Day 30!

YES! 30 days complete! And I feel accomplished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Throughout my 30-day challenge I have experienced great and horrible classes, mixed emotions as well as my complexion clearing up. Before I started doing yoga I had very bad anxiety, bad enough that I couldn't go shopping with my girlfriends, or even go to the movies because I would get nauseous. I haven't felt feelings of anxiety as bad since I started the yoga, and that makes me so happy. Hopefully now I can actually things teenagers do!

Before I did my challenge I kept wearing makeup to cover up my zits. Now I think that really clogged my pores. I haven't worn foundation or cover up in two weeks because I want to see a change in my face and show off my skin, not my cake face! My skin looks really fantastic.

When I started the challenge I also started eating better. I had no choice because of my Celiac Disease. It was a little bit of a chore at first because I need to read labels, and do all that fun research into everything I eat. Surprisingly, it's gotten so much easier. I basically have it under control which is good, because than I'll keep feeling great!

Also, I have noticed that the yoga isn't a chore now, its not something that I have to make myself do, I do it because I now love it and because I feel wonderful, better than I have ever felt in my life!

Throughout my challenge I have felt a change in my body, not only have I lost weight, toned and gained muscle, I have also physically seen a change in the way I sit, the way I walk and the way I feel about myself. My confidence is ten times higher now than it was before the challenge and because of that I have decided to do another 30 days!
No Wheat Just Yoga :)
First 30 done 30 more days here I come!

Day 29

Wow only one day left until my challenge is over! In my double today was good. I can feel movements and things happening with my body. I felt as though I didn't really work hard today and so I asked why that was. I think its because I have been doing the yoga for almost 30 days and I have built an endurance, which means I just have to push myself harder so that I can build even more endurance. Right?

Day 25

There is no blog for yesterday because I couldn't make it into class. Today was odd because I wasn't at the Saanich studio. I practiced at the Bikram Yoga Metrotown studio, and I did not enjoy my class. First of all, they had carpet and I kept sliding around everywhere. Secondly, of all the room was surrounded by windows and I found it hard to concentrate on doing my yoga because I kept looking out the window. The people at the studio seemed quite nice, although I don't know if I would go back to the carpet. I don't like that one bit!

Day 23

Class today was not great like I wished it were. My whole body hurt and my left knee was so sore! But I felt like throughout some of the postures I was getting un-stiff and feeling quite a bit better. I didn't excel at camel like I hoped I would, but that’s okay because I did a double yesterday, and just had to take it a little easier today! Six days left!!

Day 22

Today's class was wonderful! I had a great class, and afterwards felt like a million bucks. So I thought I would do another class so that I could get my double done and over with. Thank goodness I did because it was the best class ever. I was already nice and hot from the class before and because I was already warmed up I could go further in more postures than I could before! I finally got my legs straight in the head to knee pose with stretching pose. It felt weird, but great! Also I stayed in camel for both sets and that was great!

Day 21

So there is no blog for day 20 because I skipped, and I paid for it in today's class!
My class was awful. I felt nauseas throughout just about all the postures and I felt as though I wasn't trying even though I was. I wasn't warm or even hot enough to sweat a lot, and that sucked!

I did however hold my second set of fixed firm for just about the whole amount of time and was very happy about that.

Really hope my double tomorrow is good!

Day 19

Day nineteen was a wonderful class! Today I actually did my first fixed firm with my shoulders on the ground and arms above my head, for the full amount of time! Also I did camel great, I held both sets and was so impressed. Afterwards my emotions were running wild, I felt like I wanted to cry but I was so happy inside. It felt weird! Today’s class has been my best class ever! I’m happy to yet again report that my complexion, is ten times better than it was two days ago! And I have been feeling literally amazing.

No Wheat, only Yoga:)

Day 20 tomorrow than ten days to go :D

Day 18- Day nineteen bring it on!

Wow, only 12 more days left! And I must say class was absolutely wonderful today! I did a lot of the postures great, I held the whole entire second part of standing head to knee posture and I have never done that until now! I feel very accomplished and great about my body! I feel as though my body is repaying me for taking care of it now by clearing up my complexion, and boy does it look better than it did!
Day nineteen bring it on!

Day 17!

Class today was wonderful! I found that my body seems to be adjusting to some of the postures because I feel like I'm getting how to do them. Also today I had a little help from my yoga buddy. I have to put my hands above my head sideways because I kept putting them too far forward. And I figured out that I was supposed to put them with my ears in halfmoon, and that made all the difference! Fixed firm is improving so much because now I can almost get my back on the floor and it feels great! My complexion is looking better day-by-day! I'm so happy class was good today! Hope class tomorrow is even better!

