Days 12 & 13 of 101

Saturday 2/12/11
4:30 pm w/ Chelsea

Sunday 2/13/11
4:30 pm w/ Stefan

Well the 4:30 pm classes tend to be A LOT hotter than the 6:30 am. Today I had THE hottest class I've taken since I moved to SD. Wowzers. People were dropping like flies and leaving the room right and left. I knew we were in trouble when I began to feel nauseous during the backbending part of Half Moon and Hands to Feet pose. I hung in there but was seriously hurting by the time we hit the floor. I was not able to hold all the postures for the full time and even sat out 1 set of Camel and Rabbit. Still a good class. Feel like I REALLY worked and stirred some stuff up. Nothing like a good, hot ass-kicker to make you feel like a beginner again.

Back to AM class tomorrow. Still wish it was hotter in the morning. I will probably say something to the owner when I take her class on Friday if it's still not feeling so hot.

Days 8, 9, 10, 11, & 12 of 101

Monday 2/7/11
6:30 am w/ Chelsea

Tuesday 2/8/11
6:30 am w/ Kim

WEdnesday 2/9/11
6:30 am w/ Sophie

Thursday 2/10/11
6:30 am w/ Ray

Friday 2/11/11
6:30 am w/ Toni

I have been crazy busy and haven't had much time to blog. But I am pretty much feeling like a rockstar because I did the 6:30 am class every day this week!!! For the weekend I will probably go back to 4:30 pm to give myself the opportunity to sleep in and fart around in the morning. My knee is still hurting a bit - but I am determined to work through it. So far, so good. I am really glad that I am doing this.

Day 5,6 & 7 of 101

Friday 2/4/11
4:30 pm w/ Ray

Saturday 2/5/11
4:30 pm w/ Heather

Saturday 2/6/11
4:30 pm w/ Heather

Well... The last few classes have finally felt hot enough. I think that maybe it is just really hard to get the temp up high enough first thing in the AM. I am going to try to hit the 6:30 am Mon-Fri this week so we shall see. Got a knee brace today that I am going to wear during my non-yoga hours and already it seems to be helping from having it on for just half of the day. I think that especially right after yoga when my knee is all warmed up and loosey juicy is the time I probably need the extra support the most.

Day 3 & 4 of 101

Wednesday
6:30 pm w/ Eeva

Thursday
6:30 am w/ Ray

Still going strong. My knee continues to bug me a bit but feels much better than it did a couple days ago. Down 3 lbs in 3 days. YAY! ;))

Day 2 of 101

Tuesday 2/1/11
Bikram Kearny Mesa
6:30 am w/ Eeva

Decent class. Still not very hot, but maybe that's just a morning thing. Tweaked my knee a bit in triangle, hopefully nothing major.

I am once again realizing just how good/intense/inspiring my teachers back in Hawaii were and how much they pushed me. Or am I just getting that much better? Seriously doubt that. Maybe after this challenge is over I will check out the studio on Hancock Street. It's supposed to be the hottest and most hardcore studio in San Diego. For now I am fine with cruising a little bit. ;))

Day 1 of 101

Monday 1/31/11
Bikram Kearny Mesa
6:30 am w/ Kim

OK. So that cold was hanging on a bit longer than I expected. Or maybe I was just making excuses. Regardless. The 101 Day Bikram Challenge starts today!!

Good class. Not very hot and I'm not quite as flexible first thing in the morning anyway - so I wasn't able to get as deep into many of the postures as usual. But solid practice, especially after 3+ weeks of no yoga at all. I am actually amazed that I hadn't regressed much at all and very excited to see where the next 14 weeks and 3 days take me.

My mantra during savasana is, "Release everything unnecessary." And I must have stirred up something becasue when I got home I began to get the blurry vision that usually means a migraine is coming. I took some Aleve and burned some sage and took a few minutes to relax while I drank my coffee. What do you know it is gone already. Cool. Now it's time to jump in the shower and head to work.

Wishing everyone a fantastic Monday!

Aloha & Namaste,
Ellen

OK let's try that again...

Sunday 9/5/10
Bikram Kearny Mesa
4:30 pm w/ MArk

Monday 9/6/10
Home Practice - Baron Baptiste
"Core Power" (30 min)

Well - I didn't actually get back into the daily yoga until now. Yesterday I went and signed up for the monthly auto-debit special at Bikram Kearny Mesa. It's just $111 per month for unlimited yoga - which I think is a smoking deal.

I planned my meals just right for the day. I took 2 Yoga Body and 2 Yoga Fuel capsules 30 minutes before the class. And I drank a ton of water all throughout the day. Then during class I tried my best to take it easy - didn't sit out any postures - but didn't stay in most of them the full time either. I felt pretty nauseous all through class. But today I feel pretty good. I am a little sore - but it's a good sore that means I am getting back into the business.

Tomorrow I think that I am going to go check out Sol Yoga in La Jolla with my sister. She bought me a package of 5 and I just never got around to using them. My goal is to do Bikram in the studio 3-4 days per week and then mix it up with other styles of yoga on the inbetween days. That seems to work the best for my body.

I am going to try to complete a full year of daily yoga. 365 days without skipping a single day. There's really no excuse because I have 2 separate 30 minute videos that I can do in a pinch. 30 minutes is nothing to set aside even on my busiest days.

Long term I am really hoping to be able to go through Teacher Training in Fall 2011. I am keeping my fingers crossed that 1) Bikram will keep the training here in San Diego for the next 3 classes and 2) my financing source (contract work at my previous job in Hawaii) will come through for Jan 2011. And of course 3) that I can loose 50-60 more pounds and get into THE best shape of my life over the course of the next year.

So that's it. September 5, 2010 through September 4, 2011. My one year commitment to transform my life with yoga. I am UNSTOPPABLE this time.