Christmas Yoga

Who goes to Bikram yoga on Christmas morning? 
Me.  And 50 other yogis.
My studio had a free class Christmas day at 10am.  It was the only class running that day and the teacher practiced with us.  We did the class to Bikrams CD.  I've been practicing for 5 years and have never practiced to the CD.  The verdict?  All avid Bikram students should do the CD at least once!  I rolled into the studio ready for a good sweat after a family filled Christmas Eve spent at my little apartment.  My boyfriend cooked prime rib and we packed 7 people into my tiny place to laugh, love and eat.  My daughter headed off to her fathers for gift extravaganza number two Christmas morning and my boyfriend went off to a 9am tee time with a bunch of friends.  This is how I found myself on my mat Christmas morning sweating with a room full of yoga friends.  The energy was amazing and the students laughed here and there at Bikram spouting off his funny "bikram-isms".   It was almost like the man himself were there, in the room, talking to us instead of the class present while doing the recording. 
Physically I had a great class.  I was off work for 6 days in a row what with a couple of vacation days, the weekend and the Christmas holidays.  I made it to the hot room 4 times and even managed to get my boyfriend to his first class ever.  He mouthed "I hate you, you're crazy" at me toward the end of the standing series.  I just chuckled.  His ego wouldn't let him sit anything out and he was dying.  He did very well and I was proud of him.  Oh, and after class he felt great and decided he doesn't actually hate me. 

Unity, fellowship, strength and love

Last night I went up to my old studio in Summerlin to do a drop in class and visit my old friends.  The thing I loved about that studio was the comraderie amongst the yogis.  They are a true community up there and fun abounds.  We used to tag each other on facebook and do shout out's "Who's going to the 5pm tonight?" and we'd "talk" on facebook about it in advance, getting excited for our sweaty session together.  Once there, it was always fun to jockey for position next to friends.  Nothing has changed.  I arrived and two of my old friends, Ashley and Jenn had already set up in the front row.  They are both competing this year and looked fantastic.  I set up next to them and a teacher came in, setting up next to me.  The four of us absolutely rocked out that front row.  We were in sync with each other, quiet, strong, breathing.  It was beautiful.  After class, I lay on my mat, soaking in the love and fellowship of the studio.  There is something special there, just like old times when I would do challenges and blog about my adventures.  I miss my daily practice.  I miss the bikram community.  I miss the way I felt.  Alas, a daily practice is just not in the cards for me at this present time.  But who's to say it's not someday?  Meanwhile, I will keep going once or twice a week, peppering it in around my body pump and hiking.  Life is good!
Speaking of hiking, the new man and I are still at it.....we are adorable, right?  :)

Mt. Charleston Peak

I've been dating a man for a little over 4 months now.  Honestly, it feels longer.  I mean that in a very good way.  Together we have thrown bbq's at my apartment.  Hiked Red Rock, Zion, Bryce and Mt. Charleston.  We have laughed, camped, hiked until our feet were throbbing and seen each other at our best and worst.  Sometimes, what I think is "my worst" is when he likes me best. 
I'm not a hiker.  I'm afraid of heights.  Uncomfortable climbing things.  Yet I've done incredible (for me) things these past few months.  We topped it off by climbing to the top of Mt. Charleston this past Sunday.  We started at 7:30 am up the South Loop to Charleston Peak.  Then we went back down the North Loop all the way to Trail Canyon.  22.5 miles round trip.  11,900 elevation.  Our hiking group, which started off with close to 10 people two months ago was down to three.  Me, my boyfriend Jimmy and our friend David.  We camped over on the Lee Canyon side the night before to acclimate to the elevation and finished the hike in 10 hours.
I feel pretty hard core.  What an accomplishment! (Left to Right:  Our friend David, Me and Jimmy)

Oh, and as far as Bikram goes.....I'm still going once a week.  I've lost a little flexibility in my hips during triangle, but man oh man you should see my standing head to knee.  I'm like a rock.  My legs are getting STRONG.

Stronger

I've only been getting to Bikram once a week.  It's all I can squeeze into my schedule right now for many reasons.  At first I found this very upsetting.  Then I relaxed and decided to be grateful for that 90 mins per week when I can be in that hot room, practicing my favorite style of yoga.  Instead of a chore, as it sometimes felt during challenges, it now feels like a mini vacation.  A break.  Bliss.  Coming home.  It's great!  Last night I went to the 7pm at the new studio here in Vegas.  Kimberly was teaching.  I really like her style, I used to take her up at Summerlin.  The room was hot and crowded, so I ended up right in front of the podium, under Kimberly's all seeing gaze.  Since February, I've done body pump at the gym twice a week.  Three weeks ago, my friend and I added spin class once a week to that as well.  In addition, my new boyfriend loves to hike, so for about 5 weeks in a row we've gone hiking every weekend.  This past Sunday we did a 6 mile loop and then a 1.5 mile switchback trail up at Mt. Charleston.  Suffice it to say I've been moving around alot and getting stronger in many ways.  This has translated into incredible Bikram classes the last few times.  Standing head to knee and standing bow are improving in leaps and bounds due to this newfound strength building up in my legs.  I'm able to get my forehead on my knee in standing head to knee with consistency now.  I just can't hold it very long yet.
Class was amazing and I was grateful for every minute in that room, every drop of sweat.  I left feeling like a million bucks.  Walking out in the parking lot, the guy that practiced next to me was also walking to his car.  He looked at me and said "good job in there".  I thanked him and then he continued on to say he noticed my balance was strong in the standing series.  Unexpected compliments are nice any day, aren't they?

