An Evening with Mr. Bikram

Hart Yoga had a new instructor tonight.  Well, the recording of one, anyway.  We had a pretty small class tonight, so Vicki decided to do something a little special--we all practiced along with a CD recording of one of Mr. Bikram's Los Angeles classes.  My goodness, what a character!

His 90-minute recording was chock full of Bikram metaphors, yoga philosophies, and a few gems about life in general.  Every spinal stretching posture had some reference to a pearl necklace, hamstring stretches had a lot of sandwich references, and he continually referred to his class as a "torture chamber."  I think hearing him call everyone "sweetheart" was more tortuous than the poses themselves--well, so long as he didn't hold us in them for-ev-er.  However, I do agree that 90 minutes of pain is much, much better than 90 years of pain.  You're very right, Bikram.  And very funny.

My favorite Bikram-ism came towards the end of the floor series, when his ramblings were getting a little more philosophical.  He said that if you let someone make you angry, then it's you who are the loser.  I really should try to keep this in mind for all areas of my life...especially work tomorrow...

Positive Pose: Hands to Feet

Now, I don't have the loosest hamstrings.  I usually struggle with this pose in the beginning and am only able to lock my knees out at the end.  It's sometimes frustrating how long it takes my legs to warm up, but today I was able to lock my legs out almost right away and hold them there throughout the whole time.  Maybe Bikram's yelling was a good motivator?  Who knows, but bravo hamstrings!

Struggle Pose: Balancing Stick

Oof, Bikram held us in this pose for what felt like an eternity!  Vicki warned that his timing was a bit "willy-nilly" and she wasn't kidding!  It didn't help that I didn't really eat enough today and felt mildly dizzy throughout the whole class.  I had to give up towards the end of this one as the blinders started to close in. :( 

Bikram kept saying that if you feel dizzy or nauseas, then good for you, you're getting the full benefit from the class.  I think he's wrong there--you should be exerting yourself, but passing out in yoga is not a good sign.  Moral of the story: fuel your body before yoga class.  Make sure you're not skimping on food or water so you really can get the full benefit.

Class 2: done!

Until Saturday,

-Allie