G-OGRAPHY: a southeast asian lady travels...

Some of you folks might remember when this feature first appeared on G-ography here during my 7 day Bikram Yoga Challenge. I also made a post about the next one here inspired after watching Ewan Mcgregor's motorbiking-around-the-world documentary. However my Kaui Expedition got in the way before I can go take my lessons. Then right after that I had decided to take some scuba diving lessons. Check out the photos below at the Reef Park in Casino Point, Catalina Island.



I have been quite the busy adventurer. This thanksgiving, however, is an NNP that will top all of these! I'm posting this photo associated with my next destination...guess where I'm going!

Some of you may recall that I blogged about my
7 Day Bikram Yoga Challenge more than a week ago. I was basically doing bikram yoga everyday for a week which took about 2 hours out of my day. It sounds crazy but it became so addictive. I love how the practice forces me to focus on being still in order to listen to the instructor and to my body. It just makes it easier to hold those 26 poses and encourage the body to do what your brain thinks is impossible. Personally, I feel I am starting to become more aware of my body and the muscles in it. I also noticed a lot of improvement in my endurance, flexibility (no I still can't turn myself into a pretzel) and core strength. I'm not going to lie, it's a kick ass work out but anyone with a right mind set (and who isn't afraid to sweat in places they have never sweat before) can do it. I see people of all shapes and sizes in the class including old women and men!

Also, during those 7 days I made it a point to go to different times and try different instructors. I think they were all consistently good. Also, one has to be aware that everyday your practice is going to be different. You are always going to be in a different place when you start learning bikram yoga. The important thing is to know where you are at that moment and work with it. Of course, it is also vital to have that intention to improve as your strength and flexibility increases.

So after the 7th day, I have decided to continue with Bikram. I will only be doing it 2-3 times a week since I still want to have time for other projects! If you are curious to try it I suggest you read this: http://www.bikramyoga.com/ and this blog post my friend forwarded which I thought was pretty good: How to Have a Better Bikram Yoga Experience

Once you try it let me know what you think about it!!!

I learned about Bikram Yoga last year when I was actively surfing. A lot of female surfers were recommending yoga for strength and flexibility training. I was too timid to check it out thinking that only experienced yogis have the right to be there. Boy was I so wrong.

The 7 day challenge came about when I mentioned Bikram to my friend last week. She immediately found a studio that gave her a 2 week intro class. She is on her 9th day now and is hooked. After hearing positive results from her I decided to try it for 7 straight days (because my local studio only offers a 1 week intro class-lame!). I am now on my fifth day and loving it! I feel a lot of energy. I also feel improvement in my back and abdominal muscles.

For those of you who do not know what I am talking about Bikram Yoga is basically what some people refer to as hot yoga. The practice is done inside a room heated to 105°F (40.5°C) with a humidity of 40%. Sounds crazy, I know, but this helps you to stretch deeper and prevent injury. This also makes it easier for you go through 26 postures in 90 minutes which translates to tons of sweating. Now most people think that the sweating results to the detoxification that practitioners experience, this is not true. It is by boosting circulation and metabolism through deep breathing and yoga posture that Bikram Yoga accelerates detoxification. Additionally, you also get to learn the techniques of meditation. You learn to relax your mind, thus addressing stress toxins.

I will be posting a day to day account of my new project soon. Until then enjoy this photostream from Flickr: