Missing in Class

Whenever I miss yoga class for two days in a row (or more, heaven forbid), I feel completely out of it, like I haven't done it in weeks. I feel as though I don't even "do yoga" anymore, like it's something I used to do in the past. It's peculiar. I think that this is because I'm still in the very beginning stages of developing a practice, and I'm still working hard at establishment.

Right now, the 30-day challenge seems crazy, impossible. I know that it's not, but it will call for a real change in habits for me. I will have to be in best form physically and mentally, and that means (very) limited alchohol, maximum sleep, lots of water and healthy eating. It doesn't sound so hard but maintaining that kind of lifestyle can be as hard, if not harder, as the yoga itself! It's fine now to drag myself to class a bit hungover and sleep-deprived, but it won't be nearly as easy if I'm locked and bound to thirty classes in a row with no days off. Especially working the nine-to-five, because I find it really difficult to catch up on sleep with such a tight, even schedule. It seems strange, as though it should be the opposite, but while I was doing shiftwork and/or in school, I could always manage to catch up on lost sleep every few days. Now it seems that lost sleep is gone forever.

Not really helping matters is the fact that May and June are party months! It will be tough knowing that unless they start offering 6:00 AM classes at my studio, which I could REALLY use, I will always have to rush home straight after work, even if it's sunny and drinks on a patio are calling my name. My social life is already suffering because of the yoga, but I have learned to live with that for the time being. It's just that I work right downtown now, right up off the water, and it's such a beautiful area. I don't want to always have to go straight home. Oh well. There is always after practice.

I am leaving work early today so that I can attend a 4:15 class. Despite all the negativity, I'm looking forward to it. I did Pilates (MW advanced w/ sculpting band) yesterday in a last-ditch effort to get some kind of activity in my day. It felt good to work my arm muscles like that and I do love Pilates, but it just can't compare to yoga.