The Reason Why....

Have you ever taken a look at your life and wondered about the reason why you do the things that you do?

I have been, lately, and it might be resulting  in some changes......
In regards to blogging, I'm not sure how much longer I will be continuing.  When I was doing my 30 Day Challenge, it was a way to tell people about Bikram yoga and the process of it.  Now that I am done, I am struggling with finding my blogging voice again.  I've been tossing back and forth in my mind the dilemma of sharing too much or just blogging to have my voice out there, and is that really a reason to continue.  I do know this, until I figure it out, I will not close my blog account, but you may not see me as much.  You may be wondering brought this on, and it wasn't one thing, but a couple.  I read an article about blogging in a magazine, and the ironic part, I can't remember which one, but the premise of the article was that blogging was the new bragging.  It hit me, because bragging in real life bugs me and is my blog bragging?  I've never had the urge to be a writer and in the past, if there was something I wanted to write about, I would get out my journal and write and the world would be none the wiser.

Can you tell I'm conflicted about this? 
Do you blog?  Why do you blog?  What do you think?  I'm looking for advice.....
Confused in cyberspace....

Melissa

30 Days Completed....

I made it!!  I survived!!  I conquered!!  April 30, 2011 was the last day of my Bikram 30 Day Challenge.  30 classes in 30 days.  I actually did it with 30 classes in 28 days, due to a case of food poisoning and taking the day off for Easter.  I did two doubles, 2 classes in a day, to make up for the days off.  It is completely within the rules of the challenge.  They were an experience of rehydrating!

How was the challenge?  It depended on the day.  The first week was a wave of excitement; the second, a battle of the mind; the third finding my balance again; the fourth, a reminder of while the challenge was almost over, my Bikram yoga journey is not over.

I do have to say thank you to some people, because while  the 90 minutes in the class are completely solitary, the challenge affects the other 22 1/2 hours of the day.

So, without any further ado....
Greg, Amanda, Sean, Joann, Janet, Roxanne, Julia, Juls, Gordon, Pam, Karen, and Julie--The AMAZING instructors of Bikram Yoga SLC, who encouraged, gave corrections, and cheered me through out the challenge.

My mom.....She helped out, cheered, and encouraged me on days that I was discouraged.

To everyone who commented, cheered and congratulated me, whether it was on Facebook, real life or emails.  It meant a lot!!!

Now a review.....
What will I NOT miss about the challenge...
1.  The sweaty, wet, stinky laundry that had to be done daily.  My drying rack was used more in the past month that it has ever been used.
2.  Having to go to 6am classes, because I knew that it was the only time I could go that day.  I think I've said it before, but I'll say it again.  Getting up at 5:30 am is not right.....

What I WILL miss...
1.  The sense of satisfaction of getting my toes on the line every day to meet a goal.
2.  Seeing progress almost every day in class, whether physically or mentally

Now that the challenge is over, it's time to find balance with my Bikram yoga practice and the other physical activities that I love to do (swimming, running :) ).  The recommendation from the Bikram studio is to practice 3 to 4 times a week.  I can do that.

Melissa

Double your Pleasure or Double Trouble?

Since yesterday was Easter, I decided to take the day off of my 30 day Bikram challenge and spend the day with family and friends and enjoying a very yummy Easter dinner.  The consequence of the decision is this..... I have to do a double Bikram today.  What does that mean?  Two classes in one day.  180 minutes of the torture chamber.  :) (I think...)

There are a couple of ways to accomplish this..  Back to back classes (stick a fork in me now, cause I would be DONE), or the way I am doing it.   I attended a morning class, got all sweaty, stretched and survived, and at 8pm tonight, I will go back and repeat.   The approach I'm taking allows me to rehydrate, refuel and rest between classes.  It's a nice benefit at my Bikram studio that they have so many classes thru out the day to allow the options.

I am nearing the end of my 30 day challenge, just 5 more days left.  I can't believe it, in a good way.

Well, I'm off to get more fuel in my system.
Melissa

An open letter to Mother Nature...

Hello Mother Nature,

I don't know if you've looked at your calendar lately, but it's April, more specifically, the end of April.  Easter is coming up on Sunday and I would love some nice spring weather.

The problem, weather forecasters around here are saying we are going to have more storms and possibly even snow at my house tonight.  SNOW!!!  IN APRIL!!!!  I realize that the water we are receiving is the water I drink in July, but it's a little much right now.  April Showers may bring May Flowers, but my May Flowers are drowning.

I love sunshine, I think, it's been a while since I've seen it on a regular basis, but if it's what I remember, it is that big yellow glowing thing in the sky.  It gives me warm fuzzy feelings.  I would love to have that feeling again.

Also, my friends and family in the Southeast are dealing with bad spring weather in a different way.  Tornadoes are everywhere.  I believe they are happy in the areas they live in and do not want to move to Oz.  Enough is enough.

Just a reminder, we have four seasons:  Fall, Winter, SPRING and Summer.  Let's not make anyone feel bad and leave them out.

