Home Practice - Bikram #87

I had a really good practice this evening. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be, what with the fasting and all. I didn't sweat as much without the heat, of course. So I wasn't able to go as deep into a few of the postures. But much to my delight and amazement, I was actually able to go deeper into some of them. I was able to touch both hands to the floor pretty easily in toe stand, although I have still not figured out how to bend my standing knee to get my body down yet. And I was able to grab my elbows for the first time ever in the last part of wind-removing pose. Hmmm. Maybe I'm just less sore and stiff than usual after taking a week+ off. Overall I was very pleasantly surprised.

I really like doing the Beginner's Series along with the audio cd. I just love Bikram's personality. He reminds me of a dance teacher I had when I was in my teens. Tough as nails and always pushing you to your edge, but doing it with so much love and genuine concern for your personal well being. I enjoy the insight into the man, the legend. And I love feeling at least a little bit like I am taking yoga from the boss himself. When I move back to California I definitely want to drive to LA at least a couple times a month to take classes when he's in town.

Next time I think that I will try a space heater so that the room is at least a little bit warm. I mean it's not cold in Hawaii by any stretch of the imagination, but it's nowhere close to 105 degrees either. Hopefully that will get me a little bit hotter and juicier.

The Master Cleanse is going great. My sense of smell is on overdrive and foods smell *really* good, but I am not at all hungry and know that I will not break it. I am seriously on a mission this time. ;))

Hope everyone's doing well with their challenges, practices, teacher training, etc.

Aloha & Namaste

Bikram Kaimuki - class #85
Tuesday (4/21/09) 6:30 pm w/ Jeremy

Bikram Kaimuki - class #86
Sunday (4/26/09) 11 am w/ Gail

Sorry that I haven't written for a while. Life has kinda been happening and I've been slacking on the yoga. I had an old roommate of mine come to visit for 10 days. And then I went to stay with my sister and her family out at the Ko`olina Resort on the other side of the island for a few more days. Besides that I was also pretty busy with work and have been furiously studying for my final on May 13th whenever I can find a spare moment. SIGH. I have had a *really* hectic schedule and let the yoga slide a bit. The bigger problem is that I let my eating habits slide too.

Well now that the visitors are gone and I'm down to the 2 week countdown before my trip I have decided to do the Master Cleanse to wipe the slate clean. (I will be posting the nitty-gritty details on my Raw Mana blog.) While I am on this detox program I will be doing yoga at home and not going to the studio. I'm afraid that the heat will just be too intense for me while detoxing. And at home I am a lot more in control... I can stop the cd and take a rest if needed, I can go get more water/lemonade from the kitchen, etc... But I do hope to practice at least 10 times in the next 13 days before I leave.

Then I also plan to get my ankle tattoo while I am in the Bay Area. Which means another 2 weeks that I'll need to stay out of the studio. So basically, I need to keep up my practice at home for the entire month of May. But to *sort of* make up for being out of the studio for a month, I'm thinking about doing a 30 day challenge in June. I've checked my calendar and as of yet there are no events that will prevent me from doing the full 30 days consecutively. I do hope to do 101 days at some point. But 30 days without skipping would be a start.

Bikram Kaimuki - class #83
Saturday 11 am w/ Noa

Bikram Kaimuki - class #84
Sunday 6:30 pm w/ Noa

Two good classes w/ Noa two days in a row.

Saturday I felt much stronger. Noa even commented to me after class how great I look and how well my practice is coming along. And even though I know it's true, I just never get tired of hearing it. ;))

Sunday was really hot and I was tired coming into class. I ended up sitting out second set of triangle and both sides of toe stand because I was feeling exhausted and overwhelmed towards the end of the standing series. Once we hit the floor I recuperated a little and was able to finish strong.

Something Noa said in class yesterday has really stayed with me. She said that as you develop a regular practice one of the hardest things to remember is to come into each class with no expectations and leave with no judgments. But it is crucial to learn to do this. I feel like I already knew that on a certain level but still have much work to do in this respect. I've made tremendous progress over the last few months. I need to recognize how far I've come and cut myself some slack when I have a rough day.

The green smoothie challenge is still going really well. I feel like it is the perfect complement to Bikram Yoga and I highly recommend it.

