Did I say.....

I finished my challenge yesterday?

And I completed it by doing a double!!! My first ever.

I feel so confident and accomplished. I can't wait for the July challenge to begin.

For now though, I enjoyed taking a break from the studio today and most likely will take tomorrow too so I can enjoy some time with DS, who just returned home after a week away.

How was your weekend everyone?

I'm ready for only a 4 day work week.....

I skipped

I skipped a class tonight guys.

And honestly, I don't really feel that guilty about it.

I've already completed 16 in my 20 class monthly challenge, and I'm pretty confident I will finish completely by the weekend.

I need a rest though.  I've been exhausted only managing to function on average 5 hours of sleep per night with all my 8pms.

I get home around 9:45 and it's usually close to midnight by the time I pass out.

I have had a lot of steam to just keep going, and honestly, know I could've pushed myself tonight, but it's okay to skip a day.

The yoga will be there tomorrow.

Habit

I completed my 15th class towards my yoga challenge last night and it was amazing.

I got deeper into postures that I've always struggled with and the instructor even called me out for doing a good job.

I also have to honestly say that it's true that after practicing for this many days in a row, yoga has become a habit and something I plan my day around.....totally looking forward to.

Getting to the studio is no longer a chore or something I need to force myself to head out the door to do.

I'm sure that it won't always be like this, but they were onto something when they invented the hot yoga challenge ;).

How is your week going so far?

14 classes down....

6 left to go for June.

Can I do it?

This weekend was killer.

I spent the majority of both classes just sitting out.  

But I made it to both.

And got through.

How was your weekend? Did you do any hot yoga or something else fun and inspiring? 

12

I completed class 12 last night.

It was so-so.  I had practiced 6 days straight which I think is a record for me. The really hot teacher taught, but other than that, it was nothing special. 

I'm actually taking a break today because it's my son's graduation :).

I also decided to purchase the giftcards for all of his teachers as a thank you and end of school year gift.

I'm excited, because I should be able to make it to the studio every day this weekend, and all next week.

My parents are actually taking my son to their house for a week so a nice break for me as a parent LOL. Plus that means I can make the 6pm and get it over with early ;).

In other news, my sister invited us to go camping with her over the 4th of July weekend but we decided to decline.

Our house will be deep in outside renos at that point, and since we currently own no camping supplies, it would end up costing way too much right now. Plus, even though she ensures me this place has facilities, I'm really NOT an outdoors for several days straight person.  Not sure how my son would handle that either. Maybe next year LOL.

I will probably take a week off in August and we will just stay local, doing some day trips and such and enjoying all that is normally around us that we never take advantage of.

Do you have any exciting summer plans?

Any FREE or low-cost day trips you'd recommend in the LI/NYC area?

11's done!

Whoa, talk about a rough class last night.

I knew I was in for it when I arrived a little early and students from the previous class were exiting and giving out warning.

After the studio was cleaned, and I went in to set up my mat and towel, I was immediately hit with an intense hot air.

I sat in the room for about 10 minutes before class started, and it helped a lot to acclimate to the heat.

Warm up was hard, especially opening breathing.

I was able to get through class though and honestly, could've pushed myself more, but I decided taking it easy and relaxing a bit sitting out was more important. I looked around and I was the only one doing this for a bit. Soon some others followed and we all laid down.

There were A LOT of distractions last night.....crowded room, many new students and people leaving to pee or take a break from the heat which does not happen all that much, thankfully.

The teacher allowed it but I could tell he was also kind of annoyed because leaving the room is distracting to others and you also can put yourself at risk this way too (I've never seen it but I heard of people passing out and being alone in the bathroom with no one to take care of them if teacher is teaching).

He also mentioned that if you leave the room during class, all that hard work you did is gone in like 7 seconds and you would need to work just as hard and twice as long to get back to where you were.

Who knows though.....he did end his lecture by saying everyone is an adult and they need to do what they need to do, but personally, I kind of side with the teacher.

