I’ve been on a health kick lately. Okay, Missy and I have been on a health kick lately. I was trying not to be one of those half-couples that always refers to themselves as a “we” and not an “I” but the truth of the matter is we’re working on this together which means we’re both getting much better results. This health kick has three components: Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred, Bikram Yoga, and my holistic healer guy Byron Jacobson.

A friend of Missy’s recently completed her certification as a bikram yoga instructor. She was allowed to invite friends to participate in her first class at the Uptown Minneapolis studio for free. Missy agreed to go and I agreed to go with Missy.

We received instructions to hydrate like hell, bring at least one big bottle of water, finish eating 2-3 hours before class, bring a yoga mat and a towel, and to wear just a sports bra and some shorts. We knew it was going to be hot and it was going to last 90 minutes.

Bikram yoga is a very specific practice. The room is 105° and 50% humidity. You begin with a breathing exercise, progress through a series of 26 hatha yoga poses (called asanas) performed twice each in a specific order, and end with another breathing exercise. There is a script that the instructor follows. There are specific requirements for the design of the room and the studio. So you’re not doing bikram yoga unless the instructor is certified and the studio authorized by Bikram Choudhury himself.

The aha moment I had after the first class was that I had focused on nothing but the task at hand for the whole 90 minutes. That never happens to me these days.

We both completely passed out after the first class, largely due to being unaccustomed the the environment and the effort and also partly due to the detox effect associated with all that sweating and the poses themselves. But something about it was strangely addictive and after just three weeks of 2 classes/week, I come out of each session simultaneously energized and calmed.

It’s a process. I looked at pictures of all the postures and I’m nowhere near, nor can I even fathom, being able to do them to their fullest extent. But as long as you’re giving it 100% of your effort, you’re getting 100% of the benefit. Not that I do a lot of looking around in class (because you’re pretty singularly and intensely focused on yourself in the mirror in front of you), but I haven’t yet encountered anyone that can do all the asanas “perfectly” and there are clearly some people that have been doing this for a long time.

Each class is a little bit different. Some days, some asanas come more easily and other days it’s the opposite. I had a moment just the other day where it clicked for me just how the breathing exercises help build your lung capacity and a couple of moments where proper attention to my breath helped me make it through a difficult pose. It’s been a real challenge to focus on slow breathing to “trick” my heart into calming down, because the natural urge to gulp air really does not help the situation. Leaving the room does not help. You can, however, feel free to take a moment and sit out a pose if you need to. Due to the heat and the effort, your heart rate runs pretty high throughout. You’re burning 400-600 calories in those 90 minutes. You have to learn to not let that fast-beating heart freak you out and to challenge yourself, but also know and respect your body.

You know, about that mirror. As one instructor pointed out just the other day, it is often difficult for people to just look at themselves in the mirror with acceptance. So that’s something to add to your yoga practice as well. Looking in the mirror helps you focus on what you’re doing. You can’t not do it during yoga. I’m not a skinny girl. I literally cannot complete some aspects of the asanas because my thigh/arm/tummy/whatever chub just won’t let those parts get that close together (on top of not being flexible enough (yet)). But again, as long as you’re trying, you’re getting the benefit. And it’s really not practical to wear a whole lot of clothing anyway. You’re literally dripping with sweat the whole time. More clothes means more annoying sticking and and more distractions. So, to my surprise, I’ve been pretty comfortable with not wearing a whole lot.

Ugly as the official bikram yoga website is, it is chock full of information about what the poses are and what they do for your body and a whole bunch of testimonials about improved health (and a studio locator, hint hint). It’s hard to ignore the potential benefits. I’m still young and spry enough that I can and should keep up with some weight-bearing activity, but if I never did any other exercise again, I firmly believe bikram yoga is the one to keep.

I’d never done organized yoga before, and I’d only done a very little bit of Yogamazing [free from iTunes] on my own (at Adria’s recommendation). So this was a hell of an introduction to it. I think it’s a good thing that I had no real idea what to expect, because I might not have agreed to it if I thought too hard about it. And, honestly, had I done more not-bikram yoga, I don’t think I would have gone for it. I just went because Missy was interested but also nervous.

I absolutely believe that the added strength I developed doing the Shred has been a real help with the yoga. Of course the yoga focuses specifically on spine strength and on flexibility, which the Shred does not, but there are some little things that are a little easier than they could have been, leaving me free to focus more on all the other parts I’m struggling with working on improving.

One other thing that I’m keenly aware of is that this is not a cheap endeavor. That awareness is less centered around the impact to my budget than it is to the fact that cost makes this activity less accessible for a great many people. You can’t just do bikram yoga at home. A single class is $18, though there are generous discounts available for buying classes in bulk. Between the cost and the large chunk of time that class takes out of already-busy days and weeks, this is not a lightly made decision. This is a commitment. I think everyone should try it once, and then try it again. But I recognize that it ain’t that simple, either. As much as I threw into running, it didn’t require nearly as much to get started.

I’m considering this an investment. I’ve said that before to justify things I’ve blown money on, but I really mean it this time. I am giving up other things to make room for this. This is a significant (to me) time and money investment. In my health. In me.

Not easy. Not cheap. But totally worth it. So totally worth it.

Related posts:

1. Health Progress Report: Six Weeks Later
2. Health Kick 2009, Part 1 of 3: Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred
3. Health Kick 2009, Part 3 of 3: Holistic Health
4. On women, Affirmative Action, and college admissions
5. Is that…? It is!