6am Bikram classes: the struggle & the payoff
Now that the days are getting shorter, I wake up at 4:50 am to find it dark outside. What was once a 30-minute battle (some have lasted up to an hour!) with the snooze button in my pre-Bikram days, has now decreased to a 5-minute battle. Here's the dialogue that usually runs through my head the moment I hear the alarm and slap it off:
Thank you God for giving me another day of life to serve you!
Hope MoJo didn't hear my alarm and wake up...
It's really 4:52. Ok, I'm not dreaming.
If I'm getting to yoga today, I need to get on that 5:15 train.
Well...if I don't make it...I can still go tonight...
Hmm...If I go tonight, I won't be home till 8:30. Dinner at 9.
Ugh. I don't want to deal with the after-work crowd at the studio and the jostling in the locker room!
15 students in the morning versus 70 students in the evening?
Duh. That's a no brainer. Ok fine, I'm up.
That's my internal morning struggle.
But the BIG payoff is two and half hours later in final savasana or corpse pose. I liken final savasana to getting into the jacuzzi after swimming laps in the pool. After working hard for 90 minutes, I look to final savasana as my reward especially when I don't need to rush out. I can just lie there and bliss out. This is why 6am classes twice a week are worth it. By the time we're done at 7:30, I still have another 1.5 hours before needing to get to work. With the pressure of needing to be somewhere gone, I'm fully relaxed and I find myself falling into a light sleep. Sometimes I even dream. This time, I don't need an alarm. I wake up naturally & look around to an empty, quiet hot room. With a calm mind, a relaxed body, and an open heart, I love being the last one out.
3 comments:
Yay morning classes!! I am totally inspired. I couldn't go til 9am today cause that's the first class on Thursday, but fortunately (in this case) I am a grad student so it's ok if i go into work later in the morning. :) Planning on 7am tomorrow and 8am's on the weekend!
The best thing about my new house is that I can get door-to-door from bed to studio in 8 minutes!! I can't freaking believe it... I remember in Boston I always had to leave my apartment almost an hour before class to make sure I had time to wait for the train. Now I have a CAR. Am getting there a good 20 min early (still in my PJs) and stretching out.... mmm, yummy....
The best perk is that I can eat whatever I want in the afternoon cause I'm not worried having time to digest before I practice later!
The WORST part is that it's kicked my metabolism into overdrive and I was freaking starving like every 2 hours yesterday!! But I'm sure that my body will re-calibrate soon. :)
Ok, I'm officially jealous. 8 minutes door to door to the studio?! I guess you paid your dues in Boston.
I have to leave an hour before my class due to the trains and I get there 20 minutes early too. Isn't it nice to get to the studio relaxed and early for stretching? Sometimes I even take a little morning snooze before class. Maximum relaxation to maximum effort. Yeah! There's something beautiful about morning practice --it's solemn and unhurried -- as opposed to rushing to get there after work and feeling all frazzled and looking for a spot on the floor and squeezing in between others.
I totally forgot about the one perk to practicing in the morning: you don't have to think about what you're going to eat or plan out when! So true. As for your metabolism, yeah. I think you just need to re-calibrate. Regardless, I've heard from my healer that eating 6-8 small meals a day is far better than eating 3 big ones. :)
I only purchased that shortcut out of obligation Vidhigra Reviews . I haven't got to this part yet but using it is one of the most critical factors in your strategy.
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