I'm not sure if I've posted another hashbrowns recipe so just to be safe I'm labeling this one as the second. I made this last night so Nick had something to eat for lunch today. He snacked on some of it and remarked at its deliciousness!
1 16oz package of frozen Alexia Hashed Browns
1 can organic chili beans (or any types or varieties of beans) drained and rinsed
1 cup sliced crimini mushrooms
1/3 or 1/2 package of Gimme Lean sausage meat substitute
Daiya mozzarella
Mrs. Dash extra spicy seasoning
Paprika
In an electric wok, first cook the mushrooms then add the sausage, breaking it up into smaller and smaller chunks as it cooks. Add the hashbrowns and cook, both covered and uncovered (to help it thaw). Once the hashbrowns are no longer frozen, add the seasoning and paprika, mix. Add the beans and wait until they are warm before adding the Daiya. Once the Daiya is melted it is ready to eat!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Injury
Today I am one week away from completing my Bikram Yoga 60-Day Challenge. The one benefit about this yoga is that, with regular practice and time and patience, you can work out and fix injuries or imbalances that have been around for years. That's what is happening to me now.
I first experienced knee pain during my first season of college soccer. As I recall, the pain wasn't prevalent during soccer practice but I remember pain climbing into and out of my lofted bed, along with pain that would wake me up during the middle of the night. Now that kind of pain is back.
I've tried ice which seems to make it way worse. Heat seems to be more helpful so I'll sleep with my knee resting on a low-heat heating pad. The pain still wakes me up but I can turn the heating pad back on and fall back to sleep. The pain has also been progressing in yoga. At first it only hurt when my leg was bent at about at 10-20 degree angle with weight on it, but now it hurts even when I lock my knee and tighten up my quad muscles (which makes Bikram really difficult). For several days I decided to lay off of it any time I felt any pain. But that seemed to make it worse! So I'm experimenting with pushing through some of the pain while still being protective of my knee.
The good news is I have scheduled an appointment to see an orthopedist who specializes in sports medicine (and treats the Cleveland Indians during Spring Training!) who will hopefully be able to diagnose my pain and give me treatment options that will allow me to continue to be active. I can deal with the pain, I just want to know what is making my injury worse or better.
The not knowing is making my yoga practice difficult, annoying, and unsatisfying. I hate not being able to do the postures or do them to their fullest extent. This is funny because some days all I wanted was a break! It also leaves my body somewhat out-of-whack and uneven. But the show must go on!
I first experienced knee pain during my first season of college soccer. As I recall, the pain wasn't prevalent during soccer practice but I remember pain climbing into and out of my lofted bed, along with pain that would wake me up during the middle of the night. Now that kind of pain is back.
I've tried ice which seems to make it way worse. Heat seems to be more helpful so I'll sleep with my knee resting on a low-heat heating pad. The pain still wakes me up but I can turn the heating pad back on and fall back to sleep. The pain has also been progressing in yoga. At first it only hurt when my leg was bent at about at 10-20 degree angle with weight on it, but now it hurts even when I lock my knee and tighten up my quad muscles (which makes Bikram really difficult). For several days I decided to lay off of it any time I felt any pain. But that seemed to make it worse! So I'm experimenting with pushing through some of the pain while still being protective of my knee.
The good news is I have scheduled an appointment to see an orthopedist who specializes in sports medicine (and treats the Cleveland Indians during Spring Training!) who will hopefully be able to diagnose my pain and give me treatment options that will allow me to continue to be active. I can deal with the pain, I just want to know what is making my injury worse or better.
The not knowing is making my yoga practice difficult, annoying, and unsatisfying. I hate not being able to do the postures or do them to their fullest extent. This is funny because some days all I wanted was a break! It also leaves my body somewhat out-of-whack and uneven. But the show must go on!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tips for a New Vegan
A friend just contacted me for tips as she is trying veganism for 21 days. I thought I would share with the world what I wrote her in case it may help others who are considering doing the same. I think this post will also show the abundance of food choices vegans have despite the lack of meat or dairy. Additionally, perhaps omnivores will want to add some of these foods into their diets! If you are new to my blog, look around for additional recipes in my What I'm Eating mini-series.
Ok here are some tips! Of course, try and remove as many non-vegan food items from your house as possible. Replace these with some vegan staples:
Beans: canned and dried. Canned are quick but come from cans which aren't the healthiest. Be sure to drain and rinse canned beans to reduce sodium. Dried beans must be soaked overnight (or a minimum of 4 hours) and boiled for about an hour to be ready. Dried beans are significantly cheaper than canned, and buying in bulk reduces waste and energy (lost in the recycling process).
Tofu: Most people I've talked to are scared of cooking with tofu. I was, too. The good news is you can eat it out of the container if you really wanted which means you can't screw it up, only make it better. Firm and extrafirm I find the most versatile. Drain and cut in to cubes or squish through your fingers into your pan for a scramble.
