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