Yoga

This evening I got back into the hot yoga studio.

I was introduced to hot Bikram yoga in 2009 when I bought a 10-day pass and made it to class every day, despite living 30 miles from the studio. It wasn’t sustainable, but when I moved to London a year later my attendance became much more regular. Yoga changes everything; your strength, flexibility, mind set, diet, hydration and mood to name a few.

My biggest issue, like in nearly everything I do is that I am passionately inconsistent.

Last year my yoga attendance was as follows:

• Jan – 30 days SERIOUSLY?? I do not remember doing this, I just saw it in my attendance chart! How is that even possible?! (memory problems much?)
• Feb – 1 class (I was away most of the month and suspended my membership)
• March – 8 classes
• April – 5 classes
• May – 5 classes
• June – 3 classes (oops – Sauvignon blanc drinking season)
• July – 8 classes
• August – 4 classes (& a yoga retreat for 7 days with 2 classes on 6 of the days, so + 12)
• September – 6 classes
• October – 4 classes
• November – 2 classes
• December – 1 class

You see the issue! *facepalm*

I start with gusto but taper off month by month, and then had a desperate flurry as I was due to go on a yoga retreat and needed to up the ante. Then the last few months of the year I clearly favour drinking Argentinian Malbec rather than practicing. Not only is this inconsistency not good physically or mentally, but I’m paying a monthly subscription!  Turns out that the solo class in December was pretty pricey! Ha.

On average I was doing 7.42 classes a month, which is just a bit rubbish. For something that I should be prioritising because of how good it makes me feel, I really need to put yoga back at the top of my to-do list. 3 days a week ideally. My promise for 2017 is to have a good, consistent practice of 10 classes a month which is 2-3 a week as well as completing a 30-day challenge in January. Again, apparently!

Tonight I made it to one of the 60 minute classes. It was warm and familiar. I felt too fat on the forward bends, and too inflexible on the backward bends. However, I attempted each and every posture. Some I held for the full length of time, for others I bailed out a bit early as my legs were a bit knackered from yesterdays run.

At the end of the class I wrote my name up on the ’30-day challenge’ board and ticked off number 1. It felt like a good accomplishment.

So that’s Day 2 completed. A lot of exercise done, but a manageable amount. Now I’m going to spend the evening making pom poms for a cushion refurbishment that I am doing to enhance my creativity this year! More on that tomorrow – if you can handle the suspense!!