(no subject)
Yesterday I had a bit of an embarrassing experience, which actually I shouldn't have gotten too embarrassed by because it's not that big of a deal. I had debated taking a Hot Yoga class all day long, and by the time I arrived home from work, there was no way I wanted to leave again. I consumed a full meal, put my pj's on, and situated myself in front of the TV. About 15 mins before the class started, I had a change of heart. I rushed to get dressed, re-inserted my contacts, and ran out the door. Well, I wrote this in my LJ another time pretty recently: NEVER take HOT YOGA on a FULL STOMACH! *Bad idea!* It was 107 degrees in there, I could feel my food creeping back up, and I felt like I was going to faint! About 55 minutes into the 90 minute class (which i sat out about 15% of & did the rest half-assed), I busted a move out of there. The teacher seemed a bit disappointed because she knows me and it's a little unspoken rule that yogis do not leave hot yoga. Instead, they lay down on their mat and let the feeling pass or just wait for the class to end. In fact, she cornered me at the door to try and convince me to lie back down. I was already embarrassed because I had drank a huge gulp of water before the warm-up was over (also an unspoken rule). Not to mention, the room was *packed* with other yogis. Well, I arrived back home at 9:50pm last night and buried my head in the pillow- embarrassed. And decided that I needed to pick myself back up. So, I woke up this morning at 6am for a bright and early Hot Yoga class- and it was a success! And 2 people who were in last night's 8:15 class were in this one...damn they do a lot of hot yoga! Yay! And Wesley was the teacher! So, he was very thrilled to see me there so early! haha- I heart him. and I love hot yoga for what it does to my body and how it makes me feel spiritually and emotionally. Well, sometimes I despise it mid-class and want to run away and never go back there. Like when I feel as though I'm about to faint from heat exhaustion and I can't perform a move that I could have easily done if it were a normal temperature. But, the rewards and benefits supersede those feelings. And there's something powerful about getting over the challenge of the heat and working through it instead of against it. The heat is kind of like life- sometimes it's about accepting it and using it to your advantage rather than complaining about it and running away from it. My other yoga instructor John (for Hot Vinyassa or just Vinyassa) is a true yogi and he constantly discusses the "story" we tell ourselves. Sometimes he will make us hold an excruciating pose and he will ask us: "what story are you telling yourself right now? Are you telling yourself you are too weak? Are you trying to space-out because of the pain? Are you wondering how much longer I will keep you here? Just accept it - accept the unknown." And he's right that our mind gives out before our body because as soon as he tells us that we only have 2 more sets or 5 more seconds, we become so much stronger! He offers amazing life- thoughts that I should probably start writing here on a weekly basis so that I can look back at his wisdom.