Class 20: Friday 1st February 12.30pm, taught by Paul
I don't actually feel too bad about not getting to thirty this time - I think it helps knowing that I have done it before, and am sure I will again - but for this time, it really couldn't be helped, and twenty classes in thirty days is probably twenty more than most people have done ever. Probably fifteen more than I do most months! I think there will be a time in my life when I can do this much more often, but for now...
Wasn't sure whether to go to BYL today or not, but I hadn't been in a week, and twenty feels like a much better achievement than nineteen, and, although I am in a complete panic about the first workshop I'm doing on Monday (well, I'm sort of panicking, and I'm also sort of thinking it could be completely fine, maybe even good - please let it be good), I just needed to go. I knew it would sort my head out, and that's at least as important as all the planning I can do sometimes, I think. Paul is so great. He obviously thinks so carefully about each posture and always says so many things in his classes that I've never heard before. Interesting and helpful. Problem is, I go to a class and really enjoy it, and just want to go back again soon.
Well done to everyone who managed thirty classes this challenge - you are brilliant, and thanks to all the fantastic teachers, who are consistently inspirational, and also to all the other students who are so supportive and lovely. See you all in the torture pit again soon, I hope.
Night x
Friday 1 February 2013
Sunday 27 January 2013
Classes 18 & 19: Beetroot Bows Out
Class 18: Wednesday 23rd January 9.30am, taught by Rachel
Class 19: Friday 25th January 12.30pm, taught by Harbinder
Hello! Sorry I've not posted anything since Monday. Here's what's happened since:-
There's no easy way to break this to you, so I'm just going to come right out with it: I have fallen off the 30-day wagon. Actually, I didn't fall, I jumped, because I had confirmation this week that some work I have coming up starts two weeks earlier than I thought it would, and I have totally loads of prep to do for it, have to source/make instruments, and then panic, prepare some more and calm down all in the space of a little week. Bikram yoga may fit in with this plan at some point next week - and I can't really leave my total at nineteen classes. Twenty (at least) would be forgivable, and perhaps even respectable!
I've loved taking part in the challenge so far, but for me it does mean life going on hold, which, at the moment, just cannot continue any longer! At this stage I must also admit that on Tuesday (before I'd even found out about the new deadline), I did not go to class due to a need for clean bathrooms, and a supermarket visit being overdue, and there generally being a build up of "days when I least wanted to go" (to clarify this last bit, it was more the constant journeys through frozen rural Leicestershire, and the occasional driver insisting on driving too slowly on efficiently cleared roads that I was tired of rather than BYL, but, unfortunately, I don't get one without the other!), and, most unignorably, my inexplicable propensity to jeopardise my chances of success.
Anyway, I made it back in for Rachel's class on Wednesday, which was great, and then yesterday, after making quite a bit of headway with work, I went to Harbinder's 12.30pm class for a nice treat - which it mostly was, apart from a couple of moments of weird pulsating colour sensation early on (you know the feeling that precedes a migraine?), and then a hilarious exchange when Harbinder accidentally mistakenly thought that I wasn't giving Janushirasana my all, and saw fit to mention, causing Libby to lose all concentration on her own practice so that she spun around to shoot me a dismayed/accusing glance: luckily, one look at me was enough for her to see that that actually WAS my best effort!
So, thank you for all the support, readers of this blog and fellow 30-dayers. I hope you don't feel let down, but this really is the only sensible course of action for me this time. For those who have been completing the challenge vicariously through my adventures, I am afraid it is now up to you to take a few classes for me! As for the additional challenges I'd set myself: firstly, I must be brutally honest in my practice and inform you that my Standing Head to Knee has actually got WORSE! Could it be one of those things (like the economy or poison ivy rash) that has to get worse before it gets better? I'll let you know if I find out! Also, some good news is that my nice coat fits again without my arms sticking out from my body at 45 degree angles like a pampas-grass-limbed snowman, although that stone of blubber is still mostly with me - I don't see it as much now, though - am hoping it has morphed into heavy muscles! They're mine permanently now, right? Without the need for any further effort? Thought so.
