date: sept 7
time: 430pm, Conni
tonight was a tough one for me. class four i felt partially decent, as if skipping some time helped me be more relaxed. today i felt tired at the beginning, even from the breathing exercises.
pose-wise, i'm getting there. something i've learned again - i've always known my legs are short, but so are my arms. i can't naturally reach my same side leg with one hand, i can only do opposite legs (across). there are so many positions that rely on this - i'm hoping by october i can do it.
speaking of poses, maybe my next entry will be on that. i got better at a few this time, including a bow-like one, but i'm paying for it now... my back is on fire.
perk: i made a friend in class - liz. that's the woman that was nice to me on day 1. she's great.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
class 4
day: labor
instructor: john, 430pm
oh, holy hell.
well, this weekend was way fun, and it sure did show in the beginning of class. ay yi yi. i drank my face off on friday night, so, not only was i probably dehydrated, i was missing a face. real big problos.
i took the weekend off due to having 5 shows, 2 classes to teach, and some various holiday plans. by the time i hit class, i was worried it was gonna be rough. in some ways it was - i was way hotter. my temp seemed to soar much more quickly in this class than it had before - i was real messed up by mid-class, where as i'm usually just really unbearably hot right when we're released. still, got through it.
report, though, on the good side:
1. way bendier. is it possible you more flexible this quickly? i can grab the bottoms of the soles of my feet now, as well as kick back harder in a few poses. that's something.
2. 2 people have remarked on how i look different/leaner all the sudden. i feel like i do too. maybe it's that i'm standing taller, but something is up. haven't noticed a major number change, but there is some sort of change.
about to hit class 5 here in about an hour.
instructor: john, 430pm
oh, holy hell.
well, this weekend was way fun, and it sure did show in the beginning of class. ay yi yi. i drank my face off on friday night, so, not only was i probably dehydrated, i was missing a face. real big problos.
i took the weekend off due to having 5 shows, 2 classes to teach, and some various holiday plans. by the time i hit class, i was worried it was gonna be rough. in some ways it was - i was way hotter. my temp seemed to soar much more quickly in this class than it had before - i was real messed up by mid-class, where as i'm usually just really unbearably hot right when we're released. still, got through it.
report, though, on the good side:
1. way bendier. is it possible you more flexible this quickly? i can grab the bottoms of the soles of my feet now, as well as kick back harder in a few poses. that's something.
2. 2 people have remarked on how i look different/leaner all the sudden. i feel like i do too. maybe it's that i'm standing taller, but something is up. haven't noticed a major number change, but there is some sort of change.
about to hit class 5 here in about an hour.
number 2 (heehee!) & 3
Classes done: 3
Latest instructor: Ian (meh)
Feeling: wary but still intrigued
so, my second class was only a day after my first, so by this point, i'm rolling 3 hardcore classes deep (counting kettlebells). i am in such incredible pain - like, just straight up muscle pain - it's incredible. my hamstrings are on fire and i'm shuffling around the house like a knob (change), and my roomies are laughing at how dumb i am (no change).
however, i have already noticed 2 things by this, class three:
a. my skin - especially my face - is like 40 baby's butts. i know, THAT many babies. it is so soft, no lotion could've gotten it there. i think it must be due to the fact that in each class i've chugged 2 liters, and/or that you're sweating so much you're just pouring toxins out. also, this is something i wanna understand more - i feel like it's something people keep saying... "You're just getting rid of so many toxins!" - which i buy, but doesn't it sound like a soundbite? i'm sweating. you probably always are. if anyone has research on this, i'd love to know.
b. i am still really interested in the class. lactic acid be damned, something really WANTS to go. part of it might be the fact that you never spend 1.5 hours a day just being quiet with yourself, staring at yourself in a mirror. i feel like i'm coaching a friend through these intense, strange body shapes; letting myself remain quiet and just being. i don't know if it's about the exercise aspect, but it's still neat.
there we are. the weekend is off...
