Bikram Day 1

I tried my first Bikram yoga class this morning. Bikram yoga is a series of 26 poses and 2 breathing exercises performed in a room heated to 105* with 40% humidity, lasting approximately 90 minutes.

  Here are my thoughts, 100% candid.

- First thought, WIERD! The breathing exercise at the beginning lasted for a few minutes and made me feel super silly.

- Cleansing. The heat cleaned me out so much. I felt clean from the inside out and refreshed.

- Suffocating. At times I really had trouble breathing with all that heat.

- Contradicting. During power yoga sessions at my studio we’re always told to never compromise or hurt our back. This teacher literally told us we want our backs to hurt.

- Distracting. This studio was plain and the bright fluorescent lights shining down on me didn’t help me relax and get into the practice.

- Stretchy. The heat loosened my muscles so I was super flexible. It felt great to bend farther than I had ever before.

- Boring. I’m not sure if I could do the same practice each session.

- Intense. The heat combined with the poses definitely challenged me.

- Amazing. For the rest of the day I felt renewed and fresh. I noticed my skin was glowing too!

I think my thoughts are biased since I wasn’t a fan of this particular studio and teacher. I didn’t get a good feel from them, you know? Bikram might not be an addiction for me, but I’d definitely like to try more classes at other studios.

After yoga I joined the YMCA! I’ve realized I have to join a gym for access to a heated indoor pool. I’m excited to be able to swim more often! Today I swam 1,000 meters and biked 10 miles. I love exercise

My photos of today’s food are so repetitive- and for the good stuff I forgot my camera! David and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for pizza and Jeremiah’ s Italian Ice for dessert. Divine! Anyway, I did take a photo of my lunch: kale chips, sweet potato fries and one cup of garbanzo beans tossed with teryaki sauce and baked. Yummy!

Have you practiced Bikram? What are your thoughts on it?

Tagged as: biking, gym, swimming, yoga