My first yoga class

I should start by saying I have never done any sort of yoga... well a couple of postures on the Wii Fit. That's about it. So I figured, for the sake of the blog and and at the advice of my cousin, I'll take a 30 minute class, see what it's all about, check it off my list and move on. A friend at work, DeAne, saw my blog and happens to know quite a bit about Bikram Yoga. When she first mentioned it to me and started talking about how great it felt, I thought great! Let's do that. DeAne said my first goal would be to stay in the room for the entire class. "Stay in the room"? Really? That's it?  How hard can that be?  Oh by the way... Bikram Yoga is also called "hot yoga". Which is yoga in a room heated to 105 degrees.  {{screeeeach}}  whoa.

So I said sure, I'll check into that. (of course I didn't really have plans to check into it SOON.. ha).  Then a couple of days later she tells me she found a deal where I can get 20 sessions for 92% off! Wow!  (gulp - 20 sessions??? My blog said to attend ONE yoga class.. hm).  Anyway, my friend Cristol and I both bought the 20 sessions. We figure, if we hate it after one class then oh well, we barely paid anything anyway so let's give it a go. I went out and got my little outfit and today was the big day.

We decided to go before work so at 4:50 (AM!) I pulled up to the Bikram Yoga studio (of course Cristol was already there waiting with a sunny smiling face... darn her).  The studio is beautiful from the outside.  Hmm, this is a good sign.  I think this is a place where I can "stay in the room" for the entire class.  Sure

The studio wasn't opened yet and we sat waiting in our cars for 10 minutes or so.  Deep inside I was kind of hoping we had misunderstood and there wasn't really a class at 5:30am. Or that they were closed for the holidays (even though Cristol had called several times to check class times and confirm). But here it was 5:01 and the studio was still closed! Oh well, let's go to Starbucks instead! :)  But then... 5:03am and here comes a car. Out jumps a slender pretty blond girl in workout attire who runs in to unlock the studio and let us in, get us signed up etc.  Misty was super nice and very patient and assured us that our first class would be fine. She was also our instructor so she walked us right through everything and even pointed out the "cooler" parts of the room.

As soon as I opened the door to the actual studio I felt tiny beads of sweat on my forehead. Yep, 105 degrees alright.  They had us put our yoga mat on a blue line on the floor and lay our towel over it (to soak up the gallons of sweat I'm sure). My one goal... "stay in the room" for the entire NINETY minutes.  Yes 90. So much for my quickie 30 minute class and check it off the list.  Bikram yoga is 26 postures, each done twice and the entire process takes an hour and a half. 

Cristol set up next to me on the "cool" side of the room (I use the term loosely) and off we went.  We started with some breathing and then went into some standing postures. I was immediately drenched but I was doing it! Misty guided us through and told us to watch the people in front of us. In front of me were a very tan brunette girl who I later heard saying that she takes 2 classes a day, and another girl who had a scarf over her head, clearly the result of chemo.  I thought, if that girl is brave and strong enough to do this while she's going through chemo, then I can do this too.

The tan girl was a great example for me to follow. She handled every single posture with amazing strength. I was struggling but I was doing it.  About 30 minutes in I started to feel strange. Light headed, flushed, beyond what I should have been. Then the nausea hit. I kept thinking, no! I wanted to stay in the room, that was my one goal! I pushed through the nausea and kept going, tried to sit down for a minute and take a break but then my stomach started to cramp and I had to run out of the room.

Yeah. I got sick. :( After that fun time, I laid on the bench in the shower room feeling a little defeated. My one stupid goal "stay in the room" and I didn't do it.  I laid on that bench with my legs elevated trying to get the dizziness to pass. I figured at this point, I may as well skip the rest of the class. Oh well I had tried.

Then I remembered my blog! Argh! I was going to have to write about quitting the class and not going back in! dang it. Stupid blog. So I picked my sweaty dizzy self up off that bench and went back into that super hot room and finished the class.  I only got nauseous again once when we did this back bendy posture.  I stayed in the room and kept doing the posture, pushed through till the end until the nausea passed.

(that's not me btw - lol. I borrowed this picture off their website)

I've read that doing yoga, especially Bikram yoga, really squeezes toxins out of your system. I think that's what was happening when I was getting nauseous. 

Misty later told us that all the 5:30 am people are pretty dedicated regulars who do this a lot. After the class was over they all applauded for Cristol and I for making it through the class.  (one other btw: Cristol DID stay in the class the entire time. She had to sit down just once when she got dizzy but she stayed in the room!).  Misty told us that it would take 3 classes before we would start to really hear every instruction she gave us and 10 before our body would get the hang of it and respond better.  TEN! ahhh...  After we had showered and were all ready Cristol asked me.... "so, 5:30am tomorrow?".  grrr... sure. If she can do it, I can do it. 

Did I love it? No, not yet. The room smells kind of funny (not like b.o, more like hot carpet glue) and the heat is pretty powerful. My body is not flexible at all (yet) so there were several postures I couldn't really do at all.  Plus getting up at 4:30am is rough and I only get 30 minutes after the class to shower and get ready! (minor detail but it usually takes me a bit longer than that).

Did I hate it? Surprisingly no. It feels good to stretch and breathe and really just sweat good and  hard without caring. It was harder than any workout I have ever done before, I can guarantee that.  But I feel pretty good now (only 5 hours later). They say to take the next class within 24 hours to minimize soreness so...  looks like I'll be seeing Cristol up there tomorrow morning, 5am.  Maybe this time I can "stay in the room". :)