Summertime and the Livin' Is Easy

Photo by my talented cousin and wedding photographer, Joelle.

It's summer. Have you noticed?!

The heat is hotter. The days are longer. The need for fruit smoothies, ice-cold coffee, and kick-ass AC to allow cuddling is exponentially greater. And of course, we hate even more to be inside at work all day (especially in front of screens, ew, yuck, blah, I'm thinking it even as I type this!) when the sun is shining and the breeze is blowing.

It's summer, which means we need the yoga even more! And of course, sometimes it's so hot and humid out that we enter the Hot Box and wonder, Is the heat on in here? Hey, sounds ridiculous, but it's happened to me already! Thanks, Chicagoland, for your crazy stifling temps. You make me crave the weather in the Torture Chamber even more than I already do. And yes, you can get addicted to that 105-degree/ 40% humidity setting...I speak from experience on that front, too!

As my wonderful studio director mentioned as he led class today, "Hey, the weather is perfect in here." All the happy, smiling yogi faces couldn't have agreed more!

Alright, anyway, weather forecasts aside...back to the topic at hand: summer. It's hot, you're sweaty already, and yet more often than not this seems like an excuse not to get your ass to class. Chances are, too, you've actually got more time on your hands -- you're a student and the pressure's off, you're just working part time, and/or you're well-settled in your career and have some vacation time to enjoy.

But maybe you're busy with other DIY house fix-up projects, dinners with friends, and late-night conversations on the porch as the sun sets... and for those reasons you're lacking in the sleep department, feeling a bit too lethargic to make it to class, and subsequently your Bikram practice is suffering.

Perhaps, like some yogis I know, you've got a worse attendance record for class during the hottest months of the year than in the dead of winter, or the middle of spring or fall.

Well, fellow summer lazy yogis, I feel you!

If it's not a lack of time or energy, it's the fact that you're spending more time away from your home studio. The time it takes to plan a wedding (if you're like me!) Or simply the fact that you've decided to give yourself an all-around break, and that includes giving up anything that requires 100% exertion (which, hello!, obviously excludes Bikram yoga).

But wait a minute. Let's get back to the basics of the practice, which was carefully designed to combat plateaus such as this.

Bikram says, 100% exertion earns you 100% relaxation. And hey, news flash! Like most things Bikram says, this isn't just true inside the hot room. It's true in life, too.

Yep, that's right. That means you should be -- to every degree possible -- hauling your bum to Bikram and sweating it out in the 26-asana series in order to earn your brownie points, your extra naps, your Ben and Jerry's late-night indulgence.

Perhaps I haven't convinced you on theory alone that the effort is worth the reward if you decide to make summer your best yoga season of the year. Here are a few other considerations:

• Um, beach bodies anyone? Reason #1 you should consider earning yourself that genuine glow (purely from the yoga, not over-tanning yourself in the sun, my friends!) and the toned muscles, strength, and inner confidence that Bikram provides.
• Your sweat stinks less the more you come. Weird, yes, but also true!
• Flexibility. Is it ever really a bad thing? Consider this: you beef up your physical and mental capacity to go with the flow when you commit to the Hot Box.
• Make new friends! Just today I chatted it up with an older lady who's been coming for years who completely cured her injured hip by doing the yoga. Oh, and an awesome friend who's been practicing for three years complimented my half moon pose. I beamed! I blushed! I beamed again!
• OK, so this is applicable to any time of the year...but you are going to change your life, inside and out, bones to skin, by committing to the yoga. Your body changes for the better, your mind becomes more focused for the better, you are more able to work through personal changes. It's honestly, seriously, significantly ALL for the better!
• More laughs. Where else are you going to witness random womens' underwear floatingaround the room, a group of people who truly understand the meaning of "wind-removing" pose, or fellow yogis who give themselves water bottle showers in the middle of class?! Yogis are the best. Bikram yogis are beyond the best. Talk about patience, and a genuine sense of humor!
• Get inspired by those around you, while at the same time remembering thatwhere you are right now is perfect. Bikram is proud of you for showing up and doing the best you can, not pretending like you need to be exactly where your neighbor is. Heck, I am proud of you for showing up and giving it your all despite the rest of the room, and I haven't even met you (yet?). That's the yoga! You figure out that you're a warrior, not a baby, and you go from there. Let the rest settle. Better yet: forget the rest!

