OK, So I Like Bikram Yoga Now
The first time I tried bikram yoga was about two years ago at a little studio in California. I hated everything about it. Like, literally everything. I hated the heat, I hated the stupid towel on my mat, I hated the instructor’s voice and the dragon tattoo taking up half of her body, I hated the girl front and center with really big boobs who could lift her body straight up in half locust pose, I hated my hair, I hated that I had to pee, I hated my face. I felt like I got absolutely nothing positive out of the 90 minute class, and told everyone bikram yoga was useless and the room felt like satan’s asshole.
You can imagine my response when my friend invited me to go to a bikram class with her a few weeks ago. My first thought was a resounding “HEEEEEEEEALLLLLLL NO,” followed by “I have shin splints from running!” and “I’m a redhead, I can’t take the heat!” and “I need to wash my hair!”
Then I had a change of heart and thought it might be time to give it another chance.
So I did, and I didn’t hate it. It might have been because there was a first-timer in the class who hated it so much he actually uttered “fuuuuck this” after the third time we had to turn around and lie down during the seated poses, which made me think “hey, you’re not audibly swearing, so you’re doin’ alright. Go you.”
I went to my second class yesterday.
Side story, before I talk about the second class:
After my first class I decided I needed to find a better water bottle to bring with me if I decided to go again. All mine have a screw top lid and really small opening, so I have been looking to buy something with a bite valve and wide lid so I could pack it with ice cubes. Since Detroit doesn’t have any fitness type of stores right in the city, I figured I could find something at either a drugstore or dollar store. I checked Rite Aid, CVS, Walgreens, and Dollar Tree. Nothing. They all had the aluminum bottles with a tiny lid, which I already have, but nothing that actually fits an ice cube.
So this is what happened at Rite Aid, my last stop:
Me: “Do you sell reusable water bottles?”
Store attendant: “Huh? Like the kind you put alcohol in?”
Me: “Or like the kind you put water in.”
And this is why Detroit is in the crapper.
OK, back to bikram.
I went again last night with my friend. Josh even decided to tag along and try it out. I think he liked it?
The beginning of the class I was doing my usual thing, where I mentally try to determine how much time is left and think about how I can half ass the next pose to prevent from literally passing out. Then when I checked my pose in the mirror and got a look at my sweaty sports bra, dripping wet bun, yoga shorts creeping up to the heavens with a whole muffin shop hanging out of every fold, I realized that this class is literally the grossest and probably most vulnerable I allow myself to become in public, and yet it makes me feel stronger, more powerful, and more in-tune with every inch of my body than just about anything else I have ever done. I’m a ridiculously lazy person and this class forces my body into a whole new zone of discomfort.
I started to notice my breaths becoming deeper, using more and more of my lungs that probably haven’t felt a good sip of air in god knows how long. I started to notice the benefits of my workouts at the gym – stronger arms, better posture, much more endurance, allowing me to hold poses for a second or two longer and sink a little deeper into each one. Noticing these small changes really drove home a point I keep trying to tell myself – working toward new fitness goals might never become easier, but I will get better. That’s good enough for me, even if it involves inhaling an inferno while dying in camel pose to realize it.
This entry was posted in Fitness and tagged benefits of bikram yoga, bikram yoga.
This post makes me really want to and really not want to join you. Putting it in my calendar for next week – probably a better choice than ice cream.
bikram one day, ice cream the next!
I couldn’t help but laugh half way through this post when I got to the water bottle thing. Like oh. my. word.
Yeah, you did great! It’s good to try new things and to try them again. I do not think I would able to do something like that so kudos to you for doing it!
Oh I laughed when she said that too. Even better is that she had to ask her manager. Amazing.
I’ve always wanted to try bikram yoga! I feel like it’s something that would make me actually enthused about exercise and the like, as opposed to running. I’ve only just started getting back into yoga though, so I probably should wait a bit before diving into bikram!
I used to do other forms of yoga all the time but it’s been almost a year since I’ve gone. Bikram’s structure is a lot different, and you definitely don’t have to be crazy flexible or have any pre-yoga experience to try it out. I think it also helps me with running because the heat soothes shin splints and other ailments. It’s worth a try!
That water bottle thing was hilarious!
I sorta feel like I didn’t give Bikram a fair shake when I tried it… I didn’t hate it, I even had some interesting realizations when I was on the mat… but I just didn’t love it enough to want to go back again after the first class. I guess I chalk it up to it not being exactly what I needed to add to my practice at the time.
I do think that I may go back to it eventually.
This is exactly how I felt about Bikram the first time I tried it! I, like an idiot, drank a milkshake right before and I have never felt so nauseous in my life. I’ve never gone back to Bikram, but I do power yoga in a heated room six times a week now and I’m obsessed with it.