And away we go

At the beginning of this challenge, I was excited. I could mentally picture my body transforming. My waist stretched out long and lean. My legs growing a space in between as my muscles became strong and the fat melted away to reveal contour and definition. I envisioned my posture auto-correcting after a lifetime of shoulders unconsciously tensed up towards my ears while pushing forward to create what I was convinced would someday become a hunchback. I would walk with the grace of ballet dancer, no longer crave foods that weren't pure and organic, and would learn French only to find I was a natural. People would mistake me as a French woman due to my long, lean, graceful posture and the uncanny beauty of my 'r' dancing from the back of my throat to engage in exquisite conversation. Ah yes, it would be a beautiful thing....

[insert reality here]

So day one I felt great. I felt the first building block of my rebranding had been laid. I walked out of class elated that my journey had begun. Day two and three I was stiff and realizing that the poses weren't as easy as I had thought. I also learned that the flexibility I had had all my life had also been effected by my career focus. Flexibility, strength, form - all of it takes nurturing. It takes a respect of your body to take the time and maintain and grow your body into what you want it to be. (one of many 'a ha!' moments to come. I opted to try out all the different classes my yoga studio had to offer. Beginning, intermediate, hot, warm, regular temperatures. Everything would be experienced to find what I liked and what effect different types of classes had.

Day five was agony. I had taken an intermediate hot yoga class (my second thus far) with the heat gauge set at 105 for 60 minutes. Never had a class made me push myself so hard. I walked out of the class exhausted, drained and becoming stiff almost immediately. I got home and laid down, my entire body aching and throbbing as I tried to find a comfortable position without success. I stared at the ceiling and became aware that I could feel the outline to some of my internal organs. In my mind I could trace the perimeter of my kidneys, my liver, even my spleen. Every organ seemed to scream at me. Judging me for my years of being irresponsible. Was this challenge a bad idea?

As I lay there groaning in pain it suddenly occurred to me that I had not increased my liquid intake since beginning yoga. I crawled to the refrigerator and quickly filled a 22 ounce glass full of decaffeinated iced tea and drank it down without so much as a break. I did this two more times and went back to take my position sprawled out on the couch to let my body rest. Over the next 30 minutes I felt the cold liquid trickle into my stomach, intestines, arms, legs, head and face. I felt the sensation of my organs suddenly relaxing as the hydration made its way throughout, filling in the fluid spaces that had been sweat out during the last few days. With this rebirth came new hope that I had not completely destroyed myself over the years of neglect. Maybe there was hope for me yet. Onward and upward....