So I've had 2days "off" since the last session. First day off my leg muscles were incredibly sore and then Christmas day kept me pretty distracted.
Back today. Simon took the class, 6pm session. Ended up sitting for 20 or so minutes in a warmish car beforehand, but decided to go into the room 13 minutes before class started this time. The breathing exercise is still a killer, I'm sure I'm not doing it right. I seem unable to tilt my head backwards without bending my spine and managing to get my elbows together. Always happy when this ends.
This time I think I coped better with the heat, doing most of the standing stuff, apart from when I lost balance and waited til the next move. Lying down I started to suffer a bit from the heat, or just lost my mental state to block it out so well. I only drank about half my water this time in the class. I couldn't do the locus(t?) stuff without having my arms to the side, and doing a full stretch forward over straight toes made me feel ill. So second time round I just laid down for that bit, confusing the teacher as we were supposed to be lying the other way. I also struggled with the backward bend stuff but to be expected with my mega tight hamstrings and lower back.the heat for the first half of the class seemed less overwhelming but maybe i was more focused in my breathing and meditation. I made sure not to eat after 3pm, but didn't hydrate until lunchtime and just before leaving so I think all that water made me feel a bit I'll.
Afterwards my sister asked if it was hotter this time round and seemed to be struggling. So maybe the second class is harder than the first! Driving home I almost collided with a car who was in my blind spot, and head check visibility sucks in our car so despite making a headcheck I didn't see them until I had moved towards that lane. Hope they got a lesson about staying in someone's blind spot. On the freeway the sun glare was awful and an incident on freeway ramp where I cross the bolte bridge brought 2 lanes to a standstill, thankfully I followed the lane closed signs despite lanes not being closed to continue over the west gate.
Home eventually and was feeling kind of awful. I'd had a coconut water straight after class and finished off my water. I had a protein shake when I got home but mentally felt really out of it. Sat watching tv for a bit then heated up last nights leftover casserole. I only ate part of it before deciding my stomach didn't feel awesome. Muscles sore, brain fuzzy and sore stomach. Blegh. Hoping I feel better after a sleep. Home alone and usually don't sleep well when that's the case.
Showing posts with label Bikram. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bikram. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Bikram yoga - session 2
So I woke up early feeling sore - like I'd done a workout. Sore back in several places, neck, hips and legs. Had a piece of toast with butter and Vegemite with 2.5 hours until bikram. Allowed too much time to drive there and got there an hour before class. At least I got a park in the same place as last time. Bad thing about hydrating is all the bathroom breaks - but at least my Aussie toilets app came in handy! Ended up going to class and into the room 20 mins early. Outside temperature was about 30 degrees. Thinking maybe it would help to spend time just getting used to the heat inside.
Walking in to the room I think I was the 3rd person in the room so I was a bit early. The heat hit me as soon as I walked in - though everyone else I noticed walking into the room had a similar reaction (ie. making a noise of surprise). I got myself settled, did some stretching, moved my mat as the person in front of me was blocking my mirror view perfectly. Class taken by a guy this time. First breathing exercise and I still can't seem to lift my head up and back, without bending my spine - at least the guy explained that if you had a stiff neck you might have trouble with it, and explained it aimed to get you sweating. Sure did. Seems crazy that something so simply as breathing, moving your elbows and head gets you sweating profusely and feels difficult!
