 “I have been sober a little over two years and Bikram Yoga has become a big part of my recovery program. My practice has been such an important healthy outlet for emotional healing and managing the day-to-day life stressors that come up. I don't second guess myself as much as I did before I started practicing. I don't know exactly how it works, but I know it’s the yoga, and I think it has something to do with looking myself in the eye in those mirrors. I have built a mind-body connection and trust myself more.
“I always sleep better after I've come to yoga. I've been able to maintain a healthy weight throughout the year by coming regularly. I have gained confidence in myself and am able to make decisions more quickly. It always surprises me what comes up in the hot room. As one of my teachers says "Let it out. Better out than in!" “I took my first Bikram yoga class in Seattle in 2012 and practiced on and off for about 9 months. But it wasn't until after I got sober that I was able to realize how much the yoga could do for me. Class is so much harder with a hangover! After I got sober in 2014 it took me a long time to starting exercising again in any fashion. When I came back in January I knew it was what I had been missing and has since become a huge part of my life. I keep coming back because my yoga class is my 90 minutes to be with myself, pushing my edge in the most loving way possible. I am increasingly confident and enjoy working on myself from the inside out. I was so happy when I got to the point where I could get through a whole class without taking a break! That took a while, and I still take breaks when I need to. It’s fun to see how much I progress when I come regularly. “I completed a 60 day challenge in the spring and it was the best gift I gave myself this year. It kick-started me into a healthier way of thinking and living. I was really paying attention to what my body needed and treated myself well. I was thinking about hydration and nutrition in a way that I hadn’t been before. It was fun to participate in the studio wide challenge because it felt like we were one big team, cheering each other on throughout the month. The experience made me realize that I am so much stronger than I ever gave myself credit for. I definitely plan to participate in the challenge in January and get the new year started off right! The benefits of a 30 day challenge last far longer than the 30 days and I highly recommend everyone to try it. You will probably realize more benefit than you can even imagine - I know I did!”
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 This photo was taken last summer, when I had been practicing Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class for 11 years.
If you're not familiar with Bikram yoga, I realize that might sound a little odd... Isn't 11 years a long time to do "beginner" yoga? Surely I could have moved on by now. And I'm an instructor, I own a studio! Surely I should be more "advanced," or at least "intermediate" in my own practice. But. 11 years in, Bikram yoga continues to be so delightfully challenging both physically and mentally- that no other activity compares. I have heard the dialog (the scripted instructions memorized and delivered by certified Bikram yoga instructors) many thousands of times, yet I continue to discover jewels in it, instructions I have heard for years which I have only just become ready to understand and apply. How wonderful to repeat the same series of postures thousands of times and still have so much to learn from and about them! Part of the beauty of the Bikram yoga class is that I often practice beside students who have never done yoga before. We are given the same verbal instructions, we do the same postures, we both try our best, we both are tested and pushed to our limits in body and mind, we both soak in our sweat and feel our hearts pounding. We both receive maximum healing benefits by simply trying, one step at a time the right way. I have heard Bikram yoga both criticized and praised as a "one size fits all" approach to yoga. And so it is. (Guess which camp I'm in!) Because: that brand new student next to me? Our struggles may take different shapes, but the prescription is the same. This group class was thoughtfully designed for the benefits of hatha yoga asana to reach as many people as possible, all at once. No matter your trouble- knee, back, stiff, weak, sick, stressed out (as Bikram says, "junk body or screw-loose mind") Bikram's beginning yoga class has something (and probably more than one thing!) you need. It doesn't matter how flexible or fit you are or how long you have been practicing this or other types of yoga. Follow the instructions to the best of your ability with precision, intensity and frequency, and your life will have no choice but to improve. One reason your life will improve is: the lessons you teach yourself in the hot room keep you curious and humble to your own potential. In class you actively grow your self, but at the same time your self is growing too (maturing, aging, birthing, ailing, healing, grieving, celebrating and everything else) which means that no two of your classes will be the same. While you repeat the postures and breathing exercises year after year, remain a "beginner" at heart and you will never get bored. So that's why I've been practicing Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class for over 11 years, and I will most likely do so for the rest of my life. What a gift that I am only just beginning! If you have just begun or are waiting to begin (or have been beginning longer than me!) I look forward to beginning alongside you soon. <3 |
AuthorHHY Founder, Yoga Business Coach, yoga-doer and life-lover, Kay Afif! 
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