Day 16

Well, well, well, Class today was ten times harder than I thought, I really pushed myself to do good in a lot of the postures and didn't sit down in any of the standing series. Today I noticed myself doing triangle wrong and thanks to the help of my teacher I got my knee down parallel to the floor. In the floor postures I felt myself starting to get dizzy and not feel that great, In second set of fixed firm I stayed down for just about the whole amount of time. In camel, I felt really nauseas so I laid down in savasana. By the end of the class I was pooped and so very happy to just lay in the hot room for a bit, feeling quite accomplished. When I retreated from the hot room to the studio, I felt sick but a good sick because I had worked hard.
Being diagnosed with Celiac, was kind of hard to get used to. I can't eat anything deep fried with wheat or anything including wheat in it. The hardest part must be the candy I can’t eat. Any of the sugar candies have corn syrup or wheat are included in them. I'm very happy to say that I haven’t eaten anything deep-fried in the past two- and- a-half/three months and I haven’t eaten any sugar candies in the past week!

Day 15- Halfway

Today's class was my half way mark!

And I feel great and accomplished to know that I only have two weeks left of my thirty day challenge!

Doing yoga everyday (minus one, but I did a double) up until today feels odd because I have never done it before, but at the same time I can feel my body changing and I know that the yoga is great for me. My body is defiantly loving it! In today's class I felt great except for my knees once again, my hamstrings are very sore, and I found myself having to sit down in a few postures because I was uncomfortable. Other than my knee, my class was great. It went by so fast and I was in such a daze throughout it.

It was quite hard to stay awake in savasana, I would doze off but still be doing the posture that was very weird. I was very happy when class was done, although I didn't want to leave the hot room. I could have slept in it all day long. It felt nice walking out into the studio were it was a little bit cooler.

I have been noticing since I stopped wearing makeup, my face has cleared up ten times more than it was and that makes me feel more confident and great about myself. I definately cant wait to see what the next fifteen days of yoga have in store for my body, complexion, mind and soul!

Day 14

Today was not very good. I took a morning class and was tired and stiff throughout the whole class.
On top of being tired and stiff, my knees hurt and some postures were quite painful.
Also today didn't feel as hot as it normally is, but that was okay.
I haven’t been wearing makeup for two days so far. It has been going great my skin is defiantly clearing up. I'm very happy with that!
Cant wait for day fifteen tomorrow and being half way done!

Day 13

Day thirteen, almost halfway done!
During my class today I only sat down once in a posture because I needed a drink of water, and a breather because I had been holding my breath. Throughout the standing series today I still kept falling out of the postures. It feels like my knees seem to be opening up more than before, now they aren't as tight or stiff. I stayed longer in fixed firm longer, which felt great!
Because of the 30-day challenge I have decided to go without makeup for a week to see if my skin clears up. If it does, I will stop wearing foundation all the time (except for the special circumstance). I'm very exited to see what yoga can do for my skin because if it helps I’ll be one happy yogini!
Can't wait for class fourteen tomorrow!

Day 12

Class today was more difficult than I hoped it would be. My knees were so sore. I find myself trying hard to do the postures correctly. I have been getting help outside class learning the correct ways to do the postures. It is making a huge difference in my practice. After waking up to some snow on the ground it was great to see the sun after class!
I feel my body getting stronger, and my tight shoulders loosing up quite a bit. Cant wait to see what class tomorrow has in store, hope I'm not to sore!

Day Eleven, boy oh boy!

Today class was not what I expected. I was trying super hard in quite a few postures that I find difficult and my nose could smell someone’s moisturizer or something. It made me feel absolutely nauseas. In the beginning I found myself very sore and stiff but as the class proceeded my body started loosening up and feeling a lot better. I have been having troubles staying balanced in a few postures, like standing bow pose. Now I figured out that how I need to kick my leg back and its even more difficult! I didn't drink as much water as I should have before class, but I still felt pretty good. I should have eaten a piece of fruit a bit before class, my stomach was grumbling in the floor series! Towards the end of class I felt sad that class was almost over, even though I was feeling nauseas, I was sad to have to leave the room, it was so nice and toasty! So tomorrow I shall savour my time in the hot room, and hopefully not be near Ms. Stinky Moisturizer.

Day Ten, one third done!

Wow day ten!
The past ten yoga classes have gone by in a daze. I'm very happy to say that today's class was wonderful. I felt relaxed, rested and rejuvenated before class, and I feel like that really showed in class. Today I tried harder in class than in all of the other classes that I have done.
In standing separate leg stretching forehead to knee, I found that I could stay balanced and it felt great! Also I can see and feel my flexibility getting better and better class by class. I'm really excited to see how my mind and body are going to change in the next 20 days.