I'd like to say that I did better this class and I found the heat better but I didn't. Some of the standing up stuff I didn't do as I either lost balance quickly or was feeling a bit woozy. So I probably did less standing stuff than I did yesterday. Although the guy opened the door maybe 3-4 times as if the room was too hot. So nice feeling a cooling breeze but didn't last long. Was interesting having the guy lead the class although sometimes he'd be like - if your leg isn't straight you haven't started the pose yet. So if I can't straighten my leg I'm doing nothing so I should give up?? At least he tried to give me a slight variation for me for the japanese sitting in your knees with feet out to the side as I think my tight hamstrings were stopping me this time. I also still struggle with locus stuff - for some reason lying in my arms and hands is painful. I was probably more careful with my neck than yesterday but still feeling a bit niggly. I got through my 750ml of water before the class finished. After class I stayed to do some stretching then headed out to the cooler reception. Sat and drank coconut water. Had someone come up to me to tell me i had left all my stuff behind. As i was a little out of it, i looked next to me at my stuff a bit confused. Had a shower complete followed by a bitchy woman who came in and announced that everyone needed to hurry up (so she could shower). She walked out and back in again having another go at people. Eventually one lady walked out and the woman was like you're gorgeous, (pause) with this woman looking at her strangely. Then she goes you're the first person out and was the last in - which is rubbish as the last woman in went into my shower when I was done. But didn't bother pointing that out. Talk about killing the yoga buzz. As tough as it is you still feel a sense of accomplishment afterwards.
After walking back to the car and sitting for a but longer i drove home carefully, feeling a little niggly in my neck, left my water in the boot oops! Tried to keep drinking water after I got home. We ended up riding to highpoint on the motorbike thinking traffic and nightmare would be nightmarish. It so wasn't. So was very warm. High 30s. In highpoint it was still pretty warm so it was like bikram session temperature. But with more walking around.
Some Observations:
- enjoying the eye candy that was in the class
- sweating profusely (hoping that's a good thing), had been hoping I'd be slightly cooler in shorts and crop top but don't think it helped much apart from me seeing if I was engaging my abs
- my hips and legs are feeling worked out/stretched so must be doing something
- I think it was better drinking my coconut water immediately after the class but should have had more water soon
- I still got a bit of a headache that disappeared without drugs this time
- I don't think I coped better with the heat in class 2. Maybe class 3 :)
- I actually remembered a full change of clothes this time yay!! Still feels bizarre putting everything so damp in the washing machine. Was like I'd been swimming in my gear.
Taking a break tomorrow as it would be a struggle to make a lunch I'm going to after class, and I'm pretty sore (but in a good way), so I'll have 2 days off and be back on boxing day!
Walking in to the room I think I was the 3rd person in the room so I was a bit early. The heat hit me as soon as I walked in - though everyone else I noticed walking into the room had a similar reaction (ie. making a noise of surprise). I got myself settled, did some stretching, moved my mat as the person in front of me was blocking my mirror view perfectly. Class taken by a guy this time. First breathing exercise and I still can't seem to lift my head up and back, without bending my spine - at least the guy explained that if you had a stiff neck you might have trouble with it, and explained it aimed to get you sweating. Sure did. Seems crazy that something so simply as breathing, moving your elbows and head gets you sweating profusely and feels difficult!
I'd like to say that I did better this class and I found the heat better but I didn't. Some of the standing up stuff I didn't do as I either lost balance quickly or was feeling a bit woozy. So I probably did less standing stuff than I did yesterday. Although the guy opened the door maybe 3-4 times as if the room was too hot. So nice feeling a cooling breeze but didn't last long. Was interesting having the guy lead the class although sometimes he'd be like - if your leg isn't straight you haven't started the pose yet. So if I can't straighten my leg I'm doing nothing so I should give up?? At least he tried to give me a slight variation for me for the japanese sitting in your knees with feet out to the side as I think my tight hamstrings were stopping me this time. I also still struggle with locus stuff - for some reason lying in my arms and hands is painful. I was probably more careful with my neck than yesterday but still feeling a bit niggly. I got through my 750ml of water before the class finished. After class I stayed to do some stretching then headed out to the cooler reception. Sat and drank coconut water. Had someone come up to me to tell me i had left all my stuff behind. As i was a little out of it, i looked next to me at my stuff a bit confused. Had a shower complete followed by a bitchy woman who came in and announced that everyone needed to hurry up (so she could shower). She walked out and back in again having another go at people. Eventually one lady walked out and the woman was like you're gorgeous, (pause) with this woman looking at her strangely. Then she goes you're the first person out and was the last in - which is rubbish as the last woman in went into my shower when I was done. But didn't bother pointing that out. Talk about killing the yoga buzz. As tough as it is you still feel a sense of accomplishment afterwards.
