Say yes to Vinyasa

I've been doing yoga for a few years now and I've always loved how it makes me feel.  When I was losing weight for the wedding yoga was a big part of my fitness plan. So in the spirit of Project 26 I thought I'd get back in my yogi groove.  I've tried Ananda and Hatha yoga and both have been very calming and relaxing classes that also gave me a good stretch.  Last night I had an intense leg and bicep session at the gym and I figured a little yoga this morning would be exactly what I needed to stretch myself out, clearly I was mistaken. I would see Bikram and Vinyasa yoga studios all over the place in Orange County but I couldn't afford a special studio so I never was able to take a class, my new gym however has a fabulous yoga room that is so peaceful (and they're renovating it to make it even better, hell yeah). I'm all over the place with this, anyway, I woke up all stiff, grabbed my mat (and the awesome graveyard bag I made, see photo below)

And I headed off to stretch. As I walk into the gym they offer me a towel and I politely decline, come on, it's yoga. I get to class and the room is half full and everyone there looked to be 40+ except one girl who may have been in her early 30's.  All signs are pointing to an easy session but that did not happen. 20 minutes in and I'm pouring sweat, more sweat than I produced in the 4 mile run the night before. I had to leave to run and get a towel out of fear of slipping on my mat. Vinyasa was very different from the basic yogas with much more emphasis on breathing and sequences of movements, it was like a dance class almost. I wanted to die but as soon as it was over I felt so relieved and accomplished and incredibly sore. It will now be added into my routine, at least twice a week. 

I was so exhausted and hungry by the time I got home you would swear my protein shake was the most delicious thing in the world the way I downed it. A little while later I made myself a salad and some sprouts. Now that I'm back on track I've cut the salad dressings out so I'm back to using lemon juice and sumac, I can dig it.