Exercising in Hell

About a year ago, one of my in-home clients told me about a particular yoga class he started taking. It was called Bikram Yoga. I’d heard of it in the past, but all I remember was something about yoga in a hot room.

My client and I share the same degenerative disk condition in our lower backs, and he claimed it helped to reduce his back pain and improve his flexibility. He invited me to take a class on a number of occasions. I declined. I was hesitant because I never envisioned myself in one of those mind/body classes full of sweaty a-la-naturales.

Over time, I did actually notice gradual improvements in my client's flexibility and pain levels, so I gave in and decided to give it a try. He briefed me on the nature of the class – very hot and ninety minutes of extremely challenging movements and postures called asanas.

One early Sunday morning, equipped with water and three towels, I met him at the yoga studio, enthusiastic but a little anxious and uncertain. As a Bikram newbie I didn’t know what to expect, but I was determined to give it a go!

We left our sandals near the front entrance and walked barefoot into the studio. I was hit immediately by a burst of intense heat, one-hundred and five degrees to be exact. I reminded myself that it was called Bikram, or hot yoga. Feeling the “It's a newbie” stares, we set up our mats and towels in a rear corner of the room. I preferred that location because I didn’t want any eyes on this Bikram yoga newbie. Set up on our mats, wearing nothing but shorts, we waited for the instructor to arrive and began sweating profusely. Boy, I knew I was in trouble before the class had even started.

The instructor strolled into the studio as we stood patiently on our mats. He was a very tall ex-construction worker who went by the nickname “Lamp Post”. His tall and lanky frame said it all. Being quite an affable fellow, I soon felt at ease with Lamp Post.

As we began the first deep breathing exercise in a standing position, (the first of twenty-six postures/asanas), the combined inhaling and exhaling of thirty plus attendees created this strange wind tunnel sound, like no other I‘ve heard before. It was surreal! We progressed into a series of leg strengthening and stretching poses, causing my legs to fatigue, quiver and burn from the lactate build-up in the muscles. The sweat flowed like I’ve never experienced before. Intense exercise in one-hundred and five degree heat does that to a person! I struggled with nearly every posture and stretch, especially as time progressed and fatigue took hold in the inferno-like studio.

I was put at ease by Lamp Post as he strolled around the studio providing words of encouragement and barking out orders to move into new asanas/postures - funny names I’ve never heard before. As he proceeded to our corner of the room I caught a few drips of his sweat as I lay on the floor. I felt a little violated! But I reminded myself this was yoga, a very different experience, and form of exercise I was not accustomed to. I was too fatigued and focused on attempting to hold my posture to let it bother me anyway.

At about the one-hour mark, I was exhausted and remained seated on the floor. Numerous times I attempted to gather enough energy to try the next asana, but most attempts were fruitless. The temperature near the floor dropped to about one-hundred degrees, but felt heavenly compared to the standing position. Numerous times I was tempted to get up and walk out of that studio, but I had to prove I could hang tough with my client. Yeah, I was tough alright, sitting on that floor near total defeat.

Catching a brief glimpse of the other participants, some joined me on the floor, but most were gracefully executing the asanas without any difficulty. These folks came from all walks of life and shattered the “a-la-naturale” stereotype I previously held. But right then, I could care less about the type of people who were there. My focus was surviving that final thirty minutes and mustering up enough energy to try some of the remaining postures!

Class finally ended and we remained on the floor completely drained, attempting to gather ourselves. I was worked! Our towels were soaked with sweat and the water bottles were bone dry.

As punishing or sadistic as it seemed, I felt detoxified, relaxed and limber after I composed myself and showered. When my wife asked me how it went, I replied; “It’s like exercising in hell!” As an ex-athlete, I thought I could handle this yoga thing. Man I was wrong. I was humbled.

Since that first Bikram class, I’ve tried a few more classes. It does get easier - sort of. I know what to expect and the heat of the studio seems a little less stifling. The asanas still remain very challenging due to my diminished low back flexibility, but I do feel better. Retreating to the floor the last thirty minutes of class is becoming less frequent as well. Now there’s real progress!

I guarantee this form of yoga will challenge all newcomers. If you want a butt-kicking workout and a humbling experience, try it! Yoga in one form or another is certainly an alternative to traditional forms of exercise such as weight training, jogging or other group exercise classes.

Bikram yoga is not for everyone however, and it does have it’s critics. If you cannot tolerate exercising in extreme heat, then don’t try this. If you have any medical or orthopedic conditions, TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR FIRST! Let the instructor know you are a newbie and disclose any medical conditions.

Try it, you might like it.

Healthfully Yours,

The Fitness Guy