Thank you and please bring on the warmer weather.
I am not a duck,
Melissa

Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO, oh my....

I feel like my 30 day challenge has taken over my life and blog, so today, I am changing the subject.  No sweat or stretching today.  :)

Today is all about my adventures in photography or misadventures......
I had been drooling over a Nikon DSLR camera for about a year, when I decided to get serious and start saving for it, and then for Christmas, I got some Christmas cash, which is always the best, and finally had the full amount for the camera.  WAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

My education in what I did not know began, and let me tell you it was a lot.  Aperture, and its correct spelling, has been the one I wanted to get down the fastest,  because I love the effects you can achieve with it.  A quick lesson:  aperture deals with depth of field..  If you're like me, I went "huh?" and was even more confused, so let me explain it this way.... Do you want to focus on one item and let the rest of the frame be blurry or do you want, like a panoramic shot, everything in focus?  That's aperture... Everything in complete crisp focus ranging to one specific thing clear and the rest blurry.  Whew. It took me forever to grasp that, especially the way it's set up on cameras.

Shutter speed and ISO (or film speed, when there was actually film) came much easier to me, not always used correctly when taking photographs, but I at least I knew how to correct them.

I've been taking classes, reading books and oh yeah, taking a photograph a day.  I'm doing a 365 project for photography, and while most days I am conscious of the photo I take, every once in a while,  I have a "It's 10pm and I haven't taken a photo today moment...."  The results have been fun, and I thought I would share with you my favorites to date.

                                             The inside of one of my red tulips in bloom....

               My Basset Hounds, Humphrey (r.) and Bacall (l.) attempting to share a stick.

     My cat, Meeko, looking regal in the back yard.  Quick, name the movie, her name came from.

One of my late night, oops I haven't taken a photo today, photos.  It's a picture of my calendar.  Sierra Club does the most amazing calendar, if you're looking for nature photos.


There will be more to come on my photography adventures and questions for you.... are you a Straight out of the Camera fan or are you obsessed with Photoshop?  Think about it and let me know....

Melissa

What's it really like?

Lately, people have been asking me what Bikram is really like.  They know it's practiced in a hot room, but other than that, little is known.  So, today, I thought I would take you a typical class for me.

I arrive at the studio about 15-20 minutes before class starts.  I need time to sign in, fill up my water bottle, find a spot in the room, and just veg before class begins.  Ten minutes before class, I go into the room, and my first thought is, "I can't do this in the heat."  It hits you immediately.  If you live in the South, it's like August when you go outside and immediately you feel sticky and uncomfortable.  It's not a pleasant feeling.  The other thing, I guess I better tell you about, is the smell.  Sweaty people kind of stink and it permeates the room.  After a while, you don't really notice it when you come in, but first timers always kind of stop at the door and crinkle up their noses for a moment.  I go to my yoga mat, which is covered by a towel and lay down.  Letting go of the day and quieting my mind are the major purposes of this, but it also lets me know if there is anything that is sore, tight or just needs attention before class.  If there is, I'll do a couple of specific stretches for that area. 

The lights seem to come on right after I do this, and the instructor enters the room.  They use a wireless microphone to instruct the next 90 minutes.  Instructors do not demonstrate the poses but give a very detailed description of what you are supposed to do.  After the instruction, they will call your name if there is something you need to change or if they want to praise you for your effort.  I don't know how it is at other Bikram studios, but at mine, the instructors have a knack of learning your name really fast.  It's uncanny.

The 90 minutes are filled with 2 breathing exercises, one at the beginning and one at the end, and 26 postures, that if you've done yoga, you would recognize most of them, that are done twice.  You start of with the warm up postures, then move on to the more challenging standing postures, and then for the second half of the class, you do poses on the floor.   I won't describe each and every posture, because it would take to long, but I will say this, they are there to balance the flexibilty and strength of your  body.  I'm ok with the strength aspect of things, but my flexibility is a work in progress.  I'm learning as I tackle the 30 day challenge that it's a journey......

Try it, you never know if it's what you've been looking for.

Melissa

Don't Glow.....Sweat

I'm on day 4 of my 30 day Bikram challenge.  I've found my Bikram rhythm again, going through all of the poses without taking any breaks.  :)  It took me 2 days to accomplish this.  I should tell you that for the 2 weeks before I started my challenge, I was down for the count with a flu, as in I didn't leave my bed for 4 days.  It was not fun, and as a result, my endurance and stamina were gone.  Not a great way to start the most physically challenging event of my life, but sometimes, it's just the way it is.

Anyway, back to today's class, it was actually fun, well as much fun as you can in the torture chamber.  Three poses in, I looked in the mirror in the front of the room, and noticed I was not as sweaty as I had been the previous three days.  I was just glowing, not sweating.....  Never fear, Bikram fans, by the time we finished the standing series, I was soaked.  Not sweaty, SOAKED!!  My towel over my yoga mat, my outfit, my hair, everything was wet.  I resembled a drenched rat, and not in a good way.

So, everyone out there in the blogosphere land, don't glow, Sweat.....
Melissa