Ring The Bell

27....easy breezey

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 22:20:00 +0000

I know I haven't written about the yoga challenge in a few days (five to be exact), but I've been a little overwhelmed. I turned a major corner a few days ago, in class 24. I was going to devote a separate entry to the experience, but I was so pooped I couldn't muster it.

Class 24 was taught by an amazingly tough woman named Tomo. She is the wife of one of the owners of the studio where I have been practicing. She called me out about 4 times, including one that was followed with "There's a difference between taking it easy and being lazy. No one is going to be lazy today." So I sucked it up, I did every posture and I was gasping, shaking, and a little light headed at the end. I went home, slept like a brick going to bed around 9:00 pm. The next day I was sore but I went back to class and it was all there. Every posture, every attention to detail, everything. And my knees didn't hurt.

Each class since then has been excellent. I'm eager to finish my 30 days, take a few days rest, and then go to a regular practice of 5 classes per week. I might not blog for the next couple of days, but I will be sure to do a final recap.

PS: Somewhere along the way I have managed to develop thighs of steel! (Or at least aluminum)

22...pain

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:52:00 +0000

The other day, I was talking to my roommate about all this yoga business and I said, "You get to a point where you're uncomfortable, maybe light headed, or sick to your stomach, or in some pain. It doesn't feel good, but you know it's not dangerous, you're not in danger, so you just go with it."

Well, I am certainly feeling uncomfortable today. My legs hurt, my knees are stiff, and all I want is to take a day off. But I know if I do, I need to do a double between now and next Monday. I have 8 days left in this challenge and I'm going to do them. Even if I all I do is go to the room and lie down form 90 minutes. I will finish these 30 days!

21 not so easy

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:19:00 +0000

So...I'm not entirely sure why, but today's session was really difficult. I had a late night last night. I was at a Shabbat potluck with friends and we we laughing and telling stories rather late. I didn't get out of there until around 11:30. I got to sleep around midnight (my typical bed time is between 9:30 and 10). I also had some really potent sangria, and beer on Thursday. I think drinking alcohol is simply not an option while I'm doing this challenge. I was dehydrated, ate too much breakfast, really tired, the room was super hot, and Mr. Grunty Yoga Drama was right behind me huffing and puffing like crazy. It was not a great day, and I sat out of a lot of the time. I feel like on day 21, not being 100% is not that big of a deal. The important part is that I was there the whole time. It was my 12th class in a row and I think it's catching up to me. I'm not quitting, but I am realizing that this is a little tougher on this side of the challenge than I thought.

Onward ho!

Day 20!

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:06:00 +0000

I've made it two thirds of the way! The 20th class was challenging. I was feeling pretty good and strong, but my companion in the class was not feeling so great. I felt bad that she needed to leave and I was a bit distracted for the rest of the class. She's gonna give it another go, though, and I'm very glad for that.

Other than that, there isn't too much to share about the actual class. I was feeling great, had a lot of focus and determination. It's a good thing that the classes are becoming somewhat unremarkable. I think it means that I'm getting used to class and it has become habitual. I have noticed that my muscles are much more sore this week. I found taking my vitamins helps a lot.

I think I might have lost some weight, or at least some inches. I'm not going to check my weight until I'm done with the 30 days. Weighing myself makes me pretty crazy.

Day 18

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:54:00 +0000

Ok, I just got to say, day 18? I never thought I would get this far. I know I have a lot further to go, but it's kinda amazing what you can do when you make a plan and stick to it. It hasn't been easy to make time for yoga and I've had to forgo some really wonderful social engagements because of it. But I am so proud for setting this goal and working to reach it.

I really think I heard the perfect gears slide into place today. From the very first breathing exercise my lower body felt solid, concrete, immovable. I felt grounded and focused. Anther friend joined me for her first class, and although it was tough she said she really enjoyed it. I have to say she looked great for her first Bikram class! It's not easy to stay in that room for 90 minutes. It was so hot today I actually took off my shirt for the first time ever, in class. No worries, I was wearing a sports bra. When you get so hot you'd take off your skin to get a little relief, taking off your sweaty, soggy shirt and letting your belly hang out doesn't seem like too big of a deal.

