unfortunately, this week, i’ve not been able to share much of my experience due to my work schedule.

not making it for the morning class, i try my best to make it for the evenings. i realised that the evening classes are much more packed than the morning class. and honestly, i prefer doing yoga in the morning as it truly gives the day a great energy boost!

there is one class which its experience i would like share. for me this class was special. special not because it was a morning class, but it was a class which i went straight from work to. yes, i worked till 7.30am from the morning before and went into class the morning after.

as i already lack oxygen going up to the head due to lack of sleep, through the poses where i had to bow forward or down, i had blood rushing up (or should i say down) to my head. coming up from those poses gave me a high, a nice dizzy spin like you’ve just had a couple of glasses of wine.. relaxation after class was bliss.. the muscles truly feeling used and well spent.

however, i would not recommend anyone to do this. it was incredibly dangerous for me when i was driving back after class, as i was feeling numbness (the mild pins and needles type) to my arms and feet, and had to concentrate extra hard to keep my wheels in check.

there’s another 4 more days to go. i hope to be able to complete them without missing anymore, despite the fact that i’m also working through the public holiday and weekend.

wish me luck~!!

the last few days has rendered me physically & mentally exhausted. so exhausted that i couldn’t wake up this morning in time, and was super late for class.

i missed the sun salutations, with both regret and relief. regret that i didn’t get to do it ritually every morning, but a relief as i don’t think i could have sustain the rest of the class if i did.

indra said that it is possible that my body has reached its limit. well, its not time to give up yet. though i was late, it is definitely better than not showing up at all.

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today’s meal

oh gosh! i almost forgot that i’ve got a yoga diary to update
going through the motions for the last two days at class, i realised that i’m moving into poses easier, and stretching alot better. throughout the rest of the day my body feels lighter, and i’m beginning to have a tendency to stretch those major muscles that are stationary due to office work ever so often.

one of the moments that i feel proud about during this challenge is being able to wake up early to go for the classes. i used to think i have mild insomnia as i’m unable to sleep at night, tossing and turning till the wee hours of the morning before i actually get some 20 winks before waking up in a heavy daze for work. thus, afraid that i wouldn’t be able to uphold the challenge.

but for the last 6 days, as i’ve spent quite alot of energy during class in the morning, and just going through the motions at work, by the time 10.30pm comes, i’m tired and sleepy enough to doze off. resulting to rising early in the morning and off to class.

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during relaxation today, while erin told us to go to a comfortable place, i couldn’t help thinking of teresa and her proposal for this challenge. and all these thoughts ran through my head…

“accept for my own mother, no one knows me better than her. in a way, we’re like mirror images - as much alike as we are, we can also be the opposite of each other. for example, her childish excitement where at times amuses me, most of the time frustrates me.. i’m the calm sort who keeps an image of a cool cat. and yet, when i let myself go, when my inner child appears, i can too annoy myself with my own childish excitement.

i’ve always been a slow person when it comes to following or practicing a trend, or even being a fan something / someone. with teresa, its the same thing. while we practically almost have the same taste in everything, my interest thens to take slower and smaller baby steps towards it. take yoga, for instance. it took me more than 7 years after teresa has pursued it to pique an interest at it, though i’ve only admired it from a distance, and that was with encouragement as well as being challenged into it.

when initially, during my younger days, where i was the subject of admiration between us sisters, i find that i admire her even more seeing she has accomplished so much in the practices of humanity and passion. her spiritual calling is so much stronger than mine, as i’ve strayed so far away… time to re-adjust my path..”

the last two days has been extra painful as i was stretching muscles and using joints which i’ve not used in a long long time or as regularly.

don’t get me wrong. it’s not a torture chamber. in fact, it got me thinking of how bad my posture has been, and how wrongly i’ve been using my muscles. as a former dancer, i’ve taken all these for granted and have turn to the ‘dark’ side.

it will get better in time, and with practice, it won’t hurt as much anymore. practice makes perfect, increasing confidence and reducing fear.

talking about fear, i had difficulty doing one of the poses cause i was afraid to push my shoulders down and place my chin on the floor. a few times i either plopped and laid flat on my stomach or hit my chin on the mat.

eventually, after about 30 tries, i finally managed it.

here is erin showing us how to do it..

another position that is supposed to be a relaxing position, but still feels like alot of pain for me is the downward dog.

this is not how it should be done.

as u can see, i have my heels up. but with my current flexibility and strength, this is the best i can do. i also have my elbows hyper-extended, where as it should be slightly bent and not locked in.

eventually, my downward dog should look like this. flat foot, rounded elbows & shoulders, with a nice flat & firm tummy..

~namaste~

when i first did yoga with 3sa years ago, yoga for me was more of a stretching exercise class than anything. that was years ago.

yesterday, as i filled in my registration form for the 30-day yoga challenge, the guy who took my registration look at me with a cautious eye and told me that i’ve got quite alot of injuries. here’s the list :
a) old injuries (all on right side) - sprained / twisted ankle, sprained hip, broken cartilage @ knee, broken collar bone, deformed shoulder blade, broken wrist. all healed but can’t be stressed so much on without protection

b) back problems - recovering from major whiplash on upper back (both shoulders) due to a car accident last year & sprained lower back due to stupidity manual labor 5 years ago.

after yesterday’s re-introduction class, i was bursting with energy the whole day and by 10.30pm at nite, my energy was well spent and called it a night.

today’s class, however, left me feeling lethargic about 3 hours after i entered work. or maybe i’m just having a much busier morning than usual without a chance to actually reflect.

when 3sa and i first spoke about this challenge, she mentioned that i would be going in with alot more physical challenges. she also said that while yoga is about the body & mind, i would be more mentally affected than physical. at this point, until i can calm my mind while doing the poses instead of thinking “breathe, breathe, breathe” or “stretch! ouch! pain!” its physical..

the only message i’m getting mentally is, “don’t give up!” and “don’t fall from / lose hope!”.

i realise i need yoga. i need it so i can recover, so i can stretch and be more flexible again, so i can lose weight and most importantly, so i can dance again without worries. “no pain, no gain” they say..

giving starbucks a run for their money :)