Latest instructor: Ian (meh)
Feeling: wary but still intrigued
so, my second class was only a day after my first, so by this point, i'm rolling 3 hardcore classes deep (counting kettlebells). i am in such incredible pain - like, just straight up muscle pain - it's incredible. my hamstrings are on fire and i'm shuffling around the house like a knob (change), and my roomies are laughing at how dumb i am (no change).
however, i have already noticed 2 things by this, class three:
a. my skin - especially my face - is like 40 baby's butts. i know, THAT many babies. it is so soft, no lotion could've gotten it there. i think it must be due to the fact that in each class i've chugged 2 liters, and/or that you're sweating so much you're just pouring toxins out. also, this is something i wanna understand more - i feel like it's something people keep saying... "You're just getting rid of so many toxins!" - which i buy, but doesn't it sound like a soundbite? i'm sweating. you probably always are. if anyone has research on this, i'd love to know.
b. i am still really interested in the class. lactic acid be damned, something really WANTS to go. part of it might be the fact that you never spend 1.5 hours a day just being quiet with yourself, staring at yourself in a mirror. i feel like i'm coaching a friend through these intense, strange body shapes; letting myself remain quiet and just being. i don't know if it's about the exercise aspect, but it's still neat.
there we are. the weekend is off...
Thursday, September 2, 2010
See that top? Oh brother.
Yeah, um, it's not that color gray - that's me soaked from head to toe after class. I probably hit that stage around minute 20, max. I looked at myself in the mirror after and was like, oh - oh no.
Still, kinda neat, right? I like when people are exercise-soaked.
Sept 1 - Session 1
Oh sweet god. Session 1.
Time: 4:30pm
Instructor: Erin, LP Location
Okay, so I read up. I knew what some tricks were - drink a ton of water before, go on a light stomach, wear light clothing, bring a towel. The place I went actually gives you a towel and mat your first class for no charge - but after that, you gotta rent or buy or whatever. I have an old, stupid mat from yoga of yore, but I gotta get a better one. I walked into the joint - a place on Clark that you walk upstairs to - a nice, blown-out sorta studio space that seemed clean upstairs and a good size. It was organized and my instructor was at the counter ready to greet me, and was real business-nice about telling me where to head and how to prop out.
Every thing I had read was just about staying in the room. Over and over again, all these websites just kept reiterating - hey, no matter what, just try to stay in the room the whole time. Don't walk out. Even if you gotta just stay there, just stay there and lie down. So, I figured - I can do that, I hope.
Annnnyway, prep - wore a leotard (recommended, though I thought it was a prank - well, joke's on you, I look strangely adorable) and shorts, took an inhaler just in case (sometimes my body thinks I'm not breathing when air is hot) and drank a s-load of wats all day. I carried two liters of water into the room thinking drinking all that was implausible - spoiler alert, I WAS WRONG. I drank every last ounce.
The first thing you gotta notice about this class - you walk in, the glass to the room is fogged, and yes, it's hot as balls. People were already spotted throughout the room wherever on mats, mostly lying in corpse pose and relaxing. I think I went in 10 minutes before class started and took a place in the back and tried to do the same. I liked it.
The second thing you notice about this specific joint? Holy crow, those people are R I P P E D. I'm talking ripped, in the most perfect way. Lean but not skinny, very muscular but not Gaston. They all looked like exceptionally good hip-hop dancers. Like, that dude in the "Love Will Never Do Without You" Janet Jackson video. I was amazed. They didn't seem to be pretentious at all, and I felt strangely comfortable.
The instructor, Erin, talked me through everything. I wasn't used to that - all group exercise I do (spinning, step, junk like that) - the instructor was working with you as you did stuff, and if they weren't, you feel like they're cheating. Here, I didn't feel like that - it was actually nice to have someone eagle-eye-cherrying the whole time and making sure this ol' chestnut wasn't blowing it. Plus, I can't imagine you can do more than one of those a day.
The Bad News:
I had done Kettlebells (unrelated and extremely intense) the day before, Tuesday. That wasn't smart - I mean, kettlebells rules and is an awesome work out, but I was already sore starting my first class - probably not good, in hindsight.
