What I miss about Munich: Alternative movie theaters

I checked out an alternative movie theater in the area yesterday. I really liked it and I hope I'll make a habit of going at least once or twice a month! Nothing comes close to Munich's movie theater scene though... there are tons of theaters and most of them show non-Hollywood stuff. LOVED them so much! And I miss them, so I am very happy to have found a new happy place for myself :)

Round, round, get around, I get around

Hey there, GM!

Tips for a Bikram Yoga Challenge

It's been about three weeks now since I've finished my first Bikram Yoga 30 Day Challenge. It was definitely a challenge, but I am very happy I did it as I have seen A LOT of benefits in my well-being (physical and mental) as well as my yoga practice. I recommend doing a challenge like this to anybody who is considering it!

So if you're interested, my tips for you would be:

• tell your friends/family/coworkers about it! You will not have much time for them during you challenge and you might have to leave work early on occasion to make it to class. If they know that (and why) you are doing this challenge, they will probably be much more understanding/supportive.
  
• plan your outfits and laundry day! Doing a Bikram Yoga Challenge means tons and tons of laundry. Before you start, figure out how many yoga outfits and yoga towels you have. I personally like to have 4-5 outfits, so I only have to do yoga laundry 2-3 times a week.
• expect dietary changes and plan for them! Even before the challenge starts, stock up for your increased need of water, electrolytes, protein, vitamins, and food in general. You will have less time for quick trips to the grocery store once your challenge starts, so buy as much of what you'll need beforehand. I recommend: yummy spring or mineral water, electrolyte supplements or at least lemon and salt, nuts or whole wheat snacks or protein bars, fruit or multivitamin supplement, snacks to satiate possible increased hunger. Your body needs good nutrition to transform itself!
• plan to concentrate on yourself as much as possible! Don't plan any big trips or changes for the duration of your challenge. It is supposed to be a time to concentrate on yourself (your Self), your body, and your yoga. You will be plenty busy, especially if you work full-time or have other commitments you cannot get out of.
• plan to take class every day; don't plan to do many doubles! I have seen many people miss classes multiple times each week, and then do doubles and triples on multiple (consecutive!) days to catch up. This is not really what a Challenge should look like. A Challenge is meant to be a commitment to focus on your yoga every day, with consistency. No offense to the folks who had to do multiple doubles and triples to make the Challenge. That is great commitment, of course! But is also adds unnecessary anxiety and stress to it, while the point of doing a Challenge is the opposite: de-stressing and adding stability to your life. (This is my understanding of a Challenge, so no offense intended!)

 If you have any questions about this, please don't hesitate to ask :)

Namaste.

On the road: Chrysler

Spend the day at the customer's office. Their technology center is really nice!

Check out the cafeteria :) Almost comes close to BMW's awesome FIZ cafeteria!

More visitors

I got new neighbors today :) I wonder how long they will stick around for.

They brightened the otherwise gloomy day!

PS.: Spring, get here already!

Visitors from Germany!

 My former boss is in town for a conference, so we went out with a bunch of colleagues and had a yummy dinner out (American classic: BBQ) + some drinks... good times :)

Bikram Yoga 30 Day Challenge: results, benefits and a recap

About two weeks ago I wrapped up my first 30 Day Challenge, meaning I practiced Bikram Yoga 30 times in 30 days. I skipped 2 days and caught up by doing 2 doubles on other days (taking two of the 90 minute classes on the same day).

I am quite proud of myself for having finished this challenge successfully, esp. because work has been pretty busy during that time. In this post, I want to give you an overview of the changes I have seen and the benefits I have received from this Yoga Challenge.

Food cravings:
Overall, I think my food cravings have stabilized in the second half of the 30 Day Challenge. I have realized though, that I really needed to take electrolyte supplements. Coconut water, lemon, salt, and foods weren't cutting it anymore with that much sweating every day. (How did I know? When you have too little electrolytes in your body, your muscles will feel VERY tired and weak. You might also experience muscle cramps.)

Energy and Sleep:
Bikram says, Yoga makes you need less sleep. I have not experienced that during my 30 Day Challenge. I have, however, experienced that before when I was practicing three to four times a week.

