Man oh man.
I am so glad I tried hot yoga again. SO glad.
Do you see that?
That’s a post hot yoga, red-faced, I-just-had-sweat-practically-burning-my-eyes smile.
A smile!
I’ve taken a decent amount of yoga classes throughout the years, but most (okay, all but one) have been at a local gym. From what I’ve been told, the yoga classes offered at many gyms are quite a bit different than the yoga classes you might experience in a yoga studio.
Of course this isn’t always the case, as many people who teach yoga at a studio also teach at local gyms, but this notion always scared me away from taking yoga in a studio environment.
I didn’t think my abilities were on par with those who really practice yoga, despite being told that yoga is all about going at your own pace and making each practice your own. That’s all fine and wonderful, but if everyone else is in a handstand and I’m in the fetal position on my mat, I’m gonna feel a little demoralized.
Well, the one time I got up the guts to go to a real studio, I had a pretty horrific experience that left me feeling embarrassed and totally out of my element.
Those who love yoga urged me to try another studio.
Try again.
I am so, so glad I did because today’s experience was 10 million times better.
The instructor was aware of which poses might test the class participants a bit and offered alternatives to make things easier which I appreciated since flexibility isn’t exactly my strong suit. She was kind, introspective, athletic and encouraging.
I will definitely go again!
Lunch
After yoga, my appetite was practically non-existent. Friends who usually practice hot yoga, is this normal? I though I’d be ravenous after class, but I really wasn’t.
My mid-morning snack was larger than usual since I knew I had a sweaty workout ahead of me, but I was still surprised!
Since I wasn’t about to eat my arm when I arrived home, I took some time to prepare a batch of overnight oats for lunch… only they were not-so-overnight overnight oats. More like 30-minute overnight oats.
I let my mixture of one cup of strawberry banana Greek yogurt, oats, chia seeds and milk soak for about 30 minutes before digging in.
They weren’t as thick and soft as overnight oats, but they were still tasty!
I also ended up stirring in a chopped banana at the last minute when I remembered that we still had a few bananas in the pantry that weren’t quite brown and spotted enough to be make it into we-must-freeze-them-now territory.
After snapping this picture, I wondered to myself whether or not most people actually eat a banana like that? Straight out of the peel?
I always peel the banana, break off the little nubbins on both ends (they’re weird!) and take away all of those weird stringy bits before eating it. I’m pretty sure I’ve never eaten one straight out of the peel!
Back to work for a few more hours. And I should probably shower at some point. Probably.
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I’m so glad you had a positive yoga experience! I really believe yoga is for everyone… it’s just that not every kind of yoga, nor instructor, nor studio is a good fit for everyone 🙂
haha Never thought about it, but no I don’t eat it straight from the peel… probably because I rarely eat them plain. Also, I’d fear looking like a monkey.
Hahaha I eat my bananas straight out of the peel always! I peel away the stringy things as I go. Glad you enjoyed your second round of hot yoga! I love it. Always feel so detoxified after it is over!
I practice hot yoga basically every day, and I’m usually famished after I take class. Although there’s some times when the class is especially intense that I basically have no appetite after. Sometimes I think the famished feeling is actually just thirst though, since you sweat SO much.
I almost always eat a banana straight out of the peel! Especially at work where I don’t really have the time to eat it any other way. That’s why I love bananas as an easy, on-the-go snack!
Although, I always peel the stringy parts off before taking a bite. Ewww.
Ya…me too. Bananas are the perfect toss-in-purse-no-need-to-worry-about-edible-portion-getting-dirty fruit.
You look so cute in that picture, makes me want to go to hot yoga! Also, you kind of blew my mind with the banana question – doesn’t everyone eat bananas straight out of the peel?!? I’m bananas for bananas, so I would never take the time to cut off the ends or anything like that. To each their own 🙂
maybe i’m the freak! when i thought about it, i realized i don’t think i’ve ever seen anyone actually eating a banana straight out of the peel, but i think many people do!
I love my local yoga studio so much more than gym yoga classes. The instructors make a world of difference! And yes, I eat the banana from the peel, skipping the nubbins.
I eat bananas out of the peel a LOT! But only after making sure there are no stringy bits…ugh.
I am horrible at yoga and it kind of bores me… but I’ve always wanted to try hot yoga!
Glad to hear the yoga went well! I eat a banana the same way as you. I hate those stringy parts and I always take the ends off. I could never eat it right out of the peel either.
