Bikram Night

My friend Jen suggested I tag along to a bikram yoga class with her - this is the yoga where they heat the room to 105 degrees so you sweat through the whole class. She thought this might allow me to sweat out whatever toxins (lactic acid, etc) had built up in my muscles from the marathon. I said "Sure, what the hell, I've always wanted to try yoga but had never gotten off my ass to do it, so why not?" Plus, Jen mentioned the class demographic and opportunities to meet some cute women - being a single 30-something, and never one to pass up an opportunity like that, I was in.

I thought I had some idea what I was in for - I was unprepared.

The heat felt good. Really good. The sweat is nearly instantaneous, it bursts forth from the skin and once it starts it just flows. It's most excellent. And you actually get used to sweating profusely very quickly. Just drink a lot.

I wasn't able to do all the poses, but I did alright with at least some of them. One particular pose where you're supposed to twist one leg in front and around the other, locking the foot behing the other calf - I couldn't even come close on that one, but I did alright w/most.

But I didn't know how long the class was supposed to last. 30 mins? 60? Longer? There wasn't a clock in the room, but I'm usually a pretty judge of time. My marching band director in college once said "You can handle anything when you know when it'll end." Lot's of truth to that. But I didn't know when it would end. And I felt this strange subtle nauseous feeling starting. And building. Eventually I lay down to see if just resting would make the feeling subside, but it was still slowly building. Finally, I HAD to get up, leave the room and cool off for a bit. That helped a ton, and after about 10 minutes I went back in just in time for the final pose.

Turns out the class is a full 90 minutes. Seems pretty crazy but true. Even crazier was when we left class and sat outside behind the building (there's a patio that overlooks the Midtown Greenway) I was freezing my ass off - and it was like 80+ degrees and humid outside! I guess even tempurature becomes relative after dealing w/extreme heat for over an hour!

So was it fun? Yep. And I didn't smell sweaty or anything afterwards - I think any sweat stink had long since dripped off of me by that point. Took a shower but didn't use soap since that just seemed unnecessary at that point.

Rounded out the evening with some awesome pizza from Galactic Pizza (pizza company with a conscience, and delivered by superheroes - what could be better?!)

I don't see myself going to bikram super often, esp in the summer, but I'll definitely be going back - it'll be interesting to see if my poses progress, and if my body eventually learns to tolerate the heat!