Veggies: My staple veggies are mushrooms (crimini/portobello), zucchini and yellow squash. With these three I can make countless meals. I've used them for taco/burrito/enchilada filling, stir fry, tofu scrambles, roasted.. I can always think of something if that's all I have in the fridge. I find it useful to also have onions, tomatos, avocados, and garlic on hand. Also, potatoes or sweet potatoes can be your best friend for a quick, hearty meal. Cut up into big pieces, toss in olive oil with rosemary and salt, roast, and eat with organic ketchup! Oh, I (and my omnivorous friends, too) love roasted asparagus (olive oil and salt).
Greens: still veggies, obviously, but more specific. Leafy greens have lots of protein and tons of nutrition. I still find it hard to get enough of them before they go bad in the fridge but I feel like my nutrition is lacking if I don't have them around. Kale is widely used.. I like to make Garlic and Greens soup using kale which makes it very palatable. I have the recipe for this on my blog. Spinach, I find, is easier for me to eat raw. I used to make this awesome breakfast (i really should start again) where I would grill an Amy's gardenburger (not all are vegan, check the labels!) on the George Foreman then top it with peach-mango salsa, nutritional yeast, alfalfa sprouts, and spinach. It was quick, delicious, and nutritious.
Frozen: Frozen fruits and veggies are great since they retain their nutrients and last a lot longer than the fresh versions. Frozen fruit make for great smoothies with some fortified orange juice and rice milk... I use this to take my flax oil. I also like having frozen potato wedges and hash browns (quality brands, few ingredients) on hand for quick meals. If you can find good quality frozen vegan burritos that's nice to have on hand. But really, i find myself wanting to make my own food because I know exactly what I'm getting.
Dairy alternatives: First thing's first: cheese. If you can find Daiya cheese your vegan transition will be a lot easier. Daiya is super delicious (I like the mozzarella kind) and it melts, making it easy to use anywhere you would use regular cheese. It does not taste identical to real cheese but it tastes really good, if not better in some cases. To find this cheese, you can give your local chain grocer a try. I've seen it here in recent days. Otherwise, more specialized natural markets and health food stores will probably have it. You can even pay a premium to buy it online. It's worth it. It's lasts forever in the fridge so stock up. As for milk, I tend to like Rice milk (chocolate rice milk is delectable... kiddos would love it!). Soy milk has a mild flavor but i've heard soy in that form is not the best for you.. idk i haven't researched but I stick to rice for drinking and soy for cooking. Fortunately, I weaned myself off milk a lot before I became vegan and I really still do prefer water over any other drink. Coconut milk chocolate ice cream is equally amazing as the chocolate rice milk. Sooooo good.
Grains: Ezekiel bread is so healthy and I think it tastes pretty good, too. The texture is a little thicker than your normal wheat breads but you'll get so much more out of Ezekiel. I use toasted Ezekiel bread, Vegenaise, paprika, and sliced avocado for a delicious breakfast or lunch. I find tortillas to be very handy. I can tear them up and dip them in hummus, make a quick quesadilla on the Foreman, make enchiladas or burritos... be sure to get quality brand, with as few ingredients as possible. They can put a lot of crap in there... I'm not a huge cereal eater but I do like a nice box of Nature's Path raisin bran with flax and other goodies. I keep it in the car to snack on.
Miscellaneous: Vegenaise (sub. mayonnaise), Nutritional Yeast (dry, yellow flakes that taste yummy and kind of cheesy), Bragg's Liquid Aminos (provides all of your essential amino acids and has a salty, soy-saucey taste that can be sprayed on food or poured while cooking), Amy's canned soups are a quick and filling lunch, Lara Bars are survival food as is good quality trail mix. I have to keep some survival food on me at all times because I get really low blood sugar when I'm hungry and it's bad news. I can put a Lara bar in my purse or backpack, nuts or trailmix in the car, etc. I find it easiest to sway from being vegan when i'm starving! If you crave meats, there are lots of different mock meats available to try. If you can find soy chorizo it's heaven... Gardein is a great company that does quite convincing mock meats in a variety of preparations.
Resources: vegweb.com, vegnews.com, engine2diet.com, Veganomicon, Supermarket Vegan, How It All Vegan/Garden of Vegan, my blog: ashinaz.blogspot.com, as education and motivation I encourage you to read "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer.
Hopefully this is helpful and not too overwhelming for you! I hope you will experience that going vegan is not as difficult as you thought. Indeed, I went vegan for one week as a cleanse then decided to extend it to two weeks, to the end of the month and I here I am now 11 months and going strong!
Please do not hesitate to comment with any questions about veganism, I'd love to share my experiences.