Convinced yet? Alright, good. See you tomorrow for a double! :)

Photo via Kajo55's Flickr Photostream. Pretty sure you have to practice yoga in the Swiss Alps in the summer!

And if you have, you are now my HERO. :) And you MUST comment...

Double Down: The Night in Which I Become The Flower Petal Blooming

It happened.

(Read: I did it I did it I did it!)

Last night, I completed my first back-to-back Bikram yoga double. Cue triumphant trance music and wild hands-in-the-air dancing! (Go on; you know you want to.)

I must say, it was pretty extreme… but also surprisingly doable. I made it through the first class no problem, focusing on it in my mind as an extended warm-up. My favorite teacher helped make the 90 minutes a chance to feel empowered, strong and totally resilient. She always does a lovely job of reminding all of us yogis that there’s “a great group energy in the room” and she pumps us up and pushes us hard all the way until we’ve twisted our spines like pearl necklaces, and blown out every birthday candle that’s 60 feet in front of us.

Anyway, as I lay in final savasana and joyfully relaxed every muscle and listened to the instructor announce, “You did it! You made it. Now let it go,” I quickly thought to myself Not so fast! Only halfway there. And you got this.

And as it turns out, I did. After a quick freshening up – a costume change, downing a VitaCoco and protein-charged granola bar, refilling the water bottle, grabbing a soft and clean towel, and sending a “one down, one to go! I feel great” text to the beau – I was back on the mat, ready to go.

It was awesome: as I stood there on my mat, re-engaging in my usual pre-Bikram warm-up, I could feel this bright, pure sense of relaxation wash over me. The heat of the room felt so comforting, like being wrapped up in a cozy blanket and fuzzy slippers in front of a fireplace and watching the snow fall outside, the whole earth held in a supple, perfect hush.

Here I was in class #2, my body in a perfect calm. No nerves. No pre-class fear or anticipation. No stress.

No nothing, just me and the mirror. All of a sudden I am nowhere except right here:

It was the best feeling in the hot room I’ve ever experienced. And then it got better.

So another of my favorite teachers comes striding in to start class (Special bonus: two teachers in one night! Usually they’ll teach back-to-back classes, but I lucked out and got a mix. Yoga gods on my side for sure!).

“So this is Bikram’s beginning yoga class. Hands and feet at the center of your mats and towels. Stay in the room for 90 minutes…”

Here I am, standing at the center of the universe, and I’m not even hearing these words. I just am them.

Ah, thiiiis is that increased focus I’ve been reading out, I realize as we launch into pranayama.

And my body’s not the same, either: the lungs move open and close like deep, soft, elastic balloons. The belly swells and falls with the lightness of a butterfly’s wings touching. There is no usual tension or stiffness, no cumbersome battle to overcome the breath, only a body that floats – simple, wholesome, like velvety steam rising from water.

The spine is brand new.

I descend into half moon like it’s a deep, cool body of water. Each fiber and system is blurred beneath the hazy surface. I drift and flow. I am my own breath. Padahastasana comes and goes like a quiet wave.

“Alright, time for the first back bend. Don’t be scared, drop your head back, let it go, let it hang, look for the wall behind you…”

Generally at this point in the practice I am resisting the dialogue, holding something back. I am busy thinking about the outside world or shaking off the sweat. I am elsewhere.

Not here, not today. In this second class of wonder and delight, I am in the backbend.

I have let go of my resistance and this allows the posture to take hold of me. The lower half of my back becomes a flower petal blooming.

I am the flower petal blooming!

And I descend down farther toward the floor than I ever have – my dive smooth and effortless, like I’ve always been meant to be here. I can feel my spine lengthening, stretching wonder of wonders, and I see my mat coming into focus before my eyes.

I feel so good. I am on top of the world. I am a Bikram warrior, one step closer to my dreams of extreme flexibility held within pure relaxation.

