There have been two things I've been wanting to do lately - one, try the yoga studio that is 2 blocks from my apartment, and two, a new challenge. It's kind of ridiculous that I kept looking for an excuse to try the yoga studio, but I find that I am the kind of person who feels amazing after a work out, and then the next day, forgets about how much I loved it. So, yes, sometimes I need an excuse.
After a good friend of mine had done a 30 day yoga challenge at her local bikram studio (and looked fantastic) I had toyed with the idea of doing my own. Could I really go to a yoga class every day for 30 days? Experts say it takes 21 days to start a habit, and getting serious about my yoga practice would be a great habit to have. Yet, I struggling with commitment. After musing about this on Monday's post, my friend Jillian responded that she'd happily join me in this challenge, but we just needed a witty name. We also decided to taper it back a bit to something a little bit more reasonable, but not necessarily easy - 5 classes a week. Challenge invented! (I must add that this comes on the heels of the yoga studio releasing a
Groupon which had a one-month unlimited option. When I went to buy it
earlier today, I had been the only person thus far to purchase one,
which I feel pretty cool about.)
Then I woke up to this post this morning, with Jillian already a class AHEAD of me, and now it. is. ON, my friends. (I also have to thank Jillian for coming up with the title of our challenge, WTFasana - said like double-you, tee, fasana. Pretty great, no?)
Now that it is officially started, I'm already preparing to be behind. Despite Jillian getting in a class ahead of me, I have plans with a girlfriend tonight (which include shopping and wine, aka a different kind of yoga) and plans with a work colleague tomorrow night. If tomorrow night's plans reschedule, I'll easily squeeze in the 7:15 pm Restorative (and boy, do I need it) but if that isn't possible, I may have to hit up the 7 pm Gentle Stretch and Flow Friday evening. Which, now that I think of it, would be a really great way to kick off the weekend and get in some calm before we head to DISNEYLAND SATURDAY! (Can you feel my excitement?)
Last night, my friend Kim joined me for another tap-robics class (and probably my last one for a while) and I actually found it getting easier. I was still crazy-sweaty, but I wasn't as out of breath. Of course, whenever I start to feel like something is getting easier, a wrench gets thrown in - my left calf totally started to cramp, and I knew the shin splints would be following today. (The same thing happened during the Lone Gull 10k - I started to really hit my stride, and then a cramp came surging on.) I actually had to dial it back during one of the combinations last night, which really annoyed me. When I mentioned it to our instructor, she kindly reminded me that on the plus side, I'm building muscle, and then recommended a masseuse around the corner from my apartment that specializes in this kind of thing. She's pretty awesome.
It's really motivating to see an improvement in my endurance, even if its mild at best. These 2 mile powerwalks we've been going on have helped exponentially, and I already feel my energy level getting better day to day. I'm really interested to see how adding in a yoga-intensive schedule will affect not only just my body, but also my mind and my mood. I'm not saying I'm going to get all Eat, Pray, Love on everyone, but I can only see it being something really positive.
But for now, I'm counting down the hours until its time to hit the Semi-annual Sale and grab a glass of Riesling. Is it 7 pm yet?
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