Day Nine

Today's class was better than yesterdays; I was very happy and ecstatic throughout most of the postures! However, I found that my knees were buckling when I tried to lock them and that caused some discomfort.
Again, I found myself trying not to fall asleep in Savasana. In the first four floor postures my eyes were closed, and I realized that they needed to be open! Why am I so tired?
After class was over today I touched my toes with my legs straight. This is very rare for me because my legs are so tight, and seem soooo much longer than my arms.
Hope I can do more than touch my toes at the end of tomorrow's class!

Day Eight

Today was a great day!
I had a good class, during the class I felt a little dizzy but I continued with the postures. I drank a whole water bottle yet again, and am now feeling very hydrated. Also today at the end of class I was happy to lay in the room and relax. I find the heat is very calming.
Hope tomorrow's class is just as great as today's!

Day Seven

Hello Yogi's!
So I did not blog about yesterday’s class because it was such a beautiful day that I skipped out on yoga, and will soon be doing another double to make up for it.
Today I did do class, and it was a very hard class for me after taking the break. I felt quite sick. The hardest part of the class was staying awake in Savasana. I was so tired that even keeping my eyes open was difficult. I went through class in a daze waiting for it to end, and I was very happy once it did.
Then I had a refreshing Coconut Water afterwards.
I hope class tomorrow is a better one!

Day Five

Good Evening
Today was quite great at yoga, but it wasn’t because I was feeling great. Last night I was showed how to do some of the postures correctly with the tightness I have in my shoulders. That made all the difference in my practice today because I could go deeper into postures and feel more stretching where I am supposed to feel it. Standing bow was very frustrating today because I couldn't balance. So I asked for help and figured out that I wasn't **charging** myself forward, like I should have been.
I also find myself not being as dehydrated as I was when I first started. My hands are no longer pruning!

Day Four

Today is day four of my challenge and I've made it so far!!!
In class today I felt pretty good, other than some nausea in a few postures. Standing bow was the hardest posture today. I couldn't stay in it at all the whole first set with my standing knee locked. I feel like my legs are getting stronger and my knees are getting weaker. They ache when I try to lock them. I must say that I was more relaxed than I have been in a long while by the end of the class. Relaxation is great.
Now I'm sore, tired and would love to do yoga right now. I can't wait until class tomorrow!

Day Three

Today is day three of my thirty-day challenge. Class today was all right. My knees were quite sore from my double yesterday.

Today I did fixed firm with my knees closer than usual and I was quite happy with myself. Although I didn't try my hardest in a few of the postures, I can really tell that I'm getting better at some of them. I’m not as tight in my body as when I started and I can feel that my body is actually doing something when I’m in the posture. I drank my whole water bottle well in class today, and that doesn't happen very often.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow’s class has in store!

Confessions of a Teenage Yogi

My name is Kira. I'm sixteen years old. I have previously done 14 classes of yoga before starting this 30 day challenge, but that's all!

My History

In elementary school I was on the Basketball, Cross Country and Track and Field teams. When I got into high school I continued doing Cross Country. I tried out for the Basketball team but unfortunately didn't make it. I have been pretty healthy for my whole life apart from some anxiety. In September of 2009 my body finally decided that it wasn't going to let me do anything. I couldn't go to school because I was physically getting sick and it got to the point where I couldn't even get out of my bed. Finally after blood tests and a Scope I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. This is an intolerance to wheat and gluten. Being a teenager its been quite difficult to adjust to my new diet. I can not eat cookies or sweats with gluten in them. When I did my first 14 yoga classes I felt really great afterward so I decided to try a 30 day challenge!

Day 2

So today is day 2 of my 30-day challenge!! (I haven't died yet GO ME!!) I decided I wanted to try and do a double. This morning I drank a bit of water before my class and ate a nice juicy orange, then started the 9:30am class. The first half of the standing series went well. Then my water and orange started to hit me and I started feeling nauseas. I had to sit down and take deep breaths and keep telling myself not to give up! We got into the floor series and it was quite hard to stay awake in Savasana. I kept dozing on and off. Overall I found I did quite well in the Floor series. I was very happy for the end of class! WHOOP!

Because my smart mind wanted to do a double I decided to take the 1:45pm class. I went in feeling a little bit iffy about it, because I was sore. In the standing series I was kind of slacking off a little because my legs were quite tired. By the time we got into the floor series I thought I would try to do a lot more than I did in the standing series. My goal was to get all the way down on my shoulders in Fixed Firm and I got there!! WOOOT WOOOOOOT! Once again, I was quite content for the end of the class and very pleased with the two classes!

Will I ever do a double again?

My body says yes. My head says no!!

This is me on Day 2