Feeling The Burn, But Not Burnt Out

It's possible I underplayed the impact of Ashley's hour class yesterday. I was definitely feeling my abs today!! Sad when sitting all day is hard.

And then Kate kept up the ab soreness today, meeting in boat pose WAAAAY too often :P Plus a good core workout in the beginning, raising and lowering legs.

I love the Bikram series - I like how predictable it is, and how the only thing that changes each class is me. Whether or not I can hold a pose depends in large part on where my mind is that day, and what I'm willing to put into each class. Vinyasa on the other hand is a surprise every time. I never know what's coming next, and that is also good for me. I like that I'm learning more poses, and while I may not have measurable improvement in the same pose, I'm definitely learning and growing (or shrinking, as the case may be).

Vinyasa has also helped my bikram practice. Working my abs and core muscles help keep me strong for poses like awkward and toe stand (though I'm just starting out with that one). Kate's instructional style is very focused on proper form and alignment with corrections when you need them, but also little tips from the beginning. I've learned in standing separate leg stretching that it's easier to maintain locked out knees without hyper-extending my knees if I engage my quad muscles before hinging at the hips and lowering my upper body. Same with standing bow - if I make sure my standing side is long and rooted to the ground before kicking and reaching with the other side, I'm able to maintain my balance for much longer and get fuller into the posture.

I also have a greater appreciation for downward dog. It feels like much more of a resting posture than it used to, and I'm learning still to keep my core muscles engaged to move efficiently and quietly to the front of the mat when I need to. It's going to take a little more work.

This was my last Vinyasa class of my challenge, and I think it was a great one to end on. We did more work on shoulder stands, moving through to plow pose and then fish pose. I really like that series of postures, I think they flow very well together (as they're supposed to). They're just fun. And pretty hard.

Don't worry, this is definitely not my last Vinyasa ever, I plan to keep coming back. It's great that this class builds on itself and grows. And my abs can definitely use the work for my honeymoon!!

p.s. Husband-Elect earning a gold star yesterday giving me a back massage after my double class day. And he made me dinner.