Glad to hear you enjoyed yoga so much! I should really try hot yoga sometime, even though it kinda scares me – I’ve heard so many great things about it.
I was just thinking today about how much I love bananas because they’re so versatile! I really think they taste different if you eat it straight out of the peel – preferably with nut butter slathered on top 🙂 – or sliced up with other fruit, or on top of cereal and milk, etc. Not to mention when they’re frozen or smashed up and added to things. Amazing!
That’s exactly what I do!
That was to #11. Sorry :/
I eat a banana straight out of the peel but I am not sure if you have ever notice that a banana splits 3 ways so I usually break off a piece of the 1/3 and go around in a circle until I finish the banana, its hard to explain haha!
I recently had a bad experience with a beginner yoga workshop – the instructor even told us that just because we don’t like her class doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try it again, so maybe I should. I always eat my banana in the peel, but I cut off the top part first and get rid of the strings (and obviously don’t eat the other end either!).
Ha, how funny! I always eat my banana straight out of the peel–usually it’s my pre-gym fuel, so it’s on the go. Sometimes I’ll slice it up and eat it with pb, but that’s rare.
I’m so glad you tried yoga again! I take a class through work with a bunch of coworkers, and we’re in a private studio with our instructor–definitely a lot less intimidating when you know all the people in the class, too. 🙂
I’m so glad you liked hot yoga! I don’t do it a lot but I enjoy it, it’s a great way to mix up my routine and it’s relaxing! I used to eat bananas out of the peel, but now I break off pieces and eat them. I also like to break them up into the 3rds they naturally break into length-wise. So weird.
I LOVE hot yoga… I was the same, I had taken a yoga class in college which was so boring and it pushed me away from trying a studio. Until my friend raved about it… it rocked and I was a big sweaty mess at the end! And no, I just wanted an ice coffee by time I got home to be honest.
And on a side note, you’re not weird! That’s how I eat my bananas! I always thought that was normal and the way everyone did it?
I eat a banana that way almost half the time!! I’m glad you enjoyed your yoga today! 🙂
I’ve always wanted to try Hot Yoga – Im afraid the heat will bug me?
Maybe I will give it a try ….
I love hot yoga, but sadly do not get there enough. It is a 90 minute class and you have to be there 30 mins early, and I don’t have 2 hours in most of my days to devote to working out, usually an hour is the max! That and the $20/time price tag too affordable. But I still love it when I can go!
hmm.. when I used to do yoga regularly by the time I got home it would be 7:30pm I would be starving! But that could due to being the end of the day..I sure do miss taking regular yoga classes in studio but all the ones locally jumped on the heated studio bandwagon and it’s too much for my lungs. Crazy to think I did Bikram for a few months! Glad you enjoyed this yoga sesh. I love yoga, I practice Ashtanga regularly in my home gym (only after praticing in a studio for two years). I think yoga is good for the soul. PS, I eat my banana straight out of the peel 90% of the time 🙂
Yay for a great hot yoga experience! I find that it’s all about the instructor…they really make or break it. If you find one you really like be prepared to get totally addicted! I find that I’m not very hungry immediately after class due to the heat, but eventually the hunger (and thirst!) sets in.
I’m so glad it was good for you. I’m newly in love with yoga and I’ve discovered the experience really depends on the class you take. It took a few try before I
found the classes I love.
Um yes … after hot yoga, I’m not hungry at all! Just thirsty!! lol. So glad you have it a second chance and enjoyed it!!
um I eat bananas exactly the same way 🙂
I eat them out of the peel usually haha, what a funny question! Also, just wondering if what you took was bikram/ if you have any tips from one beginner to another? I am taking my first bikram class on Saturday!
I’m the same with you…break off the ends of the banana and peel off the stringy parts!
I’d love to try hot yoga at some point, too. It sounds intense!
Blah, your first yoga experience sounds awful. I would not feel safe doing that at all!
I’m pretty sure there are millions, if not billions, of people all around the world who eat bananas right out of the peel. Have you really never seen someone eat a banana that way?! I’m shocked that you find this odd.
My husband swears you are supposed to peel a banana from the end without the little stem. He peels it from the other side, because he says “that’s how monkeys do it”! 🙂
I practice hot yoga several times a week and I think my body is used to it at this point so I don’t notice a big difference in my hunger levels. When I first started, I wouldn’t be hungry right away but an hour or so later I’d usually want to eat everything in sight. Glad you gave it another try. I avoided yoga for a long time because I thought it was boring. Once I found the right studio, I did a total 180 and now I even teach a few times a week.
