Bikram

Last night was my first time trying Bikram Yoga, which is Hatha-style yoga in a heated room. It was like a sauna. 105 degrees! Wow! I don't think I have ever sweat so much in my entire life. The guy in front of me was sweating so much it looked like he was peeing :) You have to put towels over your yoga mat. I downed a whole liter of water during the 90 minute class. It was hard, the hardest yoga class I've been to yet, but also I did the deepest positions I've ever done yet thanks to the heat enabling tendons and muscles to stretch more. After the experience, every fiber of my being had been worked. I felt like a limp noodle :) But it felt great! Detoxifying for sure. Went home, took a long relaxing bath, and today every muscle in my body feels like it got a great workout yesterday (not painful but firm). Awesome! So I decided after my class last night that I was definitely going to try Bikram again. Then this morning I was entering in my workout session into my MyFitnessPal.com profile (free & WONDERFUL calorie/workout counter- I recommend it to EVERYONE!) and did an online search to find out how many calories one burns in a typical Bikram session, and holy crap! I am DEFINITELY trying it a lot more :) Check it out here for what it would be tailored to your specific weight. I guess it's pretty good for weight loss...yay!

And here are some Q & A from the Inner Fire Yoga Center's website, which is the studio I practiced at last night and am doing their unlimited yoga for 2 weeks for $20 intro offer:

Q. Why the heat?
A.: Muscles, fascia, and connective tissue become elastic, allowing for greater flexibility with less chance of injury. It also promotes sweating which assists the detoxification process, thins the blood which clears the circulatory system, and elevates the heart rate which improves the cardiovascular system...This type of heat is a “safe, effective way to help the body rid itself of toxins like mercury and lead,” says Alan Clark, M.D., online medical director of St. John’s Health System in Springfield, Missouri. Some research has shown that this form of “sweat therapy” benefits people with heart conditions or MS, both of which, many alternative health-care providers believe, are aggravated by environmental toxins(Taken from Breathe Magazine, January/February 2005).

Q: Why did I feel dizzy and nauseous during my first class? Is this normal?
A.: This is not unusual. Practicing yoga in a heated room reveals to us our present condition, and inspires us to take much better care of ourselves. In the heated yoga room, your body needs an adequate fund of water to allow perspiration to release heat from the body as you practice. We estimate you need another 64-80 ounces sometime during the day to allow for your 90 minutes in the room. Once you are drinking enough water your body will tolerate the heat better and you will actually start to enjoy the heat.

Yay for Cars

Doug's car needed an alternator replaced about a month ago, no problem, bought a new one, it was in the middle of finals week so we had Meineke install it. A block away from the shop, the alternator failed. Meineke tested it, yup, bad alternator. The auto parts store said refunds & exchanges are handled w/ the manufacturer's home office. We filed the claim, should get the refund in 4-6 weeks. Meanwhile, we paid out of pocket for a 2nd alternator, paid out of pocket for another installation/labor. 3 weeks later the 2nd new alternator fails. Meineke tested it, yup, bad alternator, nothing w/ Doug's car at all. Another claim in the works, but still haven't seen the $ from the first claim. We're buying a different brand alternator from a different company that's double the price of the other alternator, but can't until the claim $ comes in for the first two bad alternators and refunded $ for the first two Meineke installs. That's a LOT of money. So Doug's car is sitting. Doug's been driving my car and I've been driving our extra car- the VW Beetle (which has been for sale since December unsuccessfully).



Last night Doug was at work and closed the trunk of my car parked outside and the rear window shattered randomly. B/c it's heated, it's over a grand to replace- so here we come insurance claim. So my car is sitting in our parking garage at home.



And we're sharing the Beetle now. Ugh. Have I mentioned I don't like cars right now? When it rains, it pours! But I do kinda like it in a giddy-school-girl-and-her-boyfriend kind of way when Doug drops me off at work with a kiss...

Seminar

I've worked really hard on this so you should all come! Or pass it along to those friends of yours who may have special needs children/teens! Seminar is free to attend, but you have to RSVP....

Looking for Stella

Doug and I have been searching, but not very vigorously, for the perfect little addition to our pack of pups. We want a baby girl puppy who will be named Stella (like in the movie Over the Hedge "STEEEEEEELLLLLLLA!" but imagine that in Frank's little thugger voice). We are looking for some kind of pug, boston terrier, or french bulldog or some kind of mix of any of the above. Last night we drove out to Lake Mills (mainly because we were bored and wanted an adventure) to check out this little beaut, an 8-week-old black pug. We didn't get her, for various reasons, but she was a cutie, and definitely made my day.

