losing it

so far, i've taken two level 2/3 vinyasa flow classes since i got back, and in both classes, my arms couldn't keep up with all the push-ups and planks and chaturangas that were thrown my way :(

i can come up with a number of reasons why:
1. i'm still terribly jet-lagged
2. the classes were harder than usual
3. i'm carrying more weight because of all the food i'd eaten while on vacation
4. i've lost arm strength because i haven't been practicing much yoga lately

but are any of these reasons valid? let's see...

1. i'm still terribly jet-lagged

i suppose when my body clock has me forcing myself to fall asleep at 4am, then struggling to get out of bed at 10am (thank goodness i don't have a job to get to -- yet), it MAY have an effect on my stamina. but then again, i usually survive on around 6 hours of sleep anyway, so the time shift shouldn't be a problem. at least i wouldn't think so.

2. the classes were harder than usual

on tuesday, the day after i got back my from latest trip, i chose to take a class with jeanine del carlo at the new yogahop studio based entirely on matt's glowing review on the studio website. it went something like this: "When I took Jeanine's class I was taken away. Between her spiritual ideas woven into the movements, her use of great music, and her genuine love of teaching, I was on a high all day long. The very next day I invited her to teach at YogaHop and was thrilled when she said 'yes'. I'm sure you'll be brightened & transformed by what Jeanine brings to your yoga practice."

it turned out that i ended up being the only student in jeanine's class. the good news was that i had a private class for the price of a group class. the bad news is that she watched my every move, made sure that i did everything properly, and pushed me to my limit. there was no slacking allowed on my part because there was no one else in the room to whom she could refocus her attention. she observed my every push up, every crunch, every side stretch, every knee bend. and to think i thought that bikram teacher was tough! jeanine did sympathize with my sleep-deprived state, but kept pushing anyway. did i just say in my last post that i needed more power and strength? can i take that back?

the next day, wednesday, i took seane corn's class at sacred movement. after feeling like i had gotten my butt majorly kicked the day before, i hoped that i'd do better with a familiar teacher at a familiar place. wrong. the old moves seemed hard and the new ones were even harder. what had happened to me???

3. i'm carrying more weight because of all the food i'd eaten while on vacation

i couldn't help but eat while i was in the philippines. there were full breakfasts with family, lunch buffets with friends, multi-course dinners with relatives, and impromptu meriendas (mid-day meals) with friends of friends/relatives of friends/friends of relatives. there was even a time when, over lunch, my mom asked me what i wanted to eat for dinner. argh!!!

4. i've lost arm strength because i haven't been practicing much yoga lately

with all the graduations and award ceremonies and the traveling (and meals) that went along with them, yoga had to, unfortunately, take a back seat. looking at my calendar, for the first 21 days of june, i managed to take a whopping NINE classes -- two in providence, three in manila, and four in LA. and to think that i usually take classes everyday!

i think i'm finally on to something...

i'll give it a week and see if things improve. in the meantime, i need to work on my sleep habits, because it's now past 4am and i'm still wide awake!