The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › Frequency of Practice › How Yoga Will Save My Life (Take 2)
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › Frequency of Practice › How Yoga Will Save My Life (Take 2)
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Bonjour mes amis!
My experience with Bikram yoga has been one of ups and downs to say the least, and in sharing this I am hoping to gain some perspective from other yogis to help allay some of my concerns as well to spur some interesting conversation regarding the drawbacks and benefits of a sporadic practice routine…so here goes, hope you find this worthwile. (I’ll try to keep this short!)
It all started in January of 2008 with a New Year’s resolution. As a 25-year old male I had been through a lot of physical traumas (from sports-related injuries to poor genetics) mostly rooted in a childhood rife with obesity and a corresponding lack of self-confidence.
Having been dragged to a few Bikram classes here and there I immediately realized the tremendous mental, physical and spiritual benefits (or more aptly, miracles) that lay in waiting for the truly dedicated yogi. I wasn’t living anything approaching a satisfying life as my body retained an unwavering grip over my mind and my spirit and starting January 1st, 2008 I decided to use Bikram yoga as the vehicle to change this.
Beginning with an every-other-day practice at my local studio, I soon realized some of the preliminary benefits of this magical method. However cursory were these initial gains, I eventually pressed on to a daily practice and things began to improve exponentially. After about 6 months I had progressed to practicing doubles on a daily basis, and the results were mind-boggling. I lost around 50 pounds and saw my body morph into the beautiful state that nature had intended. I gave up smoking cigarettes. I watched less television in favor of reading. I no longer felt the need to drown my now non-existent sorrows in alcohol. Perhaps most significantly, I now felt that my mind exercised control over my body. In the words of one of my teachers, I had turned my body from a beat-up old minivan into a ferrari. I even overcame my social anxiety issues and found myself not only able but in fact willing to speak in front of large groups of people. Things could not have been any better.
A year after this life-altering ’08 New Years resolution I decided to return to school to pursue an advanced degree in computer science and found it nearly impossible to keep up my devoted regimen of daily Bikram yoga. Seven sorry months later now, in July ’09, I realize that I have reverted completely back to the old me – an overweight, cigarette smoking, socially-anxious, stressed-out student with no inkling of inner-peace. And perhaps even worse is the fact that I have retained the body-awareness and mind-body connection that I learned from my year of wonderful Bikram yoga. So instead of being completely ignorant of my condition like so many others in this country I am constantly aware of it and that makes it hurt even more.
I am now making it my number-one priority to get back into a healthy regimen of Bikram but I’ve found that getting back into it after a long break is rather difficult. I try to pick up where I left off and follow my rather advanced approach but unfortunately this just isn’t meshing at all with the current state of my body.
Any suggestions, advice or words of wisdom for a (temporarily) depressed yogi-at-heart?
Merci beaucoup!
Hello finalspinal
I read your post and was feeling so elated and inspired. I got to the end and felt a bit deflated but certainly not hopeless.
I can’t tell if you have actually made it back to class yet. My guess is that you have not yet returned.
This is what I can tell you with 100% honesty, and with tons of support and love. Whenever students come back from an unintended break, and I am talking about me, Robert and hundreds of people I have talked to over the years with this ‘affliction’, this is what they all INVARIABLY say (in one form or another):
>> “Why did I wait so long?”
>> “What was I so afraid of?”
>> “It was hard, but it was easier than I expected.”
>> “It is so great to be back. I feel fantastic.”Go on! Allow yourself to feel fantastic again. You owe it yourself to get back to the real you. What are you waiting for?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Bonjour a vous aussi finalspinal (great screen-name!)
I’ve had some big breaks away (2 x 8 month breaks) in my time and it was more mentally difficult getting back into it than physically. (I wrote about this in 2005 actually http://bikram-yoga.blogspot.com/ and we also had an article published here http://www.squidoo.com/bikram-beginner-yoga)
I also suffered weight gain (a ummm bigger than normal tummy), poor diet choices, headaches and my mental tiredness and tendency to exhaust myself with work returning after 3 or 4 months of not practicing (I used to be a 5-6 times a week guy).
