Hot Yoga 4 – got sweat?

Hi Bloggers,

I went to hot yoga last night. Man, was it sweaty…. I had my work day done. I was tired, like nodding off tired when I was at work. I was ho-hum about going to yoga last night. When I opened up WP and saw some comments and felt a little more connected with the ‘blog-fam’ I got a little boost and decided to pull on some lycra and get my arse over to the gym.

I went to the same class as last Tuesday, at the other main gym. It was moderately busy. As soon as I settled in I felt how warm it was, and I knew this was going to be a hot session (of yoga – this is not one of ‘those’ stories..). 

So we got through the regular movements etc. Normally, about 2/3 into the session I am starting to ask myself about whether I’m going to make it through the session, as sweat absolutely pours from me, and my muscles tire from the 10th chattaranga/cobra/downward dog flow in a row.

But I got through it. Even felt pretty good after the session.

In other quirky news, my car – the little silver bullet, busted a windscreen wiper blade yesterday morning. After yoga I popped down to Walmart to grab a replacement and fitted it right there in the parking lot. It had been raining a lot yesterday, and driving when you can’t clear your windscreen is no fun.

Also, the door locking mechanism with the key (as the remote button doesn’t work…) is super temperamental. It decides whether to lock, or not when the key is turned. Lots of times I try to turn the key to lock it and it doesn’t lock, until like the 8th attempt. The other night I gave up because it wouldn’t lock at all. Then, mysteriously, it started locking on the first go. And now, for the moment, it works. Too weird eh?

These are not my feet, I use a different shade of nail polish. 

 

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The importance of hot yoga 2 – feeding the spiritual side.

So tonight I went to hot yoga. If you have been following me at all, you’ll know that I do this often enough. I got home from work, pulled my fav pair of lycra shorts (sans underwear, cause that’s how I roll), and a sleeveless lycra shirt. Pulled on some socks and runners, and grabbed the yoga mat and was out the door.

Today I went to a different gym – a 7 pm class. When I arrived there was a small line up. The 5.30 class had not yet finished. Soon enough it was time to go in and get set up on the mat. It was quite busy. Seems like everyone is doing yoga these days.

OK, the hot yoga was not naked, this is just a gratuitous pic of me! 

 

My shirt comes off even before the class starts. I have my block, water bottle, and strap. There are two candles lit either side of the teachers mat, and there is a fragrance that I can’t put my finger on but I know its pleasant. Is that cinnamon mixed with something floral? I take a few moments before the class to sit cross legged and meditate.

Soon enough, class starts. Its normally always a meditation exercise to start. Its where we might set an intention, but to be honest I did not set an intention I was just really happy to be there, in that space, I made it. I got my day at work done, drove the 15 minutes, and got in to class in time.

As class started it felt like the heat was set on ‘tropical’ but nice. We made our way through the regular assortment of flows – plank, chattaranga, cobra pose, downward dog, hop forward, full fold, inhale half fold….

As the bodies in the small space began to warm up, so did the room. It went from ‘tropical’ to sweaty. We continued to move through various flows mixed with minor contortions of limbs that my body can only partly achieve. As the session wears on, my muscles shake in some poses (side plank, anyone?), and sweat runs off my body. I realise: its fucking hot in here! I sweated soooooo much. Really.

Its normally at this point my rational mind says something like “hey, you don’t do well in heat, this is probably going to make you feel ill, did you notice that, you were a bit wobbly coming out of tree pose, I think I might collapse if we keep going.” 

But this is where you need to give in to the yoga, to truly be in the moment, to defer any thoughts about not being able to get enough breaths, while your torso is twisted or you have your head somewhere between your knees.

And that, readers, is where the yoga gets spiritual. Your mind is slightly altered, you have to go with the flow, literally. You cannot hold on to your bullshit worries when you are in lizard pose, with sweat running down your back and off your forehead. 

Its like any profound human experience, it transcends words. I can’t tell you how it feels, other than intense, and challenging, and liberating. Ok maybe I can come up with a bunch of words but the overall experience is beyond words.