Ok here are some tips! Of course, try and remove as many non-vegan food items from your house as possible. Replace these with some vegan staples:
Beans: canned and dried. Canned are quick but come from cans which aren't the healthiest. Be sure to drain and rinse canned beans to reduce sodium. Dried beans must be soaked overnight (or a minimum of 4 hours) and boiled for about an hour to be ready. Dried beans are significantly cheaper than canned, and buying in bulk reduces waste and energy (lost in the recycling process).
Tofu: Most people I've talked to are scared of cooking with tofu. I was, too. The good news is you can eat it out of the container if you really wanted which means you can't screw it up, only make it better. Firm and extrafirm I find the most versatile. Drain and cut in to cubes or squish through your fingers into your pan for a scramble.
Veggies: My staple veggies are mushrooms (crimini/portobello), zucchini and yellow squash. With these three I can make countless meals. I've used them for taco/burrito/enchilada filling, stir fry, tofu scrambles, roasted.. I can always think of something if that's all I have in the fridge. I find it useful to also have onions, tomatos, avocados, and garlic on hand. Also, potatoes or sweet potatoes can be your best friend for a quick, hearty meal. Cut up into big pieces, toss in olive oil with rosemary and salt, roast, and eat with organic ketchup! Oh, I (and my omnivorous friends, too) love roasted asparagus (olive oil and salt).
Greens: still veggies, obviously, but more specific. Leafy greens have lots of protein and tons of nutrition. I still find it hard to get enough of them before they go bad in the fridge but I feel like my nutrition is lacking if I don't have them around. Kale is widely used.. I like to make Garlic and Greens soup using kale which makes it very palatable. I have the recipe for this on my blog. Spinach, I find, is easier for me to eat raw. I used to make this awesome breakfast (i really should start again) where I would grill an Amy's gardenburger (not all are vegan, check the labels!) on the George Foreman then top it with peach-mango salsa, nutritional yeast, alfalfa sprouts, and spinach. It was quick, delicious, and nutritious.
Frozen: Frozen fruits and veggies are great since they retain their nutrients and last a lot longer than the fresh versions. Frozen fruit make for great smoothies with some fortified orange juice and rice milk... I use this to take my flax oil. I also like having frozen potato wedges and hash browns (quality brands, few ingredients) on hand for quick meals. If you can find good quality frozen vegan burritos that's nice to have on hand. But really, i find myself wanting to make my own food because I know exactly what I'm getting.
Dairy alternatives: First thing's first: cheese. If you can find Daiya cheese your vegan transition will be a lot easier. Daiya is super delicious (I like the mozzarella kind) and it melts, making it easy to use anywhere you would use regular cheese. It does not taste identical to real cheese but it tastes really good, if not better in some cases. To find this cheese, you can give your local chain grocer a try. I've seen it here in recent days. Otherwise, more specialized natural markets and health food stores will probably have it. You can even pay a premium to buy it online. It's worth it. It's lasts forever in the fridge so stock up. As for milk, I tend to like Rice milk (chocolate rice milk is delectable... kiddos would love it!). Soy milk has a mild flavor but i've heard soy in that form is not the best for you.. idk i haven't researched but I stick to rice for drinking and soy for cooking. Fortunately, I weaned myself off milk a lot before I became vegan and I really still do prefer water over any other drink. Coconut milk chocolate ice cream is equally amazing as the chocolate rice milk. Sooooo good.
Grains: Ezekiel bread is so healthy and I think it tastes pretty good, too. The texture is a little thicker than your normal wheat breads but you'll get so much more out of Ezekiel. I use toasted Ezekiel bread, Vegenaise, paprika, and sliced avocado for a delicious breakfast or lunch. I find tortillas to be very handy. I can tear them up and dip them in hummus, make a quick quesadilla on the Foreman, make enchiladas or burritos... be sure to get quality brand, with as few ingredients as possible. They can put a lot of crap in there... I'm not a huge cereal eater but I do like a nice box of Nature's Path raisin bran with flax and other goodies. I keep it in the car to snack on.
Miscellaneous: Vegenaise (sub. mayonnaise), Nutritional Yeast (dry, yellow flakes that taste yummy and kind of cheesy), Bragg's Liquid Aminos (provides all of your essential amino acids and has a salty, soy-saucey taste that can be sprayed on food or poured while cooking), Amy's canned soups are a quick and filling lunch, Lara Bars are survival food as is good quality trail mix. I have to keep some survival food on me at all times because I get really low blood sugar when I'm hungry and it's bad news. I can put a Lara bar in my purse or backpack, nuts or trailmix in the car, etc. I find it easiest to sway from being vegan when i'm starving! If you crave meats, there are lots of different mock meats available to try. If you can find soy chorizo it's heaven... Gardein is a great company that does quite convincing mock meats in a variety of preparations.
Resources: vegweb.com, vegnews.com, engine2diet.com, Veganomicon, Supermarket Vegan, How It All Vegan/Garden of Vegan, my blog: ashinaz.blogspot.com, as education and motivation I encourage you to read "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer.
