Bikram Yoga

I won some money a couple months ago from a radio station (woot woot!) and decided to invest it in something I love: Me! I wanted to try a new fitness class that I have never tried. My choices were: A monthly pass to our city's rec center (they have some fun classes!), a month of Pilates Barre classes, or Bikram Yoga...From the post title you can probably guess which one I chose. =-P So I just wanted to post my review of my free 1 month pass I got at this cute Bikram Yoga studio near my house.

Those who aren't familiar with what Bikram Yoga is: It's a series of yoga postures that seem easy when you look at the pictures, but instead of a nice dark yoga studio, you are flowing through these postures in a brighter, mirrored room that is knocked up to 112 degrees, and bonus: It is a 90 minute class! The heat is meant to kick up your heart rate, increasing your cardio workout and to help your body ease into the stretches, back bends, and forward bends of each posture. Super intense!

First I would like to say how excited I was to try this form of Yoga! I have only been super into Yoga for the last 3 years, but still like to call myself a Yogi since I've come so far since that first yoga class I had at Golds Gym. I heard this was tough from a lot people, so it motivated me even more to try it!

First Class: I was pumped and so ready to take this class on! Got to the studio which is very comfortable and yoga-ish (Laid back, hippy-ish even...everyone is smiling and hardly wearing any clothes.) I was wearing my capri workout pants and a tanktop (What was I thinking??). I walked into the studio and realized everyone was 1/2 naked. The old guy in the front was wearing only a speedo...why are those guys always the best in every yoga class I've been to?? Within the first 5 minutes I took off my shirt (calm down, I was wearing a sports bra). I was sweating out of every pore! Literally as wet as I am when I get out of the shower. But I loved it! Even though I was scolded for stopping when I wasn't supposed to yet to drink some water =-S. It was an incredible challenge, with all the stretching and balancing--I felt amazing after! (After I got out of my soaking wet clothes to soak them in the washing machine with loads of baking soda, febreezed the *ish* out of my car, and drank 5 gallons of water.)

Second Class: Still loving it! Decided to buy some yoga shorts to wear with my sports bra! Side Note: I've never been comfortable wearing this close to nothing in public, but everyone has such different body types (Plus there is only ever one super good looking girl there, so I just take the spot furthest away from her so I don't cry as I'm trying to keep up with her with my sucked in belly.)

Third Class: Meh. "Maybe I'm just having a bad day" I told my husband after. Kind of a lot tougher than I was expecting after my first 2 classes went so well.

Fourth Class: Ummm, kill me. I was late, so I had to take the only spot left: right next to the huge open window that was pouring sun all over my spot =-(. I thought: Oh it'll be fine...it'll be like free tanning for 90 minutes along with a great workout! No. I could see the clock from this spot (Never a good thing for me to be gazing at) and was "done" after the first hour. Looked at the clock and saw that were "only" 30 min left-yay! Then it all hit me. The sun's heat along with being in a 112 degree room was beating me down. Reached for my water bottle...which was empty! This was the closest I have ever been to experiencing a panic attack. I stopped doing the postures with everyone and lay down on my back. Breathing in and out slowly trying to catch myself from running out of the room.. I could NOT let this beat me, I had to prove to myself that I could get through this! The last 30 minutes felt like another full 90 minutes to me. I made it though, I did!

Embarrassing Moment to add the top of my Embarrassing List: I was so excited to get out of the class room and breathe cold air, that I didn't even bother puting my shirt back on. Just ran to my car, set my water bottle on top of my car so I could put my yoga mat, beach towel and shirt that were in a messy pile in my arms, into a messy pile in my car. Got in my car and started to pull out onto the busy street (2 cars waiting behind me) when I see my water bottle roll down my windshield and almost into the road I was trying to turn on (the busy one). After I dismissed the thought of just leaving it there, I quickly got out of the car (still 1/2 naked mind you) only to realize there were 2 cars waiting for me, and tons of people on the busy road probably wondering what the 1/2 naked girl was doing on the boarder line of the road...=-/ Super embarrassing!

I will probably go one more time next week before my monthly pass is up, so I will update if that class goes any better, which I really hope it does! I'm all for 2nd chances, so I really want to end this monthly pass of Bikram on a good note!

Tips if you're thinking about Bikram:
 - Stay super hydrated the day you're going, and don't forget your water bottle for class
 - Show up 15 min early every time to avoid getting the crappiest spot in the studio
 - Maybe don't bring a friend with you. I found out that most people in class consider this their meditation, and along with the teacher, everyone is really serious about it. I was glad after seeing this that I didn't bring my husband or best friend Amy...we would have busted out laughing and probably offended everyone!

Bottom line: It was a fantastic challenge: exactly what I needed to kick my butt, and get past my plateau! And I love the place I went, so this is nothing against them or anyone who loves Bikram, because I did love it. BUT, I now understand that is not for everyone. They tell you to be really patient with yourself, which I am actually really good at, but I think I will stick with my reagular Power/Vinyasa Yoga please. I guess I just personally can not take the heat!

"If you can't take the heat, get out the Kitchen...or Bikram Studio", right?