Remember when I wrote about doing hot yoga? You should, it wasn’t very long ago. Just about a month, in fact, which is why it’s time to do my Hot Yoga One Month Update. This happens to perfectly coincide with a special Hot Yoga For Life deal that you can get through LivingSocial for the next 4 days. If you read the rest of my blog post and decide that you need to also try hot yoga, please click on this logo here, and it will take you to cheap/hot yoga:
Last time I blogged about yoga, I had been to three classes. Now I’ve probably been to 15 or so, and I’m basically an expert at being a hot yoga newbie. Here’s how you can expect to progress during your first month of hot yoga:
- You will become more flexible. After three classes, I mentioned that I didn’t really feel any more flexible, just a lot less stiff. It turns out, that if you do yoga consistently, you will become more flexible. I can now bend over with straight legs and touch my toes, most of the time. Speaking as someone who couldn’t even touch her toes when she was 4 years old, this is a big deal. Maybe if I had done more yoga as a 4 year old, my ballet career wouldn’t have ended so abruptly and with so much humiliation.
- You will run better. I just feel better running, all the time. Except for yesterday when I ate a cheeseburger and tater tots right before a track workout. Apparently doing yoga doesn’t keep you from making stupid mistakes in other parts of your life, but it does keep your tendons and muscles much looser. This makes running more enjoyable, and also helps me train better/faster/higher/stronger/etc.
- You will become less judge-y. Well… I’m working on this one still, but I think I’m getting better at it. Years of doing sports like track and basketball have instilled the desire to be better than other people at things, and yoga is no exception. But the instructors tell you not to judge/look at other people in the room like five times per class, and I try to listen. So I’ve started judging the people outside. One wall of the classroom is just one big window, and people are always walking by and peering inside (I fondly remember the first time I walked by and creepily stared at the sweaty people inside). So now instead of comparing myself to my virtuous fellow classmates, even if my tree pose is ten times better than theirs (not that I notice, since I’m not comparing myself with them), I compare myself to the lazy assholes waddling around outside, not even doing a tree pose at all. Maybe one day I’ll attain inner peace and lose my need to feel better than someone, but it hasn’t happened yet. These people could also just come inside and do some yoga, and then I wouldn’t have to judge them.
- You will get super-cute hot yoga shorts from Lululemon. Or not. Some people wear pants in these classes, but I couldn’t handle it – I think the less clothing, the better. I would request to do hot yoga naked if that wasn’t also the grossest thing ever (I think a large portion of the sweat is coming from my butt, but the shorts soak it up so it’s hard to tell). I recommend that you get them for your birthday like I did, because that way they’re free.
These things don’t seem like major life-changers, but I do just generally feel better in life, so I’m super happy with it. If you want to be happy too, scroll back up and click on that Hot Yoga For Life logo. And then call me up and come to a class with me.
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I read this and got really psyched up to do some Hot Yoga. Put on my teeny shorts, waxed my chest, drank some Gatorade, and finally drove over to HYFL.
Turns out out Grand Central Baking is right next door. Long story short, I won the dough-eating contest and was kicked out of yoga for my sloppy Man Puking pose.
Did this really happen? I usually believe absolutely everything you say on the internet, but I’m a little skeptical of this one. They would never kick you out of yoga just for puking all over the place.