I'm heading to day 20 pretty soon and then it's the home stretch. I've got to keep my head in the game, not getting complacent now. But I really feel like I will reach my goal in the challenge.

My nephew is awesome!

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:26:00 +0000

Sweet 16

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:57:00 +0000

Ah, today's yoga class was so lovely. All the big school in Mass are on Spring Break and my 8:00am class was practically empty. I think there were only about 10 students. It was calm and not blazing hot and just wonderful. I felt like I was floating after class and I didn't sit out any postures this time. Ah....sigh.

Day 15/ Half way there

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:31:00 +0000

I am half way to my goal of 30 classes in 30 days. Today was hard and hot. I suddenly can't seem to figure out how to feed myself effectively. I don't think I ate enough at lunch and then I was really hungry during class. This morphed into feeling really sick to my stomach throughout the second half of the floor series.

I'm glad I've made it this far. It hasn't been easy, but it hasn't been impossible either. I know I can do 15 days, now I just need to do 15 more.

day 14/locust break through

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 03:17:00 +0000

I have had a remarkably productive day today. i spent about 6 hours working on school work, took a 2 hour nap, went to yoga, and then to a friend's house for havdalah. The yoga was really tough starting, especially since my stomach and intestines had been talking to me all day, and not saying the nicest things. i warned my teacher I may need to leave class for the loo and she was all cool with that. T this was a new teacher I hadn't been to before and she was great. i had a brief break through in half locust post and actually got my feet a good 10 inches off the ground. This is a pretty major breakthrough since the first class i went to back at yoga about 2 and a half weeks ago i good not lift my legs at all. Locust has always been a major challenge and it felt good to have a good day.
(apologies for all the lower case "i"s. my shift key is a little sticky.)

Lucky Number 13

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 13:27:00 +0000

Uhg...lull. I went to class. I'm feeling unmotivated. I'm almost halfway through the challenge and I'm kinda bored. I wore my contacts to class, which means I got the clear, sharp, stark view of myself in all my sweaty glory. When I do the yoga without my glasses everything has a nice soft edge to it. I can believed that I am thinner than I am, have clearer skin than I do, and generally look more calm and peaceful. I had the realization that I am fatter than I thought I was. This is not self defeating talk or poor body image, but a simple statement of fact. This is something that can be resolved and I intend to do that.

I want to get to a health weight before my 30th birthday. I have about a year and a half to do this. I guess I should stop eating ham and cheese croissants for breakfast.

Day 12/ Class 12...devolution

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:51:00 +0000

I made it to 6:30am class at a new location of my studio. I think I like my regular studio a lot more, but it was a nice change of scenery. My right knee is still bugging me, and my practice seems to be turning to crap. I had a hard time focusing, and I just kept falling out of everything. Talking to my teacher afterward she said was pretty common that about midway through the challenge people get to a little bit of a lull. She suggested I should just keep with it and it will get better. It's starting to become so habitual that I have a hard time thinking of a day without yoga. Each day is completely different and I can see how this is something I could do every day of my life and never master it.

Day 11 / Class 11....6am yoga!

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:14:00 +0000

I did it! I woke up at 5am this morning and hauled my sleepy bum into yoga at 6am. It's amazing how different my body feels at that time of the morning. I was much less flexible than I am later in the day. When it came to the first savasana (between the standing series and the floor series) it was all I could not to fall asleep. I'm glad I did it, though, and it may not be the last 6am class I go to. I had so much energy throughout the day. Now it's about 8:20pm and I'm pretty ready to go to bed.

Day 10 / Class 10 a return

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:57:00 +0000

Ok, first thing first. I am sitting in my kitchen in Somerville, MA and just heard an NPR story about Willie Nelson by Texas NPR reporter John Burnet. There was Waylon Jennings and Ray Benson all talking and I just got so homesick. SXSW kicks off this week in Austin and I wish a million times that I was there and not in New England.

Ok, about the yoga. I took a day off to go to a really interesting conference yesterday, and I'm pretty glad I did. Today I felt so much stronger and fresher in class. There isn't much to say right now. Some postures I've always struggled with are getting easier, and ones that always seemed easier are getting oddly challenging. Strange...

I'm going to try to make it to a 6am class again, but let's see it it will really happen.

