yogi life

for months i've been wanting to try yoga at bird rock yoga, a studio just a few blocks away. my tennis buddy, maggie is a regular there and she couldn't say enough good things about it so I finally just went one night. i admit, i was hesitant about yoga/yogis. it doesn't quite fit my natural personality. im a high energy gal and thrive on hardcore workouts (hard runs, bootcamps like workouts, etc.), but i'm also one who will try almost everything once so gave it a go. the first class i attended was taught by a guy named ben and he was a good instructor. he didn't move too fast through the movements which allowed the newbies in the class (me) to keep up with him. i couldn't tell you the names of all the poses and movements we did, but overall it went well. i've since gone back with jen and tina. i should note that these classes were done in a 'warm' room, maybe 80-85 degrees, not a 'hot' room like bikram or hot yoga.

i tried bikram yoga once and only once. during the class, i literally thought i was going to pass out. it was so frickin' hot! room temperatures start at 105 degrees minimum. i always joke that i left the florida humidity and arizona desert because of the heat so why would i purposefully tortue myself *laugh*. still, i admire those who are passionate about it and can endure that heat. it shows great willpower. my lovely s-i-l heidi is an bikram yoga instructor at a studio in phoenix. she trained for several months in mexico and came back truly dedicated to the bikram way of life. during my next trip to phoenix, i vow to take one of her classes - in the heat and all. if you want to see some beautiful poses, visit her blog and see for yourself. i would love to be able to bend my body like that. anyway, i signed up for 10 more sessions at my local studio and have gone back twice since. it's certainly outside my norm but i am enjoying it. my hope is yoga will help me gain more flexibility, help with overall toning and last, just give me an hour of quiet time where i can relax after a long day at work. i mean how often do i focus on feeling every muscle in my body and breathing (outside of yoga - NEVER)!

here are a few poses that i've done to date. my form was not nearly as pretty, but it felt fabulous! i see why so many get addicted to the yogi way of life. i may be one of them. the jury is still out...

warrior pose

side angle pose

scorpian pose (maybe someday)

~ i will end with a comment my sis jen made after our very serious yoga class. she said "when the instructor told us to get our faces as close to our mats as possible for one of those poses, i was thinking there's no way. my yoga mat spelled like FOOT. it was so disgusting". i couldn't stop laughing. i love that girl.