Bikram Kaimuki - class #81
Thursday 6:30 pm

Bikram Kaimuki - class #82
Friday 6:30 pm w/ Michele

So last night I high-tailed it over to the studio early cause Jeremy was supposed to be teaching and it was actually the teacher I don't really like instead. I was a little bummed but powered through the class anyway. Then tonight I thought I'd have her again cause she was listed on the online schedule; but was pleasantly surprised when I arrived to find that Michele was teaching. Both classes were HOT and CROWDED. And it doesn't help that the weather has started to get really humid here. Summer is definitely on its way.

It's weird, since taking off for several days I almost feel like I'm starting over or something. The room feels hotter, although I am able to make it through class with more composure in spite of the fact that I'm suffering. I'm getting the lower back pinch that I have to work through again. My triangle and camel have backslid a lot so that I cannot hold the full time in either set of the postures. But my toe stand is getting better. The last 2 classes I was actually able to touch the floor with both hands while keeping my standing knee straight. Bending down into the full expression is another story, but this is progress nonetheless. My separate leg stretching on the floor has gotten better, too. I can now straighten my knee on both sides while keeping my head firmly planted on my knee.

I have been on green smoothies for 3 days now. But really I've just been having them for breakfast so far and then making a fresh veggie-based juice in place of an evening meal. All I can say is WOW. I have so much energy and without a drop of coffee(!!) I feel alert and focused all day and really conscious of my food choices. Besides that I've lost 7.5 pounds in just 3 days(!!!) And I am not even following the green smoothie challenge to the letter. I feel like I have finally found the magic bullet: whole foods and yoga are an amazing combination for getting healthy from the inside out.

It's late and I am pretty beat so I will sign off for now. Hope every one is doing well in their own challenges/practices/trials & tribulations/etc...

Aloha, Namaste, & Goodnight!

Bikram Kaimuki - class #80
8:15 pm w/ Jeremy

Finally, a decent class. Not too hard, not too hot, no major breakthroughs but everything just kind of flowed. I really needed the reminder of why I love this yoga. After the struggle I had with the last two classes, I think I'm gonna swear off alcohol once again. I did have a lot of fruits and vegetables because it was the first day of my green smoothie challenge. But other than that, no alcohol the day before is the big difference.

I also lost 2 lbs from yesterday - I guess just deciding to do the challenge got my body back into losing mode. ;))

I took a personal day off work so that I could spend the whole day studying for my A&P exam. The test kicked my butt anyway. It covered the nervous system, the spine, and the brain in pretty complex detail. Fascinating stuff, just a tremendous amount of information. My brain is seriously overloaded and I am going to call it a night. I'll try to get back into the daily meditations tomorrow.

Green Smoothie Experiment

Well I have decided to begin the Green Smoothie Challenge recommended by Green Smoothie Girl. Or at least a modified version for right now. This is an experiment to determine the combined effects of Bikram Yoga and a living foods lifestyle. I have been toying with the idea of going raw for a while now and this seems like a doable step in that direction. Go to the website to read more and to sign up for her email newsletter: http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/weightloss.html

Because I'd like to reserve this blog for yoga and related insights, moving forward I will be documenting my food choices and weight loss progress on my "Raw Mana" blog. (http://ellen96816.blogspot.com/) I am sure there will be a little crossover but I invite anyone who is interested to read about the fine details there. ;))

No yoga for me for for the last couple of days. I swam Sunday and then felt a migraine headache coming on in the late afternoon. I was able to cut it off w/ Excedrin Migraine very shortly after it started, but was still left with a tension headache for the rest of the evening. Then yesterday night I had a friend's birthday dinner so I skipped yoga again. Now I'm feeling a little bit hung over from drinking a bit too much wine so I'm not going to make it today either.

Boy I sure am piling up the excuses. One just seems to snowball into another. Tomorrow I must re-group and get myself back on track. I still may to try to make it to 110 classes before I leave. Which would require doing a few doubles (4) to make up for the days I'll be travelling. We shall see.

Bikram Kaimuki - class #79
4:30 pm w/ Noa

Well tomorrow came and it wasn't better. In fact it was much worse. Maybe cause I drank 4 beers yesterday when my limit these days has been 2. Maybe cause I had so much salty, greasy bar food. Maybe cause I got a little bit of sun during the day before class. Maybe I just didn't drink enough water. Most likely a combination of all of the above. I had an extremely hard class. Probably the most difficult class I've had to date. My head was throbbing and I sat out one set of several postures. I never do that. I usually power through. But not today. I just couldn't. SIGH.