Day 8 / Class 9...I'm kinda lazy

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:44:00 +0000

Today I discovered that I'm kinda lazy, and I like to give up. Now, it may not seem that way since I've taken on this whole 30-day challenge biz, but its true. When I'm in class and a posture is hard or uncomfortable, rarely do I put my whole focus or effort into doing it my best. When it starts to get too hard or my legs ache or my arms are tired, sometimes I make myself loose balance or step out, just because it's hard and I want to give up.

My teacher called me out today. "Lock your knees, Mimi. You have the flexibility, now you need to work on the integrity of the posture." This was during half-moon pose. For those that don't know, this is the first posture after the first breathing exercise. I had another call out when it came to standing head to knee.I've never been able to get my head to my knee, and only once able to kick my leg out, but sometimes I just stand there, trying to lockout my leg, doing my best to hold my slipping foot, and then I just get out of it because it's too hard, and my leg hurts, and I'm loosing my grip. (And I like long sentences.) This time my teacher looked at me and said, "Don't give up. Stop quitting." It reminded me of how my cello teacher used to yell at me to "quit quitting!" when I would come to a difficult passage. I was training myself not to do it, not to play the piece. And it was true in this posture. I was training myself not to stay in the posture.

After class I spoke with my teacher and he was great. "We all are naturally good at something. For some its strength, some have focus, some have flexibility. And there are postures that highlight each of these. But its the stuff we're not so good at that we really need to work on."
"I'm finding out I'm not as strong as I thought I was." I said.
"Maybe it's better to think about building your stamina as a way to build strength. Rather than seeing how far you can go in the posture, stop where you are and try to hold it for the full 60 seconds, or 30 seconds, or however long it is."

Tomorrow I am taking the day off of yoga to attend a seminar at school. When I come back Tuesday I'm going to work on my stamina. And on locking my standing leg.

Day 7 / Classes 7&8...El Duble

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:19:00 +0000

I did it! I did a back to back double this morning, and I'm pooped.

The first class was nice, I felt good and strong. I went through each posture, my breath was good, and I even managed to kick my foot out once in standing head to knee pose. I knew I needed to do a double today to keep up with the 30 days, because I'll be missing class on Monday, but I was going to play it by ear. Would it be a back to back (at 9:30 and 12:00pm), or one early and another later with a big break, (at 9:30am and another at 4:00pm)? As I sat after class rapidly cooling off, the sweat drying on my skin, I though, "Do it! This will be great, just get it all done with and do your second class now!" And so I did.

The second class was not quite as nice. In many ways it reminded me of my first class back after months off about a week and a half ago. I knew what to expect, but my body was pretty tired I couldn't seem to make it do exactly what I told it. I expect I sat out fairly frequently (about a quarter of the time). But I didn't worry too much about it, I completely let go of expectations and perfection and just did what I could. One thing I didn't expect was how hungry I got. For the last few poses I was so hungry all I could think about was the hot, molten, mac & cheese at the little shop around the corner. I finished strong, had the best mediation in the end, and took my time drying off, showering and moving on.

I went to lunch right after yoga and had that awesome mac & cheese. It was so good.

Oh! And something else I didn't expect - I was sooooo gassy in the second set. It was a little surprising.

Day 6 /Class 6 - The Rejuvination

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:20:00 +0000

This morning I woke up before my alarm, not a completely uncommon occurrence, but lately not too common. I was done with my shower, breakfast a little blog hopping and out the door in 45 minutes. Pretty good for a Friday. I was doing pretty well until 11:00am. I'm sitting in my organizational behavior class, starting to get a little dizzy, my face getting flushed, and I can not concentrate. For the past 2 hours I have been sneezing like a mad woman and blowing my nose in the most unladylike fashion, and now I was fading fast. An hour to go in OB and I am sunk. I already ate all my morning snacks, I've gotten up to pee twice, and I have no idea what my professor was saying.

Somehow my body stayed in that class, but my mind was completely absent. Malka, my trusty companion, met me for lunch and we were joined with our friend Phil at a local pub. I was so hungry I almost went into the kitchen to nab some fries. Finally fed, but still really needing a nap, the last thing I wanted to do was go to yoga.

I kept thinking to myself - "Just one day off, come on, that would be so nice, I can recover, I'll be better when I go back. It will be great." But Malka would not have it. She came with me to her first class earlier this week and she was determined to go again. She wanted to see if she could stay in the room the whole time, and wanted to get her money's work out of the intro package.

