Inspiration

So I have been inspired to do this for a long time. To blog. To write my thoughts down. To follow through with sharing the intricacies of Amanda's life with family and friends. Recipes I've tried; the ones I love, the ones I hate and the ones my husband can't stop drooling over. Things that happen; random, planned or simply just fate. Its been a long, not so hard road to live and love in Austin, TX but I'm here and I'm happy and its about damn time I started talking about it. I moved to Austin six years ago, married for almost four and finally I'm ready to chronicle my own journey through life.
What was the tipping point? What just recently inspired me to choose September of 2011 to finally take the plunge into the blogosphere and share my thoughts with the online world. It was actually the farthest thing from technology and social media and IT inspired the name of this blog. If you can believe it one of my largest stumbling blocks to launching my thoughts on the world wide web was the name. I needed to have a domain name and website name that could inspire me daily to keep writing. A philosophy to my life, on and offline, to move forward. If I'm not inspired to live the words I type in for my website, how do I expect myself to write about it? The answers to all my questions were found in Bikram Yoga.
On July 8th I was indulging in some Leanderthal Martinis with my friend and neighbor, Melissa.  For all you non-Leanderthals out there, think Beer instead of Gin and Vermouth. Yes, its delicious, you should try one! Melissa mentioned the idea of wanting to try Bikram yoga but not wanting to go alone. With some beer induced peer pressure slash smile and nod 'of course i will' hesitation, I agreed to 'let's go together but we'll go next weekend when we aren't recovering from our 'martinis' and the full week of doubt and 'what the hell did i agree to' thoughts ensued. I convinced my friend Gina to join us for a full team of 'newbies' and the following saturday the 16th of July we went, we didnt weasle out of it, we actually followed through. We really had no clue what we were getting ourselves into, not a clue. I knew the class was 90 minutes long and I knew it would be 'ehhh...warm' in the hotroom and even at the beginning of class we looked at each other and said 'this wont be too bad, it doesn't seem too hot.' Yea, check the thermometer at the door, its at least 105 degrees with some crazy humidity. 5 minutes into the class after the breathing exercise we hadn't even done a yoga pose yet, I was drenched in sweat. I will be the first to admit, class one - I thought I would die, puke or pass out. But Melissa and Gina and I were 'in it together' and we had to follow the rule, do not leave the room. You can think you will die, but you wont; you can lie down or pass out on your yoga mat but whatever happens in your first class we were told to 'have fun' and 'stay in the room'. Ok buddy, I'll have fun! I'll stay in the room if you'll get out the smelling salts after the 90 minutes to wake me from my puddle. We made it. All three of us, stayed in the room, drowning in our own sweat that dripped in new angles and places we ever thought possible, but we made it through. I had sweat dripping in my eyeballs, in my ears and up my nose. You say up the nose sweat isn't possible. Ahh, then I challenge you to meet me in the hotroom and you can experience it firsthand or should I say firstnose.
So the first class ended, we chugged some gatorade and somehow made it back home in a strange yoga stupor and we laughed at ourselves and thought it was freezing outside in the 100 degree heat. A hot shower and a few quarts of water later, I had the headache from hell. Slept all afternoon and still had a headache. I thought to myself, never ever again will I do THAT to my body, what was I thinking agreeing to that. To this day I still haven't figured out what the inspiration was to even go back again, I did not go back the next day, I considered it, I even called Gina to see if she wanted to attempt class number two together but I bailed on the idea quickly. I must have been hearing lines from Home Alone in my head 'do you guys give up or are you hungry for more?' Apparently I was hungry for more sweat puddles as Monday came around and I somehow was inspired to go for class number two. I was more prepared this time, I learned that my headache was caused by my failure to properly hydrate before class so I chugged water all day long at work to prevent a repeat headache. It worked and class number two seemed easy breezy compared to my intro to the hotroom. So what did I do, I continued to go every day. About a week into my new every day yoga routine I realized there was this 60 in 60 challenge. 60 classes in 60 days, I challenged myself to complete that and I so it was, I went every day to prove to myself that I could. Every day for two months straight 90 minutes in 105 degree heat. And not just stay in the 105 degree hotroom but actually do the 26 postures of Bikram Yoga. September 15th marked my 60th class in 60 days and during class 40 I found the words that inspired this blog.
Every day for 60 days you do the same postures and you listen to the same words. You are always hearing something new. At class 40 I heard something new that are now the words to guide me through life in general. 'Eyes Open, Breathing Normal.' During your 90 minute Bikram Yoga practice you are asked to keep your eyes open and to breath normal. The perfect reminder for daily life to help get you through. You can't live your life with your eyes closed, you can't experience the good or bad without being open to seeing or living it. When your eyes are open, you are present, you are there and you are living. Breathing normal is the only way to make it. Make it through those ups and downs you are now living with your eyes open. Breathing normal lets you survive the 90 minutes in the hotroom without passing out. Breathing normal gets your through the panic that occurs when you make it to class ten minutes too late and you aren't allowed to practice that day and its too late to make it to an alternate class. Breathing normal makes you believe in yourself long enough to do a double and take two classes in one day to make up for the one you missed. Breathing normal brings calm and peace to your regularly hectic life. Breathing normal lets you live your life with your eyes always open.
So here it is, my blog, my thoughts, my journey through Bikram Yoga, my new inspiration and theme for living and my life on virtual paper. This is Amanda...Eyes Open, Breathing Normal.