Bikram 101

"It's easy to be a holy man on top of a mountain." - Bill Murray in "The Razor's Edge"

Let's talk about "distractions" for a minute.

A lot of people have commented on how crowded classes have been at their studio for the last month!  Aaah, the January rush.  It happens every year, like clockwork.  People make their New Year's resolutions, people want to shape back up after the holiday season, and the hot room is oh-so-inviting during the cold and gloomy mid-winter.  This year we've also got an extra bump from the "Oprah effect"!

Now personally, I love the January rush.  I like newbie energy and I like crowded rooms.  My original home studio, back on Lincoln Street in Boston, was tiny tiny tiny, so we were always packed in there like sardines, mat to mat.  I got used to this and I loved it.  Getting friendly with your neighbor was just a usual part of class.  There wasn't a lot of drama - everyone knew how to stagger the rows and avoid smacking each other in the face, and things went really smoothly.  When I moved away and started practicing at studios where everyone had a huge bubble of personal space, I felt.... lonely!!

But you know, it's all part of the yoga.  Some people want more space, some people want less space.  Some people want to see their whole body in the mirror, some people don't want to see the mirror at all.  You can't get your "ideal" conditions all the time.  That's like trying to control the weather - it just doesn't happen!  Instead, you learn to relax, go with it, and take advantage of whatever climate you're in.

In the new Bikram Yoga book (pg 75-76), Bikram says this about meditation:


"Let's say there's a special room in your house just for mediation.  Everything about it is conducive to peaceful contemplation, and you can walk in, lock the door, take the phone off the hook and be completely undisturbed anytime you want.  You sit down on your favorite soft meditation pillow, light your favorite incense, play your favorite relaxing music, and begin your meditation.  Great.  Enjoy.  You know what you're going to get from this kind of meditation?  A fat ass and a lazy body.


"Now, imagine that you are stuck in rush-hour traffic in the middle of the summer.  It's about 102 degrees outside, your air-conditioning is broken and your window rolls down only half-way.  You're 45 minutes late for the most important meeting of your life, the same wonderful human being in the blue van just cut you off for the third time, and you really have to pee.  Now, if you can find peace under those conditions, then you can meditate anywhere.


"My yoga class is that sweltering day."

Now that is a useful school of meditation!  Life is FULL of distractions, and Bikram Yoga is here to teach you to handle them with grace.  So if distractions come up in class - you're stuck in the back, you're getting an unwanted peep show, the new kids are giggling in the corner, someone just walked in front of you during a balancing posture, the teacher has weird timing, the room is too hot, the room is too cold, the room is too empty, the room is too crowded, the carpet stinks, the lights are too bright, your water bottle is heating up, and that dude really needs a shower - just go with it for the moment.  You are getting your money's worth!