Competition Clinic, day 2
Posted by spunky | Filed under Monkee Yogini Bear
Competition clinic was very informative and a lot of fun. Every single person in the room was a source of inspiration for me. Tara is a fantastic coach! I need to work on ALL my five compulsory postures.As for the advanced postures, I’ve picked ONE so far. Years after dabbling in gymnastics in primary school, I can still do a decent side split with the right leg forward. So now I need to work on a split with a back bend. OUCH.
Practising Bikram Yoga in a hot room allows your muscles to be warmed up, preventing injuries. Practising the competition sequence in a non-heated room is quite a challenge. Which is why we have to attend the 9AM class before the 11AM clinic, you’d be crazy not to warm up before the clinic.
The five compulsory postures for Yoga Competition are (Sanskrit names in brackets, click on English names for what they look like):
Standing Head to Knee (Dandayamana – JanuShirasana)
Standing Bow Pulling (Dandayamana – Dhanurasana)
Bow (Dhanurasana)
Rabbit (Sasangasana)
Stretching (Paschimottanasana)
*Pictures source: http://www.bikramyoga.com*
Thank goodness we just have to call out the English names instead of the Sanskrit names before each pose. It’s scary enough to be on stage for three minutes going into seven postures, it would be scarier to screw the Sanskrit names up along the way.
There’s five points awarded for grace, my performance today earned me a minus 50, I think.
Tags: Bikram Yoga, competition clinic
Rejuvenated
Posted by spunky | Filed under Monkee Yogini Bear
Day 5 of Bikram Yoga. It is finally time to take a break so that I may attend Sunday’s morning class.
I can feel the subtle changes in my body each day. Yes, the belly roll still exists, although it is has gone down a tiny teeny bit. Some days I am stronger than others, some days my right knee tells me it needs to be watched ( I used my right leg to kick start Bambi almost daily). After speaking with Diane, I have learned how to ENGAGE my left thigh muscle so that I may heal my really tight left hamstring.
We are all stronger on one side. Which is why in yoga it’s important to seek an balance and to work on the weaker side to create that balance. I am right legged, yet I find it easier sometimes during Standing Bow Pulling Pose to balance on my LEFT leg, because my stronger leg is the active and KICKING leg. I don’t know if that makes any sense to you reading this, it’s the best way I can describe it for now.
One of the girls in my class, she’s terrified that she’s not gonna have time to come to class when she starts work. She described our practice as an ‘addiction’. I don’t know if you could get addicted to Bikram Yoga, I do know that I feel great after a class and it makes me stronger which is why I keep going.
An interesting thought. Years ago, my Filipino friends used to wrap me up like a sausage roll in thick blankets when I had a fever, forcing me to sweat everything out. It was pure torture back then, I was already burning up, I thought I was gonna cook. My fever subsided real quick. Till today that is how I deal with a fever. I felt a mild fever creeping up on me on Wednesday, so I got myself to a Bikram Yoga class and feel tons better.
If you have a COLD, a runny/stuffy nose, I suggest staying home and getting better before heading to Bikram Yoga. You need to breathe through your nose throughout the practise and if your nose is blocked you might hurt yourself trying to breathe through your mouth.
Time for a short nap. I’ll leave you with a picture of yesterday’s lunch:
Fried Mushrooms & Leek with Mirin
Leek (chopped)
Mushrooms (sliced)
Garlic Salt
Olive Oil
Butter
Mirin
Heat up oil, fry veges, add a teeny bit of butter. Season with garlic salt and add a dash of Mirin.
Tags: Bikram Yoga, fever, Lunch
Yogini Bear
Posted by spunky | Filed under Monkee Do, Monkee Yogini Bear
I’ve completed 3 months of Bikram Yoga.
Words cannot describe how passionate I am about my practice. Of course, there have been day where I lose my concentration, fall out of an asana, got lazy and didn’t go all the way when I should have, hated the heat, and days where I simply decided to sleep in.
I am slowly building strength, since I have been blessed with a pretty decent level of flexibility.
The weight is coming off, my body is slowly toning up. I survived a mild heat rash, some angry pimples (now they appear on my chin, due to the Locust Pose), learned how NOT to hyper-extend my knees and to engage my thigh muscles when the teacher says ‘lock the knees’ , learned how to keep my mind calm in the crazy heat and am still trying to get that monkey chatter out of my head when in class.
90minutes of ‘me’ time. Never mind that my belly is sticking out, my hair is in a mess, my sweat is streaming into my eyes each time I round my back and tuck my chin to my chest during Standing Head to Knee.
Some days I feel defeated after a class, especially when I’ve had very little sleep the night before. Most days I come out feeling fantastic.
It used to be about losing weight (I’ve lost about 4kilos so far), now I feel that there’s a lot more to it than vanity.
I would love to be able to attend Teacher Training one day. For now, I’m just going to attend the competition clinics to see what it’s all about.
I’ve extended my membership. This has to be the best money I’ve spent on myself.
Bikram Yoga
Posted by spunky | Filed under Monkee Do, Monkee Yogini Bear
3 days in a row so far without passing out.
Man it’s really HOT in there!
