s suppose to snow a few inches and I can just take my time to get out the door to the 10am class.

I actually don’t have much to complain about today since it was such a good class, but I still had a few balance bobbles and my toughest pose was probably Standing Head to Knee Pose.  Because I really focused on locking my leg, that made a big difference on the ability to kick out my other leg and actually hold it.  I wasn’t as frustrated as normal and it was probably because I really made the locking leg thing my goal for the pose today.  I’m going to keep at it tomorrow and keep building the strength.

Triangle Pose was a pose that the instructor really had to correct everyone.  We learned to really keep the entire spine straight, everyone had to take a larger step to really get down into and then to just move only the arms to the up and down position.  Then you can look up towards the hand and sit deeper into the pose to graze the toes with your other fingers.  It completely changed the pose for me.  I’m actually excited to do it again, correctly, tomorrow.

I had a super strong Awkward Pose today, unlike a couple of days ago.  It’s kind of interesting how much your body and performance changes during these poses on a day to day basis.  I was able to get super low on the mid-pose (We actually do 3 for awkward. 1st – sitting in a chair, 2nd – sitting in a chair on tip toes, 3rd – on tip toes sitting all the way down with butt barely off the heels) and keep my arms up the entire time. It was really hard and I could tell my heart rate was flying, but it was a really good accomplishment.

After doing this for 20 days, I think the main benefits I’m getting out of this challenge are improved posture, energy (even though I’m sore), great sleep, the need for healthy clean food, good skin and compliments.  It’s been nice to get quite a few compliments at work from people saying they can tell the difference and that I look great.  I don’t normally hear things like that so it’s been an interesting, but nice thing to digest and accept.  But I’ll take it!  Who doesn’t love a compliment here and there?!