I started off putting my mat in my "usual spot" on the right side of the door, but second row instead of front row. There were too many people though and things weren't lining up so I dragged my mat to the first row and went back into the lobby. Five minutes before class I came back in and saw somebody had put themselves directly behind me. So I started the "mat jockeying" trying to make sure we all had mirror space and couldn't get it quite right. I saw that the front row on the left side of the podium was wide open with not as many people behind and that I could move over there and not be in anybodys way. So I moved. As I was setting up my mat I was thinking, geez Michelle, you really should be in the second row. You are exhausted, have no food in you, aren't hydrated enough and have dark circles around your eyes! Something told me to just stay put. So I did.
Mark comes in, class starts. I stand up and start the first breathing exercise. I felt fine. Better than fine. Strong actually. I was shocked. Half moon pose. My least favorite of all postures. My arms were locked out solid, my shoulders opened up and I got my arms back farther and I felt my body lifting up and over, knees locked, tummy and backside tight, hip pushing beyond my flexibility...I was really working the posture. Self doubt crept in. Michelle, you're too tired, don't do this you'll be hitting the deck on your knees soon! Then suddenly something very strange happened. I almost hate writing about it in my blog, because it may sound very strange, but it happened so I'll share it. My body took over. My mind shut off. I became the dialog. I was pushing myself on every single posture as he said it. It was his words and mind and my body. I was simply executing the commands. I felt this crazy energy surging through my body. It was power beyond measure. Now I'm not saying I stayed in everything perfectly, or made some crazy progress on my postures. It was more of just breathing and being one with the asanas and letting the power/energy flow through every limb of my strong, flexible body. I have never experienced anything like it in my **almost** two years of doing Bikram yoga.
I had a class like that. And I've read about other people who have also had it. And then, I've also heard that you can spend years trying to recapture the same experience. All I can say is that, having gone through it, it is absolutely wonderful and by itself would keep me coming back for years (I hope).
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the tiredness, etc., had anything to do with it. In high school, a friend of mine came to a bowling birthday party on no sleep and after a long football practice. He was absolutely dead tired. He bowled a 270. He had never bowled more than a 120 before, and the last time I talked to him about it, he said that he had never bowled more than a 150 since. And, like you, he says that he thinks that his body took over, because he barely remembers any of the game.
Wow. That's awesome. I've had instructors tell me that sometimes when doing a double you can relax into the postures much more during the second class because you're too tired to resist. Hasn't happened to me anything quite like what you describe, though. At least not yet.
ReplyDeleteI've had mini-spurts of this - a few postures in the class not the entire practice. It has been when I am just...BLAH. Feeling blah. Kind of like a blank slate. Enjoy!
ReplyDeletelol... that's the power of caffeine! I had the same experience right after a latte. It is so much fun to get into that zone. Keep up the great work doll! xoxo
ReplyDelete