Day Sixty of the Bikram Yoga Sixty Day Challenge.

Me and some of my family goofing around with yoga postures.

When my eyes clicked open this morning, the first thought that came to mind was, “Today is day sixty!”  I felt a surge of happiness engulf my body.  I threw the covers aside, ran into the kitchen and began my best impression of Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music”  At the top of my lungs, one more time from the top:  The hills are alive!... with the sound of music!... I trilled.

My husband looked up from his cup of coffee and his iPhone and demanded to know what I was so happy about.

I started the first of the year with the best of New Years intentions: I’m going to fit into those jeans I haven’t been able to button up, I’m going to eat mostly vegan, I’m not going to eat any sugar, I’m going to pass on the red wine with dinner, I’m going to finish the Bikram Yoga 60 day challenge, I’m going to...

On day 40, as I sat at dinner at a local open air bistro, a glass of fine red wine in my hand, perusing the dessert menu while unbuttoning my jeans so I could take a deep breath, I said to my husband, “I feel like quitting.”  He placed a warm hand over mine, looked me in the eye, oh, who am I kidding?  He slapped the dessert menu out of my hand and told me, “Jennifer, you’re not a quitter.”

The reason I felt like quitting is because it was hard.  I felt dehydrated, sore, fatigued.  Dammit, I wanted to collapse on the sofa with a family size bag of Lay’s potato chips and watch some really bad TV.  Something on the Lifetime channel preferably, where relationships never work out and poisoning your yoga teacher is the order of the day.  Then Melissa Winn, Bikram teacher extraordinaire, recommended I drink fresh celery juice (natural salts) and purchase a product called Vitamineral Green.  I’m usually leery of supplements but I have to tell you that stuff saved my life.

Bikram Yoga is a grueling 90 minute workout performed in 105 degree heat and humidity.  If you’re planning on spending 5,400 minutes (60 x 90 minutes) in that environment, you’d better have something to replace all the minerals and salts you sweat out.

So, I made it!  When we got to the very last posture of the 60th class this morning, I felt tears prick my eyes.  I’m going to miss being in Birkram Yoga Laguna Beach every day.  Tomorrow, my Surfer Boy husband and I leave for Costa Rica.  Guess what we’re doing?  A yoga retreat!  Oh, and surfing.  But tonight, we will be celebrating!