Stepping Out Of My Comfort Zone...

Hot Yoga... (not me in the picture. LOL.)

This week I stepped out of my workout comfort zone and tried a hot yoga class.  I have been wanting to try it... but needed a little push.  Late last year, I purchased a Groupon for ten hot yoga classes at Hot 8 Yoga in Santa Monica.  Normally, ten sessions would be $175.  With the Groupon it was only $39.  Great... if I actually end up using the Groupon! LOL!  I procrastinated to the last minute, and the Groupon was set to expire on Friday, March 18.  I went in on Wednesday, March 16 and gave it the old college try.

Wednesday, March 16...
First & foremost, I am NERVOUS.  If you say, "hey let's go on a ridiculous hike up a mountain.." or "you wanna do a half marathon?" I'm all over it.  But a yoga class? I don't know what it is... but I have had butterflies in my tummy all day at work.  Class is at 4:30, I have to leave my job around 3:30 to get to Santa Monica in time to change & whatnot... traffic is a little foolish.  Normal.  I get there about 4:15... and sign up at the front desk.  The girl at the desk talks to me for a bit & gives me some encouragement.  She tells me, "Go at your own pace, and just stay in the studio.  It's going to be hot... really hot.  Just try your best not to get up and leave."  Um... now I'm even more nervous!  Yikes!!!

The locker room is nice... there is another woman in there who is on her 4th class in 4 days... (uh, yeah... not gonna happen.)  She is also new, and she loves it.  She also gives me encouragement & tells me to go at my own pace.  I'm sensing a theme here... 

I was told to bring a mat, a towel & water.  For some reason, I packed a large bath sheet (like the kind you dry off with) along with a hand towel.... but I only brought the bath sheet into the class with me.  First thing... when I step in the studio, I am IMMEDIATELY hit by the heat.  Hit like, "WTH am I doing in here?"  Hit like, "the muggiest, most humid day EVER in Alabama."  But I'm already here, so I may as well stay.  I'm looking around at people in the room to kinda see what I should do.  I put down my mat, and put the bath sheet over it.  I figured that part out quickly, because I'm going to sweat all over the towel.  If I sweat on the rubber mat it would be wet & I would fall.  Before class starts I already have a trickle of sweat rolling down my spine... crazy!  And the people are a mixed bag... some are half naked (which I understand very quickly).. and one guy kinda looked like say... Tony Soprano in body shape & size but with fluffy gray hair... and what appeared to be some sort of boxer brief.  And that's all.  No shame in his game.

The teacher comes in & she seems cool.  Her name is Lady Yoga, so I already like her.  She isn't in front of the class doing it... she's going to walk around and tell us what to do... which is when I realize I'm the only newbie in the bunch of about 20 people.  My plan?  Do whatever the flexible man in front of me is doing!

(not this man... but a girl can dream, right?)

I won't go through the specifics.  It was hard as anything I've ever done.  More mentally hard than physically... I am not as flexible as I used to be, so it's a bit frustrating.  My biggest obstacle was feeling dizzy... and nauseous.  Not having a colon puts me at an immediate disadvantage to other people with a colon.  I am QUICK to get dehydrated, which is why I am drinking some water or some other drink 24/7.  I had a tall bottle of Smart Water, and I could have used two of them.   The class was an hour and a half, and I spent a good 30 minutes of it just sitting or laying down due to dizziness.  I have actually fainted before... like passed out in public due to dehydration... so I know the feeling as it's coming.  I felt it about 35-40 minutes in, so I stopped.  I did notice other people stopping periodically to lay down, so I didn't feel so bad.  What kept me going was what the girl at the desk said, "Just don't leave the room."  And, believe me, I wanted to leave the room!!!  Lady Yoga knew my name and would mention me & encourage me throughout the class.  I thought that was cool. I'm assuming the girl at the desk told her I was there, I was new, and described me.

In the end, I made it through the class.  Yay me!  I have NEVER sweat like that in all my life.  It was refreshing and pretty much insane. 

Quick note... weigh in today... I lost .8 lbs this week.  I had a great week... but on Saturday, I chowed down on veggies all day.  Went to a function & there was a potluck at my house.  I didn't go over my points, but I had a lot of zero point carrots & celery...  I'm good with it though. If I lose about a pound a week, I'm good.  Down 6 pounds in two weeks?  I'll take it!

Toodles!