Day 30: Halfway Done!

Today was my 30th class of my 60 day challenge! HALFWAY DONE. That wasn't so bad, to be honest. I've gotten used to just going every day. I like the days where I can go early-ish, 10 am or noon. Four thirty classes aren't really desirable, but if I have to go into work, they're unavoidable. I usually feel pretty accomplished just by walking in the door, regardless of what time of day it is.

Today's class wasn't exactly as awesome as I wish it would've been. I don't know if the temperature was higher than normal, or if I was just more sensitive to it, but it felt HOT and I got crazy dizzy for a huge chunk of the standing series. I was getting weird tingles in my lower face around my mouth and a muscle in there was twitching non-stop. It made for a very uncomfortable sensation in my head for the majority of class. Things were better on the floor, but I still had to bail on some postures due to light-headed-ness.

All in all, I felt pretty weak and tired and like I wanted to pass out. Definitely not the triumphant feeling I wanted after reaching my halfway-mark! One bad class doesn't discourage me anymore, though. I know that having a bad class means a good class is coming, and that I should keep my practice regular and I will improve.

Looking back to the beginning of this challenge, I had just started to get the body tingles. They appeared in small waves after certain postures. Now, I get tingles after quite a few poses, and most of them feel amazing (unlike the aforementioned weird face-tingle). My flexibility has definitely increased a lot, notably in my spine, which I barely paid any attention to before starting my yoga practice. I've gained a ton of strength, most obviously in my legs, but my arms are definitely toning up too. I've lost a lot of bulk in my shoulders and chest, and my collarbone is more visible than I think it's ever been.

In the next 30 days, I'm hoping to improve the following poses:

- awkward
- I would like to be able to balance on my toes, even if I can't bend my knees yet

- eagle
- I would like to get my foot 1 inch closer to being wrapped around my leg

- standing head to knee
- I would like to be able to hold both feet and lock my standing knees.

- standing bow pulling pose
- I would like to be able to hold both sides for the entire first round.

- standing separate leg stretching
- I would like to be able to consistently hold my heels and lock my knees.

- locust
- I would like to get my legs even a fraction of an inch higher while keeping my hips in alignment.

- full locust
- I would like to be able to keep my feet & heels together.

- bow
- I would like to keep my knees & feet 6 inches apart while not sacrificing depth.

- head to knee pose
- I would like to get my right knee locked; left knee closer by half

- spine twist
- I would like to keep my both hips on the ground and get my hands-knee-heel together in front of me.

- sit up
- I'd like to get my head to touch my knees.

There is a lot more to my practice that needs improvement, but these are just some specific things I'm going to focus on for the next 30 days and see how it goes. This way, I'll have some actual way to measure my improvement.