So we both felt it just wasn't the right timing and wasn't the right pup and wasn't the right conditions. We will probably wait until September or October before adopting the right "Stella." This little cutie was not in the best of conditions- she was bred by this elderly hillibilly couple (you can see the cat lady in the background of the second pic- she's hot, right?) and kept out in this barn-type building separate from the house that I thought wasn't heated very well, in this little wooden bed on the floor of a cement-floored pen w/ chain link fencing. She was an adorable little pup, but it just didn't feel right. She wasn't the right fit and I don't trust that she was well-vetted. We'll look this fall more intently- we really want a rescue pup from a shelter or rescue organization on Petfinder.com. But enjoy the pics!

Pampered Pooch

So our dog Frank is probably one of the most spoiled pooches around, short of the Coach diamond studded collars and billion dollar trust funds. Doug and I went to Ikea in Schaumburg on Valentine's Day (hot date, right?) and got a new king-sized Malm bed w/ 2 nightstands that attach to the sides and 2 matching dressers. We got a mattress here in Madison upon our return. We had sold our old queen-sized bedroom set, dresser, mattress, bedding, etc. that same weekend to a guy on Craig's List (LOVE LOVE LOVE Craig's List!) who picked it up while we were assembling our new set. Perfect timing! We LOVE our new bedroom. The mattress is so amazingly comfortable. So anyways, Frank has this thing where his favorite place to lay hands down is on TOP of our pillows. Gross, I know, but evidentially this pooch has a delicate tush. His second favorite place to lay is ontop of a hot load of laundry fresh from the dryer- I throw it all on the bed and then fold it and put it away- piece by piece dragging it out from underneath a frustrated Frankers. His third favorite place to lay is all nested into the down comforter- this was his early morning "noooooo, you can't make me get out of bed" look. We love Frank so much it's probably unhealthy, but he's our baby. We are so blessed!

Marky Mark and the Iraqi Bunch

My oldest brother Mark is in Iraq, left in Feb and will return at the end of July, for his civilian job doing military-related things. He, his wife, & their 3 kids live outside D.C. He emails TONS of pictures and it's great to be able to hear from him regularly. I was talking to my mom a couple of days ago and she says it's so amazing now what technology has enabled for military families- the whole time that my dad was in Thailand at the tail end of the Vietnam War, my mom only got to talk to him on the phone for 20 minutes while he was there and letters took 10 days to arrive. Mark gets to call his family every night and can email every day. Anyways, here are some very cool pictures.





(The first picture is taken from the top of the Victory over America Palace and in the foreground is Saddam's mother-in-law's home and in the background is one of Saddam's many brothels the Perfume Palace. The third picture is the inside of the Victory over America Palace- damage done by JDAM. The fourth picture is another one of Saddam's brothels- what romantic little hearts, huh? Geez. The fifth picture is the Flinstone Village. The story behind that is Saddam's sons at one time all fled to Iran, then Saddam reassured them that they could return safely home, then he killed them all upon their arrival, but gave their kids (Saddam's grandchildren) the consolation of their own kid-sized village and playground.)

Yoga Adventures

After playing with the yoga trainer on Wii Fit, I found in an online search that Bliss Flow Yoga Studio in Fitchburg has this beginner special of $10 for unlimited yoga for a week, a complete bargain aimed at just letting you check out their studio and see if you want to join more permanently. The studio is right behind Great Dane on Cahill Main. Very nice place! I took 4 classes- Yoga Essentials w/ Ali, Candlelight Yoga w/ Ruthie, Happy Hour Flow w/ Andrea, and Slow Flow w/ Alicia. First of all, Yoga is different than I had anticipated, and although I haven't quite worked out all my opinions of it, it's pretty neat. Some of the classes are all out sweating, muscles trembling, workouts that involve fast moves from position to position very repetitively. Some of the classes were very relaxing and meditative. Since I work out so much at the gym, I think I prefer the latter- a more meditative yoga class. I do understand the awakening and flowing of energy from every spec of your body into your core, and I really am fascinated how that enables a deeper relaxation afterwards. I am starting next week another beginner special of $10 for unlimited yoga for two weeks at Inner Fire Yoga Studio in Madison. After this experimenting and learning ends, I'll know more what style of yoga I want to practice regularly. Anyone's welcome to join me :)

Blog is a Work in Progress

Sorry, just haven't gotten my pictures all together (spread out on many computers) for the last 5 months of my life....working on it...and when I do....WHAM! This will be a dead sexy blog :) Be patient- updates will come...