On Tuesday night, I decided to give bikram yoga another try. Out once again came my colorful fish beach towel, my thick yellow yoga mat, my favorite enormous water bottle plastered with study abroad stickers.
I was ready to rock.
And guess what? I LOVED the class. Same instructor and everything, but completely unlike last week, when I felt restless, irritable, and ready to leave, this week I felt calm, centered, and powerful. The class flew by and I was able to stay focus and in the moment, enjoying the break from studying and the computer.
I’m honestly not sure what was so different about Tuesday night, but I think a lot of it had to do with a more open state of mind. I went into the class determined to use the time to relax, recharge, and destress, and that’s exactly what I did.
I also think some of it was due to all your amazing comments on my hot yoga vs. regular yoga post! It was a good reminder that yoga is often more about embracing stillness than motion. I really like the woman who leads the classes — she has a nice, calm voice and ends the class by placing cold peppermint scented towels over our eyes. Those towels alone are reason enough to attend! SO refreshing and amazing after all that sweating.
Speaking of towels, I was thinking last night that it’s weird that after one class of hot yoga that wasn’t so great I was ready to throw in the towel, yet with running, if I have a bad run, I just come home, move on, and get back out there a day or two later. Maybe it’s because I have a lot more experience with running and know that I will have bad runs and good runs, but it’s funny that it didn’t occur to me that it would be the same way with hot yoga.
And speaking of running, I had a great run this morning with my friend Lindsey!
It was pretty gross out (really humid and looming thunderstorms, but it held off!) and we were both feeling pretty tired, but the beauty of running with a friend is that you push each other 🙂 We were able to keep each other motivated and ended up having a great, very hilly run!
Splits:
- Mile 1: 9:19
- Mile 2: 8:53
- Mile 3: 9:02
- Mile 4: 9:20 (included a MASSIVE hill that we sprinted up at the very end)
Overall, we did 4 miles in 36:50 — average pace 9:08. Great pace considering it was such a hilly route!
Now I’m getting organized to head off to school! I have my Food Service final exam this morning at 11 and I’m going to spend the rest of the day in the library on campus studying biochem since I can’t be trusted to study at home because I get so distracted, haha 😉 Have a great day!
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What do you love now that you didn’t like when you first tried it? I’m sure I could think of lots of other things besides hot yoga, too. This is a good reminder to always try, try again!
Oh, and — what’s the best way to keep a yoga mat clean and non-stinky? 🙂
