So upon reading the title of this blog post, you are probably thinking the following:
1) As a dedicated member of your five person readership, I am appalled by the length of time (a full month and a half!) that has passed since your last post. APPALLED.
2) Also, are you seriously going to write about Bikram again? I thought the whole point was to try other types of yoga. I am bored with you. I may not even "click to read more." HARRUMPH.
But I can explain!
1) Why no posting? Don't you love us?
See, nine weeks ago I signed up for the See Jane Run triathlon training program. Why? I don't really remember...I think I wanted to improve my cardiovascular fitness, and learn to at least like running (which, as you know, I hate). Also my friend Renata was SO excited about the idea, and enthusiasm is a contagious disease...
Our training group consists of about 40 lovely ladies of all ages, shapes and sizes, and everyone is training for either the Santa Cruz Olympic Triathlon or the See Jane Run Triathlon (or "See Jane Tri"), which take place on the same weekend of Sept 25 - 26th. The Santa Cruz Olympic is a 1.5K swim in the ocean; a 40K bike ride, and a 10K run. No problem, right? I'm in good shape, I thought, and I have 12 whole weeks to improve. I'm not going to sign up for any wimpy all-women "sprint" triathlon like the See Jane Tri where you do a mere 400 yard swim/11 mile bike/3 mile run. That is a wimpy wimpy course, made for moms and old people and fat people, not like a REAL triathlon. I thought.
And then I discovered that I can't swim at all. AT ALL. Also I'm not so good at running, and biking up ten miles of hills on my heavy mountain bike with its heavy mountain bike tires is a little exhausting. Also, a lot of those moms and old people and fat people are a whole lot stronger and faster than me!
So. Anyway. I've resigned myself to doing the sprint, our swim coach now tiptoes towards the shallow end of the pool like he's approaching an angry bear (how many times can one poor man say "try not to get so frustrated"?), I gamely swim laps with my pool buoy at Club One early in the morning, and basically spend most of my non-work time on a bike, running around a track, or clutching a kickboard, hoping I don't drown on September 25th.
2) Why Bikram AGAIN? I'm bored of Bikram.
Because I'm investing so much in triathlon, my yoga time is limited. My bikram practice has slipped to only one or two classes a week, if that, and I can feel the difference - while all this training has improved my stamina, I can't even keep my arms straight above my head. I feel foggy, sluggish...it's clearly an addiction. So when I have the time, the last thing I want to do is some touchy-feely "other" yoga. Give my bikram! Give it to me! I can stop whenever I want!
So when Laura found this deal at Bikram Yoga Seacliff and said she wanted to give it a try, I jumped on it, despite the fact that the studio was located way out in middle-of-nowhere Outer Richmond. Most of the friends I drag to Bikram spend the day prior dreading it...but Laura was really excited and eager and cheerfully chugging water all day.
And the studio was a delight - I realized that so many yoga studios in SF are tiny and low ceiling-ed, which may be due to expensive SF real estate, saving energy costs of blasting so much wet heat into the room, or what have you. But the Seacliff studio is big and airy, a sort of lofty industrial space with red cloth covering the ceiling. It helps keep the humidity level pleasant, rather than oppressive, throughout the class. It's also a great class for first-timers; the teacher was sweet, clear, and pretty much stuck to the script throughout.
Otherwise the space is a little crunchy (only one shower and one bathroom, and a long, narrow hallway between the studio and restrooms that gets crowded very quickly with the sweaty students from the last class and the chilly students for the next class), but be that as it may, I was impressed overall. We stopped at a gas station across the street to ask for a plastic bag for our soggy yoga clothes, which we didn't think the attendant would provide (but he DID!), so we also bought a bag of Smartfood popcorn and stuffed our faces as we rode the 38 bus back downtown. HEAVEN. Laura loved her class and is already ready to go back. I think I've created another addict!
IF YOU GO:
$20 for the first week of unlimited classes - or grab this deal before it's gone.
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Enthusiasm is a contagious disease!!!
ReplyDeleteLove this entry!