...ow...

The hot yoga class was... hot. The yoga itself was hard to keep up with, but I did the best I could to maneuver around my fat, and I don't feel too bad about my efforts, considering how out of shape I am and how much flexibility I've lost over the years. I did, however, feel like I spent half the class just sitting on my mat, trying to make the room come back into focus so I wouldn't throw up or pass out.

But I definitely got more stretch out of my muscles in the heat, and the sweating didn't bother me terribly (except for when it made it hard to hold onto my ankles or the mat) -- and it did fantastic things for my skin. My face feels smoother and softer than it has in years. You heard it here first: A $15 hot yoga class beat out a $60 facial treatment for improving my skin.

The instructor congratulated me on making it all the way through the class -- apparently most first-timers don't. And I really didn't feel wiped out and exhausted for the rest of the day, like I'd expected to, and aside from a slight tightness in my upper thighs, I wasn't aching yesterday, either. (Today, however, is another story. My hamstrings are killing me. Even just sitting still. Ow.)

All in all, it wasn't too bad. I'd consider going back, though I really wish they had a one-hour class (instead of 90 minutes) somewhere closer to either lunchtime or the end of the day, so it could be worked into my schedule a little easier. Between the class itself and the need to shower and change afterward, I was out of the office for well over two hours, smack in the middle of the morning, when I'm usually getting most of my work done.