Day 8

Yay! I tried a whole week of yoga!!!

With the exception of a 2-day education conference I attended in Québec, nothing got in my way of practicing Bikram every day since I started. Mind you I have a pretty sweet schedule these days:

1. Get up around 9:30/10:00
2. Meander across the street to get a coffee
3. Update blog
4. Suntan in park and read
5. Go to gym or work (3 afternoons a week)
6. Go to yoga
7. Eat popsicle

Pretty soon I will be busy again. My mom is visiting for a week for my graduation and we have plans to pack up my apartment, hike in Gatineau Park, visit le Nordik, hit a few museums and check out the neighborhoods in Ottawa and Hull that were too far away to visit during the Winter. In July, I'll be starting my Additional Qualification course - French as a Second Language 1, which will certify me to teach FSL. It's not mandatory for my new job, but I'd like to have the credentials to back me up. This course is about 5 hours a day for 5 weeks, so I will have less time to get my tan and popsicles on.

Currently my favourite posture: Camel

Changes:

• Increased muscle strength, especially my legs
• A rock-hard back! "If you have a healthy spine you have a healthy mind and happy life" - Bikram
• Incredible energy. Ya, ya, I know my schedule is pretty lax these days, but my energy is enormous. I power walk to and from class every day (1 hour) and usually do another 2-hour power walk at night to tire myself out. I recently got a Groupon for a fitness centre and hope to get rid of some energy in a Zumba or Bootycamp class.
• Decreased dependency on caffeine. Caffeine and I have always had a rocky relationship. I need it to function but it makes my stomach hurt. Right now I only have 1 small cup a day but I'm hoping to reduce that even more over the summer.
• Regularity. Yup, that's what I said. My teacher Claire said that if you practice regularly you don't need to struggle to keep your fibre in your diet all the time. 3 times a day like clockwork.
• Smaller waistline. All that stretching up to touch the ceiling and bending to the side and this and that is really slimming my waist down.
• But by far, the change I'm most pleased with is better posture. Better posture when walking, sitting, and reading has been a New Year's Resolution of mine for years.

So if these are the changes I'm noticing after just 1 week, what will I notice after 45 times?!

A boost of confidence: Yesterday, a stranger came up to me after class and told me my posture in the poses was beautiful. This made me feel great! Since starting Bikram last December I've always made it my goal to follow the dialogue exactly as it is said. I'm pretty disciplined like that. So while the depth of my expression is not incredible, my form or posture is getting there. I'm not the best, not by far and I'm probably years away from looking like a real yogini, but I am getting 100% of the benefits for my consistency in doing it right.

Need some more inspiration? Check out this 30-day challenge blog!

Until the next time :)