What is in a resolution?

Last years resolution was to go do Bikram Yoga once a day! Within a few days the resolution had been given an amendment that said "exclusing travel days" and that meant the goal went down from 365 already.

The plan was to also document how this resoluton was taking shape over time in hopes of seeing trends. It is very hard to kill my inner nerd! 

There was also something else at stake. Made a deal with Sangeetha that if we paid for a "one year unlimited" pass, will get at least 8$ or less a class to justify the pass. That was the lowest cost on any deal with BYSJ in the previous years when you bought class cards based on number of classes (like a 30 class card or 100 class card). If If I did better than $8/class, it would warrant buying the same thing for 2014!

So between 12/26/12 and 12/26/13 here is what happened..

56% attendance, far from the 100 dream. There were 80 travel days. That still makes it 68% attendane.

The green line shows number of classes without a break. It was great going with the 60 day challenge at the beginning of the year and then it was always a break here or there. 

Looks like that funny graph on exercise patterns that criculated in Facebook, doesn't it? Well most of September and early October was a rout because of the misdiagnosed tooth infection and Jaw locking which ended up pretty badly. Made it a point to get back in the hot room in November all weak after taking powerful antibiotics.  

Also started tracking how many complete poses I sat out in each class because of feeling dizzy, nauseous or for losing my breath or not being able to control my heartrate. There are 26 poses in class. So technically, 26 is like missing an entire class. I had missed the equivalent of almost 6 classes out of the 194 just by sitting out. There are trends within this by teacher, by time of class, by number of people in the room, etc. But that is not going up in the blog.

To say I like all my teachers classes the same, would not be fair. Definitely have my favorites, but this list is not represenative of that. It just reflects times of day I happened to take classes at on certain days of the week.

Somehow the teachers who have themselves gone through some adversity and have used Bikram Yoga to change their lifes appeal to me more than the ones that have been lucky enough to discover Yoga in their teens!

Also recorded my weight after coming home from yoga class. There is definitely a trend there between summer and winter and it will be interesting to see how this goes on continued tracking. Weighed myself only on days of Yoga class and that is why it is not a smooth line. The weight is stable no matter how much I eat and that says a lot about Yoga and "weight control"!

Last but not least, the Sangeetha challenge..

This graph is 950$ / number of classes as the number of classes increased. In other words, if I had been hit by a truck after class 1, it would have been one expensive class!  I got it down to $4.90/class which was way better than the goal of $8/class. 

All is well that ends well or has a new beginning. In this case it is a new beginning. Got the next one year annual unlimited pass started as of today! 

Now if you are wondering if Bikram Yoga made a difference for me in 2013, the answer is an emphatic yes. I had less than 5 sick days in the last year (minus the tooth episode, which could have been fixed with a visit to a good dentist in a day) and inspite of all that travel, managed to keep my sanity and was able to get back on my feet fast. 

There is one complaint from San all the time and that is "If you do Yoga why are you getting angry?". As far as I have checked, there is nothing that says people who do yoga cannot get angry. I can go from zero to angry in 4 seconds, but I can also come back from angry to zero in the same 4 seconds. That is the only difference after doing Yoga and that is a big deal! I am able to go on long hikes with ease and in general my ability to handle difficult situations has not become any worse. So all that credit goes to Yoga.

Wish me luck in bettering last year's attempt!

Difference in Yoga, a shorts does make!

Two weeks ago, just before walking into Bikram Yoga class, was offered a free Yoga shorts, in return for a review of the shorts! 

First off, when you walk into Bikram Yoga class the one obvious disparity anyone can see is in the clothes (or what is left of it) that the women and men wear. The women have perfect fitting, nicely stretching, colorful clothes thanks to an entire industry that caters to the Yoga clothes for the ladies. In spite of this, the women are not necessarily happy.. No matter what their size I do see that the women have much better apparel! 

The men on the other hand come in their underwear for crying out loud, which you cannot even do in the silence of the Yoga room! The options are horrible.

When I first knew that Yoga was going to be a big part of my life (read third yoga class.. I kind of make up my mind fast on these things and they somehow work, like I married Sangeetha 7 days after seeing her and... okay off topic already.. Take 2)

When I first knew that Yoga was going to be a big part of my life, went to the local stores to find suitable shorts. To my dismay there were no "active Yogawear" for men at any of the stores. Only for the ladies! So when an old colleague jokingly asked me "so what do you wear to the yoga class? pink panties?!", I didn't even have a sarcastic answer ready! Then after much searching, found that Dolfin brand swimming shorts did the trick. Over time have bought 5 of the same shorts with reducing waist sizes with blue, green or red bands on the side (the shiny band has earned the name Jigna Jetty from the Little one). To Dolfin's credit, they make swimwear. When you are swimming, there is no squeezing between your legs at any time! So this review does not to say Dolfin is bad. Those shorts are very durable and have gone to hundreds of wash cycles and are still intact!

