So, my Mom cut out an interesting article for me to read..from the College Times of Gilbert, AZ…completely random.

One of the staff writers for the newspaper won a one month pass to the Bikram Yoga Tempe and on her first day she found out that they were doing a 30 day yoga challenge – yes, that means 30 days in a row of Bikram yoga.  Yikes.  That would scare me.

If you haven’t heard of bikram yoga, it is yoga done in a room with 105F temperature and it lasts an hour and a half.  Some people call it “hot” yoga.  I would say that’s an understatement.  Bikram yoga takes you through 26 specific postures, always done in the same order.  It was created by someone called Bikram Choudhury.

Here are a few excerpts from the staff writer’s 30 day diary:

Day 1: Class was so hard, I had to leave in the middle of it to get vitamin water because I felt like I was dying!  I stayed through the whole class even though I wanted to leave.  I cried!  Not sure why, but I couldn’t stop.  It was so hard!  Got bursts of anxiety and thought I couldn’t breathe.   After class, I had such a bad headache I couldn’t even talk on the phone.  Just went home to rest and take care of myself.

Day 4: This was my first day taking electrolyte tablets and it was the best day yet!  Bought a sweat yoga towel today, super expensive for a towel ($55), but I get why people use them.  Regular towels get all bunched up on your mat throughout class, but these towels are made to stay put and soak up sweat.

Day 11: Great day, feeling amazing, even though I got drunk last night and stayed up until 3am.  I feel happier and more centered.  Started “that time of the month”.  Yay!  Class was so hard, it felt hotter than usual and I didn’t think I was going to be able to do it, but I did.  Glad it’s over, probably hard because period/drinking/not enough sleep and because I ate really badly and smoked.

Day 19: Heater wasn’t working right, so it wasn’t as hot in there at the beginning, but it kicked on and felt hotter than usual.  I’m getting much better at bending tree pose; I kept my foot on my hip as I stood back up!  Also getting better at rabbit.  Teacher was kind of rude, he made fun of me twice.  Once for fixing my hair.  I think positive feedback would be more helpful for us.

Day 23:  Bad day!  Very hungover, I’m stupid!  Drank too much vodka last night.  I was able to do the first hour, but when we had to lay on our stomachs, I felt so nauseous…Threw up after class.  So mad at myself for drinking that much after all the hard work I’ve done to cleanse my body.

Day 30:  Yay, I did it!  They congratulated me in class and clapped.  I got a certificate and a flashlight!…I’m so happy and proud of myself!

The staff writer went on to say that she lost 3 pounds, which I was surprised of.  She should have lost more than that, although maybe it was all the vodka   Pretty funny stuff.

To your health,

Kimberly