Hopefully this is helpful and not too overwhelming for you! I hope you will experience that going vegan is not as difficult as you thought. Indeed, I went vegan for one week as a cleanse then decided to extend it to two weeks, to the end of the month and I here I am now 11 months and going strong!
Please do not hesitate to comment with any questions about veganism, I'd love to share my experiences.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
What I'm Eating: Go-To-Class Scramble
Quick! I've got to go to class but I've got to eat something (it's a three hour class, afterall).
Firm tofu
1 tomato
1/4 yellow bell pepper
1 small portobello mushroom
Braggs aminos
Various spices and nutritional yeast
Yves morning "sausage" patties
Start the veggies a few minutes early before you put in the tofu. Crumble the tofu the fun way by squishing it out through your fingers in to the pan! Add spices, nutritional yeast, Braggs, and more Braggs.
Meanwhile in an adjacent pan, cook "sausage" patties until warm.
Poor in bowl, eat, then go to class!
Oh, drink your Vega protein drink on the side. Yum!
Firm tofu
1 tomato
1/4 yellow bell pepper
1 small portobello mushroom
Braggs aminos
Various spices and nutritional yeast
Yves morning "sausage" patties
Start the veggies a few minutes early before you put in the tofu. Crumble the tofu the fun way by squishing it out through your fingers in to the pan! Add spices, nutritional yeast, Braggs, and more Braggs.
Meanwhile in an adjacent pan, cook "sausage" patties until warm.
Poor in bowl, eat, then go to class!
Oh, drink your Vega protein drink on the side. Yum!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Bikram Yoga... Day 40 of 60
So I'm going to write a quick update about my 60-day challenge (quick since I should be studying for my physics test occurring later today). As the title suggests, today I completed my 40th class. Here's what's been going on:
Number one issue is I've been feeling light headed/head rush/near black out in between every posture of the standing series. I breathe, I hydrate, I supplement... but to no avail. I'm going to work on consuming some natural sugar, i.e. fruit, before class and see if that helps (NOT orange juice... worst mistake I could have possibly made). I know that my average is in the athletic, low range (around 100/60 sometimes in the 90s/60). I'm concerned I'm anemic but I've been taking iron supplements and the yoga itself should help with that so I'm thinking it's something else?
Number two issue is fatigue in general. It's hard to know how much I should be eating, if I'm eating enough or too little, and if I'm doing a good enough job to get proper nutrition. I have started trying Vega Sport supplements, a vegan sport drink series for pre- and post-workouts. I think adding a high-quality, vegan protein drink will help substantially.
Number three is pain. I'm feeling various pain in various places. My knee has been bothering me the most, feeling like it did during college when I was playing soccer. My teachers suggest that since I'm practicing yoga everyday the slightest misalignment might be to blame. My other big pain is in my semitendinosus muscle (as best I can tell) which lies in the the back of my thigh and connects deep to my pelvis. I've adjusted my triangle posture accordingly, as my stance may have been to wide, causing the pain. Still, I can't hold the right side of triangle for very long. I just get concerned that the pain is the bad pain and not the good.
Number four, a minor conflict, is that going to the same classes day after day I see the same people constantly. Most people I like seeing around but there are two or three who just bother me. It's not their faults, it's just me, but seeing them causes me to silently grumble in my head. So silly.
Anyways, I must move on to studying. Have a happy day!
Number one issue is I've been feeling light headed/head rush/near black out in between every posture of the standing series. I breathe, I hydrate, I supplement... but to no avail. I'm going to work on consuming some natural sugar, i.e. fruit, before class and see if that helps (NOT orange juice... worst mistake I could have possibly made). I know that my average is in the athletic, low range (around 100/60 sometimes in the 90s/60). I'm concerned I'm anemic but I've been taking iron supplements and the yoga itself should help with that so I'm thinking it's something else?
Number two issue is fatigue in general. It's hard to know how much I should be eating, if I'm eating enough or too little, and if I'm doing a good enough job to get proper nutrition. I have started trying Vega Sport supplements, a vegan sport drink series for pre- and post-workouts. I think adding a high-quality, vegan protein drink will help substantially.
Number three is pain. I'm feeling various pain in various places. My knee has been bothering me the most, feeling like it did during college when I was playing soccer. My teachers suggest that since I'm practicing yoga everyday the slightest misalignment might be to blame. My other big pain is in my semitendinosus muscle (as best I can tell) which lies in the the back of my thigh and connects deep to my pelvis. I've adjusted my triangle posture accordingly, as my stance may have been to wide, causing the pain. Still, I can't hold the right side of triangle for very long. I just get concerned that the pain is the bad pain and not the good.