The Good News:
I DID IT! I mean, I reaaaaally did it! I not only stayed in the room all 90 (100) minutes, but there was only probably 5-10 minutes I corpse-posed out and just stayed flat. My instructor even pushed me a bit, so I feel like she felt I could do more than the average beginner. That made me feel good. One person left the class, three others were flat nearly half the class. I felt a-ok. :) A woman after class, a nice flexible athletic pretty 40-something, came up to me when I was refilling my water bottle after. "Wow - was that really your first class?!" she exclaimed, and I told her yes, and she said I was really ahead of the game. She told me she'd seen people freak out/get sick/lie down whole class - she made me feel exceptional and I think in my hallucinating stage, I overthanked her. She kept saying "Come tomorrow, come again - keep coming", so I felt like that made me want to push the next day.
Poses Report:
OOF. Some okay, some yikes. I should make a list of these 26 or whatever and report on what I cannot handle. Disadvantage DeFran - I've got a softball/rugby player's body, with boobs - which I like sometimes, but I'm short and have short legs and arms. When you do those wrappy poses (I can't remember the name right now) - those are my WORST. My body just laughs at the idea of my leg coming around my other twice. I can't tell if it's that I'm thick-legged, not that flex, or if I'm truly built differently. We'll see.
Of 26 poses, around 21 attempted, and mostly ok. Locust, you can SUCK MY BALLS.
So, that's where I am. Sore, glowy, tired early. Excited for and somehow also dreading tomorrow. ONE DOWN! 14 to go.
Time: 4:30pm
Instructor: Erin, LP Location
Okay, so I read up. I knew what some tricks were - drink a ton of water before, go on a light stomach, wear light clothing, bring a towel. The place I went actually gives you a towel and mat your first class for no charge - but after that, you gotta rent or buy or whatever. I have an old, stupid mat from yoga of yore, but I gotta get a better one. I walked into the joint - a place on Clark that you walk upstairs to - a nice, blown-out sorta studio space that seemed clean upstairs and a good size. It was organized and my instructor was at the counter ready to greet me, and was real business-nice about telling me where to head and how to prop out.
Every thing I had read was just about staying in the room. Over and over again, all these websites just kept reiterating - hey, no matter what, just try to stay in the room the whole time. Don't walk out. Even if you gotta just stay there, just stay there and lie down. So, I figured - I can do that, I hope.
Annnnyway, prep - wore a leotard (recommended, though I thought it was a prank - well, joke's on you, I look strangely adorable) and shorts, took an inhaler just in case (sometimes my body thinks I'm not breathing when air is hot) and drank a s-load of wats all day. I carried two liters of water into the room thinking drinking all that was implausible - spoiler alert, I WAS WRONG. I drank every last ounce.
The first thing you gotta notice about this class - you walk in, the glass to the room is fogged, and yes, it's hot as balls. People were already spotted throughout the room wherever on mats, mostly lying in corpse pose and relaxing. I think I went in 10 minutes before class started and took a place in the back and tried to do the same. I liked it.
The second thing you notice about this specific joint? Holy crow, those people are R I P P E D. I'm talking ripped, in the most perfect way. Lean but not skinny, very muscular but not Gaston. They all looked like exceptionally good hip-hop dancers. Like, that dude in the "Love Will Never Do Without You" Janet Jackson video. I was amazed. They didn't seem to be pretentious at all, and I felt strangely comfortable.
The instructor, Erin, talked me through everything. I wasn't used to that - all group exercise I do (spinning, step, junk like that) - the instructor was working with you as you did stuff, and if they weren't, you feel like they're cheating. Here, I didn't feel like that - it was actually nice to have someone eagle-eye-cherrying the whole time and making sure this ol' chestnut wasn't blowing it. Plus, I can't imagine you can do more than one of those a day.
The Bad News:
I had done Kettlebells (unrelated and extremely intense) the day before, Tuesday. That wasn't smart - I mean, kettlebells rules and is an awesome work out, but I was already sore starting my first class - probably not good, in hindsight.
The Good News:
I DID IT! I mean, I reaaaaally did it! I not only stayed in the room all 90 (100) minutes, but there was only probably 5-10 minutes I corpse-posed out and just stayed flat. My instructor even pushed me a bit, so I feel like she felt I could do more than the average beginner. That made me feel good. One person left the class, three others were flat nearly half the class. I felt a-ok. :) A woman after class, a nice flexible athletic pretty 40-something, came up to me when I was refilling my water bottle after. "Wow - was that really your first class?!" she exclaimed, and I told her yes, and she said I was really ahead of the game. She told me she'd seen people freak out/get sick/lie down whole class - she made me feel exceptional and I think in my hallucinating stage, I overthanked her. She kept saying "Come tomorrow, come again - keep coming", so I felt like that made me want to push the next day.