I must say that although I am disappointed not to have seen it through to the end, I had no qualms about missing class this morning. I always feel guilty about the weekend ones anyway, because they take me away from my family, but today I really enjoyed: having a normal-person shower, from which I did not emerge still sweating; drying my hair so that it resembled that of a normal self-respecting human being; wearing normal(-to-nice) clothes, as opposed to those that are so rubbish I don't mind them getting sweaty going back home after class; wearing make-up for the first time since Christmas!; and going to town with my family, shopping and eating pizza and CAAAAKE! My daughter (wearing her just-bought gorgeous new boots) said this evening, "I wish I was just waking up this morning now, so we could have this whole day again! It was so brilliant!". And it really was. Made me think that although I love Bikram yoga, to the point of obsession and addiction (sometimes!), life is a balancing act, and I do have to make sure it's the most important plates I keep spinning!
Will let you know how many more classes I manage to clock up next week!
Night xx
Class 19: Friday 25th January 12.30pm, taught by Harbinder
Hello! Sorry I've not posted anything since Monday. Here's what's happened since:-
There's no easy way to break this to you, so I'm just going to come right out with it: I have fallen off the 30-day wagon. Actually, I didn't fall, I jumped, because I had confirmation this week that some work I have coming up starts two weeks earlier than I thought it would, and I have totally loads of prep to do for it, have to source/make instruments, and then panic, prepare some more and calm down all in the space of a little week. Bikram yoga may fit in with this plan at some point next week - and I can't really leave my total at nineteen classes. Twenty (at least) would be forgivable, and perhaps even respectable!
I've loved taking part in the challenge so far, but for me it does mean life going on hold, which, at the moment, just cannot continue any longer! At this stage I must also admit that on Tuesday (before I'd even found out about the new deadline), I did not go to class due to a need for clean bathrooms, and a supermarket visit being overdue, and there generally being a build up of "days when I least wanted to go" (to clarify this last bit, it was more the constant journeys through frozen rural Leicestershire, and the occasional driver insisting on driving too slowly on efficiently cleared roads that I was tired of rather than BYL, but, unfortunately, I don't get one without the other!), and, most unignorably, my inexplicable propensity to jeopardise my chances of success.
Anyway, I made it back in for Rachel's class on Wednesday, which was great, and then yesterday, after making quite a bit of headway with work, I went to Harbinder's 12.30pm class for a nice treat - which it mostly was, apart from a couple of moments of weird pulsating colour sensation early on (you know the feeling that precedes a migraine?), and then a hilarious exchange when Harbinder accidentally mistakenly thought that I wasn't giving Janushirasana my all, and saw fit to mention, causing Libby to lose all concentration on her own practice so that she spun around to shoot me a dismayed/accusing glance: luckily, one look at me was enough for her to see that that actually WAS my best effort!
So, thank you for all the support, readers of this blog and fellow 30-dayers. I hope you don't feel let down, but this really is the only sensible course of action for me this time. For those who have been completing the challenge vicariously through my adventures, I am afraid it is now up to you to take a few classes for me! As for the additional challenges I'd set myself: firstly, I must be brutally honest in my practice and inform you that my Standing Head to Knee has actually got WORSE! Could it be one of those things (like the economy or poison ivy rash) that has to get worse before it gets better? I'll let you know if I find out! Also, some good news is that my nice coat fits again without my arms sticking out from my body at 45 degree angles like a pampas-grass-limbed snowman, although that stone of blubber is still mostly with me - I don't see it as much now, though - am hoping it has morphed into heavy muscles! They're mine permanently now, right? Without the need for any further effort? Thought so.
I must say that although I am disappointed not to have seen it through to the end, I had no qualms about missing class this morning. I always feel guilty about the weekend ones anyway, because they take me away from my family, but today I really enjoyed: having a normal-person shower, from which I did not emerge still sweating; drying my hair so that it resembled that of a normal self-respecting human being; wearing normal(-to-nice) clothes, as opposed to those that are so rubbish I don't mind them getting sweaty going back home after class; wearing make-up for the first time since Christmas!; and going to town with my family, shopping and eating pizza and CAAAAKE! My daughter (wearing her just-bought gorgeous new boots) said this evening, "I wish I was just waking up this morning now, so we could have this whole day again! It was so brilliant!". And it really was. Made me think that although I love Bikram yoga, to the point of obsession and addiction (sometimes!), life is a balancing act, and I do have to make sure it's the most important plates I keep spinning!
