Too Hot Yoga

: 50.8kgs (getting even closer)

Judgments : Turn on the a/c will ya?

What do you get when you cross yoga with a sauna? The answer is Hot Yoga. It is supposed to cleanse the system, help burn fats, release muscle tension and yada yada yada. Does it work? The first few times I tried it, I was just concentrating on not concentrating on the heat! Needless to say, I was highly distracted and felt embarassed to sweat till the Dri-Fit lost its effectiveness.

After several classes, I actually started to look forward to it. Yesterday, after several down dogs, I was beginning to feel a little woozy and actually blacked out for a short period of time. I would never otherwise admit to not being able to finish a class - this is a remote case. I had to sit out for once to recover my balance.

Not wanting to take any chances, I went for a check-up and found out I had low blood pressure. Doc actually cautioned me against doing hot yoga. Apparently it is not recommended for many people!

When doing my research on hot yoga, I discovered the person who created it - Bikram Choudhury. He is apparently a celebrity yoga instructor and is chauffered around in a Rolls Royce. What caught my eye were all the pictures of him; he practices in Speedo-like thongs!

: What an eyesore, no wonder I almost passed out!

You Can Smell The Fat Loss

: 51.1 kgs (nearing the goal)

Judgments : What IS that smell?

It is safe to assume that many people in the gym are taking some form of supplement. I've seen some people shrink from a size 16 to a 10 and chopstick profiles turned into Arnold's literally overnight.

But really, at what cost? I suspect a lot of these supplements have synthetic materials in them. Believe it or not, you CAN smell the weight loss.

I was in a packed class the other day when I caught whiff of a substance which I remember all too clearly - fat burner. It permeated the whole class atmosphere, people were in this class to burn serious fats! I have taken it before but have pledged to go au naturel, the smell is horrendous and easily recognizable.

After all that trouble, hopefully it works for them.

: First BO, now fats, what next?

Huh?

: 51.6kgs

Judgments: Just Do It!

The other day, unbranded interactive class guy came up to me boasting that he will dedicate the weekend to "practice running".

HUH?

Don't you just naturally move your feet faster than usual to promote a run? What is there to practice? The movement of arms, co-ordinating the legs? What? Ok, i know you marathoners out there will tell me you want to refine the technique, get used to the distance and train you body etc.

Unlike other sports which you can practice, running just sounds funny. Its almost like me saying that I want to practice walking. It just doesn't work, it happened naturally for me one day when I stopped crawling. I just did it! No practice, just walked. Catch my drift?

: Sheeesh what a silly statement...

Instructors with fake accents

: My Japanese buffet is still there!

Judgments : ALWAYS go natural!

Over the weekend I indulged in a gym marathon, attending almost every class you can name. It wasn't a good weekend to be doing that as most of my favorite instructors were not there *curses*

I noticed a disturbing trend amongst the new instructors, all of them have fake accents! One was so bad I couldn't understand a single word he was saying. Thank god he was quite cute and I had a mission, if not I would've stepped right out of his class. I was shocked to find myself out of step this one time, it would've been worse if not for me memorizing the tracks.

The worst bit about the fake accent is that those who put it on are usually chinese educated, and so the accents are combined with a chinese slang or contain extra ssss-es at the end of the sentence. It irritated me to death! Often I could feel an extra S forming towards the end of the sentence only to be relieved I didn't hear it. You can't imagine how distracting it was.

: I wish they would stick to their cina-fide local accent rather than put on a fake one. The lesser of two evils, if I had to choose.

Inappropriate yoga outfits

: 51.8kgs from all the stresses of a relationship


Judgments : Your little birdie is singing!


All of you would know how I feel about men in tights - not much.

Gym outfits are all part and parcel of the gym equipment, you must look good to feel good and so for wholesome mind and body exercises such as yoga, the outfit is just as important as the workout. I've seen people coming in to class looking like a housewife doing a wok with yan episode on kuali cooking - that look belongs only in the kitchen.

Inappropriate yoga outfits would firstly include loose fitting ones. With simple sun salutations and poses such as downdog in the sequence, huge 80's looking t-shirts are just not in. They ride up the waist and soon you have this bunch of cloth on the top half of your torso, exposing some flabby stomachs and disgusting looking bra tops. Ladies, PLEASE do society a favor and glam up, throw away those old t-shirts and get proper gym gear.

Guys, your option of running shorts for yoga are just as bad. I've seen many exposed balls and other unnecessary sights that really kill the "mind" part of the mind and body workout. If you HAVE to wear little shorts in a yoga class, make sure your packages are packed tight!

TIGHTS, there is that ugly outfit that men should never wear in the gym. It couldn't be more of an eyesore, especially when the birdy is out and singing. It is terribly distracting to women, and if none of us have ever voiced it out before, let me be the first! Tight fitting clothes on men would never be a fashion statement unless you plan to join the Mardi Gras parade.


: focus....focus...