Body:
I feel A LOT stronger now and I have definitely toned up everywhere! My arms, legs, core, butt, back, shoulders, feet, everywhere! I am particularly thrilled about my back muscles (most back problems have disappeared!), my core strength (good posture! and abs are always good, of course!), and strong feet! You might think, huh? Strong feet? Yeah, most people's feet muscles are way too weak, because we wear shoes every day. Weak feet muscles can lead to over-pronation and thus knee pain or even hip pain and back pain! I have noticed stronger feet means no more over-pronation for me :))
Also, as I have mentioned in a previous post about this challenge, my skin is now SO amazingly soft... I haven't used any moisturizer since before the challenge! Not even on my elbows or knees and they feel baby-soft now. (I do use moisturizer on my hands due to frequent hand washing, and on my face for sunscreen.)

Mind:
The 30 Day Challenge has definitely helped me become more calm and less moody. It also gave me a great sense of accomplishment :)

Yoga:
The 30 Day Challenge has been great for my postures! I've become much stronger and also more flexible (in muscles AND joints) and can balance so much better now (thank you, strong feet), so almost every posture has improved. Still makes me very happy when I can do stuff that I couldn't before!

However, I still struggle with the heat. It is much hotter in this studio than it was in my German Bikram studio. On some days I wonder, if it really has to be THIS hot. I've barely had any classes in which I did every set/side of every posture.

Weight loss:
Many people ask me about weight loss with Bikram Yoga, so I want to address it here. First of all, I do not own a scale or take my measurements, so I cannot give you any numbers. This yoga is not purely about exercise, but if you have weight to lose, you will definitely see some great changes in your body if you practice regularly.
This yoga will help you balancing: balancing on one leg or your toes, but also balancing your mind and your body. For your mind it looks like this: you will feel less stressed, less anxious, less depressed, and you will be able to handle difficult situations better. For your body/weight, more balance will look like this:

• you will crave foods that are good for you,
• overeating or "undereating" will not happen so often anymore,
• you will build more muscle and become stronger.

All of this will add up to a healthier and stronger body. If you are underweight, you will gain muscles and strength and probably crave protein to help you get to a healthy weight. If you are overweight, you will become leaner and stronger, fat will slowly be replaced by muscles. Whatever your current state is, Bikram Yoga will help you get your balanced body (and mind).
Personally, I don't really have weight to lose. I do have some padding ;) and I have definitely seen a reduction in that. I can definitely feel less padding (read: fat) between my skin and the muscles when I push down on my stomach or butt. I doubt that I have lost any weight though. I have probably gained some, because I have gained quite a bit of muscle mass. That's perfectly fine though, because it's about balance and I was pretty well balanced when it comes to fat even before I started the Bikram Yoga.
If you have any questions about this, please don't be shy! (No account needed to comment.)

All in all, this challenge was great for me! It was stressful, because I was working full-time (and more). But it was great to see that I could do it and that my body LOVES this yoga!


If this made you curious about Bikram Yoga, you can find the closest studio location on Bikram Choudhury's official website here: Bikram Yoga studio locations.

Haha, weather, you're crazy!

Yep, 81 degF means 27 degC!!! I guess the weather got upset when I criticized it yesterday.

Finally, SUNSHiNE and I get to enjoy my sunroof!

Spring... is not quite here yet

The weather hasn't really that great yet. This park pulled me in though when I was driving past it, so I took a quick stroll.

Can't wait for the weather to get nice, so I can spend time outside (and not freeze after an hour).

Jetta vs. Pick-up truck

<no words>

Rain, hooray!

If you know me, you probably know that I like rain. It reminds me of home, which is the German region Ost-Westfalen (it rains a lot in Ost-Westfalen). Also, rain means it's too warm for snow... and that's a plus, right? You also have to agree, that THIS rain was particularly pretty, right?

Bikram Yoga Challenge: 30 day recap... coming soon!

My friend recently mailed me this card... The kitty is very cute, of course, but wait 'til you see what the inside of the card says.....