Will let you know how many more classes I manage to clock up next week!
Night xx
Monday 21 January 2013
Class 17: Sweat
Class 17: Monday 21st January 12.30pm, taught by Lascel
When I found out this morning that almost all the other schools in the area were closed today apart from the ones my children attend, I thought my kids would be feeling really left out and fed up they weren't at home too. Turns out they actually had a really great fun day, and were even all taken over to the school playing field to have a massive play in the snow, so I needn't have felt guilty about taking myself off to BYL at all, but I'm really glad that the staff at our school are so conscientious and made the effort to get to work.
Glad to have made it in, anyway, and really enjoyed this class. Getting quite accustomed to seeing the rivulets of sweat running down my forearm to my shoulder every day in Triangle posture - although it is still quite bizarre. I suppose it's one moment where you're doing nothing (apart from working every single muscle, tissue, nerve, joint, tendon, sinew and fibre in your entire body) but looking up at your own arm, and so you're suddenly really aware of the sweat. It is the maddest thing, but I sort of like it (sometimes), especially when there's so much snow and ice about.
Night x
When I found out this morning that almost all the other schools in the area were closed today apart from the ones my children attend, I thought my kids would be feeling really left out and fed up they weren't at home too. Turns out they actually had a really great fun day, and were even all taken over to the school playing field to have a massive play in the snow, so I needn't have felt guilty about taking myself off to BYL at all, but I'm really glad that the staff at our school are so conscientious and made the effort to get to work.
Glad to have made it in, anyway, and really enjoyed this class. Getting quite accustomed to seeing the rivulets of sweat running down my forearm to my shoulder every day in Triangle posture - although it is still quite bizarre. I suppose it's one moment where you're doing nothing (apart from working every single muscle, tissue, nerve, joint, tendon, sinew and fibre in your entire body) but looking up at your own arm, and so you're suddenly really aware of the sweat. It is the maddest thing, but I sort of like it (sometimes), especially when there's so much snow and ice about.
Night x
Sunday 20 January 2013
Class 16: Snow Days
Class 16: Sunday 20th January 10am, taught by Harbinder
I've had to miss class the last two days. On Friday, I'd planned to go to the 12.30pm, but as the snow continued to fall steadily through the morning, the increasing likelihood of school phoning to ask me to collect my offspring was making driving to Leicester look like completely irresponsible parenting, even though I did think about it! Turns out it was a good decision not to go, as the eldest needed to be collected at 2pm, although there were mixed views from the younger two about being collected early (2nd Son: "Oh yesss! The weekend starts NOW!" Daughter: "WHY did you have to pick me up now?!! We were just about to build a snowman!")
My husband was stuck in Istanbul for another night as Heathrow wasn't coping with the extra time needed in between each flight landing. The added disappointment of his absence was that my plan for getting to Saturday morning class was scuppered, and the children were really disappointed they couldn't do the kids class (which he was going to bring them to, to meet me after mine) but luckily he was on the train back home by then, so we just enjoyed all being at home and pretended it was Christmas again by eating chocolate and playing games.
So, two days enforced break from my challenge, and lots more snow forecast for today, so I took my chance with the break in the weather this morning to be in the most humid class I might ever have done. I have missed it, and it was nice to be back, but there was so much sweat!
Wonder if we'll be back to normal tomorrow or not? There's a lot of snow outside the window, and some of the teachers at eldest's school have quite long journeys, so may not be able to get in. Hmmm. The unknown. In the scheme of things, I know it's not that important, but I'm trying to complete this challenge and am putting quite a lot of effort into doing just that, but at this point I have no idea whether I'll fall behind any more days due to the weather, or whether I'll be able to make up the ones I've missed, whether I should bother drinking some more water now in preparation for tomorrow and packing my bag, and ironing all the school uniforms, or whether we'll be barricaded in with the heating on and the jigsaw puzzle and treats out (would really like that, actually!).
