you will probably think i am crazy

But that's okay by me.

I think Bikram yoga actually works.

Now, I have no scientific evidence. I only have my body and the way it has responded to all of this. So here is my health story as of late. You can believe it, or you can think I am nuts.

Back in October, I felt like I was getting sick. So, I stayed home from yoga to get extra sleep and rest.... and then I got sick. Snot. Fever. Cough. All the good stuff.

In December, I felt like I was getting sick. It was almost time for Winterfest, so I thought, "I should stay home from yoga, get some rest so I wont be sick at Winterfest." aaaaaaaand I got sick. Fever. Lost voice. Nasty cough. Excessive snot. Awful.

So two weeks ago, I felt like I was about to get sick. Except this time, I was mid 30 day challenge, and, well, I don't fail at challenges. So I figured, "I am just gonna go to yoga. If I am passed out on the mat halfway through class- no big deal. I still get to put my sticker on the board." So I went to yoga. Everyday. For 5 days, I felt like I was on the verge of getting sick. I would wake up with a little tickle in my throat, and I felt a little tired. But I went to yoga.

And ya know what?

I DIDN'T GET SICK.

And thus, Bikram works. All the health benefits? I probably get them. All that talk about boosting my immune system? Well, it happened to me.

All that I can tell you is that I feel fantastic. It is hard to describe because you think your body feels fine- and then you do Bikram for nine months and you realize that you have never ever physically felt this way before. I can wiggle. I can roll around. I can stretch and reach for things. I can breathe. I have lower blood pressure. Luna is calmer. My handsome and health conscious boyfriend has noticed a change. And I am way less stressed about midterms than the rest of my classmates. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

But, it is hard to convince people to stick with Bikram. The first week is almost too much to handle. The next three months bring all kinds of weird bodily kinks (that you didn’t even know you had) to the surface. Every class is a challenge. You don't have "easy" days. You just have days where you feel a little less hot and so you work even harder. It’s tricky to figure out the proper way to hydrate, and eating the wrong kind of food can throw off your practice. And it is a 90-minute workout.

If you ever start doing Bigram- you will want to quit. You will want to leave the f-in hot room. You will want to never feel that much sweat dripping off of you again. But when you actually do leave the room, your body will be changed, and you will want to get back in the torture chamber.

I know that Bikram isn't for everyone because some people just cant take the heat- literally and figuratively. But mostly figuratively- you have to constantly work on your mental toughness for Bikram to work for you. Perhaps that is why it is really so difficult (kind of like long distance running). Your body, given the chance, can handle Bikram. It is your mind that wants to give up quickly, just like it is your mind that wants to give up at mile 20. The human body can do all kinds of wild and crazy things- just ask my friend Sabrina or watch the yoga national championships!

As I slowly step off my soap box- I know you think I am crazy for buying into all this Bikram health nonsense. And 9 months ago, I would have said the same thing. Yet, after this 30 day challenge that I completed, I think it is safe to say that I drank the Kool-Aid, y'all. Maybe you should too.

ultra love.

P.S.- My instructor, Robin, said she would take pictures of all my poses this week so I can mark my progress. I will certainly post them for all my loyal listeners, and so you can see my cute yoga clothes.

i am about to make your life better

for all you people out there who like practical life advice, this post is for you. this post will make your life better and will save you money on future hospital bills. so all the money you are gonna save, you can just send my way. k thanks.

ready?

WHENEVER YOU "FORWARD BEND"- SUCK YOUR STOMACH IN.

what does this really mean? well, anytime you bend down to tie your shoes, anytime you are sitting at a desk kinda hunched over, anytime you wash dishes over the sink, anytime you sit on the couch to watch tv, anytime you are leaning forward AT ALL, just suck your stomach in.

this simple act protects your lower back from all kinds of problems and will give you a stronger core, which is also just a generally good thing.

my favorite instructor, robin (she taught the 2 classes my handsome and health conscious boyfriend took- YES HE GAVE IN AND CAME TO YOGA. I LOVE HIM.) talks all the time about how you can backward bend til the cows come home. BACKWARD bends are healing and fun, it's the FORWARD bends you gotta watch out for (forgive the dangling preposition, but i had to use the cliche). forward bends cause back problems, most notably lower back pain.

so now that i can not only touch my toes, but put my FULL PALMS on the floor, i feel like i can say this to all you cool kids. think about your flexibility right now: can you touch your toes? can you kneel/squat down without struggles? do you have even a little lower back pain? are your hips tight? if you are struggling even a little bit right now, think about where you will be in 20 years.

now, i am NOT telling everyone to go out and get hooked on bikram (though i will always encourage anyone who wants to!!!! yayyyy yoga!!!)--- but, you might wanna introduce some stretching into your routine. it could prevent some issues down the line.

AND most importantly, SUCK YOUR STOMACH IN WHEN YOU DO FORWARD BENDS.

ultra love.

a funny story

2 days ago, in my bikram yoga class, we are about to go into standing bow pose. we all looked just like the picture below.

So the whole class of 20+ people is standing just like this and the instructor goes:

"WHO LOVES BIKRAM YOGA?"

bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahaha i am laughing out loud still thinking about this.

ultra love.

to-do list

1. increase my pain tolerance threshold. i mean, childbirth is coming in the next 5 years or so. better get ready now, right?

