Yoga kicked my ass...

I'm taking a break from skating. I don't want to, but it's killing my knees and my hip. Last week I barely did anything during my lesson (no jumping, almost no spinning or footwork- just walking through my program) and my knees hurt for 3 days.

So this week, instead of my lesson, I took a hot yoga class. I tried hot yoga last year and really loved it. But it was expensive, so I only did one week and didn't go back. I found cheaper yoga alternatives, but the weren't as enjoyable to me.

Well, tonight's class totally kicked my ass. First off- it was on the schedule as a 75 min class but ended up being 90 min. Ninety minutes is a LONG time. (During that time my hair puffed out about 5 times it's normal size- hitting Jessi in middle school levels. The room is very humid). But things that are relatively simple postures were killing me. I didn't feel like it was too hot (one of the previous classes it felt like my skin was burning- it wasn't like that) but my heart would just begin racing with even the smallest movement.

I took breaks and tried my best to calm my heart with good breathing. The instructor was encouraging, would walk by and ask if I was still doing okay. At one point I almost left the room- I felt like I was about to die, but instead I just sat down then (the rest of the time I tried to stay close to the position of everyone else, while resting). But I stayed.

And I'm glad I did. The floor series at the end was fantastic- really good stretching, and these "poses" I'm very good at, so it was nice to end on the high note with the instructor not thinking I'm completely horrible and should go back to beginner classes.

I'll definitely go back- I feel way energized now, last year I remember feeling exhausted and tired. Only weird thing- the instructor taught in what is essentially a yoga speedo. That's weird. The other men in the class were in similar things, but maybe a little more coverage. Most women had on full length pants and typical yoga tops (I wore capris). How are these women not ridiculously hot? And the men are practically bare...

The one gross thing about this class is my clothes feel like I've been in a swimming pool afterwards. Still, as tough as it was, and as much as I only did 3/4 of the class, I really like hot yoga.