Night x
I've had to miss class the last two days. On Friday, I'd planned to go to the 12.30pm, but as the snow continued to fall steadily through the morning, the increasing likelihood of school phoning to ask me to collect my offspring was making driving to Leicester look like completely irresponsible parenting, even though I did think about it! Turns out it was a good decision not to go, as the eldest needed to be collected at 2pm, although there were mixed views from the younger two about being collected early (2nd Son: "Oh yesss! The weekend starts NOW!" Daughter: "WHY did you have to pick me up now?!! We were just about to build a snowman!")
My husband was stuck in Istanbul for another night as Heathrow wasn't coping with the extra time needed in between each flight landing. The added disappointment of his absence was that my plan for getting to Saturday morning class was scuppered, and the children were really disappointed they couldn't do the kids class (which he was going to bring them to, to meet me after mine) but luckily he was on the train back home by then, so we just enjoyed all being at home and pretended it was Christmas again by eating chocolate and playing games.
So, two days enforced break from my challenge, and lots more snow forecast for today, so I took my chance with the break in the weather this morning to be in the most humid class I might ever have done. I have missed it, and it was nice to be back, but there was so much sweat!
Wonder if we'll be back to normal tomorrow or not? There's a lot of snow outside the window, and some of the teachers at eldest's school have quite long journeys, so may not be able to get in. Hmmm. The unknown. In the scheme of things, I know it's not that important, but I'm trying to complete this challenge and am putting quite a lot of effort into doing just that, but at this point I have no idea whether I'll fall behind any more days due to the weather, or whether I'll be able to make up the ones I've missed, whether I should bother drinking some more water now in preparation for tomorrow and packing my bag, and ironing all the school uniforms, or whether we'll be barricaded in with the heating on and the jigsaw puzzle and treats out (would really like that, actually!).
Night x
Thursday 17 January 2013
Class 15: What, That's Only HALF of it???
Class 15: Thursday 17th January 12.30pm, taught by Sam
I felt a bit worried before class today that I might have turned a tap on yesterday that I would never be able to turn off again. Luckily, my emotions were back in check and I got completely lost in the class and tried my best and listened to Sam's confident and energetic dialogue and didn't even think about which posture was coming next. Didn't even think about it being hard work, really, it just happened.
Thank goodness for that, eh?
Night x
I felt a bit worried before class today that I might have turned a tap on yesterday that I would never be able to turn off again. Luckily, my emotions were back in check and I got completely lost in the class and tried my best and listened to Sam's confident and energetic dialogue and didn't even think about which posture was coming next. Didn't even think about it being hard work, really, it just happened.
Thank goodness for that, eh?
Night x
Wednesday 16 January 2013
Class 14: It's Been Emotional
Class 14: Wednesday 16th January 9.30am, taught by Rachel
The good thing about crying in a Bikram yoga class is that there's so much sweat rolling down your face that no-one notices. The bad thing (particularly if you have absolutely no idea why you're crying, and have no reason to, but just can't seem to stop) is that you might actually have gone properly mad. It's never happened to me before - not in class anyway. Who knows? Not me. Hope it was a one-off.
Night x
The good thing about crying in a Bikram yoga class is that there's so much sweat rolling down your face that no-one notices. The bad thing (particularly if you have absolutely no idea why you're crying, and have no reason to, but just can't seem to stop) is that you might actually have gone properly mad. It's never happened to me before - not in class anyway. Who knows? Not me. Hope it was a one-off.
Night x
Tuesday 15 January 2013
Classes 12 & 13: EVERYTHING
Class 12: Tuesday 15th January 9.30am, taught by Libby
This was a great Libby class, with loads of really concise and precise corrections. She notices EVERYTHING, and can change the whole way you're trying by telling you to roll your weight into your heels more, or bring your arms down slightly. In Camel (Ustrasana), I don't feel I'm doing it as well as I used to: I used to just about see the back of my towel, but haven't been able to do that at all in this challenge, or for ages, in fact. Today in that one, I wasn't really trying my hardest, and Libby told me not to put any weight on my heels - how could she even see that?! She notices EVERYTHING! On my way out today, Libby told me to challenge myself in this challenge to break the habits I'm creating, i.e. giving up in my (least) favourite posture, Janushirasana, which was a bit annoying because she is completely right.
