Last week, a friend and I decided to sign-up for a month of
Bikram Yoga. Since we are both Type A personalities, we agreed that Monday is
the best day to start a new routine. For those of you who are unfamiliar,
Bikram is 26 yoga positions and breathing exercises done in 105 degree heat for
90 minutes – you have to be just a little crazy to WANT to participate or
desperate to relieve stress, strengthen your muscles, and lose weight.
There are several rules in Bikram. The first rule is to
drink half your body weight in ounces the entire day before class. Ha! I am the
worst drinker on the planet – not even just alcohol, water, tea, etc. I always
get reminded to drink more or teased that I am a camel.
The second is to never be late. In my mind I was thinking, "but it
is better to arrive late than ugly.” (Don't fret - I was on time to class.)
The third is to not leave the room.
Our instructor gave us
LOADS of information and somewhere between thinking about the massive report my
boss just assigned me, what I was going to fix for dinner, how I was going to walk Nyla (my posh puppy) if I couldn't move after this class, and wondering how all these people are confident enough to wear
almost nothing to class, I
was on overload. All I could remember Mischa say was “whatever you do, do not
leave the room!” We live in Texas – it gets to 100 all the time in summer, how bad can
this be?!
We walk into the studio and see everyone lying on their
backs with their feet facing us. Naturally, we pick the spot in the back of the
room… or so we thought. The gong goes off and everyone sits up AND TURNS AROUND! (Oh shoot...) During all of this, I am pretending in my mind that I am now in India and a
total yogini extraordinaire. About halfway into the routine, I quickly transported back
to reality and started to see all colors of the rainbow. I felt somewhere
between vomiting and passing out. I continued to do my best through each
posture, mostly because somehow I ended up front and center (the back was the
front and the front was the back – a mistake I will never make again!) and I
refuse to look lame and out of shape. Just when I thought I couldn't take it
one more minute, she opened the door. Words fail to describe how amazing that
felt.
This experience was proof that it truly is the simple things
in life – being able to drink water after 25 minutes of intense yoga
postures or the feeling of the slightest, most heavenly breeze of air hitting
your face. Once I left the room, I had not one single thing on my mind, not one
worry. I was filled with peace. I had taken time to better myself, to test my
limits, and hello, I didn't leave the room! Success!! I also burned 1,123
calories – BONUS!
Your mind is your servant, NOT your
master. My body wanted to run out of that room like Allyson
Felix across an Olympic finish line, but my mind wouldn't allow my body to quit.
I learned that people
base their decisions on their level of peace. When I got to my car and saw yet another work email on my phone, I wasn't frustrated at lack of direction or being given another tedious assignment. When I was stuck in traffic, I wasn't fidgeting or tempted to
honk my horn and yell at ignorant drivers. I decided that other’s poor driving or
ineffective communication was not going to throw me into chaos. I
liked this new mindset of mine. I will choose to keep it.
Also, it turns out that I, much like Sally, am no camel. I
have a new appreciation for high quality H20.
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