Bikram Yoga

Sunday afternoon musings that is.

It's sooo hot here these days! Summer is definitely here and I gaze in jealousy as I see my neighbors coming back from their beach holiday in Bohol. I want! I want!

Almost a month ago I started doing Bikram Yoga. This, as an attempt to realize what I wanted to do ever since 2008 kicked in (yes, it's the year of turning 30!). I wanted to somehow improve the quality of what I consider to be an unhealthy lifestyle (junk food all week, no vitamins, lack of sleep, fatigue). True enough, Bikram is making me aware of such and I'm just feeling guilty over the past two weeks because my workload prevents me from doing my sessions as much as I can. Initially, I thought I wouldn't like the idea of being in a heated room full of strangers and doing the yoga positions that expose the vulnerable side of you. Think about doing the camel position --- enough said. Fortunately though, I found yoga to be really great --- it's nice to have some quiet time for yourself at the end of a working day, isn't it? The movements do not require you to run (I really don't) yet you sweat so much your shirt would end up looking like it has been soaked in water for a while. That being said, yoga, by far, is the only activity that enables me to be in a would-love-to-destress mode. More like savasnah mode actually, as I never thought you can relax and meditate at the same time...literally thinking about nothing while connecting your body, mind and soul all at once.

But, as with all other things, yoga takes a great deal of effort, patience and time. Up to now, I still cannot do some of the positions due to its complexity (really, how do you bring your forehead to reach your toes without bending your knees???) and I remain undaunted. Perhaps sometime soon that will happen as yoga teaches you to do targeted efforts over a period of time and to celebrate small victories (no matter how mundane). Somehow, you can't help but relate yoga to how you live your life and to reassess the goals you want to achieve. I suppose the patience has rubbed off on me and I see myself letting go of certain issues that I really cannot do anything about.

Namaste :-)