Number four, a minor conflict, is that going to the same classes day after day I see the same people constantly. Most people I like seeing around but there are two or three who just bother me. It's not their faults, it's just me, but seeing them causes me to silently grumble in my head. So silly.
Anyways, I must move on to studying. Have a happy day!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Bikram Yoga 60-Day Challenge
DISCLAIMER: This is a long post. I know it. Settle in, have some tea, put on some nice music, and enjoy.
It has occurred to me that I have not blogged nearly enough about Bikram yoga. This is dubbed "the original hot yoga" and one 90-minute session is comprised of 26 postures and two breathing exercises in a room heated to 105 degrees at 40-60% humidity. It's intense, to say the least. But the results are astonishing.
Not just for losing weight or getting in shape. That's not the half of it. This practice changes your mind, changes your health, changes your life. Not only have I learned about myself, I have begun to change the way I view myself. I would have told you before that I am not a dedicated person, I am not responsible and I don't follow through. I back out or renegotiate when things get hard. But I am reminded that by simply showing up to put myself through a very uncomfortable workout--knowing that it will be uncomfortable, and yet knowing that it is for my health and wellness--I am in fact dedicated, responsible, and tough.
I've learned how my mind reacts to humidity, heat, thirst, pain, distraction, and an increased heart rate. Some days I am in better control of this mind and some days it totally takes over. Yesterday I had what I describe to be a "panic day" where my mind interprets my fast-beating heart as a crisis and makes me stop and pant and focus on the heat and want water every two minutes. Depending on the teacher, the energy in the room, and the energy I bring with me, I can have an amazing class where I focus only on myself, go deeper into the postures, and make exciting improvements. Those days make up for all the panic days, I-ate-too-much days, and I-don't-want-to-be-here days.
I'll get back to the 60-day Challenge part as mentioned in my title. Bikram affirms that I can change my life by taking 60 classes in 60 days. I believe him. When I took my first Bikram class I did so knowing that I would do my own 30-day challenge. I practiced every day for 31 days. The results were huge. I dropped about 6 pounds which doesn't seem like much, but I was toning up at the same time. I was down nearly two pants sizes and feeling really great about the way I looked. I learned to breathe and relaxing and to LET GO. My muscle pain that would come from having played various sports was gone. I knew at the end of my 31 days I could never go without this practice.
I would have done a 60-day challenge right then except I went home to Alaska, which does not have a certified Bikram studio. In the fall, classes interfered with my studio's schedule. After hearing that there would be a studio-wide 60-day challenge starting the new year, I decided to do it. I arranged my class schedule so that I could practice everyday (this means I attend 7:00 am Organic Chemistry so I can practice at 9:00 am).
I am currently on day 18 of said challenge. I have to make up for two days that I skipped while house hunting in Seattle, which means I have two times I must go twice in one day ("do a double"). So far I am a little discouraged because my results have not been as rapid as when I first started. This is expected, however. When I first started, my body rid itself of all its toxins and I improved my postures quickly. It was easy to tell that I was improving, too. I grabbed my foot! I locked my knee! I did all the postures! It is harder to see improvement now that I am far beyond these points.
Additionally, I have learned to do the postures *correctly* which, often, means starting from square one and taking longer to improve. This is not to say I have not improved. The following is a list of postures and my progress with them. Refer here for a picture of each posture.
Pranayama deep breathing: Hard not to think about anything and everything. Some people breathe obnoxiously. I can get my elbows up pretty high.
Half moon pose with hands to feet pose: I struggle with half moon, love the back bend (I can start to see the floor behind me), and can nearly lock out in hands to feet pose.
Awkward: working on getting low enough. Struggling with balancing high on my toes.
Eagle: Having a hard time holding the whole time unless I'm super concentrating. My quads start to shake and I come out. Working on getting feet, knees, ankles, hands all in one line.
Standing head to knee: Can kick out sometimes for a few seconds. Mostly just standing with my leg locked, trying to distribute the weight equally all over my standing foot, while holding my other foot.
Standing bow pulling: My new nemesis. Used to be my favorite until I re-examined my technique. I have to really put a lot of energy into this one, make sure to lock my knee, really stretch my hand up and forward, and keep my chin glued to my shoulder. I can come down so that my chest is parallel to the floor but I must now work on holding it there.
Balancing stick: This really takes all of my bengal tiger strength and bulldog determination. Without it, forget it.
Standing separate leg stretching: My favorite, for the wonderful stretch it provides. Sometimes it irritates and pulls on my left pinky toe's little muscles if I don't massage them beforehand. I can really pull and touch or nearly touch my forehead to the floor on most occasions when I'm really trying. I can keep my knees locked the entire time.
Triangle: Once my ultimate nemesis, now we are better friends. I can do this posture pretty well on my left side but my right side needs work. I am starting to be able to bend that leg to make a 90 degree angle but my hips just don't like it! I don't breathe and my mind easily says "ok that's enough of that" and I quit. But I never skip out and I always set up each side and at least try.
