Hot Yoga: Yes, please.
ReeNoun
I, much like you, am OVER the gym.
I am over the intimidating machines, the funky smells, lurking creepers and naturally skinny girls clad in Lulu Lemon outfits. For years, I actually stopped working out altogether. My weight didn't move one way or the other, so I thought nothing of it. A couple of morning walks a week (in the summer months only) became my go-to until my doctor told me if wasn't enough.
“Roughly a third of all deaths around the world are the result of heart disease and stroke, making cardiovascular disease the number one killer globally, new research finds.
https://health.usnews.com/health-care/articles/2017-05-17/heart-disease-the-no-1-killer-worldwide”
Diet and exercise is the only way to help increase your chances of not dying from it. Your heart needs 150 minutes. Let me break that down for you: 30 minutes/5 days OR 50 minutes/3 days of moderate exercise is recommended.
So... I joined a gym.
It was an impulsive purchase really. An ideal location, a "special" introductory rate, and the promise of a smoothie bar.
I knew better than to trust myself to work out on my own so, I looked up the class schedule. Doing the least in my mind, I thought I could handle Zumba, Yoga and Spin for now.
When I almost vomited while on the bicycle during spin class, I knew perhaps I had been a little over zealous. It was definitely the "jumps" that made me nauseous. Since, I already know how to dance Salsa, Merengue and Bachata, I knew I would be able to do Zumba like a boss. I am embarrassed to say, even I miss a step or... 4,5, 6,7, or 8 while trying to keep up with fast-paced choreography. Sometimes, my arms and feet are doing their own thing but usually I'm still smiling. Well, mostly I'm laughing, at others but also my own uncoordinated form in the mirrored walls and, somehow, it keeps me going.
Yoga has always been special to me. I discovered it for myself a decade ago and if I did nothing else, I went to Yoga. Comedienne, Ellen DeGeneres once said in regard to Yoga that, "You're basically paying for silence." My instructor then, was a rail thin blonde woman who sprayed lavender on face towels and encouraged us to breathe deeply into the scent during final relaxation. She had those fake flickering candles strewn across the otherwise dark floor. She also, always told us to "push something heavy away" when we would exhale after raising arms up overhead. Music from Enya was almost always playing. Needless to say, when a strapping bearded bald man announced he was our Yoga instructor, I was a bit nervous. He looked like a NFL line backer and his playlist didn't include anything by Enya. (Mostly Neo-Soul, Ambient, Modern Rock)
The heat was on. No, literally it was. It's hot yoga, so the temperature in the room became a hot summer day, even if it was the dead of winter outside. I knew it was serious when a few people around me begin pre-stretching. (Really?!)
We started in child's pose. Ok, nailed it! Next?
Over the next hour, we went through a series of downward dogs, upward dogs, cat/cow, high planks (mercy!), chair, cobra poses etc. I was convinced he was leaving us in positions way too long, until little by little I noticed I was getting stronger. Because, no one class is the same--I can't predict if there will be warrior 1 & 2, bridge, frog, tree, dolphin planks, or deep lunges. I took a total of ONE class on my standard 3 mm thick mat and was off to Target for a 10mm hours later. I can't lie, hot yoga is pretty freakin' amazing. This I can do.
Judging from how sore I was the next day. I knew I had done something worth while. And you should too.
