Bikram

I joined my friend Mandy last night for Bikram Yoga and oh. my. god. It kicked my hiney. And I've done hot yoga before, even prenatal yoga, but never Bikram Yoga (103+ degree room and an hour-and-a-friggin-half of torture).My heart felt like it was about to pound out of my chest and I was as red as a lobster. With Bikram we didn't do downward dog or sun salutations, but instead it felt more cardio intense, and the instructor was telling us Bikram combines Eastern yoga practice with Western physicians' input to get maximum benefit for your inner organs.

I have a very hard time sticking to an exercise routine. Even though I've lost 12 pounds since I began my weight loss challenge on New Years Day, when I could barely squeeze my postpartum pudge in my old yoga gear, and looked at myself in the mirror, THAT was enough motivation to get to the studio.

It's good to do this with a friend because as Mandy and I we were laying on the floor, with our legs and arms stretched out in all sorts of directions, sweat dripping from our faces down to our feet, we would look at each other and give each other that giggle that we needed to get through the pain.

The goal for beginners is to just stay in the room. I managed that. But I layed in dead mans pose for the last 20 minutes of it. But I stayed in the room. The good news? We burned approx. 950 calories! I think I sweat out tons of water retention because today I'm 3 pounds lighter than I was yesterday.

I *will* have my body back by summer.