Standing separate leg head to knee: A favorite. I am know focusing on bringing my hands back into prayer, really tucking my chin, and pushing down on my knee. I realized yesterday that this was a posture that I really could work to improve, as it's been stagnant for a while.
Tree stand: focusing more on keeping my standing leg locked. My hips resist any improvement in this one.
Toe stand: coming along. I've really been working on sitting on the ball of my left foot instead of letting it roll out to the side, like it wants. I have great focus in this one and can now often come up exact opposite and even hold my foot at the top until instructed to release.
Savasana: I'm pretty good at savasana although I have to say i get a bit wipey sometimes. I hate when the sweat gets in my ears because it clogs them up like on an airplane and lasts for hours.
Wind removing: I have to work to feel this.
Cobra: I have to work to feel this. I've been having trouble breathing.
Locust: I have to really squeeze my butt to bring my leg up. I have to use tremendous energy to bring both of my legs locked, keep them together, and keep my knees locked.
Full locust: I did great in this one when I came up with my legs a little bit apart and then put them together. Now that I've focused on keeping them together while lifting them, it's much harder. I can't breathe as well, either.
Bow: My In-My-Head posture. I can do great, wondrous, miraculous things in this posture if I so choose. I focus first on feeling it in my back which makes me feel it in my butt; I focus on keeping my legs closer together than is comfortable so that they are nearly 6-inches apart, and lo-and-behold at the end I can lift them up so high that I get giddy. My goal is for praise in that posture, even though that's silly to rely on someone else's action to achieve my own satisfaction.
Fixed firm: I like this one. Working on really feeling it in my spine.
Half-tortoise: I can tell if my shoulder is bothering me in this one. Working on keeping my hips on my heels the entire way down.
Camel: Another favorite. It bothered me for a while when I was starting back up because, though you wouldn't necessarily think it, it takes a great amount of quad strength to do and my quads were running out of energy then. But now that has seemed to pass and I concentrate on really feeling it in my shoulder (an AMAZING stretch for my left pec muscle that is troubling me currently) and in my hip flexors. I tighten my butt and work on looking for my mat.
Rabbit: Most days it's great, some days it causes PANIC!! Working on really feeling it in my spine, and keeping my head tucked so I don't have to move my knees right and left, right and left to my forehead.
Head to knee pose and stretching pose: My current favorite; my focus posture. This is because I have made great progress in it and it's exciting. With one leg out I can always lock my knee and when I choose to have enough energy, I can lift my heel off the ground. I'm starting to do this earlier in the posture to keep it there longer. With two heels together, I can always lock my knees and lift my heels up way off the ground and I can nearly touch my elbows to the ground. My biggest challenge in this one is that if my knuckles rub together at all they will crack and bleed excruciatingly painfully so I have to keep my thumbs wrapped around them which separates my feet slightly more than I would like.
Spine twist: I have good form and can twist farther than ever before. Working on reaching farther to my thigh and getting a better grip on my knee.
Blowing in firm: I can blow pretty hard. ha. I get distracted by other people's breathing, especially when they just blow in and out of their cheeks and they look like fishes or they convulse their whole upper chest and struggle and get off beat.
Final savasana: I drink my water like I haven't had any for years. I need to meditate better and not let my mind wander.
If you're still reading this, I hope you enjoyed an intimate look at my practice. Perhaps my struggles will help you with your practice. You can also read about my fellow yogi, Laura, and her practice here. Thanks for reading and I encourage your comments!
Namaste.
It has occurred to me that I have not blogged nearly enough about Bikram yoga. This is dubbed "the original hot yoga" and one 90-minute session is comprised of 26 postures and two breathing exercises in a room heated to 105 degrees at 40-60% humidity. It's intense, to say the least. But the results are astonishing.
Not just for losing weight or getting in shape. That's not the half of it. This practice changes your mind, changes your health, changes your life. Not only have I learned about myself, I have begun to change the way I view myself. I would have told you before that I am not a dedicated person, I am not responsible and I don't follow through. I back out or renegotiate when things get hard. But I am reminded that by simply showing up to put myself through a very uncomfortable workout--knowing that it will be uncomfortable, and yet knowing that it is for my health and wellness--I am in fact dedicated, responsible, and tough.
I've learned how my mind reacts to humidity, heat, thirst, pain, distraction, and an increased heart rate. Some days I am in better control of this mind and some days it totally takes over. Yesterday I had what I describe to be a "panic day" where my mind interprets my fast-beating heart as a crisis and makes me stop and pant and focus on the heat and want water every two minutes. Depending on the teacher, the energy in the room, and the energy I bring with me, I can have an amazing class where I focus only on myself, go deeper into the postures, and make exciting improvements. Those days make up for all the panic days, I-ate-too-much days, and I-don't-want-to-be-here days.
