The NYC Marathon

From the time I woke up on Sunday, I started the process of alternately talking myself into and out of going to yoga. This ongoing internal dialogue is a habitual one that I find myself repeating every weekend. Bikram yoga is a two hour commitment with at least another 2 hours beforehand of not eating. And I am one of those people who wake up starving. So making a commitment to be caffeine and food free all morning is not an easy one.

At the very last minute the good side of me won out (I had already starved myslef this long….) and I started my walk to the studio. Once I had made the turn on to Nassau Avenue, I was met by the sights and sounds of the NYC Marathon. People were starting to line up on the pavement. Bands were playing…stands were being set up for refreshments and there was a general cheer and excitement in the air which was immediately infectious.

As I walked to the studio I chose a path that would allow me to walk along the route of the Marathon. Eventually, I heard shouts of “they’re coming…they’re coming” preceded of course by the drones of helicopters…they must indeed be coming!

I stood by on the side walk as the handicapped cyclists went by amidst the cheers of the crowds. They shouted their names and clapped them on as if rockstars were parading down the roads. Then after a few more moments I saw the first runners. They were indeed prime specimens of the human species.
By then I had to go to my yoga. When I had finished, I came out and saw what we would call the ’stragglers’ or perhaps I should say the walkers. They were just doing their thing, walking, jogging, chatting, waving…and amazingly enough, the crowds were still there to cheer them on. These people looked like your everyday folks not any more toned or physically different than the average joe you see every day on the street.

I have to say, I felt ashamed. Ashamed that it took so much effort just to drag my ass 15 minutes to do 90 minutes of yoga when there were 30,000 people running 26 miles! When you need a sight to get your self motivated and inspired…the NYC marathon is one of the best! All those runners were indeed rockstars.

I have decided to mentally put “running the NYC marathon” as an item on the list of things to do in my lifetime!

Bikram Yoga – day two of the return

Afer 2 1/2 weeks of doing absolutely no exercise and pretty much eating anything I wanted. I decided that it was time to get back on track. 2 days in a row of bikram yoga. So why Bikram yoga? I tried yoga afew times before but always felt that I struggled trying to see what the instructor was doing while simultaneously getting my limbs into unatural positions (well unatural for me that is) Its not easy trying to see anything when your head is between your legs, the teacher is moving at lightning speeds and everone else pretty much seem to be made of rubber.

Bikram is slow, repetitive (you do everything twice) and the teacher doesn’t really do anything but speak so there’s not alot to watch. Everytime you go, you know what to expect and thus can spend your time trying to get the positions right. Although after many months…I am still struggling.

 

Oh, did I mention the heat? “The recommended temperature is minimum 105F degrees and about 40% humidity.” according to Bikram’s site. It feels good to sweat like crazy. It feels good to be forced to drink a lot of water. I haven’t been doing it long enough to judge the benefits. But perhaps the ache in my back and abs is a sign that those muscles are getting a workout.

 

Here’s a diagram of the poses: (taken from http://www.bikram.com.au/bikram_yoga.htm) My new goal is to concentrate on one pose each time I go.

Having friends go to the same studio helps. If you can’t commit to yourself sometimes commiting to other people is easier