First Bikram Yoga Experience
After being a traditional Hatha yoga student since my early twenties I finally decided it was time to take the plunge and give Bikram a try. I want to get out of my comfort zone and really find a challenging practice, but challenging does NOT even begin to explain my first class today.
First thing, I noticed how much the room felt like a prison since they basically lock you in the room for the 90 minutes. They only allow you to have water between poses as to not disturb the others, who as the teacher explained, are hard at work and don’t want to see a slacker (like me) drinking water while they are slaving away. The teacher kept saying over and over that the key to our success was to push ourselves harder and farther then we felt comfortable with, which goes against the grain of any Hatha class I’ve ever attended where the poses are never suppose to hurt and if they do, we are instructed to modify them. In this class no modifications are recommended.
So what’s the method behind the madness? I haven’t done any research yet but maybe this was originally a method used to train gladiators for the arena? Or perhaps a form of passage into enlightenment by being able to withstand high thresholds of pain and still keep calm and carry on as the saying goes. Either way, it’s a new year and perhaps 2012 is the year that I will find a peace in the midst of a drill sergeant instructor and the Homosapien oven, oh I mean, the yoga studio.
No comments:
Post a Comment