40

Yes -That's right, 60 days are completed.


Today, 11am I will only have 40 days left!

My studio started an official 31-day challenge for the month of August.
This is always a great time at the studio with great energy and familiar faces returning every day!

I'll write more on my 'state of play' next week coz I have to run off now to do an early Sunday morning class!

‘Bikram Amusement Park’

It seems I got myself a ticket to the ‘Bikram Amusement Park’ and I am stuck in the rollercoaster.

I’ve heard people talk about it, -and I read a lot about it in other blogs, but holy crapballs you have no idea what it all means till you’ve been there. Well…… I know now; this rollercoaster swings me from high’s to low’s.

I don’t like rollercoaster’s much; I get nauseous… but since there’s no way that I know of to get off this ride I better sit tight and let it rock my little world.

Tough week....

My mantra: How come it’s only Monday, how come it’s only still Tuesday..? I need July to be over already…….. Heck I need August to be over already. Wish it was spring already. Get me near the end of the challenge, give me my life back and ‘ouch’ I am sore. How come every day yoga isn’t making me skinny? My hands look ugly and I have got ‘Bikram Stigmata’ on my knees.
And then that yoga truck. That's the truck that hits you...then just when you think you are gonna get up and recover, you hear the "beep, beep, beep...' as it backs up and runs you over again.

But then.......out of the blue something hilarious happens (which I think can only ever be funny when exhaustion strikes and you are on the so-called ‘Bikram rollercoaster’) and I laughed harder since...well…a long time -during class! It was the unstoppable laugh; the one that’s too loud, embarrassing, hard to stop and makes your face bright red and has tears running down your face.

Anyways, back to my mantra. It’s only Wednesday today…? I need July to be over already…….. Heck I need August to be over already. Get me near the end of the challenge, give me my life back and ‘ouch’ I am sore…….
Ulch....

And so the story continues

With 46 days left in the challenge, this was how last week went down:

Monday:
Sore left foot, right knee, right hip but surprisingly a good class. 90-Minutes flew by, no improvements or setbacks; just a whole lot of sweating.

Tuesday:
Did 2 (back2back) classes. Great new teacher. In the 2nd class my mind was set on giving up but I did not give up coz of my yogi friend. Thinking if she was still standing and working it, so can I! Gosh… I worked hard this Tuesday evening.
In between classes I was curious if I’ve gotten more flexible halfway through my 101-day challenge and I tried to do the split; with success!

Wednesday:
I was limping due to Tuesday’s classes. Was not excited at all for class but after the first 10 min I zoned in and the teacher motivated me. I had great class. Prayer position in toe stand (I found out that the trick is extensive concentration combined with extensive contraction of abdominal muscles)!

Thursday:
Boring class, tired body, strained a muscle in my neck during class.

Friday:
Slow class, early morning class which I never find easy. Very stiff. Post class I felt very energised though for the rest of the day!

Saturday:
Great class; hot – humid! I find the backward bending quite scary because it always feels like my back is about to break but somehow it opened up this morning and bended further backwards which was even complimented on by the teacher.

Sunday:
Hung-over…
But thank gawd for coconut water and my yogi friend next to me. It turned out to be a good class. Balance was a little off but I recovered from the hangover within 5 minutes and felt amazing.


This week I have decided on the ultimate gift for me – from me upon completion of the 101 day challenge. Remember my 'totattooornottotattoo' blog…? The answer is 'totattoo'; I am getting one when I finish the 101-day challenge mid September!


The challenge has become a journey resulting in intense growth. Bikram yoga has the ability to peel back the layers to really expose what's going on in your mind and heart, whether you like what you see or not.

"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work." For some time now my dreams and fantasies have been far more exciting than my realities. What I've come to realize, is that I can make all of my dreams come true through sweat (literally), determination and hard work. I firmly believe that as I'm on this journey to self-realization many new doors will open for me and my dreams will become my real life.

50

Drunk on positivism

Gosh, I am positive lately…!

It’s (pleasantly) weird because my glass was always half empty and never half full. ~It’s like I am drunk on positivism!

Negativity was always a great protector. ‘It could only turn out better than my expectations!’ Nowadays I don’t seem to need that anymore because even if I am referring to something I dislike, I still end it on a positive note.

Could it be happiness? –Yes I am happy!
I sure hope the positive mind-set is a keeper and with a bright future ahead I am quite confident that it is!

Expectations

Lights are off and it’s silent. I lie on my belly with 4 hours to go in this room. I am glancing around and preparing mentally. It almost feels like lights will go on soon, music will start and a show is about to begin.

But a show is not what’s going down this eve.
It is Tuesday and me and my yogi friend have dedicated ourselves to do another double class. It’s her 1-year Bikram Yoga anniversary; now that’s passion -she actually remembered the date that she started- and I love the teacher who teaches the late class on Tuesdays and would love a day off in return for this double! Tit for tat ;-)

The 1st class went alright. It was humid, I gave it my all. My skin felt hot, I was out of breath and my heart was beating hard. I love to feel this way; it gives me a sense of accomplishment. It’s this feeling that makes me feel more and more in love with Bikram Yoga. It’s a complete work-out like no other!

