Back to Ground Zero

Remember that time I said I was done doing Bikram? I kinda lied. I trekked home to the mother land this weekend and went about catching up with old friends and family. Apparently a wave of Bikram yoga has hit my friend group because everyone and their mom has started doing Bikram.

I’m glad they’re doing yoga and learning about its benefits, but I won’t lie- I’m a little bitter that as soon as I stop doing Bikram, they all started. But I suppose yoga is something to be shared with others. But still. 

My good friend Amelia had just signed up for a 6 month pass and I decided to join her for a class this morning. Long story short I’m incredibly rusty at Bikram, but my triangle and camel pose were on point! And it was nice to practice with a friend who I don’t get to see too often!

Bikram still won’t be a regular thing for me since I’m really enjoying vinyasa for now. It was nice to go back to Blue Moon yoga (the first place I ever did Bikram) and get back to where it all started. 

#namaste #nomistakes

Wait…Some Yoga is Actually Relaxing?

You mean to tell me that some people practice yoga and actually experience relaxation? Normally I would call bullshit, but apparently it’s true. How do I know? I experienced it first hand last week.

Let me preface this post by first saying: Hello all! It’s been a ridiculously long time since I’ve posted. I haven’t done a whole lot of yoga in the last few months…basically I’ve been lazy…and incredibly poor. But I’m back for the time being and am looking to get back into the yoga game.

So about this relaxing yoga. I did hatha yoga for a few months back when I was in college. It mostly entailed a dark room, mood lighting, me nailing wheelbarrow pose, and more than my fair share of naps. That was back in Spring 2010 when I was a young community college student. In June of that year my dad took me to my first Bikram yoga class and I kinda never looked back. When I moved to Davis/Sacramento I continued my Bikram practice and went strong for two years, as you can see in my post history.

In Fall 2012 I did my Bikram 70 day challenge, won a bronze medal for completing my 35 days of yoga and walked away from the experience with a love for yoga, a severe superiority complex, and a brutally injured left knee courtesy of Supta Vajrasana (fixed firm pose).

For two years I hopped off and on the Bikram wagon and continued my practice inconsistently. I was never able to quite get back to the level of intensity that I’d experienced during that first challenge. Several renewed memberships and failed challenges later and I sort of gave up on Bikram for a while. I went back this past April for about a month and it felt good to be in the hot room, but it was clear that my passion had waned. And then I was introduced to Vinyasa.

Several close friends of mine have encouraged me to try Vinyasa since the very first time I complained about Bikram. But I’m a stubborn gal who really digs being in her comfort zone, and so I stuck it out with Bikram and continued to believe that yoga was characterized by high heat and fluorescent lighting. Bro-tip: it’s not.

My friend Rachel recently started going to a new yoga studio just down the street from my house (bonus!) and I thought I’d tag along. I’d been nervous about trying vinyasa for a while since I heard it was heavily focused on cardio and muscle building, and let’s be honest, I’m not the most in shape girl you’ll meet. Sure Bikram is hot, but let me stand still between poses and lay down when I’m tired and I’m good. This flow stuff sounded terrifying.

It was wonderful. I got to the studio, met up with Rachel, utilized the shit out of her free guest pass, and went to lay my mat down in the room. The first thing I noticed? it was dark. And there were no mirrors. I was confused.

“How do I know if I’m doing the pose correctly if it’s dark and there are no mirrors to see myself?” I asked Rachel, jokingly, but also completely serious. Rachel had accompanied me to a few Bikram classes in the past. We’re still friends though.

“You just have to feel it and trust that you’re doing it right. If you don’t think you’re doing it right, adjust yourself. No one will yet at you if you aren’t locking your knee or if you aren’t going as hard as you can. It isn’t that kind of yoga.” I was skeptical. And then class started. There was chanting in Sanskrit, guided meditation, music (!!!), dim lighting, warm air, sweat, helpful teachers, and shaky muscles. There was also a profound sense of relaxation afterwards. Oh, and I was sore for a solid 5 days.

I’ve signed up for a 30 day trial membership that I’m almost certain will turn into an ongoing monthly membership. I won’t be going every single day because frankly, that’s too much damn yoga and as I’ve mentioned before, I tend to struggle with moderation and balance. It’s good to push yourself but not so much that you wear out.

I can’t promise that I’ll write a blog post after every class, but I do enjoy the opportunity for reflection that it provides. And let’s face it, I really enjoy going back through my old posts and laughing at how hilarious and witty I am.

#nomistakes #namaste