Stretch yourself before you Wreck yourself.

I got sidetracked from running.  

Instead, every day I walk barefoot into a mirrored room with anywhere from thirty to sixty other half dressed people.  The room is heated to around 108 degrees.  I stay there for ninety minutes- balancing, stretching, sweating.    I love it.  I crave it.  I get from Yoga what many people get from running.  It helps me turn my brain off.  It helps me Be in my body.  It helps me learn to be graceful.  

And so, I put off running a half marathon and competed recently in the Oregon Hatha Yoga Championships.  Odd, I know.  Oxy moronic it would seem.  This year, I started working on the routine of seven poses in late October.  About twelve people from the Bend Bikram Yoga studio practiced intensely for the last two months, and each of us deepened our practice in incredible ways.  One of our teachers, Delana Miller, came in third place at the competition.  I don't know my score, or how I placed among the almost fifty other women, but the rewards of focusing so much on my practice and sharing that with some amazingly supportive and dedicated people was what made being on a cold stage for three minutes in a leotard in front of about a hundred people worth it.