The rest of class flies by as I rock standing series, chill through the floor sequence, and finish out strong. It’s all downhill after that initial backbend, although all along the way I keep wondering if there will be any other significant breakthroughs. The rest of the meditation is pretty standard as far as form goes, but my concentration and motivation are off the charts!

I walk out of the studio feeling pretty proud of myself and actually shiver a little bit at the icy blast of air conditioning. After all that time in the heat, I was beginning to enjoy the cozy atmosphere. And as weird as it sounds, when I finished the second class I actually experienced a sensation along the lines of: I could keep doing this yoga all night long and it would feel great! How true that is, no one actually knows (I mean, I was also pooped and perfectly ready to head home for a shower and bite to eat!), but it was a pretty inspiring moment.

Oh, and perhaps the most inspiring moment followed soon after:

I pack up and start to stroll out the studio door, basking in my toxin-free yoga glow, little shy grins eeking out the corners of my mouth. And expert yogi teacher of class #2 who got me through the beautiful hot mess that was my double turns to me with a big, fat smile, two thumbs up, and loudly proclaims:

“That was hard-core! Two classes back to back, nice. You’re lookin’ good in there!”

My eyebrows go up in surprise, my cheeks flush, and I make small talk as a feeling of satisfaction fills my belly. I mutter joyfully about the backbend release, tripping over my words a bit as I try to concentrate on anything but the fact that one of the most bad-ass yoga teachers at my studio just called me hard-core.

He wishes me a restful night, and I buzz my way out into the night air, little hop-skips entering my steps.

I’m beaming.

The Art of Double Vision: Get Your Back-to-Back Bikram Groove On

Photo Via Milopeng's Flickr Photostream.

Welp, I think it's finally that time and I'm going to be trying a double tonight! I'm feeling pumped, am pretty sure my favorite teacher will be instructing, and have been looking forward to this moment for a while now.

Some thoughts... and I'd love your feedback/ advice if you've experienced the art of completing back-to-back classes!

Double Trouble

• I hear class #2 involves intense focus and sometimes even euphoric feelings. It can, of course, also be tiring as heck, but I'm hoping I'll find my yoga zone tonight.
• More class time = more sweat. Some say there's no warm-up time when you walk in the hot room for the second go-round. You just pour out every pore. Puddle time, here I come!
• Increased flexibility shows up when you're working with 90 minutes of warmed-up muscles! Will I be able to push to a new edge in any postures? Hope so.
• Timing is everything: since the soon-to-be-hubs is busy with a special project shoot tonight, I figured I'd take advantage of an evening to myself. With all the crazy graduation, wedding planning, and internship work I've had going on, it's hard to fit in 3+ hours of yoga in a day, even on the weekends! (But I have a serious feeling that it will be oh-so-worth it!) I couldn't be more excited to have finally found a time that works. And I'm curious to see how my hydration/sustenance schedule links up with my classes... hopefully I've got enough liquids and energy in my system to make it through! I'm definitely bringing snacks (an Odwalla bar and a yogurt) and refreshing in between with coconut water though, so no worries there.
• I'm hoping the intense sweat/toxin dump will also include the chance to dump out all my unnecessary built-up emotions and stresses. For some lovely, self-indulgent whining on this topic, see post below.
  
• By taking on a double, I feel like I'm one tiny step closer toward reaching readiness for Bikram teacher training. Sometimes when I think about it, three months on my own in the yoga bubble forcing my body to extreme measures feels like such an impossibility. How will I pay for it? How will I stand being without the soon-to-be-hubs for so long? And the real question: will I survive the Torture Chamber with Mr. Bikram himself? All that wondering aside, there are other times (like right now, as I eagerly await class with a butterfly-filled stomach and readiness to fly out the door from work) where I'm just SO DANG hopeful and curious and wholeheartedly excited about even the thought of being in the big tent with 300 over Bikram geeks.

Throw your hands up! Dance around a little! I'm joining the Doublers Club tonight! :) (Well, hopefully! Check back tomorrow for an update.)