| Recently I've been going through a serious health | | | | Shortly, I began to feel incredibly drained, light headed |
| phase. It's something that I do occasionally, alongside | | | | and like I was going to pass out. Apparently this is |
| raw-food weeks and long distance running. It's alright | | | | normal. I can understand why some people might |
| though, as these phases are short-lived and | | | | argue that pushing your body to such extremes helps |
| in-dispersed with bouts of home-cooking and an over | | | | attain a level of single mindedness and physical |
| indulgence in cream teas. Most recently, a friend and I | | | | endurance which is like no other; but at the time, all I |
| have tried our hand (and legs) at Bikram yoga. Being a | | | | could think about was whether or not I'd ever be able |
| regular yogi, I thought I'd take to the sweatiness easily. | | | | to do this again. One hour seemed like four. |
| I've been stuck in a car in hot weather before, so | | | | I got to thinking, I'm sure this isn't what it's all about. |
| surely yoga in a heated room wouldn't be a challenge. | | | | What about the relationship of working closely with an |
| Not so. What I thought would be my next health fad - | | | | instructor to understand the movement and control of |
| transpired to be something very different. | | | | your body. What about learning to breathe before |
| I started preparing for the classes a few weeks | | | | learning to move? All of these things were quickly |
| before hand. It being sweaty yoga, I knew it would | | | | brushed upon in Bikram and never fully investigated. I |
| probably involve getting down to the undies. With this in | | | | wondered whether that was because the class was |
| mind, I aimed to be as toned and groomed as possible, | | | | heavily full and stringently scheduled. The venue that I'd |
| although on arriving most people were of various | | | | gone to was obviously very busy, and would clearly |
| different shapes and sizes - so it didn't really matter. I | | | | continue to operate like a business than a place of |
| thought it may be awkward with my friend Christine, | | | | discovery. For me, the battle between enterprise and |
| but it really wasn't; we gave each a once over and | | | | methodology seemed to undermine the purpose of the |
| then just got used to it. We'd registered and mingled | | | | class. Could these have been better classes with |
| with the other class-members, most of whom seemed | | | | smaller numbers and more time? Eventually, this got |
| like regulars. Then we went inside the heated room | | | | me thinking about Bikram Choudhury himself. He's |
| and started the trademark twenty-six postures. Initially | | | | clearly thought long and hard about the technique. Did |
| the heat was calming. Then it was cranked up - and | | | | he believe it would really kick-off the way it did? As a |
| the dripping began. The postures seemed to start of | | | | millionaire, is he still involved with the quality control of |
| fairly easy, but had their own Bikram twist. I thought, | | | | classes around the world? |
| being a regular practitioner of Yoga, I'd find this | | | | I know that I will always appreciate the benefits of |
| reasonably tolerable; however it soon got tougher and | | | | yoga, and I know its practice will be experienced |
| tougher. | | | | differently by each practitioner; but for now, I think I'll |
| As the instructor rolled through the poses, I was | | | | stick to the kind that I'm used to. On considering recent |
| astonished at the speed at which the class was | | | | career choices, I was speaking with my yoga teacher |
| progressing. Barely had I moved into a pose, when we | | | | about the prospect of learning to teach it. She asked |
| were asked to move on to the next. This was unlike | | | | me how much I expected to earn, and then went to |
| the philosophy that I'd gotten used to. I thought you | | | | say, it won't really be much, 'not unless you're on TV or |
| were supposed to ease your way into the poses | | | | have a DVD of course'. Maybe Bikram's got |
| through breathing. What I felt with the Bikram class | | | | something going for him, I just wonder what the exact |
| was something far removed - something a lot more | | | | philosophy behind it is. |
| entwined with boot-camp than the serenity of yoga. | | | | |