Day 73 The 80-20 Life

Someone else doing Supta-Vajrasana or Fixed-Firm pose

“I’ve been doing yoga for seven years,” our instructor, Randee, told us today. “And it took me three years before I could do Fixed Firm.”

As this is a pose that only took me a week or two to master, I suddenly felt pretty darn good about my practice. (Again, not me in the photo, but I think my alignment is more or less the same. At least, no one corrects me, so it must be close.)

After 73 days straight, it’s gotten to be something of a habit now. I’ve even had a few classes where I’ve sort of zoned out and suddenly, it’s over and everyone’s packing up.

My nemesis posture, Standing-Head-to-Knee, is coming along nicely. I can now get each knee straight, toes pointed backwards, Achilles flexed. For just a moment or two, but still. Next step, bending my head down to my knee, but I’m in no hurry. If it takes years, it takes years. I need to stop thinking of this as a quick fix, a 90-day boot camp, after which I’ll be able to go back to my sloth-like ways. I may take a few days off eventually, but I aim to continue four-five times per week. I like the way I feel, and I don’t want to lose that.

It’s not about perfection, or deprivation. It’s about making healthy choices 80% of the time.

I got another motivator recently, with the results of some routine bloodwork. My cholesterol – wow, this makes me feel old – has been edging upwards for some time now, a genetic albatross passed down from my mother’s side. (Strokes to the left of me, cancer to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you.)

In April 2010, my total number was 6.9, at which point I pretty much put my fingers in my ears and went la-la-la-la. As of February 2011, before I began my challenge, it was 7.1. I’d like to emphasize here that I’d just returned from Maui, where I freely admit my lifestyle was probably 80% mai tais, 20% lying around, but this forced me to take my fingers out and pay attention.

My HDLs – the good fats – are also high, which means my HDL:LDL ratio is still within normal range. Which is probably why I haven’t had a heart attack – yet.

I don’t know if Bikram yoga, without dieting, has a documented effect on cholesterol. My diet is fairly good anyway, pie notwithstanding, and I get really crabby when I’m hungry, so I’m not inclined to anything drastic here. But I will get my blood chemistry rechecked in a few months, and report back. If my cholesterol has gotten worse, despite my yoga challenge, then – and only then – I will reconsider giving up cutting down on pie.