"I meditate, I do yoga, I chant... and I still want to SMACK someone!"

LOL!!!!! And before you ask: Yes, my friend specifically pointed out that the card reminded him of me :D

Now, what to make of that... If you know me, you probably know that yes, I do have little patience sometimes. But it actually has improved a lot since I've started practicing Bikram yoga half a year ago. Yes, I still get worked up about stuff at work sometimes, but I have learned to stay calm most of the time and to settle down fairly quickly if I failed to stay calm. I'd call that improvement!

Another thing that has improved BIG TIME is my so called "road rage". I used to get very impatient in heavy traffic (no "rage" involved really, only tenseness an impatience). But, if you live near Detroit and get impatient in heavy traffic... you are going to feel impatient A LOT. Anyway, my road rage has pretty much disappeared. Yay for Bikram Yoga!

I have not put together a 30 day recap yet. I will probably think some more about it and post it later this week!

Saturday lunch

Spent my day lunching and shopping with a friend of mine. Thanks for showing me this new sweet breakfast joint (appropriately called... TOAST), dear friend!

 Hmmmmmmm!

We then continued to the mall where I talked her into buying an amazing "little black dress" by my favorite designer and she, in turn, talked me into buying this awesome necklace from her favorite store... so we're even now ;)

The stones are amethysts, which are known for promoting calmness and clarity.

After work...

Work has been pretty crazy lately, so my boss decided to take us out for drinks... sweeeeet! We had a good time, even though we did talk about work mostly. Great team-building and project management event though. (I'm not even kidding!)

PS.: See how I put my first yoga-free evening to good use? ;)

Bikram Yoga Challenge: 30 days -> done!

Yep, I made it through 30 Bikram Yoga classes in 30 days. Yay!

This is the wall in my yoga studio where the challengers mark down their progress. See the yellow stickers? Those are for 60 day challengers! I'm still debating on putting one of those up for myself ;)

Still here...

My yogi tea shared this with me today: "Happiness comes when you overcome the most impossible challenge."

Wow! I think the yogi tea must know me personally! It is day 29 of my challenge and I only have 2 more Bikram yoga classes to take to finish it. When I think about being "almost done", I feel mostly three things: happiness, pride, and anxiety. Yep, you read that right, anxiety... I feel slightly anxious when I think about NOT going to the yoga studio after work. But... the good thing is, of course I am still free to go every day :)

Bikram Yoga Challenge: 20 day recap

The 20 day recap is a over-due, but I haven't really seen any major changes compared to when I did the 10 day recap. I will still do a quick recap and I will use the same categories as before.

Food cravings:

• Water is really all I drink throughout the day, so I have stopped drinking filtered water and only drink specific brands of spring water now. I crave it and I truly believe that it means, it's what's best for me. No matter how expensive. I prefer Dasani and S. Pellegrino. I have also tried electrolyte water (smartwater), but I don't think there is a difference to Dasani (which also has added electrolytes).
• I don't crave salt as much anymore. It might be because I've switched to good water though.
• Generally, I think my body has gotten used to this new activity level, so I am not as crazy for protein anymore. (Am I not building as much muscle anymore?)

Energy and Sleep:
I'm not as exhausted anymore, but I doubt that it has anything to do with improvement due the yoga. I am working a little less, so I am less stressed and I have made it a point to get to bed earlier. Many people report needing less sleep with this yoga. I have experienced it when I was practicing 4 times a week, but with my 7 times... no such luck. It really is quite a challenge to work full-time and do a Bikram yoga challenge.

Body:

• still super-soft skin
• almost no sore muscles, did have sore muscles after my double last Sunday though :)
• generally stronger! And I definitely see more definition, too! Helloooo, abs :)
• no more knee pain, lower back pain is getting better, too.

Mind:
no changes... I do feel more calm and relaxed, but it is probably due to less work (read: travel time) rather than the yoga. To clarify: I do feel waaaay more calm now as opposed to when I wasn't practicing Bikram yoga at all. There just hasn't been that much of a difference between 4x compared to 7x a week.

