Something New

So yesterday I finally did what I've been trying to do for months: hot yoga (aka Bikram yoga).  I drove my little self down to IC with a friend and we took a class.  It was way outside of my comfort zone, I had no idea what I was doing or what to expect, I was worried about the heat, and I was scared of being judged by the other students.  All of that fell away when the class started.  It was AMAZING (I'll be going back tomorrow if anyone else wants to join).

Being Judged:
The truth is that everyone is there for themselves.  They don't care what you're doing they are focused on their body.  Everyone works at their own pace which is why beginners and advanced students can take the same class.  You work as far into the pose as you feel comfortable and you focus and correct form first.  You can bend yourself in half or twist into a pretzel but if you're not doing it with a correct form you might as well not even be doing it.  Summary: everyone I talked to was very nice and the instructors were fabulous = NO judging.

The Heat:
I don't do well in the heat, I usually throw up or pass out when doing anything mildly strenuous.  The heat in a hot yoga class is different.  You're not wearing much in terms of clothing so the temperature (to me) is actually quite comfortable.  The heat is there so you don't injure your muscles while working into the poses, it also allows you to work further into poses than you would be able to without in.  In other words it turns you into a yoga BEAST!!  I felt so awesome being able to bend like that.  The heat also causes you to literally sweat gallons (you sweat from every pore in your body including places you may not have thought you had pores) so you sweat off all of the toxins that may have been sitting on your skin = your skin is going to glow.  Summary: you only notice the heat in a good way, it's not in any way oppressive.

Not knowing what you're doing/what to expect:
I think it was better not knowing anything because I went into class as a blank page and left with some scribbles of yoga knowledge.  I also didn't have any expectations so there was no way for me to be disappointed.  Don't let the fact that you don't know anything about yoga stop you from trying it.  Summary: you have to start somewhere because if you start nowhere then you're nowhere.

Comfort Zone: get out of it!  It's good for you!

I highly recommend Hot Yoga to anyone with an open mind who wants to try something new and get a FANTASTIC workout!

Here is a link to Hot House Yoga's website if you are interested in learning more.