I'll get back to the 60-day Challenge part as mentioned in my title. Bikram affirms that I can change my life by taking 60 classes in 60 days. I believe him. When I took my first Bikram class I did so knowing that I would do my own 30-day challenge. I practiced every day for 31 days. The results were huge. I dropped about 6 pounds which doesn't seem like much, but I was toning up at the same time. I was down nearly two pants sizes and feeling really great about the way I looked. I learned to breathe and relaxing and to LET GO. My muscle pain that would come from having played various sports was gone. I knew at the end of my 31 days I could never go without this practice.
I would have done a 60-day challenge right then except I went home to Alaska, which does not have a certified Bikram studio. In the fall, classes interfered with my studio's schedule. After hearing that there would be a studio-wide 60-day challenge starting the new year, I decided to do it. I arranged my class schedule so that I could practice everyday (this means I attend 7:00 am Organic Chemistry so I can practice at 9:00 am).
I am currently on day 18 of said challenge. I have to make up for two days that I skipped while house hunting in Seattle, which means I have two times I must go twice in one day ("do a double"). So far I am a little discouraged because my results have not been as rapid as when I first started. This is expected, however. When I first started, my body rid itself of all its toxins and I improved my postures quickly. It was easy to tell that I was improving, too. I grabbed my foot! I locked my knee! I did all the postures! It is harder to see improvement now that I am far beyond these points.
Additionally, I have learned to do the postures *correctly* which, often, means starting from square one and taking longer to improve. This is not to say I have not improved. The following is a list of postures and my progress with them. Refer here for a picture of each posture.
Pranayama deep breathing: Hard not to think about anything and everything. Some people breathe obnoxiously. I can get my elbows up pretty high.
Half moon pose with hands to feet pose: I struggle with half moon, love the back bend (I can start to see the floor behind me), and can nearly lock out in hands to feet pose.
Awkward: working on getting low enough. Struggling with balancing high on my toes.
Eagle: Having a hard time holding the whole time unless I'm super concentrating. My quads start to shake and I come out. Working on getting feet, knees, ankles, hands all in one line.
Standing head to knee: Can kick out sometimes for a few seconds. Mostly just standing with my leg locked, trying to distribute the weight equally all over my standing foot, while holding my other foot.
Standing bow pulling: My new nemesis. Used to be my favorite until I re-examined my technique. I have to really put a lot of energy into this one, make sure to lock my knee, really stretch my hand up and forward, and keep my chin glued to my shoulder. I can come down so that my chest is parallel to the floor but I must now work on holding it there.
Balancing stick: This really takes all of my bengal tiger strength and bulldog determination. Without it, forget it.
Standing separate leg stretching: My favorite, for the wonderful stretch it provides. Sometimes it irritates and pulls on my left pinky toe's little muscles if I don't massage them beforehand. I can really pull and touch or nearly touch my forehead to the floor on most occasions when I'm really trying. I can keep my knees locked the entire time.
Triangle: Once my ultimate nemesis, now we are better friends. I can do this posture pretty well on my left side but my right side needs work. I am starting to be able to bend that leg to make a 90 degree angle but my hips just don't like it! I don't breathe and my mind easily says "ok that's enough of that" and I quit. But I never skip out and I always set up each side and at least try.
Standing separate leg head to knee: A favorite. I am know focusing on bringing my hands back into prayer, really tucking my chin, and pushing down on my knee. I realized yesterday that this was a posture that I really could work to improve, as it's been stagnant for a while.
Tree stand: focusing more on keeping my standing leg locked. My hips resist any improvement in this one.
Toe stand: coming along. I've really been working on sitting on the ball of my left foot instead of letting it roll out to the side, like it wants. I have great focus in this one and can now often come up exact opposite and even hold my foot at the top until instructed to release.
Savasana: I'm pretty good at savasana although I have to say i get a bit wipey sometimes. I hate when the sweat gets in my ears because it clogs them up like on an airplane and lasts for hours.
Wind removing: I have to work to feel this.
Cobra: I have to work to feel this. I've been having trouble breathing.
Locust: I have to really squeeze my butt to bring my leg up. I have to use tremendous energy to bring both of my legs locked, keep them together, and keep my knees locked.
Full locust: I did great in this one when I came up with my legs a little bit apart and then put them together. Now that I've focused on keeping them together while lifting them, it's much harder. I can't breathe as well, either.
Bow: My In-My-Head posture. I can do great, wondrous, miraculous things in this posture if I so choose. I focus first on feeling it in my back which makes me feel it in my butt; I focus on keeping my legs closer together than is comfortable so that they are nearly 6-inches apart, and lo-and-behold at the end I can lift them up so high that I get giddy. My goal is for praise in that posture, even though that's silly to rely on someone else's action to achieve my own satisfaction.
