The Bikram 30 Day Challenge

     On July 19th my journey of Bikram Yoga in West Linn, Oregon began. (Click the link to learn more about the studio and Bikram Yoga) Before this date, I had never practiced yoga. I wanted to start something new and something that could keep me in shape for dance over the summer. So why not try yoga? After my first class, I was hooked. I felt cleansed and had a new energy that I had never felt before. The following day, I dove right into the 30-day challenge program offered at the studio. For the last 30 days straight, I have attended one 90-minute class and today is my last day! This challenge has changed my life and I feel great. All of the instructors at Bikram Yoga West Linn are committed to their work, they pushed me to work my hardest and helped me gather the mental strength to complete each and every class.
     Now, you might be wondering, how did I make it 30 days straight!?! This is the one question I am sure several students struggle with when deciding to take the pledge and begin the challenge or not. Well, an answer to that question is, Confidence. Yes, the glitzy incentives like 50% off a class package or a couple free guest passes are great to look forward to, but I suggest you complete this challenge for yourself, for your own personal well-being.
I told myself I could do it and I did. 

     I didn't think about the commitment, I took each day as a new day. I will admit, I wrote down the number of class for each day in my planner, but to be honest, I didn't look at it too much. As I approached the 10 day mark, I felt like the challenge was going to take forever. I woke up a couple mornings thinking that I would tell the instructor that I hurt myself or that I was sick, stressed out from work, tired, but then I realized that those were just excuses, excuses to not perform 100%. I never once made an excuse of why I shouldn't give this my all and I am proud of that. Excuses do not exist in Bikram Yoga because the sequence heals injuries, sickness, stress and anything else that you could possibly come up with as to why you can't enter the hot room.   Whatever you do, do not come up with excuses, you'll be mad at yourself later on.
      I walked into the 105 degree room read to commit 105%, every time. After the half mark, the days started to zip by. There was never one point where I thought I would give up. I had already gone 15 days, how hard could 15 more be? Then, you're at  20, and there are only 10 more! The numbers are completely mental. If you think you can't or you ever doubt yourself, then I guarantee, you will find yourself in a mess trying to come up with excuses. In my opinion, as i said right off the bat, confidence is the key to success.

(Bikram and Rajashree Choudhury

 demonstrating "Triangle Posture")

      Throughout the entire challenge I either went to the 9am, 11am or 430pm class depending on my mood and how I felt. I listened to my body. I didn't push it too far, but I didn't let it slack off either. There is a happy medium I found somewhere in between pushing too hard and not enough and this, also, helped me get through the 30 days.  For my level, I don't sit out any postures, but for others, laying in savasana is sometimes encouraged by the instructor. I was also blessed with an open schedule to pick the class when I thought my body would perform the best. To this day, I like the 430 class the best. My body is most flexible and it's the perfect time for my eating schedule (lunch around 1230 and dinner at 630 when I get home). Lastly, I always arrive for class at least 20 minutes before. This gives me time to pick my favorite spot in the room (front row, left side and not straight under the lights), fix my hair, relax in savasana and most importantly let my body warm up before the postures begin. I have found that my class preparation is just as important as my posture practice.  I looked forward to class everyday, I looked forward to feeling the energy from everyone around me and the warmth of the studio.
     Since beginning Bikram, I have improved in every posture. The instructors always encourage the students to come as often as possible to receive the most benefit out of their practice. Well, I too believe this is true, because I see and feel the results. Going everyday for 30 days straight has allowed me to open up every joint, muscle, bone and organ in my body. Specifically my hamstrings, biceps, shoulders and entire spine. For example; My back especially has never been flexible and now, I can see the carpet during the backbend of half moon pose, I can lift my upper body as far as my bellybutton during the spine strengthening series, I can see the edge of my mat and towel during camel pose and finally twist to see the mirror in the final spine twisting pose. For me, these are tremendous accomplishments since I first began on July 19th.
      Bikram Yoga has opened a new door in my life. I want to continue practicing in order to become a certified instructor after I graduate college in 2013. Bikram Yoga is the perfect addition to my movement and special education studies. This practice strengthens, stretches and heals every cell in the body. I have found that it has taught me self-determination, self-awareness and has given me an extreme amount of confidence in my movement practices. Not only have I learned from taking class, I learned from reading the Bikram Yoga Book.
     This is the only movement sequence I have studied that has a large focus on the "self", the meditation and the relaxation. There is not an audience watching and no one judges any one else during the practice.
     I am bummed there is not a Bikram studio near my college campus in Holland, Michigan, but good news, Bikram Choudhury will be teaching a seminar in Detroit in October. I am signing up for it as soon as I post this! I certainly look forward to coming back next summer and practicing again at Bikram Yoga West Linn.

Bikram yoga has become an obsession of mine and obsession might even be an understatement.

Cystic Fibrosis Fundraiser ~ Dance Video Link and Pictures

     The turn out for the game was amazing! There were just as many fans in the stadium as there would be for a High School season game. I am not sure of the total amount that was raised but 30% of the ticket sales and 100% of the concession stand money went straight towards the cure for Cystic Fibrosis. The alumni committee looks forward to holding the same fundraising event next year. I cant wait to participate again!

Dance Video Link ~ Click me =)

     Here are a few photos from my friend Hillary's album off of Facebook. All of the alumni wore black jerseys with the year they graduated printed on the front and the current dancers wore their school color (Green for WL and red for OC). 

