Day Nine, Ten and Eleven

Sorry for the blogging delay...it's been a crazy weekend!

Day Nine: Friday

I attended class at 5:30 AM (yes, I woke up at that hour without being forced) and had class with Jessica. My practice went well and I worked on a couple of postures that were giving me fits one breath at a time. I went home, took a short nap and started working at 9:30. This is where it gets real exciting...

MY FIRST DOUBLE!!!

I returned to the studio for a second class at 4:30PM with Jen and it was amazing. I thought that I would be weak and tired but I wasn't at all. I was able to reach new depths in my postures and felt much stronger than I normally do in class. I was pumped up when I left about all that I had achieved. It was wonderful!

Day Ten: Not so good...

As I somewhat expected, My 9:30 AM class with Roy did not go quite as well as I would've liked. Roy was great, he really made me laugh and push myself harder than I would've liked sent I went in feeling lethargic and tired. My muscles felt incredibly weak and was having problems steadying my breath again. I'm not letting this discourage me because I realize that it is a process. I will probably wait until I've been practicing at least a month before attempting another double, unless I go out of town and will be unable to practice for a few days.

Day Eleven: A Time of Rest

I decided after yesterday's class and talking to Arnie that I should probably take a day off. I am very committed to the Yoga but must also listen to my body. My body said...please, pretty please, let me rest so I listened. I feel that when I return tomorrow I will have enough strength to really focus on my practice and not just be a body in the room. I will update you all tomorrow!!!

Sidenote...I don't want this post to sound like I am discouraged because I am not. I realize that no matter how long you practice there will be good days and bad and that I must embrace all of those feelings. I look forward to continuing this journey.

Day Eight

Well, I did not start week two off like I would've liked to. I had every intention of trying my first double this morning. Not only did I not make it to the 7:30, but I did not get to the 9:30 until after the first breathing exercise. Since I missed the first 10 minutes, that made me want to work harder through the remaining 80. What started out as a hectic rush turned out to be a very good class for me. Not much to report today other than that.

Day Seven: My first landmark!!!

Today was my first big landmark, seven classes in seven days. I don't do hardly anything every single day except brush my teeth, eat, neccessary things like that, so I am very proud of myself. This morning it was so hard to get out of bed for the 9:30 class, but I reminded myself that this was my seventh class! With that being said, this mornings class went better for me than yesterday as far as soreness and breath control but I went ahead and took it easy on myself anyway. I probably could have pushed a little more but I don't want to burn out my body. After one week I can see improvements in my practice as far as the postures themselves but also the mental discipline it takes in class. I can feel my body getting stronger and my appetite has finally returned for the first time since I've been out of the hospital. This is good news for me.

On a side note, I finally met Karen who's challenge blog I read on a daily basis. I want to thank her again for her posts and encouraging comments. You are like a breath of fresh air (inhaled through my nose, not mouth of course).

Day Six

I went to practice at 7:30AM this morning. Man, the soreness from yesterday (and days prior, I'm sure) finally set in. It was very difficult to hold some of the postures. I also was having some problems keeping my breathing steady so I had to sit down a few times. I got some tips from the instructor on one of the postures that I was struggling with so I am excited to try it again tomorrow.

Day Five

I attended the 9:30AM class with Sheila today. This was my first class with her and I enjoyed. I think that I pushed myself a bit too hard during the warm-up and beginning of the standing series, so I became a little wussy for the end of the standing series and some other postures like camel. I am still learning to pace myself from my sickness and acclimating to this new form of Yoga. Another day, another lesson learned. Now I know what to concentrate on improving tomorrow. And yes, I'm not giving up, I will be back tomorrow.

Day Four

Sorry, yesterday was a busy day and I didn't get a chance to post. Yesterday, class 4 in 4 days, went very well. For the first time I was able to mentally get past the heat and focus more on my postures. It was still hot, of course, I just wasn't dwelling on that.

Day Three

I attended the 9:30AM class with Zeb this morning. He was a very fun instructor...managed to get a full blown laugh out of me a couple of times. Today was much easier on me than the previous two days, but still very challenging. I got a chance to meet Arnie, the owner of the studio. He and his wife, a former CPA our both owners and instructors. He was very helpful and even recommended putting him in touch with my physician to work out a plan to ensure my continued health and safety. I was once again impressed with how caring everyone at BYTW is.

Day Two

I attended my second class today at 4:30PM with Jen, another wonderful instructor. Today the heat became a little easier to bear. I felt stronger in the postures, yet weak because of my class yesterday. All in all the class felt much better today than yesterday which reaffirmed my decision to do this challenge. I have been reading Karen's blog about her 60 day challenge, which I will put it my links for anyone interested. I made sure to bring facial cleanser today so that will hopefully help me with any sweat/detox related breakouts. I also bought some intensive foot cream to help my feet everynight from the dryness they are already suffering. So, thanks Karen for your blog, it has helped me to possibly prepare and combat what will be coming in the future.

