I haven't blogged for a while for the simple fact that I didn't attend a single yoga session for 9 months. There were multiple reasons for this including exams, a broken toe and a badly injured back (never wise to wear inappropriate shoes while walking down an escalator).
I returned properly this January. I went to a class last October but over Christmas I made a vow to eat my own body weight in stollen slices and then get back to yoga. I bought myself a pass and thought I'd ease in once a week on a Sunday morning with my mother. The first 3 months were tough - I couldn't get through most of the standing series on account of dizziness and was exhausted to commit properly to the floor exercises. In savasnnah I would lie there in the room and think "I can't go on". Actually my body was telling me that my hectic work schedule was taking its toll on my life and thanks to Bikram I was finally listening.
Even still, going to yoga proved to be more of a chore than a pleasure. I knew things were bad when my mum was completing more postures than I was and being more enthusiastic about the class.
Anyway I had a breakthrough this weekend. I decided to go on a Saturday morning after having 10hrs of sleep, eating a decent breakfast and consuming 2L of water in 12hrs. It worked - I had a great class, the first in which I completed every posture. It was so good I returned for more on Sunday morning. The feelings of immense joy returned when I hit the peak of the standing series and my triangle pose even gained a thumbs up from the visiting teacher. My body feels good but it's in the transition stage where the skeletal system is realigning. In order to keep up this progress I must return this weekend. During the Easter break I may have to go most days during my holiday to loosen up my ankles.
The ultimate lesson is this - don't give up yoga for 9 months.