I gain a lot from Libby's classes, but was feeling tired again today (even in the first class!) because I'd been up too late ironing and leaving things ready for the morning so that I'd be able to escape early. At about 4am one of the children needed me to wake up because he had a sore ear, so I thought that was going to put paid to my yoga plans for today, but he was happily playing Nerf gun wars with his brother and sister at 7.30am with no mention of the ear, so all well in the Beetroot household and plans back on. Kids, eh?
Class 13: Tuesday 15th January 12.30pm, taught by Lascal
One thing I've noticed Lascal says differently to the other teachers is just before the sit-ups when we're usually told 'Inhale, feet together, arms over your head, and sit up please' (think that's how it sounds); anyway, he says (every time) 'inhale your arms over your head', as though by taking a breath you also lift your arms in the same action - I quite like that idea. Found this class quite hard work, but then I hadn't had enough sleep and it was my second of the day, so...
When I used to have trombone lessons, I was always told to think of breathing in as filling up a big barrel from the bottom, so as you took in more and more air, you would expand your ribs and stomach outwards, and this made sense to me. In Bikram yoga, we're always told to pull our stomachs in as we inhale more and more air. This also makes sense to me. How can they both make sense when they are the complete opposite of each other? I don't know, but if I'm told anything often enough with enough conviction I totally believe it. I have different trombone breathing and Bikram breathing, so I don't have to decide which is right - there are probably lots of contradictory behaviours which become right in different situations. I've even lost myself with that one, definitely time to end this post!
Night! x
This was a great Libby class, with loads of really concise and precise corrections. She notices EVERYTHING, and can change the whole way you're trying by telling you to roll your weight into your heels more, or bring your arms down slightly. In Camel (Ustrasana), I don't feel I'm doing it as well as I used to: I used to just about see the back of my towel, but haven't been able to do that at all in this challenge, or for ages, in fact. Today in that one, I wasn't really trying my hardest, and Libby told me not to put any weight on my heels - how could she even see that?! She notices EVERYTHING! On my way out today, Libby told me to challenge myself in this challenge to break the habits I'm creating, i.e. giving up in my (least) favourite posture, Janushirasana, which was a bit annoying because she is completely right.
I gain a lot from Libby's classes, but was feeling tired again today (even in the first class!) because I'd been up too late ironing and leaving things ready for the morning so that I'd be able to escape early. At about 4am one of the children needed me to wake up because he had a sore ear, so I thought that was going to put paid to my yoga plans for today, but he was happily playing Nerf gun wars with his brother and sister at 7.30am with no mention of the ear, so all well in the Beetroot household and plans back on. Kids, eh?
Class 13: Tuesday 15th January 12.30pm, taught by Lascal
One thing I've noticed Lascal says differently to the other teachers is just before the sit-ups when we're usually told 'Inhale, feet together, arms over your head, and sit up please' (think that's how it sounds); anyway, he says (every time) 'inhale your arms over your head', as though by taking a breath you also lift your arms in the same action - I quite like that idea. Found this class quite hard work, but then I hadn't had enough sleep and it was my second of the day, so...
When I used to have trombone lessons, I was always told to think of breathing in as filling up a big barrel from the bottom, so as you took in more and more air, you would expand your ribs and stomach outwards, and this made sense to me. In Bikram yoga, we're always told to pull our stomachs in as we inhale more and more air. This also makes sense to me. How can they both make sense when they are the complete opposite of each other? I don't know, but if I'm told anything often enough with enough conviction I totally believe it. I have different trombone breathing and Bikram breathing, so I don't have to decide which is right - there are probably lots of contradictory behaviours which become right in different situations. I've even lost myself with that one, definitely time to end this post!
Night! x
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