Holy hotness.
I had sweat dripping into my eyes. My tank top was soaked. My hair went from blonde to brunette.
I have never been so sweaty in my entire life!
My extreme sweating was all thanks to a hot yoga class I took at a local yoga studio this morning.
I’ve never taken a yoga class anywhere other than a gym, so I was pretty excited to try it out at a real studio. I was quite intimidated as I unrolled my mat and waited for the class to begin, but took solace in the fact that the studio’s website said the class was great for beginners as well as advanced students.
To start the class, the instructor wanted us to do partner poses.
Um, what?
I’m hardly comfortable on my own in yoga, let alone working with someone else… Needless to say I wasn’t too excited about it.
While keeping my hands and left foot on the ground, I had to kick my right foot up and place it into my partners hip bone. From there, I kicked my left foot up into a handstand while my partner walked my right foot in towards my body. I was actually surprised that I kept my balance, but I was quite flustered to begin a class in that way.
Maybe I’m crazy, but this sure didn’t seem like something a beginner would be comfortable doing.
All in all, the entire class was a little too advanced for me. The instructor didn’t do any of the poses, but just called out the names. I had to look around at the other class participants to have any idea what to do for about 70 percent of the class.
Also, though I was seriously sweaty when I left (the room was unbelievably hot, which I really didn’t mind at all), I didn’t feel like I got a fantastic workout. I feel like this was likely my own fault since I was scrambling to figure out what to do half the time and I don’t have the skill set to immerse myself into some of the advanced poses like other class participants.
I think I’ll be sticking to the more simplistic yoga classes at my gym until I build up a better practice and feel more confident at a real yoga studio.
A yogini, I clearly am not.
Breakfast
After yoga, I came home and spread peanut butter and pecan pumpkin butter on a whole wheat sandwich thin. 
(x2!)
I used the pecan pumpkin butter that we purchased from Williams-Sonoma yesterday and must say that it tastes even better than I thought it would. 
I may have enjoyed a pecan pumpkin butter finger or two as well… 😉
Then Ryan headed off to play in a soccer game while I leashed up Sadie for a walk to the Downtown Orlando Farmers’ Market.
Lucky for me, Sadie found a stick about a mile into our walk, which meant that she spent a good 10 minutes jumping around in front of me with the stick in her mouth, trying to entice me into a game of keep away. 
Of course I played along, and of course she won.
Once we made it to the farmers’ market, we spent some time looking at the different handmade goodies and talking with the local vendors.
We walked away with two yummy baked goods.
Red velvet pound cake made at 1 a.m. by Pleasant Fields Bakery (I love that their website says “NOT your low-calorie bakery” 😀 ) and a carrot ginger cupcake made the cut.
Sadie and I sat on a nearby bench to split the cupcake before heading home.
Turns out Sadie takes after me in that she much prefers the cupcake bites with frosting.
Apparently we agree with Hyperbole and a Half’s analysis on the flavor anatomy of cake. ;)
Now I am off to shower off all the sweat that has now dried on my body. Sexaaaay. 😀
On the agenda for today: Visiting a corn maze!
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Partner poses?! That would make me really nervous… but good for you on trying somethin’ different 🙂
I’d be a little reluctant to give partner poses a go myself =\ I would worry about being nastily sweaty because I definitely sweat like a sailor (And other things, too! ;)) when I find something super hard.
You and your puppy are so cute <3 reading your posts makes me want to dash off to the pound!
Have a great time at the maze!
Don’t give up!
Studio yoga >>>>> gym yoga by a million percent. Hot yoga just may not be for you…I personally HATE hot yoga because I feel like it fools you into thinking you’re getting a good workout by turning up the heat. I’ve heard some people refer to hot yoga as a cardio workout…..um, no, sorry.
Go to a studio and take a Basic Yoga class that isn’t hot. It took me a couple studios to find one I really enjoyed, but it seriously changed my perspective once I did.
Oh, wow. The partner poses would definitely intimidate me, too. Sounds interesting though. Maybe there’s another studio with a better, more accommodating instructor around town?
Have fun at the corn maze!!!
The hyperbole and a half thing is absolutely hysterical. Pretty much defines my life.
Classes like that are exactly why I’m scared to try yoga anywhere but my gym!! Though I am kind of intrigued by hot yoga…
Hope you have a wonderful afternoon!!
That is unfortunate about the instructor. I’ve practiced at a lot of ‘real’ studios and USUALLY, the instructor will call out a pose, then get into the pose at least initially– and then they might come around and adjust people as needed etc. But yeah, generally they do (and IMO should) demonstrate the pose at least quickly.
It might just be a function of that instructor and not so much the studio. Maybe see if they have any specific ‘level 1’ or ‘beginner’ classes. My hot studio also offers a ‘warm yoga’ option that I prefer.
