Sumit's Hot Yoga January 2015 Yoga Challenge

I showed up to Sumit's on January 2 (aftersome sporadic attendance in November and December) and figured I might try one of the easier two challenges (15 sessions in 21 days or 21 sessions in 30 days).  We finished class, and I was about to write my name on the white board and place a sticker in the January 2 slot.  However, the rows were all full.  So Melinda (one of the awesome instructors, who is in the photo with me below) erased "name" on the first column, and that's where my name went.  So I put on my big girl yoga pants and figured I couldn't wimp out if I was now the first name on the list.  My attempt at the Detox Challenge began!

The rules and the payout:

Detox Challenge - 30 Classes in 30 days
If you complete this challenge you will receive a Sumits T-shirt and a 10 Class Pass ($140 value)

I attended class every day for 30 consecutive days, including when I worked in Dallas three days in a row and when I had the congestion funk that seemed to be going around.  I managed to drag myself out of bed for the 5:30 am weekday classes (with the exception of one lunchtime class) and I attended the 8 am Saturday classes and 10 am Sunday classes.

Unfortunately 30 days of yoga didn't unlock anything crazy like the meaning of life, but this is what I noticed:

• For the most part, I no longer dreaded hot yoga and I began to look forward to it (gasp).  
• As my body grew accustomed to the heat and the hard work, the nausea and dizziness crept up on me less.
• Considering I have horrible scoliosis (I wore a back brace from 4th-6th grade), I am pretty inflexible.  However, I noticed some considerable improvements.  The most noticeable improvement was seeing my toes come up above my head in bow.  Probably the most helpful positions were pigeon, the hip opener, and butterfly (given I injured my groin in my last bike crash).    
• I grew confident.  I promoted myself from the second row to the first row.  Even though my flexibility isn't the best, I grew more familiar with the dialogue and remained persistent with the poses.  Now I am a first row snob because I don't want anyone blocking my view in the mirror.
• After hovering in chataranga while doing the flows, I could finally do a true push-up for the first time (and that was my 2014 New Years Resolution).  

Since I tend to be an "all or nothing" type person, I was at risk for a decline in attendance in February.  However, I have been 4 out of 5 days (I skipped class on Monday because I had a fever on Sunday night and wasn't feeling well).  I look forward to continuing my practice and improving, and I'm hoping that as I increase my running mileage, I can appease the injury gods with hot yoga!

And a little Facebook shout-out...   

NAMASTE!