The first 3 classes back are usually the worst. I think this is due to the fact that your mind has already learned the series and knows what to do – so it is “easier” to go harder than the normal self-limiting new student who is still learning more than pushing hard.
Solution: Really, really really counsel yourself to back off for your first 10 classes back. It’s not a race! Use epsom salt baths to help any aching muscles and also if you can afford it, YogaBodyNaturals (https://www.hotyogadoctor.com/index.php/site/forum/viewthread/129/) are very helpful as is some electrolyte replenishment if you are going very hard early on while your body re-acclimatises.
You may also experience some disappointment (for example I got the “I used to be able to do ‘x’ and now look at me” self talk).
Solution: Use the mirror to check in with being present rather than making comparisons. Focus ONLY on the breath whenever you find yourself not quite in the moment.
Hope that helps!
Robert
I have a thought or two on this as well….. think of yourself as that a NEW person coming in. In other words not the person who used to practice, or even the guy you were taking that FIRST class… you are you now. Remember too it takes about two weeks for your body to adjust to exercise in the heat so be gentle take it slow and take a knee when you need it. Try starting w/ every other day or wherever you eel comfortable. Don’t expect a 14 class practice off the cuff!! BREATH and have fun meeting the people too. ENJOY and keep us posted
Go on! Allow yourself to feel fantastic again. You owe it yourself to get back to the real you. What are you waiting for?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂
Gabrielle, your words absolutely ring true. I probably shouldn’t expect anything less from the Hot Yoga Doctor! I guess what I had been waiting for was a long-overdue evaluation of the priorities in my life. When I find myself in the midst of a daily routine of Bikram yoga I find it impossible to envision living my life any other way. Recently my own circumstances and responsibilities clouded this devotion to a regular practice. NO LONGER! It will be a slow process but I have started back down this path and have a renewed hope for what the future will bring.And Robert you raise some particularly relevant points as well! After practicing so frequently for a substantial period of time I had made so many mental and physical advances which served as the prime motivating factors for my continual devotion to the practice. For instance, noticing my daily progress in opening up my joints in Eagle pose was so inspiring to me personally that I began to look forward to those formerly impossible poses as merely opportunities to make great mental and physical strides – as opposed to viewing them with dread and embarrassment. I have heard that Bikram himself espouses the philosophy that all previous practice sessions are not lost but merely “deposited in your own personal yoga bank account” until you are able to resume your practice and draw on these deposits. I sure hope this is true because I definitely have a long way to go.
And finally to the Yoga Guru – It occurred to me that your advice is applicable not only for a person in my unique situation but also for anyone thinking of taking up the practice for the first time. Thanks for helping me by articulating a more realistic set of expectations with which to re-engage in my practice.
What a fantastic forum…Looking forward to a second chance filled with inner-peace, awareness, serenity, compassion and a spiritual connection with others.
A bientot!
Looking forward to the updates and the new relationship CONGRATS and welcome back
Gabrielle where have you been all of my life? Just wanted to provide a quick update on how your forum and site are truly replenishing my yoga practice and my life.
In the past I was always told to “relax your shoulders!” at the same time as the instructors recited the classic dialogue which proposed that I clench my arms to my head in poses like half-moon, and many others.
Because of your videos and countless helpful posts, I am beginning to see the importance of the contradictions in many studio teaching methods.
By focusing on my abnormally tight lats, shoulders, traps, and upper neck muscles and becoming more aware of relaxing them in various poses, I find I am coming to appreciate the true essence of more and more poses each and every day not to mention beginning to see positive overall changes in my body as a result. Plus I no longer wake up with a stiff upper body.
Thank you for your (hopefully ongoing) help!
Hey finalspinal,
It would be great to have an update on how it’s going….
Happy Wednesday!
Things are going amazingly well – It’s kind of fun when people I haven’t seen in a while literally don’t recognize me.
One thing I am certain of is that yoga will be a lifelong journey for me – not just a means to some end…
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