Bikram 101

by: Robert Wingo

"The question is not when's he gonna stop, but who is gonna stop him." ~ Super Soul in Vanishing Point (1971)

On Sunday, March 14th, I will have completed my 318th Bikram Yoga class in 318 days. Yes. You read that right. That's a little over 3 back-to-back Bikram 101 challenges. There have been plenty of days where I did not want to be in the hot room. But I use my English bulldog determination to make myself go and throw my mat on the line. Since May 1, 2009, I have missed 2 days in a row only 3 times. I will occasionally miss a single day every now and then. Missed days have been "made up" by taking 2 classes in 1 day.

I guess I'm officially the "Crazy Yoga Guy" at my studio. I have my own stash of shiny stars that I keep in my bag for my 60-day challenge sheets. And I'm beginning to hear comments about me wallpapering the studio lobby with my sheets. I am on my 6th back-to-back 60-day challenge.

At 200 classes in 200 days, even some of the instructors were giving me funny looks. A couple of them suggested that I "take a break" and get some rest. At 300 classes in 300 days, one of my instructors asked what my "finish line" was. I didn't have an answer to that question. I have a personal goal of making it to 365 classes in 365 days, but I don't see myself stopping there. After discussing the "finish line" question with my wife, she suggested that my coffin be my "finish line". I rather like that idea so long as I don't end up dying on my mat in the yoga room any time soon!

So we've established that I've done a lot of yoga this past year... but I should probably back up a bit and tell you "why" I enter Bikram's Torture Chamber nearly every day.

My doctor was not happy with the direction my weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol were heading. I wasn't particularly happy with what was going on in those areas, either! I came to Bikram Yoga in March of 2009 as a last resort after an unsuccessful year of trying to address my issues in the gym with weights and cardio. My wife had been doing Bikram Yoga for about a year and suggested that it might help me with my problems.

In addition to the problems I just listed, I have had psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis for 27 years. In very general terms, I have an autoimmune disorder that causes my body's immune system to freak out a bit and attack my skin (psoriasis) and my joints (psoriatic arthritis).

The psoriasis causes unattractive red, scaly patches of skin. At its worst, I had it on the majority of my scalp, a good portion of my back and torso, lower legs, and it had started to show up more on my face and on my arms. As you can imagine, I wasn't particularly happy with my body image at this point. Summer weather and going swimming were extremely stressful and I avoided shorts and the pool more often than not.

Psoriatic arthritis is a lot like rheumatoid arthritis. It damages the joints over time, is very painful, and can be crippling and debilitating if severe enough. Some people with psoriatic arthritis end up needing surgery to replace joints and others simply end up in wheelchairs. Sometimes, my arthritis will attack one joint. Other times, it may attack a few joints. At its worst, it would feel like every joint in my body was on fire. Just getting out of bed in the morning could prove to be excruciatingly painful if I was having a really nasty flare up. So now I'm not happy with my body image and having to deal with a lot of chronic pain. Needless to say, my quality of life was less than stellar at this point.

Several years ago, they came out with some new class of drugs for the treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. These new drugs blocked a specific component of the body's inflammatory process that creates the psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis symptoms. The medication worked great for my symptoms. Within a couple of months, my skin was nearly clear and my joints felt great! But, there were a few problems. To keep my symptoms subdued required me to take double the recommended dose of the medication. Plus, the medication has a few very rare, but troublesome potential side effects like cancer (lymphoma), possibly triggering neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis, inflammation of the optic nerve, and congestive heart failure. The medication also suppressed my immune system making me more susceptible to infections. I had gotten to where I would take the medication for a few weeks and then see how long I could coast without it until my symptoms got unbearable again.

In March of 2009, I came to Bikram Yoga out of desperation. I was going to be 39 in a couple of weeks and had a 3 year old daughter. I was very worried about what my health and body would be like in another 10, 15, 20 years. All of the "traditional" methods for treating my problems had either failed or had potentially nasty consequences. The first 3 months of my yoga practice, I was without my medication for my psoriasis and arthritis as my doctor and my insurance company argued about my dose. But, during those 3 months, both my skin and arthritis symptoms continued to improve. Throughout my yoga practice this past year, especially in those first 6 months, my arthritis attacked my ankles, knees, hips, back, ribs, shoulders, and elbows. I have spent months just lying on my arms in locust pose waiting for the arthritis pain to subside in my elbows. Some nights, I'm able to kick my legs up, most nights, it still hurts to much. Despite that minor issue, I have seen some amazing changes in my body.

