Bikram Yoga - Part 2

Just got back from my second Bikram yoga class at Myaree and now I can say that I have done Bikram yoga! I cannot believe that I could not even sit up to write the 104 after my first class and that was only a week ago!

In a nutshell, you do 26 stretches over the course of 90 minutes in a 38 degree heated room.

To me, the class brings out a natural balance in the body. It makes you focus on your body, on every muscle contraction, the rhythm of your breathing, the sweat cooling your body heat, the pain and satisfaction of every stretch.

It is enthralling.

It felt like I had expanded my lung's capacity and transformed my body into a rubber-like object, twisting and turning slowly to positions instructed by the yoga teacher. She, by the way, was amazing! Beautiful curves, again the celebrity golden brown tan, excellent posture, gentle but firm abs and she held such a calm and soothing tone in her voice.

She explained to us how our bodies benefited from the positions. Where to exert pressure to push the stretch even further. In a non-forceful manner, she made us work. Work really hard.

Enthralling. That what she is.

She said to think of our bodies in terms of three colours. Yellow to indicate the environment where our bodies normally operate. Orange where we have edged out of what we do routinely, out of our comfort zones. Red when we are pushing ourselves past our limit. And she told us not to go into the red.

Thanks to Marie, I found myself completely out of my comfort zone and drenched in the orange. It challenged my brain pulses, sizzling the "NO" stream to a steamy "YES!".

Bikram Yoga

As I lie here in my state of exhaustion, my sister is typing away at the computer while I narrate to her and in inadvertently to you.

Why Bikram yoga? I asked myself the same question too as I stood there registering myself for the class. I browsed through a list of questions from "to enhance my fitness plan" to "to lose weight". I ticked "other" and wrote "to try something new "

I walked in and was greeted by the most beautiful man on earth. It was like a scene out of the movies. Where restaurants hire good-looking waiters and waitresses to attract customers, this Bikram yoga place hires a dude with golden tanned brown skin served with gentle, delicate yet firm abs. If only I could have written him as the my reason for being there. True but not appropriate.

What is Bikram yoga?

Now I can say it is 90 minutes of insane heat blowing at your body while you're stretching muscles that you never knew existed. I don't think the muscles knew they existed either. It was the first time I saw sweat emerging from the pores of my hands. Starting out like little droplets of demure sweat, merging and flowing but thankfully not as much as the man beside me who was like a human fountain.

After what seemed like the longest time, I took a break while the rest of the class was balancing on one foot with the other high in the air and their hands stretched out like they were carrying a baby. All the while Mr extremely hot and tanned continued to tell us to raise our chins, kick more (stretch the leg that is in the air further up). Minutes later, exhaustion dawned upon me and i became dizzy - as well predicted by the lady at the reception.

It is perfectly normal to feel like your elbow is about to break off, to breath loudly and to want to collapse on the floor and stay there forever.

How do I rate Bikram yoga? It was so out there that in the end of the session when my instructor walked out the door, he said "Namaste" and I followed the others and said namaste with pride and also with a heave. Going again this weekend.

Here's to a hot and sweaty 104.