Yoga time

I have just returned home from my first yoga class in Madrid and my first Bikram class ever.

First thing that comes to mind: DAMN! It is sooooo hot in that room!

Second thing: My body is loving me for getting back in the exercising swing of things. Seriously, I have that tired, shaky muscles feeling that I always had right after a hard lifting sesh or a good practice.

I just feel happier all around. I don´t know much about the human body (hell, I know almost nothing about the human body but go ahead and ask me anything about Jane Austen) but I think I needed some endorphine flow.

I joined this yoga studio for 15€ for the first week to try it out. I was really jonesing for some sort of exercise and running through Retiro just wasn´t going to happen. For those of you who know me, you know running really isn´t my cup of tea. I run for about 30 seconds and then I completely forget why I am doing it when Leah is not yelling at me to go faster. Then I stop. Then I go home. Then I eat some cookies (or another equally unhealthy snack). This is a less than efficient way of staying in shape. Cut to me in yoga class...

The sweating thing was disconcerting at first. I sweat a lot and I was kinda grossed out by it. I was even more grossed out when I saw the streams of sweat pouring from the guys in front of me, but this also made me less self-conscious about my own excess of sweat. At one point of the class, the teacher saw me wiping my face and told me to leave the sweat because it is your body´s natural cooling system and if you wipe it away you will be hot. I wanted to tell her to shut up because I was already really frickin hot. I guess I have a defective self-cooling system because my sweat was about 100 degrees and was trying to boil me alive.

As the class went on, though, I kinda got more into the heat thing. It felt so good on my muscles to stretch in that heat. Once I moved past the sweat, I felt refreshed and new. I felt like I was sweating out crap that my body didn´t want anymore. It felt really nice.

Vanessa told me after class as we were kinda cleaning up that the rooms at the studio here are way too cool and the studios in the US are about 15/20 degrees warmer. Shit. I don´t know if I can hang with that kind of heat. I´ll have to get used to this some more before I can even think about subjecting myself to that level.

Anyway, I´m feelin good and worked out. I was thinking about taking a siesta but instead I think I´ll head downtown to get a little haircut. I need it, my hair looks like crap these days :)