We go, I'm dragging. I want to turn back home at every moment, but I can't let my friend down. I mention to the teacher of today's class (a woman who was my first teacher at this studio and shares my name) that the challenge was starting to wear on me, and she replied in her very chipper way "Well, we'll pep you back up!" And boy did she!

I managed to find a slightly cooler spot up close to the mirror, focused on myself and just went through it. The 90 minutes flew on by, I felt great, and Malka stayed in the room the whole time. I feel wonderful right now, and I'm looking forward to the big double tomorrow. Yay!

Now its time to eat again...

Day 5/Class 5

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:31:00 +0000

Somehow, today seemed so much easier. I think the room was a lot cooler than last night, there were fewer people there, and I was much calmer about the whole situation. I focused a lot on pulling up on my quadracept and really making my standing leg strong in all the standing postures. I think that made a big difference for my left knee, that was kinda hurting after class last night. It also made a HUGE difference in standing bow-pulling pose. I only fell out of the pose a couple of times through the two sets, unlike the dozen or so times I usually do.

Yesterday the library emailed me to let me know my book was in. I am eager to learn more about the theory behind Bikram yoga, so I am taking a look at the book Bikram Choudhry wrote about the practice.

In a non-yoga related note, my lovely sister is going to come and visit me up here in Boston in a couple of weeks! I can't wait to see her, and show her around my hood.

Day 4/Class 4...getting a bit rougher

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 01:45:00 +0000

Oy...so today's class was not so easy. I had every ambition of going to the 6am class before I went off to school. But when the alarm went off at 5am, I thought to myself, "you can go to yoga now, or you can sleep for 3 more hours." Sleep won.

I did make it to yoga, however. I went at 6pm and the class was very crowded, very hot, and my knee started hurting a bit. I had a much tougher time in this class than the previous ones. A lot of people were sitting out of postures, myself included, but no one left, no one fainted, and no one puked. These are all very very good things. I almost cried like crazy after half locust pose, but I somehow held it together.

It's about 9:50pm, I'm in bed, heading to sleep soon, and hope to catch the 8am class tomorrow and then study all day. I'm beginning to feel slightly less optimistic about this whole thing right now.

Oh, and for those curious about the postures, check out this website to get a walk though of all 26. Bikram Postures

Day 3/Class 3....10% done

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:15:00 +0000

So...day 3, it's a very three kind of day. I'm still not sleeping great at night, which is funny because that's supposed to be one of the great benefits of yoga, but I kept waking up every so often to pee. Annoying.

Another unexpected side effect of the yoga: it's like an external colonic. This may be more than needed to be shared on any blog ever, but I feel ten pound lighter. Everything I've eaten in the past 2 weeks has decided to pass today. This is encouraging, and quite satisfying, but somewhat unsettling.

The class was very nice this afternoon, but seemed so much hotter than usual. My wonderful friend, Malka, joined me for her first Birkam class ever, and she was quite the trouper. She made it about 80% the way through, and promises to join me Friday, where she is sure to make it the rest of the way through the class.

The yoga is starting to catch up to me a little, but I'm still feeling good and strong. I think I'm getting the eating thing down, and hydration is well on the way.

Tomorrow I plan to go at 6am!

Day 2/Class 2

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:47:00 +0000

"It's gettin' hot in here! So take off all your clothes!
I am getting so hot, I'm gonna take my clothes off."

Sorry, just channeling a little Nelly. I've had all kinds of goofy things in my head this morning. I had a terrible time sleeping last night. A little head ache was coming on, so i took some Excendrin (a half dose), but then the caffeine kept me up. By the time I finally got to sleep I was so hungry I kept waking up every hour or so. I should have just gotten up and eaten something, but alas, at 2am I am not that smart. I tossed and turned till 4, and then started contemplating going to 6am yoga rather than the 8am class I had intended. Somewhere around 5am i fell asleep, only to be roudly awakened by my alarm at 6:30.

Snooze....6:39...Snooze....6:48...BAAAACHHH! Ok I'll get up. STARVING!

