Then, Sunday night, my friend Seiko, from Japan came back to Chicago so that she could start her second semester of her masters at Moody. I picked her up from the airport around midnight and she stayed a few days with us until she could get into her apartment in Chicago.
You all know how my Monday went - needed a little mid-day mojito....
Calvin had the pleasure of having his mama home everyday to take him walking so, even though it was hot, he was a happy boy.
And then on Wednesday, I had to get back down Northwestern for work, finished up early and, because it had been playing around in my head for a while, I took the opportunity to squeeze into a class at Bikram in the City -- AH! My beloved Bikram - how I have missed you!
I seriously was just thinking about it on Tuesday, hoping that I could finish up early enough to get into a class, dreaming in my head of that amazing feeling - going over the routine my head - and then eagerly packing my yoga bag in the off-chance that I could catch a class. And I did! Yea! I think one of the best things that I ever bought (besides my Blahnik shoes) was my little skid resistant yoga towel! I think I got it in Dallas or Memphis or one of those studios. I had done a few classes and always got mad at the plain old towel I would use because, with all the sweat, it would just skid around and then bunch up under my feet or my back and would make me break a pose because I could stand or lay straight. Drove me crazy.
Then, one studio, I saw these great towels that had all these little plastic dots on the back so it wouldn't skid - I bit - I paid $25 and I haven't looked back (as I've said with my Blahniks!) Its just the best yoga towel ever and it lays straight and I can do every pose with no interference and it rolls up nice in the beginning and end. Yea for $25!
I was TOTALLY on yesterday in class! I don't think I've ever had such a good class. Maybe distance makes the body more limber or something. My stretches were right on, my balance was almost perfect - while everyone else would hold a pose for a few seconds and then fall out, I was there, the model student of bikram. I kept on thinking "don't get too proud of yourself because you'll end up totally stinking" but I pushed through. I felt every stretch fully and today I can really feel it in my thighs and glutes. Love that feeling.
In case you don't remember, Bikram is a 90 minute class and its in a room thats around 105 degrees and the humidity is like 70% or something like that - its HOT! Its like hades hot - thats why that non-slip towel is a must. Yesterday, it was fairly warm outside so the classroom was a little hotter than usual and probably midway through I started having to lecture myself to just breathe. It was a first, but there was a girl who actually ran crying from the classroom and I thought "poor newbie".... Thats really a no no. They'll tell you that if you feel like you can't make it, that you should just got to the ground and lie flat to let your blood circulate. It you run out of the heat quickly, it can actually be more harmful. So, probably after about 15 minutes, the girl started lying down and making these soft noises and then after close to an hour and a lot of lecturing from the teacher about how she should be lying, she ran out with the teacher saying "don't leave the classroom!" But she was gone. This was actually a really nice teacher. Some of the Bikram teachers can be pretty mean. I know I have a friend who goes to classes in Evanston and she says they're basically Yoga Nazis there. They won't let you wipe the sweat off your face or anything. Chicago is pretty good. I don't feel really pressured by them, just strongly encouraged! :)
Anyways - $25 and a woman who pushes you to bend and sweat - I'm a more flexible and patient person...
Namastay :)
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