Yoga:

• my balance is getting better, yeah!!! So those postures, where I balance on one leg for a minute at a time while doing funky stuff with the other leg, are getting MUCH better! (Standing Head to Knee Standing Bow)
• Getting even stronger, so Balancing Stick is more manageable (but still a toughie for me!)
• Also because I am getting stronger, I can concentrate more on better alignment, for example putting the same amount of pressure on both legs in Awkward pose.

Other:
Still considering doing a 60 day challenge, but I have pretty much decided that I will go with my own rules... as I have mentioned about a month ago (when I didn't even know about the official challenge at my studio). My rule will be that I get one or two days off per week (haven't decided yet if one or two). My reason is that I don't really see much of a difference between practicing 6 as opposed to 7 days a week. It does put me under a lot of pressure though and I would welcome a day off so that I can catch up on sleep and the piles of yoga laundry. I think 6 days per week is still challenging, but it might mean much less stress for me, so I think it's the right thing to do. It is supposed to challenge me after all and not destroy me. I do have to work on the side, you know ;)

Namaste :)

PostSecret Event

Yesterday I went to the PostSecret Event in Toledo, Ohio. PostSecret is a group art project started by Frank Warren (who spoke yesterday at the event).

Frank Warren describes himself as a "collector of secrets". And he has collected a lot of them... He told us yesterday that these are about half of the postcards he has received since he started this project.

He started the project in 2005 when he invited strangers to write a secret on one side of a postcard and mail it to him. Since then, he has been posting 10-20 secrets on his PostSecret blog every Sunday. The secrets range from funny to sad, shocking, unbelievable, (thought-)provoking, and everything in-between. For me, reading PostSecret is so much more than entertainment; it is proof that you cannot see the what's going on in a person's head. If you follow PostSecret for a while, you are bound to read YOUR secret at one point... it is ian amazing feeling to suddenly realize... you are not alone with your secret. You might find that it doesn't separate you from the world, it CONNECTS you to other people.

During the years of working on this project, Frank started working more and more in suicide prevention. He even got trained in suicide prevention counseling and worked/works on the Hopeline suicide prevention hotline! At the event yesterday, Frank gave the audience the chance to share their secret live over the microphone. I was shocked to see that most of the secrets shared were about suicide thoughts and suicide attempts. If statistics don't impress you (around 90 suicides per day, only in the USA), this event might have (yes, you too know a person who has suicide thoughts).

Anyway, I think PostSecret is not just about suicide, but generally about connecting people. I want to thank Frank for connecting millions of people with this project. I believe he is giving so many people hope... every day... So, thank you!

Lastly I want to say, if you ever get a chance to see Frank Warren speak, Go Go Go! This is Frank yesterday, talking about and showing us a postcard he received:

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.

Whoa! It's WARM!

Can you see that? 68 degF means 20 degC!!!

The ducks are happy, too! There is water to swim in again :)

Pretty sunset after my yoga class this week.

----
Urgent UPDATE, urgent UPDATE!

My colleagues and I just had lunch OUTSIDE!

OUTSIDE, people!!! I don't believe it! (It's supposed to snow again this weekend though...)

Progress

before:

after:

Aaaah, much better already :)


Oh yeah, and I forgot to show you guys... I am not eating from paper plates anymore, hurray!

I really need to...

... find some time to pick out some more furniture!

my dining table / office

 my living room end table

my nightstand

Night on the Town

Greektown (in downtown Detroit) at night

Sax player in the streets of Motown...

Hmmmm heaven on plates

Bikram Yoga Challenge: 10 day recap

The following is a list of changes I've noticed in the past 10 days. (Actually, I had been practicing 'almost every day' in the 10 days before the challenge.)

Food cravings:

• water!!! (not filtered, but actual spring water including yummy minerals)
• more food in general (seems like my body is busy busy keeping up with the yoga!)
• protein (thus the salmon and hummus... seems like my body is also busy building muscle!)
• salt/minerals
• fruit/vitamins (low-dose multivitamin, fruit, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and pomegranate juice to fulfill my body's requests)

Energy and Sleep:
After day 5 of the challenge, I started being sooooo tired! It might also have to do with the busy schedule I have right now. I leave the house at 7/8 am, work, take yoga class, and get home at 9/10 pm. When I get home, I haven't eaten yet (can't eat before yoga class), so yeah, there is not much time left for sleeping.
Another thing I've noticed: I think my sleep is deeper than usual.

