My bout with Bikram

Whenever someone mentions Bikram yoga you can expect one of three answers:

1. Oh my god I loveee it

2. Ah I want to try it so badly

3. Oh my gosh I’m so scared, I could never do it

                 

I must admit, before I tried Bikram out myself, my reaction was basically a combination of those three. So what’s the big deal? Bikram is a copyrighted style of Hatha yoga , which goes through 26 postures and two breathing exercises performed in a 105 degree room at 40%  humidity. You will hear horror stories of nausea and passing out, while also hearing that it’s the best thing ever. Naturally, people are intimidated. I was no different. Yet, in the end I fell in love.

                 

When I decided to try Bikram, I was at a very stressful point in my semester. Both my mind and body needed a little change of pace. I needed to stop rushing and breathe. As a former dancer, I have always loved yoga, stretching, moving gracefully, and being led by a peaceful instructor. Yet, I have always been concerned that I was not getting the physical workout I wanted out of it. Bikram is known for major calorie burn, so I decided to give it a go.

                 

My first class went wonderfully. I think things worked out for me because I was used to such intense work outs before. I also made sure not to eat for three hours before the class, and to hydrate well up until an hour before class. I immediately fell in love with the peacefulness of the practice, the meditative state I got into, and how I began to move like a dancer again. For about a month I replaced most of my cardio with Bikram, and continued to lift on alternating days.

                 

When I decided to go back to kickboxing, I felt rejuvenated and at ease. Taking a “break” allowed me to approach my usual cardio routine with a more positive and appreciative attitude. Although I ultimately decided to stop practicing so frequently due to my own personal fitness preferences, Bikram did teach me many worthwhile lessons.  

1. It taught me to slow down and breathe again. So often my mind is go go go. Do this do that, stress about this, finish that, go crazy, go to bed and do it again. Going to Bikram allowed me to slow down and focus for 90 minutes of my day. In such a strenuous class, sometimes the only way to get through a pose is by focusing on your breath. This method of remaining calm throughout the practice has spilled into all areas of my life and since has allowed me to take on each day with a more serene attitude, allowing me to enjoy life more fully.

2. It taught me that “perfection” is a relative term. Bikram is a practice. People have been practicing for days, months, and years. Absolutely every body in the room has its own strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. One has tight hips, the other tight hamstrings. Some postures can be hit deeper than others. Everyone is different. In the sauna of a room, all you can do is focus on your gorgeous body in the mirror and own it. This is what you have. This is what you can do. And for you, today, as long as you are giving it 100%, this is perfect.

3. It taught me that putting down other people will not lead to your own success. What can I say, I’m not perfect. I have my competitive side. I like to be in the top tier of things. It’s something I’ve been working on. Bikram certainly pushed those efforts along. Admittedly, I’d sometimes be in class, checking out the other members similar to me. A few times, I would see someone my age, and notice that they were not handling the heat as well as me. For about a millisecond, I’d be proud…and the boom, I’d immediately fall out of my pose. Bikram requires full mental focus. Letting yourself be distracted by superficial judgments will, well, result on you potentially falling on your bum. Pretty awesome life lesson though, right? It’s best to just focus on ourselves and try to be the best we can be. Wasting time judging others will only be detrimental to our own well-being.

So, if you haven’t tried it, give Bikram a whirl! Even if it is just a once and a while thing, it is sure to bring you back down to earth, filling you with peace and calmness, while detoxifying your body. Don’t be scared! As the Bikram dialogue says, the only requirement is to stay in the room and breathe. Even if you just need to sit there all class, do it! Take the time to yourself, and embrace this different form of exercise. It turned out that, despite how much I enjoyed it, Bikram wasn’t exactly my “soul mate” work out. But who knows? It could be yours!

Be Well.

Love, Julie