It took me:

- 2 months to begin to get my fingers under my foot in standing head to knee
- 2.5 months to touch my toes for the first time with the yoga sit-up
- 3.5 months to be able to grab both feet in floor bow (I could barely grab 1 foot when I started and I actually strained some rib muscles trying to grab both feet in floor bow when I started)
- 3.5 months to get hips to begin to touch heels in fixed firm
- 4 months to be able to do 3rd part of awkward pose with control without falling over (I have enough control now that I am usually one of the last people down)
- 6.5 months to begin to get both hips and foot on the floor in spine twist (foot isn't flat, but it's touching the floor!)
- 7 months to be able to interlace fingers in eagle pose
- 7 months to begin to get my elbow "in front" of my knee in spine twist instead of "on top" of my knee
- 8 months to be able to comfortably straighten my legs with my hands on the floor in standing separate leg stretching
- 8.5 months to begin to really be able to kick up and back in bow pose
- 8.5 months to get forehead on the floor in half tortoise
- 10 months to get hips and shoulders level in tree pose
- 11 months to be able to begin to be able to get into, hold, and get out of the 2nd part of awkward pose
- 11 months to get hips to touch the floor (barely) for the first time in fixed firm

The most significant changes for me:

- I have recovered a tremendous amount of pain free range of motion in my ankles, knees, hips, back, shoulders, and elbows.
- I have not had to take any of my prescription medication for my arthritis in almost 6 months!

I have also healed many annoying, persistent pains that I had from my arthritis and from old injuries. My skin symptoms are stable. I have a few stubborn spots on my legs, but they are slowly improving. I will get occasional spots elsewhere, but they usually disappear after a short period of time. I have not lost any weight, but I have lost a lot of inches. I have added a significant amount of muscle to my shoulders, back, and legs. Many people say that it looks like I have lost at least 15 pounds. I feel better now than I have in many years.

The yoga is absolutely one of the hardest things I have ever done! There have been plenty of days where I have been tired, run down, hurting from my arthritis, or just didn't feel well, but I make myself go to the studio and have always been glad that I went. There have been some nights where I thought I was going to die and/or spontaneously combust on my mat, but, on those days, I just try to do as much of the yoga as I can. I am there nearly every day because if I miss 1 day, it's uncomfortable when I get back to the yoga. If I miss 2 days, it hurts when I get back to the yoga.

I could not have done this without the support of my wife Lisa. She has been doing Bikram Yoga for about 2 years now and she went with me to my 1st class. We both work full time, but she makes sure that I have a mat and clothes for class and takes care of our 4 year old daughter while I go to class every night.

A lot of people have asked me how I find the time to go to class every night. To be honest, I'm not missing out on anything. The time that I take to go to yoga would have normally been spent watching TV or goofing around on the computer. Things like Facebook, Farmville, American Idol, etc. won't do anything to improve my life or my body.

Bikram says give him 60 days and he will give you a new body, a new mind, and a new life. He wasn't kidding! The yoga is 90 minutes of medicine that my body needs every day. The yoga keeps working, so I keep going back. My yoga practice is far from pretty and I have a long way to go in many of the postures. I absolutely believe that if you keep a consistent yoga practice and give an honest effort, that you will see amazing results.

What do you have to lose? But, more importantly, what could you potentially gain?

by: Mei N.

Day 73 already, it seems. That makes it 146 times you have heard the dialogue day-in, day-out. But have you paused to really LISTEN to what your teacher just said?

Do it! I urge you! The dialogue is SIMPLY AMAZING because not only does it tell you WHAT to do, WHEN to do and HOW to do in the simplest of English [Arms over your head versus Lift your arms up over your head] … the dialogue also has the FUNNIEST things in it, all the time!

Of course no one laughs during class when listening to dialogue as you’re trying very very hard to breathe and not die in the room [I’m offering a lifetime membership if you die in my class :D ].

Here are just some of the FUNNIEST things – straight off the dialogue – that one hears in class!

Pranayama Breathing:

“Stomach in, open your ribcage, open your lungs” – Literally, like, you want me to OPEN my lungs now?

Half Moon Pose:

“… opening your chest like a flower petal blooming”. By now, some classes I feel like DYING. And flowers don’t exactly bloom in 40ºC / 110ºF temperature.

Backward Bending:

“Your back is going to hurt like hell, don’t be scared”. EXCUSE ME IT’S GOING TO HURT, WHY SHOULD I NOT BE SCARED? [small voice : because it’s GOOOOD for you!]

Hands to feet Pose:

“Japanese ham sandwich, no gap anywhere”. Nice and tight, compact! It always gives me the giggles to think of a sandwich during yoga.

“… smiling, happy, face”. Nuff said.

Awkward Pose:

“Open your knees, keep 6 inches between your toes, heels knees and hands” - *snigger. Sorry, that line just sounds really dirty [well, ahem, to ME at least. No really, TINK OF IT!]

