Hot Yoga

Welcome to beautiful Omaha, NE!

This is my comfort zone - a nice outdoor jog.  I haven't found any trails yet - but there are a lot of senic places to run here.  (It's going to be really cold soon and I am going to take all of the outdoors that I can get in)

So far - so good in the Big O as far as the half marathon shuffle jogging training goes.  (these pictures have been taken on my runs, when I need a break)  I joined a gym this past week and have been really looking at changing up my workout routine though. 

SO today I took a great big step outside of my comfort zone and tried something new - HOT YOGA!  My sister and good friend went with me to One Tree Yoga (website:  www.onetreeyoga.com)  they have 2 locations in Omaha (East & West).  We went to the west location and as far as yoga goes - In my limited experience, I highly recommend it.  I can't actually remember when or if I've evervtaken an actual Yoga class other that DVD's.  Live classes are definitely the way to go.  The instructor was really helpful and made sure we were doing the poses correctly, which was great.  She was really nice and didn't make me feel like a big oaf because it hurt  to sit on my knees and I couldn't quite wrap my ankles around my neck.  (Just kididng - we didn't get that in-depth, or slutty)  We went through 26 pretty basic poses and did each twice.  Half of the time was spent standing up and the other half on the mat.

OK - Lets talk about the hot in HOT YOGA.  I've read some articles about it and how good it is for you and have been wanting to give it a try for a while.  It's really good for flexibility and helps with deep cleansing - and I love a good cleanse.  Plus it seems like all of the cool people are doing it.

#1 - I'm not sure why it's not called Hotter n' shit Yoga.  We walked into the room and it felt like it was 300 degrees in there.  I think it was actually about 105 - but it was HOT.  Being naturally inclined to sweat a lot, Big K immediately popped a few beads.  90 minutes later - I was soaked in sweat.  We're talking drip in your eyeballs sweat.  (I checked the room and even the cute little Yoga experts were sweating too - I felt better)

Which brings me to #2 - don't wear a heavy black concert t-shirt to Hot Yoga.  Next time I am going to wear my running shorts and a light and loose tank top.  Or go in a thong and bra.  (which would be ideal, but I don't think Omaha or anyone is ready for that) My yoga pants were actually stuck to me when we were done.  It was kind of gross. 

#3 - Bring a towel and a big ol bottle of water.  You will need it.

#4 - Don't crack up in class when you almost fall or during the weird breathing exercises.  You will be the only one laughing.  They are a pretty serious and centered bunch in there.

#5 - I had no idea that Yoga had digestive benefits!  Although I did fart once in class (SBD) - There are several poses that help your digestive system.  I thought that was pretty interesting.  So next time you see me crouched down like a rabbit in the middle of a public place - don't worry about it, I'm just in a 'code-brown' situation and using Yoga moves instead of the public bathroom.

#6 - Go with good people and treat yourself to a nice cup of coffee and breakfast afterwards.
 

Thanks for going with me today, ladies!  I enjoyed every minute of it and spending time with you!  Hopefully we can do it again soon!  Sorry that the picture doesn't show more of our 'shine'!

Have a great weekend!