By the way, I bought some teensy-weensy nike drifit shorts before class and in combination with my sports bra that was not made with cotton, made life much more tolerable. I am going to try to make the 9:30AM class with Zeb. I'm excited about experiencing a different instructor. Talk to you all tomorrow!

Bikram Challenge: Day 1

I attended my first Bikram Yoga class slightly prepared, so I thought. I wore shorts, not pants, and a sports bra. It doesn't matter how much or little you wear, you are gonna get hot. When I say hot, I mean the room is kept at about 105 degrees. The instructor, Jessica (who was great), began the class telling us newbies to just try to stay in the room for the entire 90 minutes, sit down or lay down for as long as you need to rest and catch your breath, and if you felt any feelings of light-headedness, dizziness, or nausea that it was complete normal and would pass. I was terrified, half the time I feel like that just strolling from the sofa to the bathroom. I did not think that I was going to make it through the warm-up. I accomplished the goal of staying in the room the duration of 90 minutes and I at least attempted each posture. I thought that I was going to die...not literally...just really tough work-out die.

But...
After the final Savasana, or lying on your back with your palms up and heels together for those of you who don't do Yoga, I felt refreshed and calm. I immediately signed up for a month of unlimited classes and decided to do the Bikram Challenge. This is what I will spend my first sixty days blogging about.

Here are a couple of quotes from Bikram:

"Never too old, never too sick, never too late to do Yoga and start
from scratch again."

"If you will do this Yoga everyday for 60 days, I will give you a new body,
a new mind, and a new life.

So, I decided that I do not want to use "sick" for an excuse not to do this. I will listen to my body and do what I can. I can definitely use a new body since my has failed me time after time; mind, let's see, that could definitely benefit from improvement; and if those too things create a new and better life for me, then great. So, I'm all in...thanks for supporting me in my journey.

A New Chapter: Bikram Yoga

For those of you who know me and are wondering why I have created a new blog, I thought it was only appropriate to dedicate a blog soley to my Bikram Yoga. My old blog still exists for other life events. For those of you who do not know me, let me give you a little background of my situation. On April 25, 2008 I was admitted to the hospital for dehydration associated with withdrawing from a prescription drug that I had taken for about two weeks. After blood tests were drawn, it became apparent that I was in total liver and kidney failure as a result of the prescription. Twenty-four hours later I was at The Methodist Hospital in surgical ICU, number one on the liver transplant list being prepared. I am only 26 years old, so as you can imagine we were all in disbelief. Long story short, after spending two weeks in Methodist, mostly in the surgical ICU, my liver began healing itself, my kidneys started to bounce back as a result, I was removed from dialysis and ultimately discharged...no transplant.

I am very fortunate to have overcome such an event with such positive results but the recovery phase has been slow going. I was looking online for some Yoga that focused mostly on meditation, to relieve some stress and maybe a few poses here and there. This is when I fell upon Bikram Yoga and decided to give it a try. My coming entries will talk more about this. After my first class I decided that if I were going to do it, I wanted to do it right...God and health willing. For those of you who do not know about Bikram Yoga, this next section is for you.

Taken from the Bikram Yoga, The Woodlands website:

Bikram's Yoga is a beginner’s therapeutic series suitable for all ages and fitness levels. It is a challenging 90-minute class comprised of twenty-six postures and two breathing exercises.

The Bikram’s series encompasses all three aspects of fitness: Endurance, Strength and Flexibility. Each posture stretches and strengthens specific muscles, ligaments, and joints needed for the next posture. The Bikram method also stimulates the organs, glands and nerves, moving fresh oxygenated blood to the entire body – It is a masterful system which promotes health and vitality.

Bikram scientifically designed this vigorous program to deliver total health through the balancing and strengthening of every system in the body. It was designed to prevent illness, decrease the incident of injury and limit the effects of aging. In addition, the series combines skills of concentration, patience, determination and self-control, which increases mental clarity and reduces the effects of stress.

Bikram Yoga is practiced in a heated room. The heat has three primary benefits: first, it assists to warm the body to allow for deeper stretching without injury; second, it facilitates an excellent cardiovascular workout; and third, it assists to detoxify the body through perspiration.

Yoga is the only exercise in the world that can be performed at any age. And Bikram’s yoga was designed to improve your health, strengthen your mind and calm your soul.

Bikram's Yoga is a health system that provides everyone an avenue to enhance personal performance and assist to correct physical ailments. It uniquely provides the perfect marriage between the health and fitness industry as both are achieved by practicing one integrated approach.


Increases Energy - Vitality - Strength - Flexibility - Endurance - Blood Circulation - Lubrication of Joints - Weight Loss or Weight Gain – as it balances the bodies ideal weight

Improves Posture - Balance - Relaxation - Muscle Tone - Concentration - Immune System - Breathing and Lung Capacity

Assists Detoxification - Injury Recovery - Reduction of Stress - Reduces Symptoms of many Chronic Diseases - Integrates both Hemispheres of the Brain – which improves Memory and Learning