I've had times where I had to pee or I felt extra dizzy but sitting out and not making the class all about me works. I really feel that most times we need to suck it up for the sake of those around us.

What say you?

Have you ever left a hot yoga class?

I honestly never ever have in all of my years practicing....and believe me, I've had moments where I've wanted to.

I have one more class left to go tonight and I'm taking off tomorrow.  9 left to go for June!!!

10

I'm halfway through my 20 class challenge in June all!

I plan to go tonight, tomorrow night, and will probably have to do at least one double over the weekend to meet my goal.

Despite being tired this am due to falling asleep later because of the late night classes, I feel great overall AND I'm finally starting to see the good changes....I'm able to get further into postures, my body is looking more toned and I'm able to tolerate the heat without sitting out as much.

On another random note, I'm thinking of giving my son's teachers giftcards for the beginners special at my studio as end of year gifts. What say you?

I thought if they don't want for themselves, they could always re-gift.

I love this practice so much I want to try to spread it to others.

Would you go to hot yoga if you received a gift certificate to try it out?

8 and 9...and moving backwards to move forward

Clase número 8 was pretty decent.  Started out tough but I ended up doing pretty well in floor series.

Last night though.....class #9 was pretty amazing.

I had a different instructor who was funny and super motivating.

I was able to really get deep into some postures that I normally struggle with.  

I did great in half moon and this one is usually so hard for me during warm up.

I also had a new student sitting next to me, and that usually helps me push myself more to send good energy to the person just starting out.

Some of the words the teacher spoke were very inspiring....when class began she told the new guy that this was "just yoga. Bending and stretching. We weren't going to be mediating on top of a mountain."  Excellent point, although sometimes just getting through a hot yoga class can feel like hiking up the tallest mountain....

She also kept saying that we all had our breath, and this is all we needed.

This is definitely transferable to life outside of the yoga room....

When it was finally time to get into camel, I rocked it. Twice.

The teacher said this is one of the hardest postures, because we spend our whole lives moving forward. We do everything facing front.....driving, sitting at a desk, walking to our next appointment.....

It's so important to remember we NEED to move backwards.....

I'm so proud of how therapeutic this practice has become, and how everything I do on the yoga mat can be applied outside of the studio. I know that sounds hippy dippy but it really is so true.....

On that note too, I'm almost 1/2 way through my 20 class challenge for the month of June!

Will I make all of the classes?  I hope so......I may need to do a few doubles.  But it's still one step at a time.

I may need to move backwards to get forward in my practice and I think I am finally okay with that.

Class 7 and a bit of my life

Class 7 started out rough yesterday, because I went late after a hectic day and was feeling tired and sore.  I pushed through as always and my teacher helped me again with positioning.

I was happy when the session ended though, came home, ate some dinner and went immediately to sleep.

It's been a rough week around here. Delving deeper into house renos and money, which is of course super stressful.

I also had to put one of my cats to sleep on Thursday.

I ended up missing class that night as a result since I was an emotional mess, and Friday I skipped too because I was exhausted still from the emotional day on Thursday and just not into it. It happens sometimes.....

Onto another random topic....I recently started volunteering for an anonymous community organization.  I thought it would be a nice way to give back, as well as make friends and meet some businesses and community leaders in my area. I helped out with one of their events on Saturday.

However, I'm not sure if I'm going to continue though. Basically for several reasons, but the biggest one is they just seem really cliquey and not overly warm and welcoming.  When I was there yesterday for a couple hours, there were about 5 or 6 other women who barely even said a word to me.

It was pretty awkward. I did chat with one of them at the end for a good bit while we were cleaning up, but the overall vibe from the group hasn't left a good taste in my mouth.

My yoga studio director actually donated some gift cards for one of their upcoming fundraising raffles, and I will give them to them since they do good for the community, but I'm not sure if I will continue to participate much beyond that.

I already have enough stress in my life, I don't need anymore from something that is completely voluntary.

