No, OK, I'm kidding, but last night's spinning class felt like it could have been my 7th grade sockhop there was so much 80s glam metal going on in there. Surprisingly, I don't mind it that much. This particular instructor is just the kind of instructor I like - hard, but reasonable about recovery - and at least it's not all techno dance that I can't sing along to in my head.

Still, when I did my lifting session afterwards, I set my iPod to The Weepies.

I've been recuperating from a particularly hard work out last Thursday, when I did an hour's worth of lower body work, combined with 20 minutes of farklets on the treadmill. I limped around in some serious pain until Sunday I decided that the only answer was some Bikram.

So that's what I did. It was just what the doctor ordered for my very sore muscles. It ended up being one of the best practices I've had in months. I was so inspired by the class and my mindset that I bought a five-day pass. Of course, there is no guaranteeing that this Sunday will be the same blissful experience, but I know that going into it, which is what is so challenging about Bikram in the first place, and why it's such a lovely experience to take with you into your daily life.

I was able to cop a spot right in front, at the mirror, where I was subjected to my less-than-perfect form for 90 minutes as it struggled through pose-after-pose, sweat dripping everywhere, and it occurred to me that the only way to get through it, to do well, would be to look myself straight in the eye, and not wander and focus on my partially spandex-clad body with all of its imperfections. If I focus on the negative, I'll never break my way through to the positive.

There are so many knowns and unknowns that can hurt our efforts, but mostly if we let them. So I spent Sunday doing my best to shake off my insecurities about my body and rejoice in the fact that I got through every pose without having to sit out, knowing I did my very best and I'd be rewarded with legs and a back end that hurt less than they did 90 minutes earlier.

And they did.

Posted by Erin at 01:48 PM | filed under: Training