"Bikram yoga elitist. Namaste"- Anonymous Comment

"Bikram yoga elitist. Namaste" was an anonymous comment I received on a very old post.  Well, I suppose at this point all of my posts are old.  I have set the blog down, allowing it to age and collect dust.  The post the comment was attached to was written during one of my challenges.  At the time, I suppose I thought it was funny.  Hilarious in fact.  However, going back and reading it now, I can see how it would be taken wrong.  The comment didn't make me mad or annoy me (I left it there), it actually made me smile.  Because I have changed so much over the past few years.  The main reason I don't write here anymore is because I'm not Bikramyogachick anymore.  I still love Bikram.  It's my favorite style of yoga.  But I only get to class once a week at best.  I body pump at the gym.  I go to hot pilates.  I hike up at red rock canyon with my new boyfriend.  I'm going to spin class this coming Friday with my 5am body pump partner.  She and I are going to do 5am spin.  The ironic thing about all of this 5am gym nonsense is I'm not a morning person.  I also avoided hiking before because I was afraid to scramble over rocks and boulders.  Two weeks ago I did all of ice box canyon up at red rock, needing my boyfriends assistance over a couple of very large boulders, but I did it.  I was fearless, which is also not me.  I'm going up to Zion with my boyfriend next week to hike Angels Landing.  I am planning to skydive with friends.  I watch the hot air balloons on Saturday mornings from my apartment balcony, quietly sipping coffee next to this wonderful new man that dropped into my lap two months ago and say "I want to do that".  This from a girl who was deathly afraid of heights.  Thirteen months ago I surrendered my demons and made a huge change in my life and nothing is the same anymore.  I'm not that girl who looked for salvation in that hot room anymore.  The hot room led me there, surely, for it helped me to grow.  To have courage.  To feel more comfortable in my own skin and to reach deep inside for connection.  My life today is focused on helping others, not worrying about what I think, feel or need.  I connect with others on a level I've never experienced and my whole world has expanded.  I didn't leave Bikram behind or any of the amazing people I've met there.  There are still there, in my ever widening circle.  I come home to that room once a week and lay my mat down reverently because Bikramyogachick is still in there and I love to visit her. 

Guest Post: Lyndsey From the Sunshine State

Guest post by Lyndsey- Enjoy!

 

I had a very cool class this afternoon and wanted to share my thoughts with someone who I know will appreciate them. We had a traveling instructor, which I always love. You know, you get used to your favorite instructors... their style, their dialogue, etc. There's nothing like a class with your favorite instructor. But... it's predictable. You know when you’re going to get three extra seconds to breathe. That extra sip of water. The poses they’re really going to kick your ass on, because you can do it and you know it, and they know it, and maybe you just need a tough love reminder by staying in it for five extra seconds. With travelers, you never know what you’re going to get in the hot room, and I love that. That’s the beauty of this yoga... whether familiar, or strange, the poses never change, the sequence never changes, only you change, by getting better, stronger, happier. Every instructor leaves you with a piece of themselves to take with you to your next class and integrate into your practice. A class with your favorite instructor is like pushing open your own front door at the end of a long, exhausting, frustrating day. Ahhh, home. I know this. It’s comforting. I like being here. A class with someone you’ve never known until five minutes earlier when you met in the lobby is like stepping on an airplane... you’re going somewhere, it’s going to be an adventure, it’s exciting, but you never know just EXACTLY what you’re going to get.

 So this lady probably could have been somewhere in her fifties but she had an incredible body, youthful glow, young spirit and I just thought... that's the yoga. I hope and pray that when I reach that point in life I'm as healthy and happy and rock solid as this lady. The other thing that made class unique was it was a small class and all women. Five of us. Always a cool dynamic. She had us all use the middle row and it just created a very cool energy in the room. I could feel us all feeding off each others’ strength and it was a very powerful class. When I was weak, wobbly, and short of breath, the girl next to me was kicking ass and it would cause me to dig down for some deep inner strength and know that I CAN DO IT TOO. And when someone else was The Wobbler, I was strong, controlled, poised, and could share just enough of that energy to hold myself up and maybe encourage someone else to get back in the posture.

The coolest moment for me though was camel pose, second set. Instead of facing the front mirror she had us face the back wall to start. In the full expression, we ended up looking at our own posture in the front mirror... upside down with our smiling happy faces. It was incredible!!! Such an exhilarating moment for me. I looked at myself in the posture and just thought wow, look at my body! It's amazing! Beautiful, strong, powerful. Not the kind of thoughts I think about myself without yoga! But I gained so much respect for myself in that moment. I realized that in spite of its flaws or pain or whatever else, my body is powerful and capable and full of potential. Anyway, it was a really cool moment for me and a great class and I just wanted to share. 

Thank you all for reading and sharing your love of Bikram yoga! Special thanks to Michelle for being so kind as to invite me to write a guest post about my mountain top experience! Keep smiling, and don’t forget to breathe! Namaste! 

Lyndsey is a compassionate nurse and adorable yogini who resides in Florida.  When she's not out saving lives or hanging out with her handsome hubby, she immerses herself in the hot room.  She likes the shooting range, dragging her hubby out of bed mercilessly on his days off for breakfast and pretty flowers.  She dreams of teacher training someday.  Who knows?  Perhaps she and I could end up at the same training someday.  Now wouldn't that be amazing!  God bless the interwebs for bringing us all together.  The virtual Bikram community rocks!  ~ Bikramyogachick

New Studio

Las Vegas now has FOUR bikram studios.  Oh, and the annuals, they are not outrageously expensive like other cities.  I know, I know, it's not fair!  The newest studio is just a few miles from where I live.  It opened up this past Monday.  Check it out here:  Bikram Las Vegas
It's gorgeous!