Poses Report:
OOF. Some okay, some yikes. I should make a list of these 26 or whatever and report on what I cannot handle. Disadvantage DeFran - I've got a softball/rugby player's body, with boobs - which I like sometimes, but I'm short and have short legs and arms. When you do those wrappy poses (I can't remember the name right now) - those are my WORST. My body just laughs at the idea of my leg coming around my other twice. I can't tell if it's that I'm thick-legged, not that flex, or if I'm truly built differently. We'll see.
Of 26 poses, around 21 attempted, and mostly ok. Locust, you can SUCK MY BALLS.
So, that's where I am. Sore, glowy, tired early. Excited for and somehow also dreading tomorrow. ONE DOWN! 14 to go.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Here we go, dummies.
the intro...
today begins my foray into bikram: hot yoga with a set of 26 positions (hold for laffs) in a 105 degree room.
why would anyone do this, you ask?
welp, see, i've been hungry for a little exercise challenge. summer was great - lots of walks, jogging, playing, swimming, stuff like that (i never thought i'd actually sort of look forward to jogging - i kind of like it now, but only for the gameyness that my nikeplus watch makes me feel). so, with those things sort of rolling, and a few of them coming to a close when it comes to outdoor fun, i thought it might be - well, neat - to start a weird new goal.
i started doing research. i've done yoga a solid amount of times and i've never really liked it. i like it more than i did at the beginning, but that's only an inkling over despising, y'see. i like pilates okay because it felt stronger and less meditate-y (real word - look it up, read a book); i hoped maybe bikram might split the difference of those and make me work hard and be bendy.
lots of friends seem to have a story - they've tried it, were scared of it, slunk away, got addicted, passed out, lost it, couldn't stay away, heard rumors about it - all in all, it sounded like an abusive relationship. ...i'm listening.
so, i yelped. i researched. i asked friends. i read. and i found the deal of the century - a 29 dollar package at a pretty dope studio that is regulation, and allows you to do unlimited your first month. (after that, it's 4,039/day, so, i'm hoping i don't like it.) my challenge was born - along with moderate cardio throughout the month, september is for bikram.
my goal is to do 3-4 sessions a week, or around 15 sessions in a month. if i overachieve, i expect to be a pretzel.
more to come.
any tips anyone has that's done it, i'm listenin'.
can't wait to start.
td
today begins my foray into bikram: hot yoga with a set of 26 positions (hold for laffs) in a 105 degree room.
why would anyone do this, you ask?
welp, see, i've been hungry for a little exercise challenge. summer was great - lots of walks, jogging, playing, swimming, stuff like that (i never thought i'd actually sort of look forward to jogging - i kind of like it now, but only for the gameyness that my nikeplus watch makes me feel). so, with those things sort of rolling, and a few of them coming to a close when it comes to outdoor fun, i thought it might be - well, neat - to start a weird new goal.
i started doing research. i've done yoga a solid amount of times and i've never really liked it. i like it more than i did at the beginning, but that's only an inkling over despising, y'see. i like pilates okay because it felt stronger and less meditate-y (real word - look it up, read a book); i hoped maybe bikram might split the difference of those and make me work hard and be bendy.
lots of friends seem to have a story - they've tried it, were scared of it, slunk away, got addicted, passed out, lost it, couldn't stay away, heard rumors about it - all in all, it sounded like an abusive relationship. ...i'm listening.
so, i yelped. i researched. i asked friends. i read. and i found the deal of the century - a 29 dollar package at a pretty dope studio that is regulation, and allows you to do unlimited your first month. (after that, it's 4,039/day, so, i'm hoping i don't like it.) my challenge was born - along with moderate cardio throughout the month, september is for bikram.
my goal is to do 3-4 sessions a week, or around 15 sessions in a month. if i overachieve, i expect to be a pretzel.
more to come.
any tips anyone has that's done it, i'm listenin'.
can't wait to start.
td
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