When I started this two-week blogging challenge, I was up in the air on whether that included weekends. Ten posts versus 14 is considerable. But, since this challenge is a “writing everyday” challenge at heart, here is my first Saturday post.

Every Saturday, or at least those when we’re not away, Troy and I go to Hot Vinyasa at our gym. It’s been about a year since this became part of our weekend routine. This still baffles our families, almost as much as me preferring that Troy grows his hair out. Our usual class is with a very hippy instructor who likes to play Lil Wayne and Michael Jackson. She also works you pretty hard in a room that is about 95 degrees. It gets even hotter and more humid when the class is crowded.

I’ve been to a number of yoga workshops with friends and was always able to see the practice of yoga linked to spirituality and self-actualization. Even typing that seems a bit heavy and pretentious. It’s slightly ironic that hot yoga, an intentionally hot/humid/heavy practice doesn’t seem nearly as overbearing as other classes meant to help you find your purpose.

All types of yoga practices aside, Troy and I really just enjoy it as a hobby and as a workout.  So here are a couple things about yoga in the Kit House:

1. Stay Hydrated. Water before, during and after class to avoid the dreaded yoga headache/hangover. Sometimes after class, if we don’t stay on top of it, we are completely useless for the rest of the afternoon.
2. Get a Yoga Towel Mat. This is a plush towel with a grippy backing that you lay on top of your standard yoga mat. The towel mat gives you plenty of friction when you get too sweaty halfway through class, preventing you from slipping, which we’ve both done in the past.
3. Not all instructors are created equal. Our favorite instructor is very active and will make sure we are challenged physically in class. Others are more about relaxation and meditation. And then there are others who seem to yell about climbing your mountain and grabbing the sun. Whatever your style, we won’t judge. But for me, class isn’t complete without a million yoga pushups and a three-minute chair sit, no matter how much it might suck.
4. Serious? We are in no way serious yogis. I only go once a week. Troy goes twice because he thinks cardio is boring. We aren’t meditating at home, and we haven’t perfected any headstands. We go because we both want to be more flexible and balanced. And so far, it’s worked pretty well.

Our instructor is very Come as You Are, and that suits us perfectly.

Have a good weekend!