After walking back to the car and sitting for a but longer i drove home carefully, feeling a little niggly in my neck, left my water in the boot oops! Tried to keep drinking water after I got home. We ended up riding to highpoint on the motorbike thinking traffic and nightmare would be nightmarish. It so wasn't. So was very warm. High 30s. In highpoint it was still pretty warm so it was like bikram session temperature. But with more walking around.
Some Observations:
- enjoying the eye candy that was in the class
- sweating profusely (hoping that's a good thing), had been hoping I'd be slightly cooler in shorts and crop top but don't think it helped much apart from me seeing if I was engaging my abs
- my hips and legs are feeling worked out/stretched so must be doing something
- I think it was better drinking my coconut water immediately after the class but should have had more water soon
- I still got a bit of a headache that disappeared without drugs this time
- I don't think I coped better with the heat in class 2. Maybe class 3 :)
- I actually remembered a full change of clothes this time yay!! Still feels bizarre putting everything so damp in the washing machine. Was like I'd been swimming in my gear.
Taking a break tomorrow as it would be a struggle to make a lunch I'm going to after class, and I'm pretty sore (but in a good way), so I'll have 2 days off and be back on boxing day!
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Bikram yoga - session 1
Arrived early and got myself registered for my trial $19 for 10 consecutive days, bargain!! Lots of people were in there laying quietly, all facing the same direction so I did the same. At first it was quite pleasant, the heat, a little bit unusual. When the session started we stood up and then the heat started hitting me. it's a pretty consistent heat, sometimes you notice more heat coming at you, and you sweat a lot. I think I needed the four litres I had drunk the day before.
The class is I think 26 forms and 2 breathing exercises. The teacher talked us through the movements but didn't demonstrate, so you had to watch what other people were doing to figure it out. I quickly learnt to not follow the woman next to me, the people in the front row were the ones to watch. Honestly can't remember everything we did. We did 3 forms/whatever they're called, and then had a water break together. At this point I noticed all the beads of sweat on me and that my face was going really red as it does when I run. We were told to drink at any time but to wait until a balance move was finished to not unbalance people with movement. Despite having a hay fever tablet the night before and the morning was still breathing through my mouth at times (bad sinuses) and felt a bit parched.
The moves themselves weren't too bad, you could work at your own level. A couple of times I felt a bit... Woozy is probably the best word for it.. So took a drink and rejoined later. You do the first part standing up and then move to the floor. I thought the floor part might have felt easier but I struggled. Either because I'd had enough of the heat, or just the stuff we were doing I'm not sure. A lot of the moves required sitting on your knees and feet, and then moving your feet out, or going into a camel pose and my ankles were too sore to do it. But when I struggled I just sat and had some more water and waited. I did feel a slight niggle in my shoulder, and had noticed in all the standing up moves I had to keep pulling my shoulders down. I didn't feel nauseous at all which I was a little nervous about beforehand. Whilst I wanted the class to finish up quicker than it did, I tried to focus on giving things a go. I didn't feel a massive need to leave the room. It wasn't a relaxing session for me though.
After class I did some stretching and then left the room, the cold reception in comparison felt great. I felt a bit light headed, but sat and had more water. Had a cool shower and realized I had brought clean track suit pants but no clean top - whoops!! Walked to the car and sat for a bit. Still feeling a bit out of it. Drove home to have a proper shower and get non stinky, had a coconut water and a long shower. The rest of the day was conscious that my back was sore in places, knots at the top of my neck and sore lower back. Went into the city for lunch feeling pretty out of it, but still trying to drink more water. When we stopped for petrol bought a mizone vitamin water and had half of it whilst waiting for the slowest petrol attendant ever to serve customers. After lunch, some shopping, and sorbets at the local cafe - got back home and by this stage had an awful headache. Ended up having a painkiller, a big glass of electrolyte drink and fell asleep for a bit on the couch. Woke up feeling heaps better.