Bikram Kaimuki - class #77
Friday (4/3) 6:30 pm w/ Tom

Bikram Kaimuki - class #78
Friday (4/10) 11 am w/ Tom

Yes, you read that right. I went six days in a row without going to yoga. I worked late every night getting ready for our big event this week. But that's no excuse really. I still should have made time to go to class. I gained a little weight back and after this morning's class I felt pretty awful - polluted almost. I like to think of Bikram as taking a shower from the inside out. So, in essence, it's like my insides hadn't been properly cleaned for 6 days.

Class this morning was HARD. I started out with a little headache and by the end of the class my head was throbbing. I drank a coconut water before class, which I've never tried and I also downed a bunch of water in case the headache meant I was dehydrated. I went to the bathroom twice before class started just to be on the safe side. No matter. I felt like I needed to pee from about party-time on. I made a deal with myself that I'd wait until after standing series was finished to leave the room. But when the time came I decided to tough it out til the end of class. I got through floor series but couldn't go too deep into any of the spine-strengthening or compression postures cause it was too uncomfortable on my bladder. I am certain that tomorrow will be better.

Today's Weight: 217.0

Today's Food Choices:
coffee w/ milk and vanilla syrup
Kona chocolate chip pancakes
(11:00 am - Mulvadi Cafe)
couple pieces of fried calamari
2 fried crab & macademia nut wontons
french fries
couple of onion rings
couple of buffalo wings
4 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale's
(6 pm/8 pm - Hula Grill)

No class again tonight. =o(

But I did take measurements last weekend so I have some fun stats to share...

2/1/09
Weight: 223.0
BMI: 33.0
Bust: 43"
Waist: 38"
Hip: 49.5"
Bicep: 15"
Thigh: 24"
Calf: 16"

3/28/09
Weight: 211.0 - 12 lbs lost!
BMI: 31.1 - almost 2 points lost
Bust: 40" - 3 inches lost!!!
Waist: 36" - 2 inches lost!!
Hip: 46" - 3.5 inches lost!!!!
Bicep: 14" - 1 inch lost (x2)
Thigh: 23" - 1 inch lost (x2)
Calf: 15" - 1 inch lost (x2)

So I only lost 12 pounds in 8 weeks. However - thanks to the magic of Bikram Yoga - my body mass index dropped almost 2 points and I lost more than 14.5 inches!!! That is a cause for celebration. I wish that my waist was shrinking faster than my bust. But I can see that what I'm doing - however imperfectly - IS WORKING. ;))

17 & 18/60

Bikram Kaimuki - class #75
Sunday 6:30 pm w/ Kevo

Bikram Kaimuki - class #76
Wednesday 8:15 pm w/ Jeremy

So as you can see I missed a couple days in a row of yoga. I had a weird pinch in my hip that made it painful to even walk. Was it truly bad enough to miss class? Maybe on Monday, probably not on Tuesday. Oh well. My 60 day challenge is pretty much kaput. But I do want to make it to AT LEAST 120 classes before I leave 5/16 for my visit to the mainland. That's 44 classes in 47 days. So I will still need to do some doubles in order to make up for the 5 days I know I'll be off island between now and then.

I'd also like to reach 40 lbs lost - which means I need to step things up a bit. That's 6 weeks away so I believe it's totally doable. My diet has got to improve, though. More fruits and vegetables. No more fast food. Green smoothies every day. As a reward, if I reach 196 lbs or lower before I leave then I will get my first ever tattoo on my ankle while I'm in the Bay Area. I figure it's the perfect time since I'll be on vacation and it won't be too hard for me to stay out of the studio for a week or so. Staying out of the water will be a little more difficult, but that's the price I've gotta pay.

I apologize again for not writing so much lately. I am crazy busy at work these days. Hopefully, after our big event next next week my life should get a little bit back to normal. At that point I will resume working through Meditations from the Mat.

Best of luck to everybody in their challenges! I have the utmost respect for you who've done 30 or 60 or even 90+ days. Maybe I'll complete one eventually. Just not in the cards for me right now.

Today's Weight: 214.5(!!)

Today's Food Choices:
vanilla iced coffee
pancakes w/ margarine & syrup
(9 am - McDonald's)
6" tuna sandwich on honey oat
bag of Doritos
(3:30 pm - Subway)
chocolate chip cookie
peanut butter cookie
sugar cookie
(5:30 pm - work)
2 small brownies
(10:30 pm - home)