Week 2 is officially over! The weekdays are so packed and busy that the week goes by fast! I could see how they say, "Before you know it, week 9 will be here."
Doing doubles every day (except Sat where we only do one, and we get Sunday off) has been great! Last Monday, we were up til 3:00am watching an Indian love story. We were let go "early" at midnight on Tues & Wed and we felt like celebrating!!! My roomie and I celebrated by heading straight to bed. On Thurs, we had another movie night until 3:00am. Bodies were sprawled out on the floor. I actually watch all of the movies. Man, they are long...4 hour flicks. My butt hurts soooo much from sitting in the chair for 6 to 9 hours!
On Friday, Bikram made a brief appearance and said goodbye for the week. He's traveling to Portland, Hawaii, Tokyo and somewhere else. If he's gone next week, that means there's no late night movies! yay! Next week we start anatomy and posture clinics. Time to start memorizing! However, I'm going to miss his classes. They are the most entertaining classes ever! One time he said our faces looked sad so he broke out singing an Indian song and flexed his chest muscles to the rhythem.
In yoga, the spaces in the back of the class are the first to be filled up now. Beforehand, I used to be able to get some real estate without any problems. I usually head down a few minutes before class so I get stuck being in the front/middle of the room. I actually don't mind it. Sometimes I can see a sliver of myself in the mirror. Most of the time, I end up staring at some girl's butt. I don't mind being in the front cuz I get more space to do Locust! Nothing runs into me when I'm a 747. :)
I still can't believe that somehow I find the energy to finish two classes a day! The human body has sooo much energy (we get into the scientific data later) and it's 90% mental power and focus to get through the class. The rest is practice and physical strength. So pretty much ANYBODY can do yoga. I don't get it when people say they aren't flexible or can't stand the heat. It's ALL in the power of the mind! Everybody should try Bikram yoga!
Typically when I'm sore, the two postures I fall out of are Toe Stand and Balancing Stick. For those of you not familiar w/the postures, see pics. My mind has ignored my quads and hamstrings crying out in pain. I've done both postures in every class (yay!). Plus, I haven't had a need to lay down or take a break! :)
Pic 1:
Toe Stand (Padangustasana) Benefits
-Creates balance and focus in body and mind
-Strengthens stomach muscles
-Strengthens joints (hips, knees, ankles and toes)
-Helps relieve arthritis in all leg joints including hips
Pic 2:
Balancing stick pose (Tulandandasana) Benefits
-Increases cardiovascular circulation, especially to heart blood vessels
-May help clear blocked arteries
-May help prevent future cardiac problems
-Creates a total spine stretch Relieves stress from spine
-Good for varicose veins
-Builds strength in legs
-Exercises pancreas, spleen, liver, nervous and circulatory system