Fixed firm: I like this one. Working on really feeling it in my spine.
Half-tortoise: I can tell if my shoulder is bothering me in this one. Working on keeping my hips on my heels the entire way down.
Camel: Another favorite. It bothered me for a while when I was starting back up because, though you wouldn't necessarily think it, it takes a great amount of quad strength to do and my quads were running out of energy then. But now that has seemed to pass and I concentrate on really feeling it in my shoulder (an AMAZING stretch for my left pec muscle that is troubling me currently) and in my hip flexors. I tighten my butt and work on looking for my mat.
Rabbit: Most days it's great, some days it causes PANIC!! Working on really feeling it in my spine, and keeping my head tucked so I don't have to move my knees right and left, right and left to my forehead.
Head to knee pose and stretching pose: My current favorite; my focus posture. This is because I have made great progress in it and it's exciting. With one leg out I can always lock my knee and when I choose to have enough energy, I can lift my heel off the ground. I'm starting to do this earlier in the posture to keep it there longer. With two heels together, I can always lock my knees and lift my heels up way off the ground and I can nearly touch my elbows to the ground. My biggest challenge in this one is that if my knuckles rub together at all they will crack and bleed excruciatingly painfully so I have to keep my thumbs wrapped around them which separates my feet slightly more than I would like.
Spine twist: I have good form and can twist farther than ever before. Working on reaching farther to my thigh and getting a better grip on my knee.
Blowing in firm: I can blow pretty hard. ha. I get distracted by other people's breathing, especially when they just blow in and out of their cheeks and they look like fishes or they convulse their whole upper chest and struggle and get off beat.
Final savasana: I drink my water like I haven't had any for years. I need to meditate better and not let my mind wander.
If you're still reading this, I hope you enjoyed an intimate look at my practice. Perhaps my struggles will help you with your practice. You can also read about my fellow yogi, Laura, and her practice here. Thanks for reading and I encourage your comments!
Namaste.
My life as it is, currently.
It's about time I make a few updates.
I've been doing Bikram yoga for 7 months and am currently on day 18 of my 60-day challenge. I will be following this post with a more in-depth post on this matter.
As a New Year's Resolution I am doing a 365 photo challenge--a photo everyday for the entire year. So far I am loving it and I am thankful that I can use my iPhone to both take and upload most of my photos. I am posting these photos through facebook but may consider adding them to flickr, for which I just signed up.
Yesterday marked the first day of my last semester at community college, my sixth year of undergrad. It's going to be a rough one, with Organic Chemistry II causing me a lot of strife. Physics II will be challenging but I love my teacher and I have a great friend in that class. I am auditing Fundamental Biochemistry to get an introduction to what I assume to be very challenging material. That class begins this afternoon.
Nick and I are planning our move to Seattle this June, and we are hoping that the stars will align, enabling us to live in a wonderful house. More on this will come later when we know for sure what will happen. See more on our family blog.
I am starting to get back in to triathlon training. I haven't touched my bike since this summer. I waited for the weather to get cool enough to not melt and have been busy since. It is also inconvenient that Arizona is such a dodgy place that I must drive to what I feel is a safe location to bike. My cyclist friend said that a few months ago while biking he got a full beer can thrown at his head by a passing vehicle. That is not okay with me. I am planning on purchasing an indoor trainer that will allow me to bike everyday without sacrificing an hour to drive to and from safer roads.
That's about it for now. Have a beautiful day!
I've been doing Bikram yoga for 7 months and am currently on day 18 of my 60-day challenge. I will be following this post with a more in-depth post on this matter.
As a New Year's Resolution I am doing a 365 photo challenge--a photo everyday for the entire year. So far I am loving it and I am thankful that I can use my iPhone to both take and upload most of my photos. I am posting these photos through facebook but may consider adding them to flickr, for which I just signed up.
Yesterday marked the first day of my last semester at community college, my sixth year of undergrad. It's going to be a rough one, with Organic Chemistry II causing me a lot of strife. Physics II will be challenging but I love my teacher and I have a great friend in that class. I am auditing Fundamental Biochemistry to get an introduction to what I assume to be very challenging material. That class begins this afternoon.
Nick and I are planning our move to Seattle this June, and we are hoping that the stars will align, enabling us to live in a wonderful house. More on this will come later when we know for sure what will happen. See more on our family blog.
I am starting to get back in to triathlon training. I haven't touched my bike since this summer. I waited for the weather to get cool enough to not melt and have been busy since. It is also inconvenient that Arizona is such a dodgy place that I must drive to what I feel is a safe location to bike. My cyclist friend said that a few months ago while biking he got a full beer can thrown at his head by a passing vehicle. That is not okay with me. I am planning on purchasing an indoor trainer that will allow me to bike everyday without sacrificing an hour to drive to and from safer roads.
That's about it for now. Have a beautiful day!
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