I speak Spanglish and I practice ROGA!

I speak both English and Spanish on a regular basis. However, every now and then I speak Spanglish. No, en serio! :-) As many of you know, I am also a devoted runner and a Bikram Yogini. I practice both with the same dedication and love. However, every now and then I practice ROGA. Now, you might have heard this ROGA term before. The famous Lululemon store dedicated to "yoga clothes and running gear for sweaty workout" thinks that they invented the term but I can guarantee you that I've been using it for years. ;) For Lulumenon it means to "compliment your running and strengthen your body and mind by joining a yoga group". To me, it's more than running + yoga. It's taking what I learn from both disciplines and mixing it up a little bit. It's like speaking Spanglish.

Let me give you an example. In Bikram Yoga, we hold certain postures for just 30 seconds. Our Bikram instructors often remind us that this allows us to direct freshly oxygenated blood to certain parts of the body. In the running world, we have speed-work. While there are many techniques out there, perhaps the most common is intervals training. Last Tuesday, I went to the tracks for the first time in years to practice with my running group. We were instructed to run just for 30 seconds at 95% of our capacity and then take it easy for another 30 seconds. We repeated this series at least 10 times. After a couple of minutes, I was exhausted and all I could think was Bikram Yoga. Oh if I can hold any posture for 30 seconds, I can do this. But let's not LOCK THE KNEES right now that would be "un catastrofe".

After we finished this exercise, our coach explained to us that with higher intensity training, we have a better oxygen delivery system. aha, I heard this before. He proceeded by giving me posture corrections. Oh, the best Bikram Yoga instructors give good corrections too. My coach looked at my running form and let me know that both of my arms were moving towards the chest. This is not good except on downhills. The arms need to be straight. I tried running that way. Holy cow, this correction makes all the difference in the world. Thanks Bikram. I meant, thanks coach. I left the tracks tired, sore and extremely happy. After all, I have had embarked on a 90-minutes of mental vacation. Oh wait, I am getting mixed up again.

Next day, I went to Bikram Yoga. I had a really bad day at work and I just wanted to take a 90-minute savasana but I knew it was not going to happen. I told the instructor before class that I was sore and that I was going to take it easy. The room was HOT, the humidity sky rocketing, my stomach was making funny noises. During standing head to knee pose, I thought of my coach and the tracks the day before. Oh if I can run at 95% capacity for 30 seconds, I can do this. Soon we were doing full locust pose. Arms, Body, head, legs, everything lift up, 747 taking off. YES, I am going to nail the next 400 meters. I see the finish line.

I am telling you Spanglish. The story of my life and I am loving it. I am not sure anyone reading this post will understand it unless you are a ROGA practitioner. Are you? Lo eres? :-)

Namaste and Don't forget to run like the wind!