2. get back into running. this is hard to do when it is -4 outside. that is not an exaggeration. i just am not as hard core as sabrina is. alas, this just brings me back to #1.

3. bake Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls. this will most likely NOT help with #1 or #2.... maybe it can be "motivation?" mmmm i think that works.....

4. win the lottery. this will DEF clear up time in my schedule for numbers 1, 2, and 3, seeing as how i wouldn't need school or a demanding job.

5. figure out why our shower curtain has started blowing in on me while showering. this really decreases the amount of space in the shower. and i hate touching plastic gross stuff while i am trying to get clean.

i think this is a pretty honorable to do list. i thought of this during yoga. and after when i was in the shower.

ultra love.

To put you in the christmas spirit

Enjoy, dear friends, enjoy.

ultra love. and merry christmas.

Lessons Learned at 2 am

Last night I stayed up late watching Memphis take on Miami on ESPN. For those of you who know me, the start time (midnight) was already 2 hours past my bed time. In the 2 hours and 30 minutes that it took for my Tigers to eek out a win over Miami, I learned many valuable lessons. here they are, in no particular order.

1. It is not that hard to stay up late when your heart is racing. adrenaline bordering on cardiac arrest makes one decidedly not sleepy.
2. Luna's farts seem to give the Tigers extra energy. At half time, she was particularly gassy, and we all saw how the Tigers came out after the half. Once she fell asleep, they were less energetic. And when she woke up at the end of the game to release another one, chris crawford made his 3 pointer.
3. my Memphis pajama pants are NOT lucky.
4. i seem to have a knack for knowing when we are going to miss dunks. it is usually the ones that are wide open.
5. rubbing luna's little behind and saying "what a lucky bottom" seems to be helpful. though this method needs to be further tested.
6. angel garcia is still the ugliest man on the planet. and i am using the term "man" loosely considering he (and will coleman for that matter) played like a bunch of pansy girls last night and couldnt get a flippin rebound. okay i lied. they got 2. each. NOT OKAY.
7. we have a young team. which is fine, but, Lord have mercy, they make some freshman mistakes.
8. joe jackson needs to eat.
9. will barton needs to play to his hype. his brother is outshining him. injury or no injury, dude is lackluster.
10. when we are failing miserably on offense, we make up for it in some serious man defense. the good thing about having a team with this many talented players is that you can keep the rotation fresh, and the defense stays intense. if it weren't for defense, we would have been crushed.
11. for all pastner's hype about rebounding at the beginning of the season, we were destroyed on the boards. 41-21. really, gentlemen? and i say gentlemen on purpose, because only gentle people let others WALK ALL OVER THEM.
12. josh pastner is beautiful.
13. even with all the negatives of this game, pastner make good coaching decisions and our players never lost heart. i count those as two very good things to serve us the rest of the year.
14. i love it when my handsome and health conscious boyfriend talks basketball with me. it's 2 of my 3 favorite things all in one... and if Luna could talk or play basketball that would make 3 of my favorite things all in one.
15. one of my yoga poses is called balancing stick. our instructors say it is "having a little heart attack now so you dont have a big one later." Having one mini heart attack during yoga is enough. i would much rather my teams win by substantial margins. i feel that it will be more beneficial to my health.
16. since my daddy is a cardiologist, i am pretty sure the tigers pulled the whole "heart attack" game plan as a silly birthday present to him. pretty sure.
17. all in all, both my teams are 2-0. In yale grading terms, i give them an H. this grade is subject to change and contingent upon future performances.

go tigers go.

and, let's go hoyas (whose took care of business last night and thus did not warrant a somewhat criticizing blog post)!

ultra love.

Pumpkin Extenda-Week #4: Pumpkin Bread, but not the kind you think

Pumpkin Bread- but the kind with yeast, not the kind you are used to.

this bread is reallllly yummy. it's even better toasted with some butter on it. This would be great as a bread to go with thanksgiving dinner- that is, if you don't eat sister schubert rolls like we do. nothing beats sister schubert. duh.

Recipe from here

• Ingredients:
• 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• ¼ tsp. ground cloves
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. instant yeast
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 4 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine pumpkin puree, eggs, butter, spices, yeast, brown sugar, and 2 ¾ cups of the flour.

Mix on medium-low speed until combined. Add in the remaining 2 cups of flour and mix on low speed until incorporated and the ingredients have formed a dough.

Switch to the dough hook and continue kneading on low speed until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5-8 minutes. (Add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary to help the dough clear the sides of the bowl.) Here is a video to show you what the dough should look like. it took me a while to get it to the right consistency.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 to 1 ½ hours; it should have expanded somewhat but won’t be wildly puffy.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, divide it in half, and then divide each half into three equal pieces. Roll each piece into an 18” log.

Working with three logs at a time, make a braid, pinching the ends together.

Coil the braid into a lightly greased 8” or 9” cake pan, shaping it into a wreath-like circle and pressing the ends together where they meet. Repeat with the remaining logs.

Cover both pans with lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 90 minutes until they look puffy, although not doubled in bulk.

Bake the bread at 350° F for 30 minutes, until lightly browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 190° F. Remove the wreaths from the oven and allow them to cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

ultra love.