After all that, I now had a "sample" in my hands!

Was so glad for two reasons. 

1. Someone made an effort to create a yoga shorts for men

2. Someone thought my opinon was worth it! They dared ask for feedback.

Promptly wore it for that class and the first thing that hit me was the fabric. So soft! The next thing that hit me was the way it looked in the mirror! Remember the blouse that old Tamil movie heroines used to wear? There would be a pocket for their nipples?! Think same thing except for the privates. They had created a webbed pocket so the dudes cohones are free and not squeezed.  I got some funny looks from the folks on either side of me, but I told them "I am trying out a free sample for a review".. In short, I had transformed into an underwear model! 

The class was amazing for many reasons. For the first time I was able to move "freely" on the big backbends and the deep forward bends. After 2 1/2 years, locked me knee for the first time doing Padahasthasana.

You are supposed to have "no gap" between your chest and your thighs on this one. The photos here were taken after a yoga class by the budding Yogagrapher aka Little One. Was not warmed up and went into the pose to the best of my ability with two different shorts and asked her to click. I did lock my knee in that class (you can see me almost get there in the new shorts) and it was only because there was no pressure on my privates from the shorts stretching over. No wonder then that the ladies always ace this pose!

Old (above) vs. new (below)! Touching the floor with your head directly at the center of the line between your feet? Easy, when your shorts is not inducing excruciating pain in certain parts! 

I also did not keep fidgeting and pulling my shorts down after every pose. This one did not ride up and down and that made the class more enjoyable.  The shorts also did not feel heavy after being fully soaked in sweat. 

Also saw a marked difference in doing the Eagle pose which is the worst when it comes to pressurizing your groins. 

The funny part was when I came back home and the little one saw me walk in. She kept laughing at my new shorts because of the protuding front pocket! 

All said and done, these folks are on to something. If they can make this pocket "not so obvious" by connecting this to the thigh area, this is the perfect shorts for men! 

Given that

- it is not my problem that my shorts look funny

- that everyone is there in Yoga class for themselves

- other folks are not supposed to distract you (in theory),

wearing this to class every now and then! 

There, my first review of something I never would have dreamt of reviewing! 

Was told that the maker of the shorts is called Indra Wear! 

Watch out, Lulu Lemon!

Taro, Pregnancy and learning- all in a days routine..

Think of two things you would not naturally connect, type them in the search box in this blog and there is probably a post about those two things.

What has Taro root got to do with Pregnancy and learning? Here is the story...

Earlier today we visited friends for lunch at their new place. There were lots of dishes, all safe items given they knew my allergy history. There was this one curry in particular that was extremely yummy. While I sat there figuring out if it was potato, plaintain or what.. she said "it is Taro.. what you call Seppan kazhangu".

I was baffled. Having had Taro all my life, especially as Taro roast, it was difficult to believe that what we were eating was actually Taro. It was crisp, had sharp outlines and the texture was as good as a potato roast. Okay, if you are not south Indian, you might be wondering what all the big fuss is about.. 

So we deviate for a little cooking lesson. Taro, is a root and when we get it from the market there is a lot of mud and dirt still on the root. My mother taught me (her mom probably taught her) that the right way to prepare Taro was to first wash the thing, put it in a pressure cooker with some salt and cook it, then remove the skin, wash again, then cut into little pieces and do the roasting with seasoning in slight oil (or if you are a roast fan like me, lot of oil). My MIL does it the same way as well! The real issue is that when you pressure cook it and remove the skin, usually the first few millimeters of the Taro is all mushy! My kids don't like to peel off the skin off boiled Taro unlike Potato because they think it is "slimy and Yukkie". 

So how did this girl, who is almost half my age, manage this miracle of sharp cut Taro pieces in a roast that was cooked yet not the slightest bit soggy? I said "Impossible! how did you manage it?" and they both say "we got tired of the slimy stuff.. so we decided to peel the Taro first, then cut it into nice pieces, then we slow cooked it in a covered pan for a long time.. much the same way we make potato roast!"

The simplicity of this approach was impresive. But have you seen Taro fresh from the Indian grocery store? Peeling it is the equivalent of giving the Yeti a haircut! you cannot even hold it in your hand right.. then there is all the mud, roots sticking out.. nevertheless, they managed it. So I have to try it now!

