My First Yoga Class
When trying something new, my philosophy has always been "Jump in with both feet!" Well today, I took that experience to the extreme.
I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of practicing Yoga#–it improves flexibility and well-being, as well as (supposedly) helping with mental awareness. Who wouldn’t want to experience that? Combine my healthy curiousity with rave reviews from several friends and you get me walking into a Yoga facility this afternoon to give it a try.
But this wasn’t your average Yoga center. Oh no… this was the Bikram Yoga center. What does that mean? Well it means that you’re practicing Yoga alright#–but in a heated room. Heated to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Woo hoo! That’s right, it’s hot in there. Really hot. There are a number of reasons why this is supposed to be a good idea, and in theory it is… and in practice too (I’ll admit I felt great after class). But man oh man was it difficult to get through the class. I imagine this has more to do with my being a sedantary lout than the class being difficult (I haven’t been good about keeping active#–especially over the holidays). At one point in the class I had to stagger out of the room to avoid passing out#–this happened about five seconds after the instructor told the class (me and three females) she expected a lot out of me since I was the strongest there. Seriously, only a moment after she said those words something in my brain popped and the universe shrank to a peep-hole sized stream of images surrounded by a neon blue haze.
But don’t let that stop you from going.
I felt great after class. After that brief spell, I returned to class and finished (breathing a little deeper and drinking more water in between poses) and couldn’t have felt better nearing the end. So do I recommend Bikram Yoga? I’m going back, so I would say yes… although if you’re sedentary you might want to gear up for the intensity first by increasing your activity levels in advance of starting classes.
Otherwise you risk almost passing out in front of a roomful of (more physically fit) women.
Tags: Personal_Life.
5 Comments so far
Ironic, I just had my first yoga class last night as well! It wasn’t anything near as intense as the path you’re learning, though I did work up a sweat. :->
Namaste
By Patrick on 01.04.06 @ 4:18 pm
Good thing you didn’t pass out though! Guess what? I made costume crew for the All-State show next year, which means I will have to drive up to Kansas City every month, starting in June, to get things done. Five other people from Nixa got cast, in which one of them was Taryn! Just thought I’d let you know!
By Larey (Lynsey) on 01.08.06 @ 7:54 pm
Ohmigosh…
Couldn’t restrain the laughter! Bro, do I miss you!!!! I love Bikram, and actually had a class with Kris a couple weeks ago…the dry air in Denver about killed me…and the teacher saying, “I had a class last night and the instructor pumped it up to 118, so let’s go for it.” I looked at Kristi and just started giggling :-) Not to mention the Chinese fella who sounded like a dragon when he would breathe. My favorite part. Noticing how much cooler it was 6-8 inches lower :-) Standing tall I was melting, in the the warrior pose I was like, “this isn’t too bad down here.” So after class I wander over to the window to grab my socks and was just disgusted with the people over there…it was so cold out that it was maybe 80 degress by the window…bunch of pansies.
By James Sheldon on 01.12.06 @ 8:16 pm
Classic… I will be going back either weekly or bi-weekly, depending on how I’m feeling. It definitely helped me limber up!
Nicholas hollered back on 01.13.06 @ 10:02 am
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