Day off??? Is that allowed?

It's Day 10 of 30 day hot yoga challenge. I don't know if I'm going to make it to class today! Fortunately, I'll still be on track. The challenge is 30 yoga sessions in 30 days. I've already done a "double" completing 2 classes in a day, last Wednesday. Originally I planned to do the challenge by only doing classes Monday through Friday and doubling a couple each week. Last weekend I did both Saturday and Sunday, so I'm good to go.



How does hot yoga really feel? It's hot. Duh. But, you can go into the heated room and enjoy it or hate it. To me the heat is now relaxing, kind of like a warm day at the beach. I've never been a huge fan of sweating, but it doesn't bother me at all during yoga. In fact, when I'm dripping I imagine the toxins just falling out of me. Some of the poses are uncomfortable, but the sequence is organized so as so stretch and strengthen every part of your body...and mind. That's the "regular" hot (or hatha) yoga class. Lately I've been doing mostly "power" yoga...a whole different ballgame.

The poses done in hot yoga were designed and organized over 30 years ago by a yogi named "Bikram." The same 26 poses and 2 breathing exercises are done during each class to this day.

So, power yoga is still hot...same room as regular hot yoga... but it doesn't follow Bikram's plan. It is a yoga flow type of class which is virtually constant movement. There is a focus on strength building including lots of ab work, back strengthening, and poses that tax larger muscles, like the quads. It feels almost like a combination of hot yoga and aerobics. It's hard. And, it's rewarding. In 9 days I'm already feeling stronger and can do a few pushups (we'll count tomorrow) where I couldn't do any before.