(Hot) Yoga

Intertwined limbs, yes

Don’t forget to breathe, okay?

Start. Pose. Finish. Om.

After having exhausted my after-work rituals (mainly e-mail, facebook, youtube, wordpress’s Freshly Pressed), I decide I should probably get ready for bed. My blackheads need a little work so I resort to a store-bought nose strip (have you seen those at-home, glue nose strips on youtube?). That takes a bit of time to stiffen. What to do, what to do. Oh, I know!

Blog entry!

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I recently discovered, or rather braved, a hot yoga class in mid-December. It happened right before I headed to San Francisco for my two-week winter vacay. It was a packed class of mostly women. The yoga instructor is a lanky Indian guy with long wavy hair and a nose ring. He yells at everyone. Calls us Gumby’s, Shorty’s. Calls out the new girls. Tells us we’re lazy.  And that we aren’t trying hard enough. He reminds me of my college dance instructor. Apparently, this is the kind of teaching style that I like. Who knew?!

I don’t realize until the end of the class that I am totally wearing the wrong pants for this. I walk out of the hot yoga class…completely in a zone…I look at my lovely sweat stains, which showcase how hard I worked out. Sort of like battle scars. Except I don’t feel so sexy because, well, I look at my pants and it looks like I have peed all over myself. Not really. It’s just all sweat but still.

I go two more times in January. I think I have learned my lesson so I bring along my only moisture-wicking pants. They do their duty but I have started to notice everyone’s workout gear. Shorts. Thin layer tops. Or sports bras.

Hot yoga class is tomorrow night. It is a bit of a sacrifice for me because it means that I come home very late. 11/11:30 late. I’ve been away for two weeks because I have a hard time weighing social time versus work out time. Social time always wins. Shame on me. I should leave that for the weekends.

Well, tonight, I bought my very first pair of workout shorts. All for my hot yoga practice. I’m pretty excited. I spent a pretty penny on these bad boys.

A few things on my perhaps-I-will-buy-some-day-for-yoga list: 1.) Yoga Mat, 2.) Yoga Mat Bag, 3.) Yoga Towel.  For the meantime, I will use the stuff at the gym. 🙂

I found this bikram yoga ad campaign on flickr. I thought they were pretty fun. I have posted one for your viewing pleasure. 🙂 Click on the photo for the whole campaign.

Bikram Yoga Ad Campaign in Vancouver

Oh, and p.s. these nose strips never get old. 🙂