bikram yoga + quick summer to-do list

Remember I mentioned buying that Groupon for ten 90-minute Bikram yoga classes?
Well, I went to my first class yesterday afternoon. Let me tell ya, there's no better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than sweating through every piece of clothing that you're wearing, and feeling extremely inferior because you're positioned behind a 110 lb yogi girl made of pure muscle. But seriously, there's not.
IT. WAS. AWESOME.
I really and truly did feel like I would pass out within 20 minutes of being in there. And if I wasn't as proud and hard-headed as I am, or if I was in there one-on-one with the instructor, I would've stepped out of the room to regain my consciousness and, you know, be able to breathe real air. But, alas...I could not bear the though of these people thinking, "oh, the newb. I knew she wouldn't be able to make it" (the instructor happily told the entire class that I was the only newcomer to Bikram. Thanks.)
Did I mention that the class was 90 minutes? Oh, I did? Well, that's a hell of a long time. I was sitting very close to the thermostat, and because I'm somewhat masochistic, I kept looking at it to see if it would ever get down to a temperature that didn't make me want to throw up. But no, it stayed at an even 105-108 the entire time.
This sounds like a lot of complaining and exaggeration, but it's not. As soon as the class was over, I felt really, really great, accomplished, stretched, and strong. I can't wait to get to another class (which I think will be this Wednesday), and hopefully this will help me cross off a goal: start a regular yoga practice.


In other news, I made a quickie summer to-do list:
Things I'm going to accomplish this summer:

(I count Summer as now through the beginning of September!)

1. Read 4 more books

2. Get through all 10 of my Bikram yoga classes (although ideally, I'd like to accomplish this before I go to the Bahamas on July 5)

3. Complete at least 2 more craft projects

4. Host a Sunday night supper in June or July

5. Take photos using something other than my iPhone

What's on your quickie summer to-do list? 

Fitness goals? Family goals? Work goals? Travel goals?

(see my full 30before30 list here)

#21: start a regular yoga practice

So as the the title of this post depicts, we're going to discuss goal #21 on my list: start a regular yoga practice. Back in January I started attending yoga classes twice a week for an hour and a half and I was feeling really great, and really getting in the yoga mindset. But with my schedule adjusting to fit my training classes at work, I could no longer go. And I've been feeling really bummed about it because even though I claimed it was "easy" every time I was done with yoga, I was actually seeing results in my body. I've mentioned before that I've seen results with my running lately too, but they're different results.

So, Groupon has come to the rescue. In my inbox this morning, I had a nice little surprise for me...

$30 for 5 Bikram Yoga sessions. 

Now, I said I would never do Bikram yoga. Why? 

BECAUSE THE ROOM YOU'RE DOING YOGA IN IS 105 DEGREES. On purpose.

So clearly, I lied to myself when I said I would never do Bikram Yoga, since I just bought that Groupon. It's true that I might pass out and/or throw up while doing said yoga, but...I couldn't turn it down. One of the yoga studios that's offering the deal is literally 8 miles down the road from me, so it would be staring me in the face every time I passed by it if I didn't decide to go for it.

Another reason I decided to just buy the deal before really thinking about it is what went in to my body this past weekend. Don't get me wrong, I can honestly say this was the most fun I've had in a long, long time. We had visitors from Maui (who attended our wedding there!) and my best friend of 18 years came in town from Dallas (see her guest post here). So the weekend included eating grilled octopus and mac n cheese at one of my all-time favorite restaurants, loads of appetizers like taco cupcakes (yes, taco cupcakes), black bean salads and queso for a party at our house, a lonestar keg, palomas to drink, and not a single ounce of exercise! 

And I just sent the husband a countdown text to the Bahamas: 50 days.

So, see what I mean? After the weekend we had, I couldn't turn down an opportunity to try the sweatiest form of yoga 50 days before I leave for a trip where all I'll be wearing is a bathing suit. 

If any of you Austinites are interested in joining me on this ridiculously sweaty and uncomfortable adventure, here's the link to the Groupon.

Have any of you done Bikram yoga before? Am I totally going to regret it? 

Be honest.

(see my full 30before30 list here)

#21: start (& keep) a regular yoga practice

I need to make it a point to update this blog at least 3x per week. That's not a resolution/goal, because I can't keep adding to them, but that's just something that I'll be working on. I look forward to logging in to my Google reader every single morning, because of those dedicated bloggers that are kind enough to leave me (yes, they do it just for me) updates every day! And yet I'm the slacker that posts once a week. Is it bad that when I get to work in the morning, that's the first thing I do? I show up to approximately 30 unread e-mails every morning, but if there's not a class going on, I go to the Google reader first. Maybe that should be yet another personal resolution...but...probably not.

