My Mecca

I am headed back to the Bikram yoga room tonight and am SO looking forward to it! Thanks to the help of Mom & D, the boys will be covered while I try for a month to fit in as many classes as I can. I am thrilled because my cousin Caitlin is going to give it a whirl and I hope she enjoys it. As with any workout, it is encouraging to have a partner!

Bikram is complicated... I believe you have to have a love/hate relationship with it in order to reap its rewards. You have to be patient enough to let it work for you. As soon as you recognize what it has to offer, you start to crave it. It is difficult and although every class is the same 26 poses for an hour and a half in a heated room, your body and mind's reaction to each class is very different. That is where the breakthroughs take place, and (tough as they are) I love them. I only did it for 7 months, but I have missed it so! As probably anyone who reads this blog knows, I gave birth to my second child naturally (it was very unexpected!). Anyone who has done this knows that there is quite an intolerable level of pain associated with that. I can say today that I don't know how I would have gotten through labor and birth without my experience with Bikram. As I was slapping the wall and clawing cardboard boxes, bathroom walls, and bed rails to stay alive I absolutely had to tap into a deeper part of my psyche to survive! I know this is weird but when I was in labor there were two things that "came" to me and carried me through: #1 I kept having images of Christ outstretching his arms to me in the clouds and #2 Bikram creeds and breathing. One creed you hear throughout the classes is "no expectations." These two words hold a lot of power for me in many areas of my life but for labor and birth this was HUGE. The breathing also saved me. In Bikram you have to tap into a new part of yourself to get successfully through a full class. After forcing yourself into that ruthless hot room over and over your body and mind have no choice but to become extremely disciplined. There is this incredible focus that develops in your heart, mind, and body and it can be accessed after you learn it. That's where it gets spiritual for me. I remember the nurse holding my eyes with hers as I had to HOLD Lennox in until the doctor arrived and I really really felt as if I would die but I breathed and I focused and at one point she stood back a bit and said, "Look at you. I don't think I've ever seen anyone so focused. You are amazing." I owe every compliment to Bikram. I learned to focus and find solace through it and I think that happened for a reason... to be able to get my sweet boy here safely!



I could go on for hours, but I'm sure I've promoted Bikram enough for now ;) My very first class was in April of '09 and I remember the fresh feeling of Spring and how invigorated I'd feel after those classes so it's fun to return to it the very same month I started.