Had I not gotten rid of my headache I don't think I'd be going back tomorrow, I'd have a few days off). Mainly because I don't want to spend my holidays feeling like I did today. My back has been a bit crackly so will be interesting to see how I feel in the morning. I am glad though that this yoga place let's you drink in the class - maybe its better if you don't breathe through your mouth but I'd have struggled heaps more without water breaks. The parking in prahran is a nightmare though!! The teacher was helpful though giving direction to my sister and I if we were doing something not quite right. For example there was one bit where you were standing one one leg, other leg over the top, toe behind your calf, then you had to have a certain arm above the other kind of entwined, and she's saying your thumbs should be facing you... So then you had to figure out what you were doing wrong as your thumbs were facing the mirror.
Let's see how I go with round 2 - here's hoping for no headache!! :)
The class is I think 26 forms and 2 breathing exercises. The teacher talked us through the movements but didn't demonstrate, so you had to watch what other people were doing to figure it out. I quickly learnt to not follow the woman next to me, the people in the front row were the ones to watch. Honestly can't remember everything we did. We did 3 forms/whatever they're called, and then had a water break together. At this point I noticed all the beads of sweat on me and that my face was going really red as it does when I run. We were told to drink at any time but to wait until a balance move was finished to not unbalance people with movement. Despite having a hay fever tablet the night before and the morning was still breathing through my mouth at times (bad sinuses) and felt a bit parched.
The moves themselves weren't too bad, you could work at your own level. A couple of times I felt a bit... Woozy is probably the best word for it.. So took a drink and rejoined later. You do the first part standing up and then move to the floor. I thought the floor part might have felt easier but I struggled. Either because I'd had enough of the heat, or just the stuff we were doing I'm not sure. A lot of the moves required sitting on your knees and feet, and then moving your feet out, or going into a camel pose and my ankles were too sore to do it. But when I struggled I just sat and had some more water and waited. I did feel a slight niggle in my shoulder, and had noticed in all the standing up moves I had to keep pulling my shoulders down. I didn't feel nauseous at all which I was a little nervous about beforehand. Whilst I wanted the class to finish up quicker than it did, I tried to focus on giving things a go. I didn't feel a massive need to leave the room. It wasn't a relaxing session for me though.
After class I did some stretching and then left the room, the cold reception in comparison felt great. I felt a bit light headed, but sat and had more water. Had a cool shower and realized I had brought clean track suit pants but no clean top - whoops!! Walked to the car and sat for a bit. Still feeling a bit out of it. Drove home to have a proper shower and get non stinky, had a coconut water and a long shower. The rest of the day was conscious that my back was sore in places, knots at the top of my neck and sore lower back. Went into the city for lunch feeling pretty out of it, but still trying to drink more water. When we stopped for petrol bought a mizone vitamin water and had half of it whilst waiting for the slowest petrol attendant ever to serve customers. After lunch, some shopping, and sorbets at the local cafe - got back home and by this stage had an awful headache. Ended up having a painkiller, a big glass of electrolyte drink and fell asleep for a bit on the couch. Woke up feeling heaps better.
Had I not gotten rid of my headache I don't think I'd be going back tomorrow, I'd have a few days off). Mainly because I don't want to spend my holidays feeling like I did today. My back has been a bit crackly so will be interesting to see how I feel in the morning. I am glad though that this yoga place let's you drink in the class - maybe its better if you don't breathe through your mouth but I'd have struggled heaps more without water breaks. The parking in prahran is a nightmare though!! The teacher was helpful though giving direction to my sister and I if we were doing something not quite right. For example there was one bit where you were standing one one leg, other leg over the top, toe behind your calf, then you had to have a certain arm above the other kind of entwined, and she's saying your thumbs should be facing you... So then you had to figure out what you were doing wrong as your thumbs were facing the mirror.
Let's see how I go with round 2 - here's hoping for no headache!! :)
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