Shoes - 1, Me - 0

On Sunday morning, I took a lovely, rainy, 8-kilometer walk with my mother-in-law around Maren lake in Västervik. On Monday evening, I did an Interval Body Pump class at my gym. Same shoes. No problem, right? Big problem in Sweden.

Maren lake on a rainy day

Since the start of my gym-going days in Sweden, I've scoffed at the idea of having a separate pair of indoor training shoes. That's ridiculous, I always insisted. Such an expensive, unnecessary luxury. 

Instead of abiding by this nation-wide rule, I would sneak into the gym with my outdoor shoes only. It's all in one's self-assurance, right? No hesitation, no questions.

But today's gym experience was worse than questions. About 10 minutes into my 75-minute class, I looked down to see my entire area covered in pieces of dirt. Big and small, some with clumps of grass - it was not a pretty sight. And only got worse over the next 65 minutes. 

I was ashamed. The other 29 pairs of shoes in the room were flawless - not a spot of dirt to be found across the grey rubber floor (although plenty of drops of sweat). And so I hopped, I squatted, I lifted for the remaining 65 minutes surrounded by the stigma of my carelessness. 

At the end of the class, I tried to discreetly sweep all the dirt up with a wet paper towel. And another. And then another. So much for discretion. 

Will I change my habits? Probably not. I'm not exactly in the position to spend 2,000 sek on another pair of training shoes for the gym. But I will never forget to scrape off my shoes after a muddy walk. And neither will anyone in the class who stood behind me. 

Bikram galore

Have I mentioned that every winter, I do a spurt of bikram yoga? It’s become a sort of tradition, when the bitter coldness of the Scandinavian winter becomes too much to bear. I retreat into the deep warmth of a mirror-lined cocoon where sweat drips from my every pore for 90 intense minutes.

my sweat-soaked towel at the end of class

I have a love-hate relationship with bikram yoga. I’m in the middle of a month-long spurt now, and am part counting down the days until it’s over, part wishing my last class would never come. 

In the hours leading up to each class, I desperately try to drink as much water as possible. And throughout each class, I play a fantasy of jumping into a cool pool of water - any water - over and over in my mind.

At the end of every bikram class, I'm beat. Beat in a good way, beat in a bad way - in either state, moving is a great effort, at least for a little while. I drag myself out of the studio and sit on the cool floor letting what feels like cold air (read: normal room temperature) surround me. It's probably a breeding ground for getting a cold, letting my sweat turn so quickly, but there's really no alternative if I ever want to leave the yoga studio.

With recovery and showering, it usually takes me about half an hour before I leave, but my face remains beet-red for at least another hour. I like to think of it as a healthy glow, but beneath my clothes is also a whole lot of "after sweat." No matter how cold of a shower I take and how slowly I try to get ready, each layer of clothing must be peeled on over rising sweat. How can there be any left? I wonder in vain. There always is.

I love the sweat and I love how I feel after a good class. But I look forward to not spending so much time preparing for, doing, and recovering from bikram. And so, the end of my month comes just in time... until next winter, Namaste!

21 yoga classes and counting...

Last month's blizzard forced me to re-evaluate my daily outdoor running routine. Yes, it was physically possible for me to continue running through snow and sub-freezing temperatures. And I'd done my fair share of it along rough paths carved out of two-foot snow drifts while at school in Boston. But it is not exactly my first choice for staying in shape over the winter months when it seems almost fitting to plump up a bit against the cold weather.

Still, I decided this winter that instead of hibernating and waiting for spring, I'd give hot yoga a try - and not just any hot yoga; Bikram yoga. 26 positions. 105 degrees F. 90 minutes. By try, I mean aim to get to class at least 5 times a week. I started this personal challenge on Dec 23, and have since developed a new appreciation, among other things, for sweating. I can honestly say I've never sweat more in my life - the perspiration literally flows out of my body during class. It's all part of the detox process, though, and by the end (most days), I feel good - and have earned the right to eat pretty much whatever I want for the next 24 hours.

I wrote about my initiation into this life-altering yoga for Bay Weekly a couple weeks ago - check it out here http://bayweekly.com/old-site/year10/issue_1/lead_3.html. Read about it. Try it. Be assured that you will get an incredible work-out. It will be really tough at times, but the benefits will far outweigh the struggle.

Tonight as I walked out of the Annapolis studio, the owner called after me "Katie, you rocked it in there." The sweating pain dizziness nausea burning heat was worth it in that moment and I smiled. And then tripped over my mat, still slippery with sweat. Graceful or not, I'll be back tomorrow.