Hot Yoga

I wasn't really planning on making the jump from warm to hot yoga so soon, but Elizabeth went home with a friend from church today, and rather than picking her up in Leduc at 4 and returning to Leduc at 8 for warm yoga, I decided to save some gas and take a hot class at 3 and pick Elizabeth up right after.

The room wasn't too hot - I didn't feel that it was much hotter than the warm room.  However, not realizing that Sandra was the teacher, when she came into the class, I thought, "Oh no."  Sandra is a crazy fitness instructor after my own heart - the first class of hers that I took (aptly named "Grunt and Groan"), I almost left the room because I thought I was going to puke (I didn't).  Of course, I came back for more torture the week after.

Sandra's yoga classes are not much better - very quick transitions, lots of planks, chaterungas (I'm sure that's spelled wrong), and even deep squats.  I wore a headband and there was still sweat dripping down my face, and my arms and legs were slippery with sweat.  However, after it was over, I realized what a good workout it had been, and hadn't been hard on my body like other "good workouts" tend to be.

So, the Crazy Sandra Hot Yoga class has just become another piece of my toolkit - a way to stay in shape that can be sustained over the long term (rather than my usual "go way to hard for a few months and then burn out").  It feels good to treat my body well rather than the abuse I have given it over the last many years - and as I get older, I sure can feel the effects of those years of abuse....and now I am trying to reverse those effects.

And an even better side effect....I'll sleep like a baby tonight!