| Even though the world population has shifted from | | | | you feel you should - kind of take it gradually. The |
| mainly rural to mainly urban in the last decade, there | | | | instructors just ask that you do your best to stay in |
| are still lots of folks like me who live in the sticks. Doing | | | | the room for the entire time." What? Were we still |
| things like taking a yoga class becomes a different | | | | talking yoga here? I'd seen pictures. Sure, I might not be |
| thing in our case from driving to the neighborhood gym. | | | | able to balance on one leg while holding the other one |
| Since I live 40 miles from the nearest town large | | | | over my head at my first try, but come on. How hard |
| enough for yoga studios, when I decided to take a | | | | could it be to stretch as far as I could go and stop |
| class, I was more interested in the schedule than I was | | | | there? Why would I get desperate to leave the room? |
| the type of yoga. I couldn't afford to be picky if I | | | | Her next suggestion: "OK, I see you brought a bottle of |
| preferred not to wait around for a couple hours after | | | | water. That's good, but you'll be tempted to drink a lot, |
| getting off work. So I looked in the phone book, and | | | | and I recommend you just drink sips - not too much at |
| didn't pay attention to anything but the schedule. There | | | | a time." Hmm. What was I getting into here? It sounded |
| it was: M-W-F at 4:00. Perfect. I don't know what rock | | | | like I was facing some kind of ordeal - not what I had |
| I'd been living under, but the word "Bikram" writ large | | | | in mind at all since I was thinking of yoga as a peaceful, |
| across the ad in the yellow pages didn't trigger the | | | | low- impact way just to stretch and keep my aging |
| term 'hot yoga' in my mind, and that left me in for a big | | | | body flexible and strong. |
| surprise. | | | | Once I was dressed in the little bit of shorts, I opened |
| I showed up with a comfy pair of sweatpants and a | | | | the door to the yoga studio and was met with a rush |
| long- sleeved t-shirt. As the woman at the desk was | | | | of hot, stultifying air. Oh goody. I walked to an open |
| giving me a little orientation information - explaining that | | | | space, spread my mat, lay on my back, and |
| the room was heated to about 100 degrees | | | | understood exactly what she meant by asking me to |
| Fahrenheit - I realized that my concept of yoga clothes | | | | at least stay in the room. I was already dripping sweat, |
| weren't going to work here. Apparently, I wasn't the | | | | and we hadn't even begun the class. |
| first to make this error. Susie told me they had loaners. | | | | Ninety minutes and twice through the 26 poses later, I |
| Now, it's been a while since the last time I wore | | | | was indeed still in the room. In the non-competitive, |
| hot-pants, so when she handed me the little scrap of | | | | supportive atmosphere I had been completely guided |
| shorts, I thought, "No way." She said, "Trust me, you'll fit | | | | to go to my edge, but not so far that I would be turned |
| right in." | | | | off by struggle. In fact, I was exhilarated. I lay on my |
| Susie continued, giving a few more orientation tips, | | | | back at the end, eyes closed in the peaceful, very hot |
| which started to seem like a set of warnings. "Our | | | | room, and knew I'd be back for more. |
| first-time students are encouraged to rest whenever | | | | |