So on my Motivated Monday post, I said that I'd post about how #21 on my list is going, which is keeping a regular yoga practice. It's going extremely well so far! My first class was on Monday, January 9. The classes are every Monday and Wednesday for an hour and a half, and I always leave feeling relaxed, stretched, and all around great. I've always been really good at starting a workout routine and keeping it up for about a month. I can be a hoss for a month and just absolutely be gung ho about it, and then something happens (like getting sick) and I just fall off the workout wagon. And I fall off hard. This yoga class has helped me not fall off that wagon. I've pre-paid for a month's worth of classes, and I'm kind of cheap. So I'm definitely not going to stray from a scheduled class once that money has been taken out of my account! And when I'm doing something twice a week, it motivates me to do something at least one other time that week, anyone else with me? I don't want to downplay yoga - I know it can do amazing things for one's body. But I personally don't think it will get me to the place I want to be with my body, without some cardio or weights or ab workouts being thrown in the mix. I'm already noticing my flexibility improving a LOT, just after 3 weeks in the class. And on Sunday, the husband said he had noticed a change in my body - am I right when I say that's the most motivating compliment? So one day this will be me:

and maybe this & this, too:

But until then, I'm happy with my progress with #21. Very happy.

This is the most amazing, beautiful yoga video I have seen in a long time. If you are in a place where you can watch it, I'd highly recommend it. Talk about motivating! This chick's insane.

What do you guys do to stay fit?


(original 30before30 list here)

happy things

I'm copying fellow bloggers and making a happy list today, since I haven't posted in an entire week. Even though the bloggers that I'm copying from are ridiculously well known and keep their blogs updated daily, I'm still lumping myself in their same category, so what?

10 Things That Are Currently Making Me The Happiest Ale Ever

1. I finally got to put on a sweater this morning. I may be hot by 2:00, but I don't give a damn.

2. Being super duper smitten over my husband & talking about our 1 yr anniversary trip to New Orleans (& everything we're going to eat! & all the pictures I'm going to take!).

3. Food truck festival this weekend. I'm going to eat like a madman, then work out extra on Sunday!

4. Canceling my gym membership. This may not seem like a good thing, but I'm working out more than ever without it! This will force me to keep up my running training.

5. Being less than 2 months away from introducing Tucker to my favorite city to visit: Guadalajara.

6. Seeing picture updates of my niece & nephew. I just want to squeeze them all the time.

7. Getting Christmas present ideas! Not for me, but for others. I love, love, love buying presents. But even moreso, I love, love, love buying presents without lists so that people are surprised!

8. My Nescafe that I'm drinking right this instant. Don't judge: instant coffee (especially Mexican instant coffee) is where it's AT.

9. Lusting over a Michael Kors watch. This probably shouldn't be on my "happy" list, but when I eventually buy myself that damn watch, I WILL BE SO HAPPY.

10. Reaching my yoga goal on my 30before30 list. Since I posted the list, I've done yoga twice a week, which to me sounds pretty "regular". But I'm not counting it as achieved until I've done it for a couple of months. I'm getting close, I think!

Feel free to post YOUR happy list! It's fall, everyone has a reason to be happy.

Yozoe pt. 1

So....maybe our first at-home yoga class wasn't quite the success we were hoping for. But pretty soon, I'm going to be able to look juuust like the girl pictured above - I'm sure of it.
This Tuesday is Yozoe part 2, and we're determined to make it through the entire video without: 1) making fun of the instructor's fake smile, 2) getting creeped out by her inverted limbs, and 3) drinking a beer. I think those are some solid first steps.

Before Tucker and I went to Maui for our wedding, we worked out for about 4 months straight, 4 days a week (at least)...needless to say, I was in the best shape I had been in. And then, of course, we get back to Austin and all of the gym visits stopped. So I've been trying to get back in the game, somewhat successfully, but my eating habits have reverted back to when I was a 17 year old stoner for some reason. So in an effort to get back to feeling great, I've spent looots (too much) time looking up healthy recipes that don't sound terrible and boring and flavorless. My first attempt was smoothies...really healthy, GREEN smoothies. Green makes everything healthier, right? This whole health kick was nowhere to be found on my 30before30 list, but...oh well. I'm still posting it because this is all about re-reading it and motivating myself to actually make a change and not just talk about it. So, this will secretly be number 31 on my list. Note to self:

(click here to see full 30before30 list)

#21: start a regular yoga practice

I have officially started to work toward item number 21 on my list, "start a regular yoga practice"...well, I've kind of started. Today I visited Black Swan Yoga, a donation-based co-op that teaches daily yoga classes in downtown Austin. I went with my friend Lesley, who now knows about the blog, which means she is morally responsible for motivating me to reach this goal, because she got herself in to it. We may or may not have gone to the wrong kind of class for beginners (we did)...but we learned how to take really quick deep breaths & how to chant in unison! That's something, right?

We decided that maybe we should do our own at-home yoga classes together before venturing out in to the public yoga world again. But I feel good that we at least have a starting point. Tuesday nights will now be dedicated to yoga videos until we feel like we have all of the poses down and won't be immediately pinpointed as the newbs at a yoga class. Tuesday nights also means Rachel Zoe Project is on Bravo, though...so what if we're defeating the whole purpose of clearing our minds of first world issues and meditation by watching the show after yoga? At least Lesley came up with the name "yozoe" for our Tuesdays, since we're combining the two. And everyone knows that coming up with a designated name validates everything. 

So, #21, you are far from conquered. But it's a start.

(click here to see full 30before30 list)