I had to haul my ass up and drag my feet to Marc Carlos' class at Yoga+ this morning (I usually sleep in on Sundays), but my body is so happy I did! Marc teaches Flow, which is Vinyasa-style flow yoga, that makes use of breath synchronized with each movement, characterized by rhythmic pacing and dynamic flow. Emphasis is on building strength and stamina, as well as increasing endurance and testing the edges of your balance and flexibility.
Unlike Bikram yoga, there is no heated room involved, although I was still soaked in my own sweat at the end of class. They left the windows open and the cool breeze from the outside would come in and cool everyone off every now and then. I liked that there was a longer guided meditation, and lots of challenging postures for me to try - the headstand was crazy!
The repetitive Four-Limbed Staff Pose - to Upward-Facing Dog - to Downward Dog made me feel like a big boulder after the sixth set, but I can already feel it paying off. Chaturanga (four-limbed staff pose) is also known as the yoga push up, which is a real bitch to do! It's dependent on strong triceps muscles, which I have zilch of as of the moment, and if done wrong, can hurt your wrist. I was watching Marc go through the same asanas (poses) before class and just marveled at how utterly graceful and fluid he was, transitioning from one asana to the next.
It's been a pretty chill day, and I was super well-behaved with my banana-ginger shake with ground flax seeds and honey being a great energy booster. My day was spent just relaxing and catching up on my shows, taking a short nap, and working on a side project. I honestly haven't felt this relaxed and balanced in ages, and I believe re-starting my yoga practice has a lot to do with this!
Yoga+ has this awesome online class reservation system where I can check out what classes are happening for the day, week, or month and reserve my mat space online. I like that I can see all the schedules and instructors at a glance.
Going to yoga class (+25), meditation (+5), 7 hours of sleep minimum (+5), Drinking 3 liters of water a day (+5) = 40 points
