Monday, March 21, 2011

Bikram Yoga 30 Day Challenge: 20 down, 40 to go?

Yesterday I took classes 19 and 20 of my 30 Day Challenge. Doing a so called "double" (two Bikram Yoga classes) in one day was awesome, even though I was a little scared and intimidated by the idea at first. Bikram Yoga is practiced in a room that is heated up to 105-115 degF (40.5-46 degC). There is humidity, too. At least 40 percent. The yoga postures are very challenging, not what you would call "relaxing" at all!

Why would one do such a thing? Well, it trains the body and the mind. The body, because the postures are HARD, so you build muscles. The mind, because the postures are HARD and it is so hot, and you just wanna get away, so it trains your determination, your self-control, your ability to get through a rough situation by concentrating on what's important without freaking out... it's great body-and-mind training!

Anyway, because it is so hot in the room, and each class is 90 mins long, the body loses a lot of water and electrolytes through sweat. So doing a double can be quite tough on the body. But it worked out great! I hydrated well, ate a tiny bit in the 30 min break  between classes, and gave my body some electrolytes. My body was happy-happy and super stretchy in the second class :) It felt super-short, too!

BTW, I am thinking about extending my 30 Day Challenge to a 60 Day Challenge. I'm not sure yet, because work has been quite stressful (not the actual work, but the long commute to our customer) and I'm not sure if I want to put more pressure on myself for additional 30 days. I might do 5 classes per week instead of 7, but it all depends on this work project.

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