The alarm goes off at 5:00 this morning. A 6 a.m. hot yoga class was in my plans for the day. I haven’t practiced in over two years but since my wipe-out at the gym last week, I needed something a little less strenuous on my ankle and still get the benefits of a good work-out. Bikram yoga was what I wanted.
The first thing that hit me as I climb the stairs to the studio was the heat. Of course I knew I’d be working out in a heated studio, but somehow that fact had failed to register in my consciousness until that moment. I enter the quiet space, many people already there ahead of me, lying quietly on their mats, preparing their minds and bodies for the next 90 minutes. I choose my space on the floor and lay out my mat and towel. One last sip of water and the class begins.
Bikram yoga begins with a pranayama breathing exercise designed to oxygenate your body and prepare you for your practice. Counting to 6, we breathe in, locking our hands together under our chin and stretch our elbows to the ceiling. We hold for a second and then expel, also on a count of 6. As I breathe in and out, I feel my lungs expanding, taking in more air with each breath. I wonder why I don’t breathe like this everyday. I mean, I breathe of course, but for the most part, my breath is short and shallow. Nothing like the deep, life-giving breaths I was taking in during the first 90 seconds of my 90 minute class. From breathing, we move to stretching, beginning with our spines. The first few stretches are painful, my body is stiff from sleep and the blood is not really moving very much. However, with each pose, I feel strong, my heart beats faster, and how I breathe throughout the class determines how my practice goes.
The studio is heated to 105ºF with a humidity of 40%. My body is dripping with sweat before the first breathing posture is complete. The whole class consists of only 26 poses, everything done twice. There is a standing series followed a series of poses on our mat. Each pose is designed to stretch or contract different parts of your body. The teacher talks you through each pose and I hear her say the same thing over and over – lock out your knee, suck in your stomach, breathe through your nose. Of course there is a lot more being said, but this is what I mainly hear today. I find the floor series more challenging than the standing poses. As we stretch backward, and then forward, I feel my heart beating a little faster and I must concentrate hard on my breath or risk getting dizzy and nauseous.
My least favourite pose today is Camel. As I lean backwards on my knees to grab my ankles, my rib cage expands and it feels like I am going to pass out. This doesn’t surprise me. Camel pose exposes your heart; it is the most vulnerable pose of all. This morning I talk myself through the stretch – there is no risk, nothing is wrong. After the second time, I lie down for savasana and my heart beat slows slightly. This is my favourite pose – savasana, or dead body pose. It’s a 20 second rest period between each floor posture, allowing the blood to rush back into the area we have just been working on. I am really good at this one. In fact, the reason I practice hot yoga is for the final savasana of the session.
The session is over. As I lie on the floor, in a slightly darkened studio (they turn off the lights at the end), I close my eyes and release all tension from my body, revelling in the fact that my body has completed another session of what can sometimes only be described as pure torture. You might ask why I participate in something like this. I could list off many of the health benefits but a sign at the entrance of the yoga studio says it all.
I never promised it would be easy.
I only said it would be worth it.
-Bikram Choudhury
Namaste.
No comments:
Post a Comment