SO glad you enjoyed the hot yoga, julie! it makes me feel so refreshed and rejuvinated (when i am enjoying the class. otherwise i feel like death).
i rarely just eat a banana by itself. i almost always have one every morning chopped in my steamin’ bowl of oats, or broken into chunks & blended into a smoothie. bananas are my breakfast fruit! 😛
I’m so glad you had a good experience! My fave is Moksha yoga, and since I started that, other types just don’t compare! As for the nanners, I pretty much always eat them frozen but if not, I don’t mind eating them out of the peel, especially if I’m driving. Absolutely can.not.stand the end nubbin though!
Glad this experience was better than your last!! When you say ‘hot yoga’ you’re not referring to Bikram Yoga, are you? What I like about Bikram is, once you’ve done one class, you always know what to expect as the positions never change. Plus, you can actually work on positions this way and feel like you are making some progression! (I’m horribly unflexible too). And NO partner work. Gross, I do not want to touch other people, especially their bare feet lol.
Ick, I hate banana veins!
Glad you had a great experience this time. Yoga is so beneficial! I am starting yoga teacher training this fall through Prairie Yoga.
I can’t believe you don’t usually eat a banana out of the peel. That’s almost the only way I eat a banana!
Two of my favorite things in a post- yoga + a vizsla! I’m usually not hungry after working out (especially when I am hot). Maybe just try a little cool snack- apples or a smoothie? Then a more substantial snack latter. Glad you tried yoga again- i’ve found being at a studio is such a different experience, especially with all the coaching/guiding & inspirational/encouragement you get in that type of environment.
Did you know that if you eat a banana like a monkey, you don’t get those stringy bits?
I hate those stringies too, so I was super happy when I found out how to properly eat a banana.
Here it is: open it from the other end.
That’s it – that simple! If you open it from the ‘bottom’ instead of the stem end, it’s easier to open and also you don’t get the stringies.
that is so cool!!!
I’m glad you tried hot yoga again! I loved it in college (especially because of the student discount) but I haven’t found a studio I like now that I’m home. You’ve inspired me to start looking a little harder!
I feel like an outcast when it comes to most food blogs… Dare I say… I STRONGLY dislike bananas. They totally gross me out. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Such a shame, because they are so portable and Ive heard how good for you they are. I just cannot muster up the courage to try them again. No. Thank. You.
I would love to try hot yoga but they all seem to be 90 minutes! I barely even have an hour to workout!
Definitely trying Jen’s trick ^^^ never heard of that before!
Also glad for your good review, I’m excited for my experience now!
How are the chia seeds in oatmeal? I just bought some for the first time and poured way too many on a salad and ended up hating the whole salad. Guess I need to start slow and work my way up to bigger amounts lol.
Yay for the hot yoga success!! It makes me want to give it a go… we’ll see though.
One of my students brings a banana for snack every day and actually eats it like an ear of corn… very strange.
I don’t like eating the end nubs either, but I don’t mind them in smoothies I guess cause I can’t see them and all their weirdness haha. So I always break off the ends and put them in a ziploc bag in the freezer and whenever I make a smoothie I just dump a few into the mix.
haha on the rare occassion that I DO eat a banana plain, I most definitely just peel and chomp! and don’t look at it so I dont see all the gross brown parts:)
My white Lab gets the banana bookends every morning-I don’t like to eat the tips.
I’ve wanted to try hot yoga–I may just try turning up the heat in my condo while doing a power yoga dvd 🙂
I eat my bananas the same way you do! I agree; the ends weird me out!
Good for you for going back!
I am dying to try hot yoga. I always love how deep I can get into stretches just when it’s hotter in the room that I’m practicing yoga in, so I’m sure I would LOOOVE “real” hot yoga!
And I love that yoga high..
Wow, you may have actually convinced me to check out hot yoga haha! Glad you enjoyed it so much!
YAH for a good yoga experience! I felt so shaky and tired after my first hot yoga (and got pretty sick the next day), but I’m pretty sure it’s because I did not drink enough water (I have a small bladder), and it was getting all those toxins out!
Just wanted to pop in today and say I love love love your blog 🙂
thanks so much, lauren!
Thats how I eat my bananas too! Only I don’t bite down on the banana…I have to break each piece off with my fingers and eating it that way. Biting on the actually banana just feels like I am doing something dirty or wrong. I know I have the mind of a 15-year-old boy 😉