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Day 1: Sweat Yoga

Margaret Kruszewska

MS_Bikram_day1.jpgI’ve signed up for that ultimate marketing savvy yoga class offer -Bikram’s 10 classes for $10 for 10 days. In case you haven’t heard what Bikram yoga classes are about; room temperature is kept at 105 degrees and it’s all about the sweating.

Now I’m not a big fan (no pun intended!) of a lot of hot air (pun intended!). I can barely withstand a couple of minutes in a sauna cause it doesn’t really relax me when I feel like I can’t breathe!

And I’ve been turned off by interviews with Mr. Bikram himself (his “day job” was selling luxury autos in Beverly Hills; his lawsuits against yoga teachers; his ego and control of his “empire”). OK, so I’m going in with attitude, but I am going in, digging up some shorts (which I never wear) ready to give him my $10 (which is about how much I can pay right now for yoga classes). So what follows are my notes as a total novice Bikram student.

Day 1: I walk in thinking “oh, this isn’t bad.” Fortunately it’s a moist heat which helps with the breathing but doesn’t help with the funky smell left over from the previous class. I have a very kind teacher, and I realize that Bikram teachers are very hands-off as they stand in the back of the room reciting a very precise “script” (I believe they call it a “dialogue.”) Some of the yoga postures I recognize and some are totally new, like the first breathing warm-up exercise, so I’m not sure if I’m doing it correctly or even getting anything out of it.

The script goes on.

90 minutes of double sets of 26 “Bikram’s Postures.” Notice my heart pounding and feelings like when you get up too fast as we keep moving abruptly from one set to the next. Get kind of bored half way through. Seems like it’s missing a soul. Go through 2 bottles of water and am drenched with sweat by the end of the yoga class but don’t feel sore or fatigued. Notice how good my skin looks that night. I mention this in class the following day and the teacher reminds me that our skin is our biggest organ. Points there!

10 Days with Bikram Yoga

[tags]bikram yoga, first class, hot yoga, Bikram’s Postures[/tags]

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