Body:

• no more cold feet
• super-soft skin, no more lotion needed - except for hands (due to frequent hand washing) and face (sunblock)
• only slightly sore muscles... nothing too bad :) 
• stronger legs, core, arms (esp. lower arms!), stronger everything
• tiny bit of knee and lower back pain, but those are my "troubled areas" and supposedly, before they heal, they will hurt for a short time. I just make sure to keep proper form when in postures (locking the knee to make it easier on the knee, tightening the abs to make it easier on the lower back)

I didn't notice any other huge changes. I do feel like my muscles have gotten stronger, generally... legs, feet, arms, shoulders, core, ... but nothing particular stands out


Mind:

• can concentrate better
• more calm, can handle stress better
• more positive attitude

Yoga:

• half moon pose is not (as much) torture anymore, I feel much stronger in this (yay, core strength!)
• cobra & full locust pose: I can activate a new muscle group in my lower back to rise much higher
• back bends are getting better
• much deeper stretching on most days, esp. in hands to feet, sit-up, standing separate leg head to knee and head to knee poses
• can handle the heat better (I'm really interested to see how I will handle heat outside the studio, ie in the summer)
• I'm able to contract my stomach muscles throughout the whole class -> better postures, safer for the lower back! (Before the challenge, I would get so tired/weak during the class that I couldn't keep them contracted tightly anymore toward the end)

Other:
I am very tired all the time, because I don't get much sleep, but I just go to yoga every day after work without thinking about it. To an extent, it feels like my will was broken. It's a good thing though, because this will of mine is lazy and wants to go and sit on the couch. It's broken though, so now I go every day without (much of) a struggle. And the yoga is and will be so good for me (and anybody, really). A routine has set in and it's just normal to go to the studio every day. One of the super-cool things about that is, that I got to know the fellow yogis at the studio better and we motivate each other, yay! :)


If everything goes according to plan, I will finish the 30 Day Challenge on March 30th.

Namaste :)

Yoga tonight

This is what I did today at yoga... errr, yeah... had an issue to resolve at work today, so I couldn't make it to the last class at my yoga studio, so... I seized the day and had a healthy dinner instead ;)

Gonna do a double tomorrow: 7 am class, work, 6:30pm class... sounds like a plan, huh?

Bikram Yoga Challenge: Class 7 done!

Today I took the seventh yoga class of my 30 Day Challenge. That means I took a Bikram yoga class every day in the past week. I've never done that before!

Between the long commute I have to work at the moment (on-site at our customer's development center) and well, the yoga classes, I have had very little time at home. I leave my house at 7-8am and don't get back in before 9-10pm after my yoga class. Before I go to bed, I still have to fix myself dinner, pack breakfast and lunch for the next day, pack my yoga bag for the next day, and often wash yoga clothes/towels. So yeah, let's just say, I don't have much time for anything besides work and yoga during the week. As you can see in the pic above, I've started preparing 3-4 yoga bags at a time though to save a little bit of time ever day... Let's see if this system works :)

Most important addition to my kitchen, or: Hummus from scratch

 I looove hummus, but of course not the store-bought kind. With all the yoga I've been doing (day 6 of my first Bikram yoga challenge!), I've been craving my famous Simmm-style hummus ;) I finally bought an immersion blender today, so let the hummus-making begin!

Finally! I've missed it in the last couple of months... the store-bought just tastes funny to me. (Arent't those little whole-wheat pitas cute?)

Hmmm-yummm!

Had a super-yummy dinner tonight at an Italian restaurant. Sorry I have to show you a half-eaten meal again, but it was SOOOO good I had to start eating right away :P Looove grilled salmon!

And dessert was super-delicious, too!

Pretty ice rain

I can't recall having seen pretty ice rain like this before today!

And this is from the inside of my car :)

Call me crazy, but I really prefer this over snow.