There is nothing worse than feeling lost during a workout. I’m all for trying something new, but when it is too advanced or out of my league I rarely feel that I benefit from the workout. I have yet to brave another yoga session after the first one left me in the dust, but maybe with a different instructor I’ll give it another whirl!
oooh corn mazes are so fun!
I’ve always wanted to do hot yoga, but anything that involves partnering-up with a stranger isn’t really my idea of fun! 😛 That really doesn’t sound like a beginner-friendly class, you’re right! I wasn’t able to do a handstand at all when I started yoga!
I agree I do not like yoga at all. I never feel like I get a workout! At least you had that cupcake to cheer you up!
I’ve never taken yoga at an actualy studio either although it’d be pretty cool. I don’t know if I’d be down with the partnet poses..but I knwo they really help you correct posture. We had to do that in training, it was awkward but SO helpful.
That’s weird about the partner poses thing… I love hot yoga, but my studio doesn’t do partner poses & I’ve never heard of one that does before. Strange.
Oh, and whether or not you get a cardio workout from it depends on what you put into it. It’s not how much you sweat (though there are benefits to the sweating part alone) but what your heart’s doing. And my heart rate definitely gets up during hot yoga. Not as much as it does on a stairmaster, per se, but it’s definitely a cardio workout for me! 🙂
Hope you’ll give it another shot some time at a different place; that one sounds out of the ordinary from what I’ve heard about most yoga studios.
I have been literally dreaming about red velvet cake recently. Seriously, last night was the second dream I’ve had about it in a week. There’s just something about that bright red cake that mesmerizes me. I hope yours is good.
Hahaa this post made me laugh! Sadie is such a cutie! We Breams have a knack for sweets. Lauren and I called into BJ’s and ordered a Pazooki to-go last night after we ate dinner at Ballyhoo. We felt like blimps afterwards 🙂
I would be so frustrated with a class like that! Definitely not right for beginners.
Hot yoga is not yoga. It’s really awful for your knees and there’s no sense of flow. Also it’s bad for the room to be that hot because your muscles get to relaxed and that can lead to tearing and injuries. Try a class at a regular yoga studio, it’s way better than yoga at a gym! 🙂
sadie is too cute! after that not fun class at least you got some treats 🙂
I can totally relate! Everytime I try to get into yoga I just leave not feeling like I accomplished anything. Cardio is more up my alley 😉
As a yogini I hate when people have experiences like this! I promise not all classes and instructors are like that. Perhaps theres a better studio in town for you to get in touch with your yogic side 😉
I’ve only ever done classes at the gym too and would have totally been put off by something like that as well. In fact, worrying about an experience like that (and the cost!) is what keeps me from trying out a studio.
I bought the pecan pumpkin butter from Williams-Sonoma and made the cake that they had out for samples. It was SO good!! You mix a whole jar of the butter with white cake mix and a few other things. YUM! 🙂
You should definitely try studio yoga again. Maybe when there is a different instructor or even a different studio. I remember you saying that you didn’t enjoy yoga until you found the right teacher and this is the same thing. Some classes I’ve been to are way better than others. Look for power yoga (or hot power yoga) classes because they are definitely a great workout. I leave that place lighter having sweat out so much, but the next day I have muscle soreness as if I had lifted or done strength training the day before. It’s like stretching to recover from strength training whileeee getting in a bit more strength. I highly recommend it!
OMG what a coincidence!! I shopped at Williams Sonoma yesterday, and bought the exact pecan pumpkin butter…. it is soooo good. I mixed it in some cream cheese, on top of toast = heaven.
Wow, that’s definitely NOT a beginner class. I took my first hot power yoga two months ago, and it was very easy to follow. My only problem was that I kept having to retreat to child’s pose, because it was so difficult. It was an AWESOME workout. Sorry yours was rather disappointing.
i’m with Kate…hate hearing when someone doesnt have a good exp, but hot yoga isnt for everyone.
there are many diff hot yoga type classes out there. i have NO idea what one you did because i have NEVER heard of any kind of partner anything. u might want to look for something like Hot Hatha, generally better for beginners.
I do Bikram which is 90 min in a room thats 110deg/40% humidity and its 26 poses done twice. i hated reg yoga but i looooooooooooove my Bikram. Bikram however is very strict (true Bikram) and the instructor doesnt do the poses either. i started out with a reg hot yoga class but not bikram and it was much more relaxed and the inst did all the poses with you. once i figured them all out and felt comfortable i moved up to bikram.
My friend Christina told me about your website; which by the way, I love!
I’ve been doing Bikram/Hot Yoga for the past 7 years…its amazing…I think you just need to find the right teacher/studio. Each studio has its own vibe/style/rules.
I will say…I’ve NEVER heard of hot yoga with partners, esp if you don’t know/come with the partner…a bit odd.
Hope you will give it another try…
Alexis