Humbled by this new learning and leaving their house as though we had just been to the Twilight zone, came home and quickly went to Yoga class. Our hosts and my ever supportive family were laughing when I said "have to go yoga this evening" because they were not sure how much Yoga a guy can do after eating 3 pounds of rice with two lbs of Taro and some nice dessert to top things off. 

Still, off I went with the idea that if things got too difficult, would take a kneel. That is when the second surprise hit me. The instructor for the class was pregnant. Not early pregrant.. Her due date is less than 2 weeks away and this was her last class before delivery. 

Trust me, there is nothing more scary than a very pregant woman on the podium shouting "stretch you hands to the right, your knees to the left, come down and push, Push, PUSH!" 

and there is nothing more embarassing than you looking equally pregnant with Taro, unable to execute the PUSH instruction! 

When you have an instructor who is so inspiring, you have no excuses for slacking off. So after that, did the rest of the class giving it my 120%. That room was hot and there were 5 newbies in there who needed to be watched and she taught with as much attention to detail as any other teacher. Truly amazing and inspiring! If you need a visual, here she is in a class as student in another class earlier this week.

So there you have it.. Taro, pregnancy and learning.. all in a days routine! 

On a funny note, a conversation with Jr. earlier today:

Jr.: Appa I am sweaty. It is so hot in our bedroom. Can you put the fan on?

Me : really? (Touch her forehead and neck). yes! you are sweaty.. you know what that means?

Jr.: (thinks for a second) and goes "Oh NO! you are going to make me come to regular yoga class with you?! it is going to be 90 degrees for 90 mintues!"

Me : yes and no. Yes, because you can sweat now and that means you can come to yoga class with me. No because it is not 90 degrees for 90 minutes.. it is 105 degrees for 90 mintues.. welcome to the torture chamber!

She is thinking of finding other excuses to bail on the promise.. We will see about that!

The downside to counting..

When we were kids, my brother and myself had to go to Hindi class and pass exams to prove our proficiency in Hindi. Why our mom thought that two kids in south India had to go do this outside of their school curriculum was beyond me, but it sure helped later when I ended up studying in Varanasi! I could read, write and speak Hindi comfortably..

One of the lessons that I vaguely remember is "निन्यानबे के चक्कर में" (which crudely translates to "stuck in circles at 99") where a guy loses his peace of mind because he loses 1 of his 100 gold coins and instead of being content with the knowledge he still has 99 coins, he keeps chasing the one lost coin.

The last two weeks reminded me of this story constantly. You see, at the beginning of the year, there was the 60 day challenge for Yoga (60 classes in 60 days) which was done successfully, with a lot of help and encouragement from family and friends. There was a goal to try and keep it going for a longer time.. 100 day challenge? 365 day challenge? Did not want this to be a new year resolution where the drive to keep on going is dead by Valentines day, and for some time it was close to being an 80/80 and then things started falling off.. when San went to China and the MIL went back to Seattle and allergies caught up with me etc. etc. excuses.. excuses!

As is customary in my head.. when your original goal is becoming too distant, a short term goal sometimes helps getting back on track. So told myself.. at least finish 100 classes by end of April! Things were going okay, but the closer it got, there were some unnecessary mental blocks to the point where on day 100, decided to deliberately take a break. 

So here is the nerdyogi's graph for 2013.. will put this up after 240 days and see how it goes. The way things are, might be recreating this chart from PhD comics.. or not?!

Did make it to 100th class this year on day 122 and continuing to go for classes whenever possible. 

Now this has made me think.. As an example, if a cricket player was asked to just keep scoring with no scoreboard in front of him, will he score more without worrying about critical landmarks like 50 runs or 100 runs etc. Would we drive towards a long term goal better if we didn't have to see those in between mile markers all the time? Is there some research on this topic? If you have read any books or have seen research on this topic, do let me know.

Maybe intermediate milestones are more of a block? 

Respect

When San went on a business trip to China and the little one got the flu the very next day, Yoga attendance took a nose dive. An entire week went by where no amount of resolutions the previous night would turn to action the following morning..

Travel hits attendance irrespective of who is traveling in the family, when the kids pretty much take time windows between 7:30 AM to 3 AM! It was this state in spite of the MIL flying down from Seattle to help. Granted there was a lot of sickness, but I have managed to go into the hot room with a 101 fever and come out without the fever. Somehow could not pull that off early enough this time.

Have a new found respect for single parents who juggle kids, work and still try to get into the hot room!