Bikram Yoga

You know, there is a certain type of person that puts themsleves through hell on purpose, and I have friends that are trying really hard to turn me into one of them. What is hell you ask (especially coming from someone that doesn't believe in heaven and hell because she lost all imagination when she learned the scientific method at the age 2)? Well, I tell you. Imagine yoga..good ol' wonderful stretchy yoga. Then add about 50 other people and a hot room, and you have bikram yoga.

Now when I say a hot room, I don't mean the ballet room with 20 people in it on a 110 degree day in Davis. No. No, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I mean a room, where even though the temperature outside is in the 50's or 60's, is kept above 90 with a heater. Then you add the people and then you add the yoga.

I mean a room where I sweat within the first two poses. Now mind you, this means something.I am one of those types of people that don't sweat all that much. I have done 5k runs in less than a half hour (hard work) with barely breaking a sweat. When I swing dance, i never have to change shirts because I rarely get wet. If I do have drops of liquid on my clothes, it's almost always someone else sweat (some icky guy's).

In this room, my shirt was completely soaked within the first 20 minutes. And, here's the kicker, I sat out for most of the first half of the class. When I stood up, I felt dizzy. Every time I new pose came around, I stood up, tried it, and sat down. My head just wouldn't settle.

Once things changed to the sitting poses, I was fine. Actually, I was great. With the heat, my muscles totally loosened up, and I was able to lie flat on my legs (stomach touching my legs and elbows on the ground) and other poses that I usually need to warm up a bit to do. AH, but I was warm. Way too freakishly warm. Way too freakishly hot. Way too sweaty, hot, tired, and loose. And I actually feel kind of good, now that it's an hour later.

Will I do it again? Um, I have to. I bought an unlimted pass for a month. First timer's special. $16 for a drop in lesson, $29 for one month unlimited. Just one more attempt at killing myself, and the monthly pass will have paid for itself. Remind me again why I paid for this. :-)