done and done!! my 30 day Bikram challenge is officially history as of 7pm tonight! woo-hoo!! i didn't miss a day/class and i almost did a double last night (but then decided going home to eat ice cream and drink root beer was higher up on the agenda)! all in all it was a lot of work, obvi, and a lot of time, but i feel really thankful that i made the time and dedicated myself to this challenge.
since i've started 'the yoga' (as everyone calls it, which cracks me up every time) i have seen tremendous changes in my flexibility, strength and mental calmness...although to anyone else these changes would probably seem like nothing. i've also become so much more aware of all the little idiosyncrasies that come with being me and so i'm constantly finding new things to work on and strive for as part of my yoga practice. things that i've always known existed but never knew how to go about fixing them...
for instance, my feet always have rolled to the outside. a lot. like standing barefoot would mean that my big toes would not touch the ground. this, you may imagine, is far less than ideal if you're trying to say balance on one leg while kicking your other foot above your head. so now, after much hard work and a whole lot more concentration, my big toes actually touch the ground without excessive force!
i don't know why, but in the back of my mind i'm blaming the one insane year of rowing crew, i'm a little crooked. my left shoulder is a little higher, my left hip usually protrudes a smidge further than my right...go ahead, stare, it's okay, i know i'm a freak ;-).
my shoulders are weird, you'd think i'm a retired pro baseball pitcher based on the lack of mobility in my shoulders. test yourself - lie down and stretch your arm straight over your head. do your hands touch the floor with ease? mine don't come close. or stand up and put your hands up and try to touch your palms together. does it take all of your strength to make that happen? yeaaa...welcome to my crazy world. these seemingly simple tasks have been some of the hardest things to overcome in my yoga practice. i'm getting closer to making them happen but it's not happening overnight and i'm okay with that...because it's a goal to work towards that's only going to make me better and stronger in the process. win!
tomorrow when i wake up, i know i'm going to miss it. not like i'm quitting, no way, no how, this is a part of my life now, but weekends are superbly difficult. my weekend schedule's not as conducive to yogaing as work/week days and my practice usually suffers as a result...which means i come home and just want to nap! i love this yoga, i love the hour and a half of pure peace, i love the individual competitiveness and i love the sense of community that comes with being part of the bikram family...and i love this song so i figured i'd sneak it in here since i can pretend it correlates to this post since i made reference to my wackadoodle body and the song is called 'my body'...enjoy!
if you liked this one, check out the official video and this one with some perdy gee-tars.
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