Balancing Stick Pose:

“Scapula coming out of the body, shoulders are supposed to hurt” – If your scapula really does come out, your shoulder wouldn’t hurt. No no. MY brain will hurt. Bad.

Standing Separate Leg Stretching Pose:

“If you cannot touch your forehead to the floor, open your legs more and more and more and more” I guess it’s the ONLY time if the day when someone tells you to open your legs and you oblige. I’ll admit that I nearly said “Spread your legs open more and more and more”.

Triangle Pose:

“Take a deep breath, continuously stretch your left arm up to the ceiling, you’re trying to touch the ceiling” - *STREEEEEETCH. Eeegh. Which brings me to my next point…

“Quick, right arm stretch up, you’re going to touch the ceiling pretty soon” This line makes me smile!!!! Cause try as I may, my hands are 4.5 miles away from the damn ceiling.

Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee Pose:

“Exhale breathing, and you go dooooowwwwwn” Reminds me of the song “Baby are you down down down down doooowwwwwwwnnn”.

Tree Pose:

“Opening up hips and pelvis…” Hey men, please don’t use this on fellow yoginis after class “Hey baby, wanna know what’s a gooood hip and pelvis opener?” dodgy wriggle of eyebrows.

Savasana:

“Yoga is a gas station…”. OK, the next posture will MOST DEFINITELY ELIMINATE gas.

Wind Removing Pose:

“Freeze. Don’t Move. You can’t even blink your eyes” For some reason, this line reminds me of Robocop [and elicits mental giggles in class at times]. Probably the first time I heard the word FREEZE in a cop movie.

Full Locst Pose:

“747 taking off” Doesn’t this sound funny as you’re heaving and trying to lift your arms up? Or does it make you want to throw your bottle at your teacher? *DUCK

Camel Pose:

“Stand up on your knees. 6 inches apart, inside the legs, between the knees and the feet”. Let us consider the multiple meanings of the previous sentence. 6 inches. Apart. Inside. The. Legs.

“Everybody push, push more, everybody push harder”. I honestly didn’t think this line is funny [because at this point of time everyone including yours truly is just concentrating on pushing forward / lifting chest up and trying not to puke slightly or pass out] until a friend got hold of my dialogue and discovered that this line… has a double meaning. I think.

“Second set, 8 inches between the knees, still only 6 inches between the feet”. Again. 8. inches. Between. Knees.

Spine Twisting Pose :

“Right arm on your back, palm facing out. Try to grab the thigh behind you with your right hand fingertips”. Literally, like, grab the thigh of the [hopefully cute] guy/gal behind me?

WELLLL okiiiiiiieeee…

And there you have it! ACTUAL FUNNY SAYINGS from the Dialogue! Go forth and conquer Day 74 with a smile and grin, knowing that although some classes may be tough, at least there are parts there to humour you :)

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A graduate of Fall 2009 Bikram Yoga Teacher Training, Mei N. hails from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and teaches in Subang Jaya and Pavilion. When she’s not trying to fall off podiums while teaching, Mei N. can be found (sporadically, at least!) blogging when she’s not geeking on her dialogue.

Throughout this challenge, there have been some poses that continue to be the bane of my existence. (Second part of Awkward and Standing Head to Knee!) But there are a few where I have made huge progress in, and I can really feel it. The one pose where I have made the biggest progress recently???

Thirty days left.  Wow!  Remember the days when a 30-day challenge seemed insurmountable?  I bet that 30-day period looks a lot different from Day 71....

I actually took a lovely non-Bikram yoga class this evening, outside of the challenge (putting me a little bit behind, but oh well).  Even though the class was the polar opposite of a Bikram class - music playing, lots of philosophizing, all free form - it all felt familiar, because the instructor said some great things that really resonated with the teachings I already know from Bikram.

The teacher's name was Eddie.  He is soft-spoken and gentle but very funny, he drops F-bombs for emphasis, and he looks a bit like Miranda's boyfriend Steve from Sex and the City.  (It wasn't until tonight that I finally figured out who he looks like!  He has the same hair.)

Anyway, there's one thing that Eddie almost always tells his classes: everything you think you know about yourself and your body is wrong.  Not just some of it.  All of it.

Who do you think you are?  Are you defined by your job?  Your family?  Your relationships?  Your heritage?  Your clothes, your accessories, your house?  Your education?  Your yoga practice?    What do you have left when you take those things away?

And what about your body?  When was the last time you saw your body as a whole, instead of seeing bits and pieces of things that you like or things that you want to change?  Would you be a different person if you lost 10 inches off your waist, shaved your head, got a tan, had longer legs, got a nose job?  Are you defined by your stiffness?  Are you defined by your great standing bow?  (Don't let the positives define you, because that's a trap, too.)  Are any of these things YOU?

