I Signed Up for a Year of Bikram Yoga!

After the Kripalu class I took on Monday, I really started thinking about Yoga and how good it feels. So last night I went to Bikram Yoga and signed up for a year! Sure, I signed up for the year before I took the class, and of course I regretted it just a bit after the second set of half moon pose. But by the end of the class, I felt like I had accomplished a lot, and was not as out of shape as I thought I was. Hopefully the year will be like a class - at first it will look like a long, hard time, but after it is over, you can't wait for the next one :)

One, funny thing about Bikram Yoga last night was that my friend Cate came along to take her first Hot Yoga class. Unfortunately, I suppose I wasn't as specific as I thought I was when I told her it was a "Hot" Yoga class. Later, I found out that she thought I meant "hot" like "sexy new and modern" yoga! What a mistake! Well, her first class was a bit harder than she had expected, and like all newbies to Bikram, she spent most of the class laying on her mat just trying to experience the room. But I am really proud of her for making it through :) She even said she'd be back to try class again!

I am leaving for Miami, Oklahoma on Saturday night with Soma Dance Company. We will be spending a week there at NEO Performing Arts School running dance workshops and teaching children Cunningham and Ailey Modern Dance. At the end of the week, the kids will be performing with us in 2 concerts. This is the second year we have been invited back, so we are all very excited!

I have a swollen foot...and a show to perform in tomorrow!

For the past 2 months I have been rehearsing with Soma Dance Company 5 times a week for our "Soma in Solo" Concert at the Wadsworth Athaneum on April 25th (tomorrow!), and it has really been stressing out my body. Soma Dance Company is mostly a modern dance company, but we also incorporate martial arts and athletic lifts and partnering. I feel I am strong enough to perform, but I also feel that my body is trying to tell em I have had enough. With my intense rehearsal schedule I haven't had any time to include Yoga into my routine, which would probably help me stretch out my aching muscles. And while I do some Yoga as warm-ups for dance, I haven't done just a full class...and I REALLY need to!

Unfortunately, about 3 weeks ago the ball of my left foot started hurting me. I thought it was just a stone bruise because it felt tolerable and I feel like I had hurt myself this way before. I looked it up on the internet and read that stone bruises take about 2 weeks to heal and there's really nothing you can do about them until they go away on their own. So I waited, and last week it felt like it had healed! However, two days ago, the pain came back and the swelling increased. I started icing it every day, but yesterday at rehearsal the pain was so bad I could hardly walk! I am really nervous I have done more than just bruised it, but our "Soma in Solo" performance is tomorrow and I will just have to suck it up. Of course after the show I am going to get my foot X-rayed. I have never broken anything in my body before and have always been really careful...but perhaps I am just getting too old :)

Earth Day was on Wednesday! At YogaDirect.com, we celebrated with a special sale. In fact this weekend only we are having ANOTHER sale. If you spend over $100, you will receive a free gift! We also added a TON of new Thera-Band® items to our stock, like Mats, Balls, Exercise Bands, and more.

Yoga DVD's and Home Practice

I have been sooooooo very busy lately. Between rehearsals for Soma Dance Company, working at YogaDirect.com, and rehearsing for the Jazz Nutcracker (it's just like the regular Nutcracker...but jazzy), I haven't had much time to go to any Yoga classes lately. I have, however, been keeping up with stretching at least a little bit every day. It is so important to keep your spine nice and flexible because it is probably the most important set of bones in your body. And I can't tell you just how good it feels to do a nice spinal twist, especially if you sit at a desk all day at work like I do. Keeping your spine healthy and supple is key to being healthier as you grow older.

Well, because I haven't been to a Yoga class in a while, I decided to pick up some new Yoga videos. Like I have stated before, we have a GREAT selection of Yoga DVD's at YogaDirect.com (you can find them by clicking here). One of the pieces of choreography we are working on in Soma Dance Company requires me to lift another dancer for pretty much the entire dance. And since my upper body is slightly weaker than my lower body (as most dancers are), I picked up these three DVD's:



I chose these three because I thought they'd help me build muscles, and also stretch them out. Yoga doesn't really build bulky muscles, but I already have overly muscular thighs from years of doing ballet (improperly) that I have been trying to stretch out. Also, because my quads are over-developed, my hamstrings are tight, and I am hoping these videos may help balance me out more. I also want to be able to developpe (or extend) my leg up a bit higher than I already can. Just so I can have bragging rights, of course. This is how high I can get my leg up now:

I'd also like to be able to do that without lifting my hip up, as shown in the photo (and without the funny-looking face too!). So I am going to be doing those DVD's at my home and I will report back about the DVD's and if they can help me increase my strength and flexibility by doing Yoga in my own home!