Ever since the marathon my muscles have been achy, sore, and just not right-- this is typical though, I exerted my body in a pretty serious manner for the first time and my 27 year old joints & muscles need some TLC. After years and years of scoffing at yoga... trying it once or twice, and absolutely hating it, I decided to give Bikram yoga a try-- through word of mouth, I heard that the owner of Sunrise Hot Yoga is an avid runner and SWEARS that it has improved his balance, form, and speed immensely. I'm not too worried about the speed aspect, but REALLY need a stretching routine and some balance wouldn't hurt either as I have been tripping more often. I thought that this type of yoga would be more beneficial to me because the heat (105 degrees... YIKES!) and fast pace style of the class (90 minutes, 26 different poses each repeated twice) turn THIS type of yoga into a cardio AND stretching workout... just what the doctor ordered. :)
For $20, at Sunrise Hot Yoga (a charming little studio in Old Fair Oaks) you get two weeks of UNLIMITED sessions! You can go 2x a day if you like (that'd be a bit crazy)... or what they recommend, EVERY day. At first I thought this would be a bit excessive, but yoga does not put the same type of strain on your body as running or any other high impact work out. In fact, it is recommended you go as many days in a row as possible for the first few months in order to reach really good flexibility and then you can reduce to 3-4x per week for maintenance.
My first class was yesterday at 5:30 AM (crazy, I know). It was extremely challenging and a lot of the poses hurt... not in a painful way, but a challenging "my muscles are elongating and stretching" way. I got dizzy close to the end of the class because you sweat a LOT (90 minutes of 105 degree heat and moving around, yikes!)-- but quickly revitalized myself with a V-8. I walked out with my skin glowing, feeling softer and I felt calm and relaxed. I went back for an afternoon class today and it got a bit easier. I'm going back tomorrow and then Saturday morning.
I'm not sure if I am completely "SOLD" on the hot yoga idea... a) It's expensive b) It's REALLY time consuming... 90 minutes yoga + running 4-5 days a week + weights 3x a week!? How is this possible when I am at school 4 days a week and studying 23048 hours!? I guess we will see :)
Hope all is well!