Of course not.

Bikram says:  "You have nothing to lose, because you never had anything to begin with."

Okay.  You have nothing to lose.  So what are you doing?  You pile up all these things, ideas and people  around yourself trying to create an identity, and that's totally okay, but that's not actually YOU.  The thing that makes you YOU is something that no one can take away.  On the flip side, it's not something that you can GET, either.  You already HAVE it.  You're not going to find it by searching under the couch cushions, not this time.

And this is one of my favorite things about the yoga room, because slowly but surely, it strips all these layer away.  It is a radical equalizer.  When you're in there, your job doesn't matter.  Your money doesn't matter.  You can even leave your family and your relationships at the door, just for the moment.  All you've got is your body and your Self.  And it doesn't matter what your body looks like in that moment - it just matters how it moves, how it breathes.  It just matters that you try.  We are all the same in these... dozens of little pinpoints of light, shedding layer after layer, getting brighter and brighter.

If you follow my blog, you know that I have dabbled a bit in other forms of yoga on top of doing Bikram. I'm three Bikram classes behind, but if I were allowed to count my other classes I'd actually be ahead by one. Curiosity and much prodding from friends who do these other yogas drove me to try them out. Power flow and Baptiste are the two (heated) yoga forms I have sampled. I liked them both. Baptiste more so than the Power Flow. However, even though I enjoyed them, I always ran back into the hot Bikram room anxiously, glad it was still there for me. You see, while I like those other forms, it's just not the same as the 26 and 2 of Bikram. The dialog, the room conditions, the teachers, the sequence....put together it's magic. It's cleansing, healing, soul purging and I find that I need it. I may not want to do it, but I always feel better after it's over. It isn't something that is nice to do. For me, it's something that is necessary to do. Like breathing, eating and pooping. So for the next 32 days I'm finished with my dabbling. I'm going to stay home, with my Bikram and finish out this challenge strong. I will catch up the three classes and be grateful that I live in a city that provides this amazing form of yoga in abundance!

One of the lovely Bikram 101 bloggers (thanks Johan!) reminded me last week of one of my favorite Emmy-isms.  (If you don't know who Emmy is yet, you can click here or here for a little idea.)  Emmy says that there are three components that you need for a successful yoga practice: frequency, precision, and intensity.  ("Successful" just means that your body changes, your health improves, and you see the results that you've come for.)

I've always loved this little summary.  It explains so much.  Just think about what happens if you leave out even one of these things...

Precision and intensity without frequency - That would mean that you do a great job when you manage to get to class, but you never go to class.  You go every day for a week, then give yourself two months off.  That's not going to work!

Frequency and intensity without precision - You are going all the time, and you are trying really hard, but you're still not listening.  You're working harder, not smarter.  You're just doing whatever you feel like doing, instead of following the dialogue word by word.  You think that you're getting some really great exercise with all that sweating.  But in the long run, that's not going to work!

Frequency and precision without intensity - You are coming all the time, maybe even every day, and you're doing everything correctly, but you're never really pushing yourself, never putting any serious oomph into it.  You're coasting.  That's not going to work!

So what does work?

Frequency - This does not, by definition, mean that you have to practice every day (though it's awesome that we all are practicing so often right now)!  In the long run, frequency means that you're committed to practicing 3 times or more per week, and you do so regularly.  In my mind, frequency is all about consistency.

AND

Precision - Fall in love with precision.  Get interested in it.  Try to be precise in every motion, every twitch, down to the placement of your big toe or your thumb.  (On the line, with the index finger.)  All the good stuff is in the details.  Never assume that something is right just because you did it that way yesterday.  Keep your ears always open, just like your eyes.  Even if you've done 100 classes in a row, or 1000 classes in a row, go into every class hoping to refine your technique in some little way.

AND

Intensity - Yoga class is a gas station, remember?  (Maybe you don't?  Maybe I should talk about that next time.)  Take my word for it - yoga class is a gas station.  Bikram says that it's the only physical activity in the world where you gain energy instead of burning it.  And how do you make that happen?  By putting more energy in.  I think it's computer programmers who call this the rule of GIGO - "garbage in, garbage out"!  But we can look at it from the positive angle - energy in, energy out.  Change doesn't just happen on its own; you have to make it happen.  Don't let that intensity fade.  Practice like Bikram is in the room.  Practice like it's your first class in weeks, and you've been missing it.  Practice like it's your last class for months, and you want to squeeze every drop out of it!

Easier said than done.  But that's the idea... frequency, precision, and intensity!