Monday, January 25, 2010

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. 

3 comments:

  1. I really commend your dedication! I am a HUGE fan of Ashtanga Yoga and practice often, but only tried Bikram once and aptly named it "yoga in hell" shortly after haha. I may have to give it a 2nd chance.

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  2. I can understand why you nick named it that. I must say a couple things about Bikram- I don't know if I would have gotten so into it if I didn't live in the PacNorthWest- being in that room reminds me of summer in Tn and is the only time I feel warm most winter days. It takes some getting used to. I can easily start gushing about how wonderful it is- but I will refrain. If you can make yourself try it for ten days straight (big commitment, I know) you will be utterly amazed.

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  3. I might just have to shake it up and try it. I LOVE the fast paced (if you can call it that) nature that Ashtanga gives but I think I might "grow" more in a Bikram practice...

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