Day Eleven

Good strong class with Luke this morning after having the day off yesterday (a kind of yoga savasana) which was lovely. Still having trouble with the left leg in the separate leg poses but its been going on for months now so maybe that will still take time. Getting lots of support from people around me and comments on the blog which has been really great - thanks to everyone who reads this and makes me feel it's worthwhile posting - you guys are an inspiration! Especially those that are slogging it out in the studio every day at Albany and Glenfield - I really love to hear how you're going with your practice too. It is fantastic to feel like we are doing this great thing together.

It's dirty business this Bikram yoga thing. It's hard to imagine before you actually take a Bikram class how much sweat is actually involved in the process. I don't think I've ever experienced anything like it doing Les Mills BodyCombat or any other aerobics or dance classes. You are absolutely soaked through, from bones to skin, from the top of your head to the bottom of your toes, and usually so is your towel. I know people who use two towels on their mats and they still get completely soaked through. Which brings me to the perhaps unpleasant topic of my (previously) smelly yoga mat.

I had to give my mat a proper soaking in the bath with detergent and tea tree oil a couple of days ago because it was really starting to smell like feet. (See mat drying monkeymind bar equipment above). The weird thing is that your feet never actually come in contact with the mat because the mat is covered with a towel the whole time you practice. Granted that towel gets completely saturated with sweat during all but the very sparsest winter classes but even so, your feet don't actually make physical contact. I'm sure you all want to know this. And it only got that bad because sometimes it wasn't quite drying out between classes, because some of the classes I've been doing have been so close together. Anyway, the good news is that the soaking and airing has completely gotten rid of any odours and now I am spraying it daily with a mixture of essential oils, tea tree oil and water and drying it out out in the sun, or at least in the fresh air, (instead of keeping it rolled up) between classes. So with a bit of luck and not too much maintenance it may never smell as badly like toes again.

PS: Extra tip, in case anyone is interested. If your yoga clothes start getting smelly add a half a cup of white vinegar to your normal wash cycle with your normal detergent (the vinegar helps clean out the machine too *lol*) and it gets rid of the smell in your clothes. And nothing smells like vinegar afterwards which is completely awesome!

See you in the hot room! Namaste.