Embrace the Journey; A Curated Blog: Bikram Yoga for Me

The studio is like "home base"

Going back to Hot Yoga Asheville and our customary practice of the Bikram style yoga seemed right. Old friends and teachers we hadn’t seen in three years hugged me. Regulars were in their same spot on the floor. That moment was surreal. I shouldn’t have been surprised. The Hot 26 Yoga community is tight. They are dedicated to the practice, very encouraging, and non-judgmental.

We fell right back into our old routine of attending the 8:00 am class. The feeling in that hot room is perfect for me. The collective energy helps me make it through class and stays with me all day.  

A favorite teacher, Tara

We had been doing hot yoga at home. We often fudged doing a one hour class with a YouTube teacher. The difference between that experience and being in the room with a live teacher was like the difference in night and day. The verbal cues by a live teacher are specific to that moment. My postures are beginning to improve. Doing hot yoga with YouTube is better than nothing. The in person experience offers collegial support, energetic teachers and a better hot room. 

The teacher gives the Hot 26 dialogue. That puts me into my zone, which is like a meditative state. Each teacher brings their own style and insights. Two nuggets I’ve gleaned recently are: 1)  It takes the body 60 minutes to warm up. The next 30 minutes is when the yoga magic happens; 2) Savasana is a pose, also known as Corpse Pose that allows the body’s natural restorative ability to work. The lungs send highly oxygenated blood throughout the body.

Friendly front desk

Being around other Bikram yogis confirms for me how compelling this yoga is. Teachers and students come back year after year. The  health benefits cover the gamut for body and mind. My body is addicted. The dialogue says that every cell, organ, joint, tendon and muscle are impacted. I confirm the assertion that if you attend class for thirty days, it will change your life.

After five months, I feel amazing!  All systems are functioning well. In just six months, chronic aches, pains and other issues are gone. In addition, I’ve been off of my MS medicine for six months. Will my doctor keep me off? The MRI I will take before my appointment in June will tell the tale. If I'm stable with no MS progression, maybe I stay on this "no medicine" path.  Stay tuned. My expectation is YES, I will be stable. The MS medicine is powerful but I’ve also found hot yoga to be powerful medicine too.