Bikram yoga - session 6

Had a day off from yoga - spent the day going to ikea twice and my lower back was incredibly sore.

On my last trial day I was a little bit dreading going to yoga but then felt a bit sad when Simon said (hehe) it was my last session. Which I already knew but different when he said it to me. Realized I had made the faux pas of walking into the studio with shoes on. As I followed someone else in I noticed they took off the shoes at the top of the stairs before walking further in. Was probably also a faux pas about wearing thongs in the shower but oh well!

Walked into the yoga room after getting one of the last remaining lockers and it was packed!! As it was nye day there was only 1 class at 10am. Managed to find a spot though. Funny how some people are either oblivious or uncaring, the room allows for two rows of mats so this woman sets up in the middle so no one can easily fit in front or behind her, despite how full the class was.

Class was same routine. Struggled with the bending sideways and going from a back bend to a forward bend as my lower back was still sore. In camel pose he encouraged me to put my second hand down on my heel, I didn't think I was close but I was reaching for the wrong spot. So second set I did that. It's easy to go through the motions without pushing yourself how you're supposed to. Really reliant on the teacher giving the right cues. Probably if you were going to seriously focus on it you'd benefit from a 1 on 1 session. Did most of the moves except for the second set where you put your heel on the other thigh then sit down. First attempt was really uncomfortable so I just sat and drank for the remainder set.

So I found bikram yoga tough, you need to remember to focus on stilling the mind, listen to the cues,not raising your shoulders, bracing your abs, and breathing properly, but you do get a sense of accomplishment from doing a class. It always astounded me how sweaty you could get, but sweaty hot looking bodies was a bonus to the class (although you're usually too busy to be noticing anything but concentrating on what you're supposed to be doing). I did find I felt better having a coconut water afterwards and then a protein shake (otherwise I'd be starving and then feel ill by the time I got home and could eat). I'm not entirely sold on bikram yoga, I probably should try a more traditional class and see if I get the same benefit, I didn't feel super energetic or flexible after doing it but then again only did it 6 times. I either got more flexible or just pushed myself harder as I seemed to achieve more in the last few sessions. But was also really sore. Not sure if it was a good or bad sore. A lot of the time it was draining so I'd probably be better off with an evening class if I did more of it. Definitely worth trying though especially with the trial offers all the studios seem to run!