Today I am totally RELAXING!!! I honestly have been working so much lately, I haven't really had any time to myself to just chill. BF is gone for the day to a golf tourney. I will see him later on, but for today....falling asleep in the backyard while the warm breeze just flows over my skin.... Yes please!!!
I napped, I stayed in my comfy's all day so far and I took puppy for a swim. We have spent such great quality time together today. I think when you have an animal, especially a dog.. It's soooo important to spend quality time with them, not just a walk here and there, but playing together, laughing together... and maybe sharing a plate of low fat french fries (it's my cheat day today)... LOL. What can I say.. this puppy is my child and I treat him like royalty...haha
So.. I wanted to share with all of you, something that I have totally found a love for again.. Hot Yoga! A few years ago, I tried out regular yoga.. maybe ashtanga (spelling?) like Madonna used to do. I absolutely LOVED IT!!! I joined an actual yoga studio, with maybe 4 people max in each class. I can honestly say that I was really happy with my body. I felt toned, long and lean muscles, flexible, relaxed and stress-free!
Then came Hot Yoga... oh wow.. this changed my life. I discovered hot yoga, ummm.. maybe last year. It become the new "IN" thing, so I gave it a shot.. LOVED IT!!! I was addicted. At the time though, I was really pressed for $$$, BF and I just moved into our house at that time, so because I wanted a gym membership, yoga got put to rest. Hot yoga classes were expensive at this place I was going to, plus it wasn't really all that close to me.
I got out of hot yoga for quite some time, but now... I forgot, just how much I love it, and what it did to my body and mind. For those of you that dont' know what hot yoga is.. It's like regular yoga that you do, but the temp reaches like 100 degrees. The best way to describe it, would be doing poses and stretching on a hot, sunny day. It's NOT like going into a sauna. There is NO steam if that crossed your mind at all.
Anyway.. moving on... My sweetheart of a neighbour brought me to her hot yoga class just up the street from us. It's called Yoga 101. The 101 standing for the degrees of hotness in the studio...lol. I totally fell inlove with hot yoga all over again, but this time, I totally noticed a difference. This teacher is beyong amazing. She knows her stuff and I can tell right away. The presence in the studio, the teacher, the students, the vibe....everything.. is just sooooo calming!!! I feel like the old hot yoga studio where I used to go, didn't really have that "vibe" that I was looking for. Yes... I know it's silly, but I felt like this new place...
a. gives me a super awesome workout. I feel the "good sore" for the next day or so in every muscle in my body.
b. cleanses my skin and rids it of toxins by sweating every ounce of gross-ness in my body, and just... cleans me out.
c. when the class is finished, I leave there feeling relaxed, happy, strees-free and very low anxiety levels. All in all, just amazing!!!
Not only does hot yoga give you a great workout, more flexibility, weight loss with long and lean muscles... It is the MOST amazing thing ever for your skin. I have really awful breakouts... like embaressing breakouts and I hate it!!! I dont' like using too much acne products on my face and body because it's soooo drying, and it even bleached my clothes believe it or not!!! So awful.. With hot yoga, since you sweat insane amounts, your pores are also being cleaned naturally.
Since I haven't been to hot yoga in quite some time... My flexibility sucks!! I can't do a lot of the poses, but I will get there eventually. I just bought a package from wagjag for unlimited yoga for one month... only $49.. So I will try to keep a schedule of going to yoga 3 days a week, along with keeping a couple days for weights at the gym, and also cardio. Hot yoga covers pretty much every muscle in your body, but I also like to incorporate weights and cardio on the stepper, eliptical and treadmill.
One last thing about hot yoga... Since you lose a crazy amount of water from your body, you MUST drink lots of water afterwards, otherwise you will wake up at night with a really bad headache. This is really helping me incorporate more and more water into my diet. I have been finding that when I come home from a yoga class, I drink a lot of H2O, and since water fills up your body, my meal portions are also decreasing... not unhealthy, but to what I should be eating each meal.
All in all... I just feel so much better about life. I forget about the little things that make me feel stressed out, and I just feel happier. BF and I have also had less arguments.. and this is also something that I can do without him, and pretty much for myself!!!!
I just LOVE IT!! I have only been a few times so far, but boy... do I feel great, and much more motivated to becoming a healthier Mel...
Do any of you do hot yoga? Do you love it, hate it?? What are your thoughts? Comment below and tell me :)
Hope you all have a fantastic night!!
Hugs,
Mel