Have you ever experienced something similar? How did you handle? P.S. Since I'm brand new, I don't think I'm ready to jump into a leadership role just yet which would possibly help greatly with organization. (Another reason I'm not liking this group much)

And 6

Yoga yesterday was not a horrible class, but I had so many things in my head, my mind just seemed everywhere else but my practice.

It was very nice when unexpectedly during half tortoise, my teacher came up behind me and held me down in the posture.

I bet he sensed my head wasn't totally in it.

I'm still glad I went though.

It's helped heading back into the crazy and stressful that is my reality today.

I may share more later....

Yoga 4 & 5

I'm now officially 1/4 of the way through my challenge.

Baby steps, since the other 75% left to go feels like mountains, deserts and oceans to cross.

My 4th class was eh but my 5th last night was pretty amazing.

I only sat out briefly in standing seperate leg head to knee, which is pretty good because I tend to skip that one altogether.

I also got all the way into camel. Twice.

Another great feeling is that I'm more and more just going with stuff and having fun.  If I can't fully get into one pose, I modify it and do something else. Or just stand still, or sit out and overall focus on my breath.

I was worried before I left for the studio that I would have a rough class. (One) of the issue(s) with going at 8pm is I usually get home from work and am starving. I had some cheese and some peanut butter (not together LOL) to tide me over and fortunately I had no bad reaction. 

Now I just have to focus forward on getting back to my mat all the rest of the week.

I'm pretty bummed today, because DH already said he has to work late tonight so I will most likely have to miss a class.

Boo!

But maybe then on the bright side, I will be able to get more than 5 or 6 hours of sleep ;).

Trade offs.......

Hope your week is going well!

Excellent class

I had an amazingly strong class yesterday.

I was able to stay in many of the knee locking poses I usually struggle and even give up in. What a great feeling to notice positive change!

It's been a tough week though for actually making it to class, not because I haven't wanted to go, but because DH has had to work and I've had no one to stay with DS.

I am definitely feeling guilty even though I know it's not my fault that life gets in the way of this practice sometimes.

I have completed 3 classes so far this month, and am heading off to my 4th in about an hour.......

Keep sending me good vibes that DH crazy schedule slows down a bit so I can make it to my yoga.

I couldn't calm down last night

Last night's class is probably the hardest one I remember going to in quite some time.

I started out okay, but at some point, I think I stopped breathing and then the heat and the room would just would not stop caving in on me.

While I felt like I was going to have a panic attack, at the same time, I had moments of clarity passing through my mind where I felt so grateful to be there, on my mat in my familiar studio, participating in this wonderful practice. I felt blessed because I knew then that this is a feeling that can be so rare I think for many people.

Nothing else mattered at that point except that I made it to class!

I wanted to die, but I made it there.....strange as it sounds, but I was in my happy, safe space.

All of the things I am grateful for in my life came into my view.

The little things I dwell on as well that in the grand scheme of things do not really matter.....

I pushed through, even though this meant sitting out almost all of floor series.

2 classes down in my challenge. 38 more to go! 18 left for June......

Challenge day is here

Today is June 1st, and the first day of my yoga challenge.

As much as I'm looking forward to it, and want to do this, all it can say is one day at a time....

I went to class yesterday and it was hard because I missed a few days in a row, and wasn't particularly hydrated. 

I'm going to try extremely hard during the challenge to not have any excuses to miss class.

That's the hardest part. Just getting to the studio.

I realized I say "hard" a lot when it comes to this practice LOL.

But it's definitely not easy....I should be proud for making it through one class!  A few weeks ago I had a free 10-day pass for my studio, and could not find one taker due to the intensity of this yoga.  I finally was able to give it away to a friend of a co-worker.

That speaks volumes to me about not beating myself up. And for finding something that I love and do not necessarily need to share with everyone (their loss).

Happy weekending all :).

Do you have any personal goal challenges coming up this month?