Day 11 of Challenge (60/60), Class #12 – It’s Always Bigger in Texas! (No classes on Day 10 & 12 due to Travel)

I am back from my Dallas, TX work trip and happy to report I made it to Bikram Yoga in Dallas! I took class on Tuesday, Day 11 of the 60/60 and class #12. Before I left for this meeting I made sure to do all my planning and researching on the studio. I mapped it out online and it said the studio was about 8 miles away from the Hilton Anatole where we were staying. I also saw they had a 8:15pm class which would give me plenty of time to  eat something before class.  I think making it an intention and also blogging I was going to go made me more accountable and pushed me to follow through. Trust me, there were many times the thought crossed my mind to just go and eat a fabulous dinner with my colleagues. I made sure to pack my Kulae Yoga Mat (which is great because it is super light and thin), water bottle, and yoga clothes. I figured I could just put ice from the machine at the hotel in my bottle and I would be set. I took my Lululemon store bag as my yoga bag. It worked perfectly and was great for travelling. I am so glad this company gives you these great reusable bags when you purchase their pricey but awesome clothes!

I did have to skip class Monday because I was traveling and there would be no time that day due to a mandatory team dinner. That made me feel like I really needed to get to class Tuesday night. Also I knew because of travel I wouldn’t be able to hit a class on Wednesday. I tried my hardest to recruit people to come with me. Something about the 90 minutes at 8:15pm and 105 degrees and 50% humidity didn’t attract any takers I am sad to say. I even tried the quote I saw on Twitter. The best way to truly clean yourself is sweat, there is no shower or bath that can compete with that. My coworkers decided to go eat Steak and drink beers instead. Oh well, I tried but I was still on a mission to go myself.

I asked the concierge ahead of time on Monday about the traffic and how long it would take to take cab to class at 8:15pm. He said to leave by 7:15pm to make sure because you never know about the traffic. I ate right after our meeting ended at 6pm and then decided to take a shower before class since I knew it would make me feel better. I got all my gear together and ice from the machine for my water bottle. Then, I headed down to take the cab to class.

I started to get anxiety like a first timer because of the whole unknown of this studio and also having to take a cab there and back. I was a little worried I would be standing there all sweaty and gross after class at 10pm with no ride home. I decided to just let it go and trust it would be ok. Of course it was all ok. The Bellman at the hotel talked to the cab driver and he mentioned he had taken another woman once to class there! Ah-ha! There are others like me… so good to know I am not nutty to be taking a cab all the way to class and then back. He said he would be there at 10pm and not to worry.

When I got to Bikram Yoga of Dallas it was about 7:45pm – perfect! I am glad I left early because there was a big accident on the freeway and we had to take back roads with a ton of stoplights to get there. It was a pretty ride though and I got to see a really charming area of Dallas (I am not sure what it is called but near Love Field). When we pulled up in the cab the windows below the Bikram sign looked blacked out. (You can see in the picture above what I am talking about.) My first thought was I read the schedule wrong and they were closed… Oh NO!!! Then I saw two women get out of their car and clearly headed to Bikram Yoga with their yoga mats and yoga gear. I got the cab to pull up to them and yell out, “Is the Yoga studio open?” They said they thought it was… whew the windows were blacked out just in that area because that is where the yoga room is. The other picture is the entrance that was kind of hidden when we pulled in. I was getting excited to experience this new studio to me.

When I entered the studio, there were two women at the check in desk and you could see behind them the 6:30pm class still in session taught by super fit Yoga Man with booty shorts on. The class was packed and the room was HUGE!!. There had to have been at least 80-100 people in the class. I can’t imagine what a class of 400 people looks like at teacher training!!  I was getting very excited to get back into the heat since I had missed Monday and I just felt the need to “sweat it out”! One of the check in girls was Asian and her name was Caroline(I am not sure if I am spelling her name right). She said she was teaching the 8:15pm class. I was excited and told her about my 60/60 at Bikram Yoga of Richmond and also mentioned my blog. (If you are reading this Caroline, a shout out to you for a great class!). The one thing that is consistent amongst all Bikram Yoga studios that I have found is that every one of them is super welcoming and very good at making you feel at home. It is hard enough as it is to try and find a place to practice and then plan to trek out there, it really makes it sweeter when there are big smiles when you show up!

There were a few first timers in class but I was pretty close to the mirror behind a definite veteran. She even had her name embroidered on her mat – Misty. She was excellent and a very good person to be behind. The guy to the left of me had spandex on and put in ear plugs for some reason. I am guessing to prevent sweat from getting into his ears. (I have to admit that it’s a good idea). It did seem a little odd at the time but looking back it makes sense because the whole sweat in your ears is just freaking annoying and makes for difficulty in practicing stillness in the postures.

One major difference in the studio was that they had hardwood studio floors instead of the  carpet. Also there were a few different things: the teacher asked us to pull our mats to the front so people could come in and fill in the space as they arrived. Also they asked us to put our mats over the lines instead of in between them. Then when we started the class the teacher asked us to have our toes right on the line so we were all in straight lines I suppose. Since there were hard woods we would turn to the right to do the postures that go over your mat typically otherwise we would slip. There was a side mirror so I became the front of the class once we turned to do those postures. All I can say is that it was different.

One thing I will say is that the heat was CRAZY hot! Pavida said that when you travel it always seems hotter but this is no joke. They had some high tech heating system and it was insanely hot.  I had an incredible class and was able to get through all the postures even without taking e3live on this trip.(I didn’t want to deal with trying to find a room with a fridge.) Caroline seemed to hold the postures for quite a while so I was definitely sore the next day from class.  I was trying to focus so hard and represent our home studio well so I didn’t really look around too much. I tried to really work on the whole being present and stillness thing.  I was so relieved when we were finished… first, because it was over and I could leave and get some ICED water and second, because I actually followed through and had a great class. One thing I really missed there was my ICE COLD lavenderBikram class for sure!

After class, I managed to pull myself together and thanked the teacher for a great class. I was so happy to see my little cab driver waiting for me. We were able to get on the freeway on the way back to the hotel and it only took 10 minutes this time.  I felt so relaxed and ready to get a good night sleep!!

The next day in my meetings, one of my coworkers, Cathy, told me that I looked different when I walked in that morning. She said I looked refreshed and relaxed and just different… I told her it’s the yoga! I seriously think if everyone did this yoga, we would all be ok in world…

Namaste Peeps!