The 2nd class I wasn’t feeling all that awesome anymore. I was tired, psychically drained, in other words exhausted.
Such a waste because I love the teacher and it was definitely not her fault. A lot of people where struggling in this class so there was not much energy to steal.
I am happy to have done it though. That extra class is ‘in my pocket’; calories are burned and I felt proud and wonderful after!
Besides; I can’t have great classes every time and I just have to see what each class will bring me.

In general, expectations bring me excitement or disappointment. Most of the time there is not much in between.
I find it hard to live in the here & now without any prospective, - exciting plans for the near future. I plan and plan and plan, and with that come expectations. I wish I could independently control the outcome (noop, I am not controlling at all… well… maybe just a little) cause I’ll take excitement as a result any day –as you ‘my lovely 18 followers’ would probably as well ;-)

Expectations are a waste in practice. You can come to class thinking it will be a great one but instead of greatness you’ll have a yoga truck running you over or you’ll come to class feeling ‘bleh’ and praying for it to be over but it turns out to be a super duper class.


Anyways:
I have completed 56 days/ classes in my Bikram 101 challenge!
The 45 classes I’ve had so far have brought me strength, determination, improvements, setbacks, pride, bliss, energy, discovery, health, tired- (sometimes sore) muscles, soul searching (-and finding!), healthy nutrition, positive mind set, an ongoing & growing love for my practise and best of all; ‘prospective’…….

***

“Thank you ‘envy’. Although they say you are a sin and are often labelled as negative you open my eyes to new opportunities, want more,-strive for more and coz of the feeling you give me I believe that anything is possible”.

‘Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable’

In our Western society we don’t cope well with being-/ feeling uncomfortable.
As soon as we get uncomfortable our minds tells us to give up. The mind is strong and extremely hard to ignore.

Practicing Bikram yoga has taught me to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

It’s no picnic; the 90 minutes in the hot room. But by repeatable practice, mind over matter and with commitment and determination you can put the mind on ‘mute’, overcome giving up and be a stronger person for it eventually.

After consistent Bikram Yoga practice over the last year and a half I am absolutely convinced that nowadays I can deal with ‘uncomfortable’ in life as suppose to back in the day when I was quite the quitter whenever things got tough….!

Hot Damn!

Yesterday I’ve done a double class and I am now back on track in my 101-day challenge! Great teachers, hot - humid classes and full commitment.

It felt great doing the double and with this euphoric feeling of pride and fulfilment it even crossed my mind to make this a standard on Tuesdays.
BUT… then throughout last night my body started to ache… Yes…I am incredibly sore…and trying to avoid too much movement today (until my Bikram class later today that is). Could someone fill up my water bottles today… -Jennie..?

Now that I’ve passed the 1st month I am curious to the effects this challenge will bring me. Yesterday it felt like I was on drugs (which….. really I am not). During my nearly 4 hours in the hot room I found a whole lot of not too funny stuff really funny and it made me laugh –a lot..! I believe it’s because I feel happy; great and exciting things are heading my way…! > More on this later ;-)

This week’s thank-you-note:
“Dear photo of me folded in a yoga posture captured in someone’s iphone: Thank you for being fun to look at. This ‘delightful mid-night graphic’ reminds of a fun night with a few too many drinks than ever allowed in a yoga studio as I don’t recall any photo’s where taken….”

Hot, Hotter, Hottest...

Practicing Bikram yoga forces me to focus and concentrate. ~ During those 90-minutes my mind is calm and eliminates all that is going on in my life. It’s such a peaceful 90-minutes although it’s such hard physical labour and as a result I get new perspectives in life. ~ Perspectives for present time and (near) future; my hopes and dreams and it has never felt more important to me to act on these hopes and dreams. It’s scary, frustrating, exciting and takes some creativity and soul searching but I am getting there... and I am ready to welcome ‘it’!

- - -

State of play:
Wednesday I completed the 1st month in my 101-day challenge with today only 70 days left!
Time flies and when you have a 101 day challenge insight instead of a 30-day challenge; I can tell you those 30 days where easy this time.
No emotional rollercoaster, no exhaustion… ready for more!
The hotter the room (42 + degrees) the better I ‘perform’. It’s easy to get very flexible in the hot classes and go deeper into postures. I love the hot classes because this is when I am able to take postures to a new level.
When classes are not too hot (-/- 39.5 degrees) my muscles feel sore, short/ tight and tired.

This week a dedicated ‘thank you note’:
“To my ‘Ultra Muscleze’: Although you taste foul I’d like to shout out a big thanks to your high dose of magnesium with a comprehensive range of cofactors which really fix up my muscles each night”.