Day 21 - Figure Four for Happy Hips

DAY 21 - May 30, 2011

After playing hooky for two days in a row, I could not miss another day. I hit up a vinyasa class at Samara with Nicoline Valkenberg. Nicoline has a great presence, very sweet and calming. My legs and hips were tight from riding my bike 9.5 miles beforehand, so again, I found that pigeon pose was not my friend that day. She suggested I take an alternate stretch that takes some of the pressure off the hips and keeps the torque to a minimum. It's a figure four stretch on your back and you can check it out here:

http://media.onsugar.com/files/ons1/192/1922729/42_2009/4cbf3a4d825941c7_stretch.jpg

It's a great alternative for runners, bikers, or anyone with hip or knee troubles or tightness. It's great to have options and definitely do not feel bad if you aren't doing what everyone else is doing! Make sure it feels good for your body and you will be golden. :-)

Day 21 overall: Wow 3 weeks in! I think I need to throw some home practice into the mix.

Day 14 - Bikram scares me, but hot yoga's cool

DAY 14 - May 23, 2011

I have a love-hate relationship with Bikram yoga. I love the heat, I love how it makes me all bendy and flexy, and I love how I am able to mold myself into positions I normally wouldn't deem fathomable. It's shocking how good it feels to practice in a room that has the equivalent temperature of a sauna, but trust me, its incredibly cleansing. Watching the beads of sweat drip off me onto my yogitoes towel below, makes me one happy gal. Afterwards, you feel like you had a facial, lost 5 lbs, and took a few shots of tequila. Sounds fun, no?

I dislike Bikram (hate is a strong word) because the studios are usually bright, you are usually staring at yourself in a mirror, and the instructors are, well, very stern. Yeah, stern, that's it. Ok, I'm not going to candycoat it - they like to yell at you. At least this has been my experience. While other forms of yoga will encourage you to "listen to your body" and "do the best you can", Bikram is a bit more in your face. I've been to classes where I wouldn't be surprised if the instructor pulled out a ruler and hit ya on the back of the hand, nun-style, if you didn't go deep enough. But there are many people out there that love this style of practice, and to each their own.

With all that said, I do like "Hot Hatha Yoga" or "Hot Yoga" classes. These classes tend to use the 26 traditional poses of the Bikram series as a foundation but build on them and add other poses that complement and expand the practice. And best of all they are generally more relaxed (this doesn't mean easy). I went to Alice Senko's Heated class at Samara yoga studio for my day 14 and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Alice is animated, energetic and you could tell how much she loves being an instructor. Being a newbie to her class, she made the effort to ask my name in the beginning of class and I was pleased when she didn't forget it (nice touch). She also has endearing quirks like saying "sof-ten" with the hard T sound and my fave "lit-trally", instead of "literally", like Rob Lowe's character on Parks and Recreation. [Sidenote - Watch Parks and Rec. You will not be disappointed.] The sequence was challenging, and by the end, I looked like a crazy lady with frizzed out hair and was dripping with sweat (think jumping into a pool with all your clothes on). But I was a happy lunatic, no doubt about that.

Day 14 overall: Got deeper into Hanumansana (full split), which I am stoked about (gotta love that heat). This hot yoga class reminded me of the days I would regularly take/teach hot yoga in NJ. Good old days.

Day 13 - Energy

DAY 13 - May 22, 2011

Post-gardening tightness had set in and yoga was needed ASAP. I headed to Samara for some vinyasa in hopes of loosening up my hunched shoulders and cranky lower back. Hannah was filling in for Nicoline Valkenberg (the owner of Samara) and when she asked if the group had any requests, I had no qualms asking for some shoulder/back love. She delivered with lots of backbending, twisting, chest opening and a whole lot of chaturangas. A whole lot.

All the yogis must have slept in on this Sunday morning because only 7 folks opted to skip brunch in bed and come in for class. It's interesting how the size of a class can affect the vibe. Energy, to a scientist like myself, is something that we try to understand, quantify and capture. But it is amazing to just feel how it can change from scenario to scenario. There is an intangible quality to energy that is so powerful. We are always transferring and receiving energy from those around us. Make sure the energy you are sending out is positive and beneficial to those in your life.

Day 13 overall: Felt a bit like Frankenstein today in class with all the stiffness in my body, but the class relieved some of it. Energy is more than just that little extra something that you find in a double espresso. Be conscious of the vibes to are sending out in the world.

Day 5 - Lead with your heart

DAY 5: May 14, 2011

As part of this challenge, I told myself that I would like to focus on expanding my yoga practice in any and every way. By this I mean that I want to try new studios, teachers, classes, poses, etc. So with this in mind, I ventured over to Samara Yoga Studio on Elm St in Davis Square for a Level 2 Anusara-inspired flow class with Hannah Emlen. New studio - check. New teacher - check. Anusara? I think I've done this once or twice before, but for all intensive purposes I'm going to say: New class - check.

Positioned on the second floor above the Burren Pub, I walked up the flight of stairs to the studio and was greeted by a phantom "hello" coming from what appeared to be the walls. A few minutes later a smiling girl with hot pink hair appeared from the bathroom with a jug filled with water. She led me through the check-in process where I signed up for the new student special, which you can find at almost every studio around - it's $25 for unlimited yoga for the first two weeks (if it is your first time at the studio). The space at Samara is bright and clean, though the smell of pub food wafted in through the open windows from the watering holes below (and it was makin me hungry!). The class was filled with hip opening (think rockstar, lizard, hanuman, etc), twisting, and we had some time to play with inversions at the wall. Hannah had a pleasant demeanor and kept checking in with us to see how the poses were feeling. I think at one point she instructed us to "soften your brain into your heart". Still trying to figure that one out. It must be an Anusara, "let your heart lead the way" kinda thing.

Day 5 overall: Was pleased with my experience at this new studio and will definitely go back. The humid air and plenty of chaturangas led to an active, warming flow. Distracted by fried food and the stubble on my legs (this is why I don't wear cropped pants to yoga, I remind myself). Content with my practice for the day.