 Hillary and I

 Me, Natasha, Hillary, Hannah, Maggie and Alexa

All the dancers coached by Amanda Wilcox 

(Current WLHS Dance team Coach)

WLHS Alumni Fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis!

     Tonight is the West Linn High School Alumni Fundraiser, raising money for Cystic Fibrosis (CF). This year, the High School is holding an Alumni full-contact football game against our rival high school, Oregon City. The rivalry between the West Linn Lions and the Oregon City Pioneers is the longest standing high school rivalry in the entire Pacific Northwest! Believe me, this game is going to be over-the-top intense!
     Along with the alum football teams playing, both the alum dance and cheer teams volunteered to participate and perform during the rival match as well. When I first heard about this opportunity to dance, I was more than willing to participate! Not only was this a fabulous chance for me to raise money for CF but, I was also able to reconnect with several of my old dance teammates from High School. For three weeks now, we have been practicing twice a week to prepare for the big game. The game starts at 6pm at West Linn High School and the dance performance will take place at half time. I wonder who will win?!?! GO LIONS!!! See you there!

Ill be posting Pictures and a Video sometime in the next couple days  =)

peace

The Gift of Multiple Sclerosis

     I am very familiar with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) as both of my parents have this disease.  One was diagnosed early in life with mild Relapsing/Remitting and the other more recently with Secondary Progressive.  MS has forever changed our family.  There was a time when I could only see all the negative changes to our lives as the result of MS.  Then, one day during a family dinner conversation, my mother shared with us a chapter titled, “The Gift of MS” in Sawyer and Bacherach’s book The MS Recovery Diet in which the positive impact that MS can have on one’s life is discussed. 

      At first I found it hard to believe that MS had any positive traits at all, but as our dinner discussion continued and in the weeks that followed I began to understand the message of “The Gift of MS.”  My parents were quick to identify the gifts that MS brought to them such as eating a healthier diet, learning new skills, making new friends, and enjoying new activities such as bike riding.  Over time, I too, have identified the gift that MS has given me.  My gift is finding another piece to my career puzzle by giving me greater insight into my career path and the education needed to follow that path. Making long term and short term goals of physical activity helps everyone become and remain healthy.

      Both of my parents are an inspiration to me. I look up to both of them for their achievements in life. The most recent achievement they both succeeded in was completing a bike race called RAGBRAI. It is an annual event, where thousands of people bike 454 miles across the state of Iowa. I am so so so proud of both of my parents for completing this race! They did not let the obstacle of MS get in their way. While they were at RAGBRAI, I contacted our local newspaper, The West Linn Tidings, and told them about my parents journey on RAGBRAI and the inspirational goals they were accomplishing. About a week later, the article made the FRONT PAGE!!! Check it out!

"Pedaling Through Any Challenges"

I also put together a video on iMovie of all their pictures and videos from the trip. The video is so much fun to watch! Check it out!

Doesnt it look like they had a blast?!?! 

I love my family so incredibly much and wouldn't ask for anything different! 

You never know, maybe I'll do RAGBRAI with my parents next year.

peace

Motivation

Today I am motivated. I want to make the most out of my life. I want to fill my body, mind and spirit with knowledge. Knowledge about everything possible. I don't want to sit around and be lazy, I want to get up and enjoy everything there is about life. I started my morning by attending Bikram Yoga. During my meditation, I thought about different ways I, personally, could stay motivated throughout my movements and work.
I came up with this idea...


Every two weeks I will select an inspirational quote that is meaningful to me and I will turn the words of each quote into art. 

The reason I have chosen every two weeks is because I truly want to give myself enough time to sink into the written words. I am super excited about this and cant wait to start!

Words of the Week:
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." -Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Peace

Discovering The Things I Love

I am a natural dancer.  
My love for movement started when I was very young.  My parents say I could dance before I could walk.  I would start bouncing the minute I would hear music.  I took my first dance lesson at the age of 2 and a half, it was ballet. I still have the teddy bear prop from my first ballet dance recital.  When I watched the video of this recital I noticed how all of the other girls followed my lead even though I was the youngest in the dance.  From this moment on I was hooked on dance. As the years progressed I added the number of dance classes I took along with expanding my dancing repertoire to include jazz, ballet, hip-hop, modern, broadway, tap and recently Bikram Yoga.

I learned at a young age the meaning of the saying, “When one door closes another one opens.”  I was six years old and had just finished dancing in my second tap and ballet recital when my teacher told me that she was closing her studio and moving to Las Vegas.  This made me sad, but it wasn’t long after that I found a new dance teacher, Terry Brock.  Now fourteen years later, I realize how lucky I was to have Terry Brock as a dance teacher, friend, and mentor. I admire Terry not only for her artistic abilities and professional resume but also for who she is as a person.  She has influenced my appreciation for tap, jazz and Broadway dance styles as well as my personal values and beliefs.  It was during my time taking lessons from Terry that I first began to explore including dance as a part of my career. 

I have known for a long time that I wanted to pursue a career in dance, but it has become quite clear to me that the opportunities in dance are limited and the window of opportunity to perform on stage is very short.  I, therefore, realize that to get the most out of my education, I need to combine dance with another, longer lasting profession. I looked into general physical therapy, but I was not satisfied. I wanted something more specific and that is when I found Special Education and Movement Therapy. 

I was first introduced to Special Education when I attended Rosemont Middle School. I was a teachers aide for our school's special education self-contained classroom. In middle school I never thought that I would want to become a teacher, but now, I know this is exactly what I want to do. 

I am going to positively change the lives of others.

peace