Ate some cereal and headed out into the cold sloppy spring snow. Today's Bikram class was good. Not too many people there, hot enough, nice teacher. I'm really proud that I made it to the 8am class, even with fitful sleep. I was talking with my teacher after class about being so hungry and she gave the sage advice, "Well, maybe you should eat more." She also said I may be dehydrated and thirsty, and I should probably salt my food more than I usually do, since this will help replace electrolytes lost. I'm also drinking this lovely raspberry Emergen-C I found yesterday.

Class 2 done. Feeling pretty good. On the walk home I kept singing to myself "Sloppy snow, slop sloppy snow, yeah..." Like Adam Sandler's Lunch Lady Land sloppy-joe refrain. What could be better?

Oh, and no headache today (yet) yay!

Day 1/Class 1

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:04:00 +0000

The challenge started today with a bit less bang than I was anticipating. I took off yesterday so I could start fresh today, since it will be a while before I have another fresh day. I got up bright and early and headed to the studio. 9:30 am, Sunday morning, just after springing forward and losing an hour of sleep.

I never thought I'd say this, but I don't think the studio was hot enough. It seemed to be only around 90 or 95 degrees. Maybe mid way through the practice it reached 100. I suppose these are some of the challenges of being the first class of the day. My teacher for the class was one I haven't see before, and she was a less than friendly, and not very attentive. It just seemed like she was going through the motions. It was a nice practice, though, and the class ended well.

I'm feeling pretty jazzed and looking forward to tomorrow's 8:00am class!

The 30 day Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:55:00 +0000

I'm doing something I never thought I would do: I am going to attempt 30 Bikram Yoga classes in 30 days. And I am not alone. My studio (or at least the one I go to while living in New England) is hosting the 30 day challenge. So far it looks like about 15 other people have officially signed up to do it, and I am one of them.

I am doing this because:
1. I need some motivation to be active after this nasty winter.
2. Bikram yoga is the most centering and cathartic yoga I have ever practiced.
3. I want to see if I can do it.

It's going to be hard, I'll laugh, I'll cry, I might event through up. But in the end I'll be stronger for it!

Rules for Living

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:00:00 +0000

I recently had a conversation with one of the professors in my program. We were discussing life and stuff and she shared with me her three rules for living.

1. Love yourself
2. Be nice to everybody
3. Stand up strait and smile

I think this all sounds like a very good idea.

I am currently experiencing some of the worst back spasms I have ever had (thank you grad school stress) and I am trying very hard to practice just one of these rules.

Resurection

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:29:00 +0000

This blog goes in fits and starts. I tend to update more when less is going on my life. So be happy for my busy and full life. But as dear Gigi is demanding more blogging, I will do my best to comply. Please stay tuned for updates.

Shapotluck in the dark

noreply@blogger.com (Mimi) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 02:36:00 +0000

Twenty-five young Jews in a park singing songs and eating organic, locally raised vegetarian food in the dark.This is Kavod House Shabbat in the Park.

I never went to Jewish summer camp as a kid. About 95% of my Jewish friends did and I feel like this is a major gap in the development of my Jewish identity. I did go to Girl Scout camp, but this seems to fall short somehow. Without color wars, coed camping, young Zionists, and the two months of intensive Jewish immersion, Girl Scout horse camp seems reduced to the TV dinners of camp experiences.

Shabbat in the Park was pretty much what I'm told Shabbat at Jewish summer camp was like. A lot of singing, a lot of Moishe, a lot of Adonai, some tunes no one knew, some tunes everyone knew, and a good dash of Debbie Friedman to round it all out. At the end we all shared a lovely potluck dinner made all the more exciting by the darkness in the park. I had to really guess as to what exactly I was eating. Not only did we bring a dish to share (Amy and I), but we also brought our own dishes to eat off of, and forks to eat with. It was rather nice not to have to figure out trash, but unfortunately we only have paper plates at the moment, so it seemed a bit disingenuous to the intention of "bring a dish and bring a dish.:

But unlike the Girl Scouts where the motto was to "leave only foot prints and take only pictures" the lack of bathroom facilities forced me to leave a bit more than foot prints. Of course as I was forced to pop a squat in a dark corner of the urban park, and motion sensor light shown upon me like a great full moon in the night. But I hope I remained unnoticed. I have now made my mark in that park after the dinner in the dark.