What I Learned from My First Bikram Yoga Class

My first and only Bikram Yoga class was an experience that proved invaluable to my practice.

I’d been practicing Anusara Yoga steadily for over a year and I wanted to check out the practice my friend was into. Since it was such a popular form of Yoga, I was sure to learn something and excited to experience the class. I got there early to deal with the paperwork and get a feel for the space. The person at the desk was really helpful. They answered the questions that I had about the class and offered advice for my first experience. If I could just stay in the room for the whole time, it’d be a success. No problem.

I walked in to set up and my apprehension about the heat was immediately snuffed out by the smell. It made me think I had entered the circle of hell where dirty gym clothes go to spend eternity being tortured by lost tube socks. Why would you want to smell this when you’re breathing deeply? Ok, fine. Mind over matter, right?

The sequence started off and I followed along. Playing with the edge of overheating was actually fun and challenging. It was amazing to be able to increase or decrease effort in the body and feel the results so quickly. The main stance was closed down (feet hugging together) and the poses emphasized compression, where I was used to expansion. That wasn’t pleasant. The teacher kept talking, and talking, and talking… She kept telling us to lock our knees. That was infuriating. Hyper-extension of the knees is damaging and students do what they hear, not what you mean.

The first hour went pretty well. I even made myself rest and didn’t do all of the poses. Right after that, the peak of the class, I overheated, lost my breath, and my nervous system was tired of being poked with a sharp stick(the teacher’s voice). I tried to get it back under control, but laying there was misery. So I got up and left the room after 10 minutes of effort. The suffering seemed unnecessary. I was done.

There were a few people in the lobby who worked at the studio. They encouraged me to go back in, and against my better judgement, I did after a few minutes. I left the room again almost immediately. I bet people were pissed. I spent the rest of the class talking to a practitioner about Yoga. He had been an Iyengar student before and he understood some of my concerns with the class. He explained that ‘lock your knees’ meant lock your knees into proper alignment and sympathized with my inability to maintain my ujjayi breath in class. I explained my view of Yoga to him and how I didn’t see spending my time in that room as life-affirming and he was with it. The lady at the desk wasn’t having it though. She told me I needed to ‘fix’ my practice. I felt like I just received a ‘Come to Jesus’ lashing.

I apologized to the teacher after class and explained myself. She was stoic and seemed understanding but I also sensed some disdain in her facial expressions as she listened.

I loved the experience even though I disliked a lot of the practice itself. I’m really happy that Bikram Yoga is here for the people that it works for. It’s a very powerful practice and it connects people with the ancient art. My practice was enhanced by the experience and I don’t feel bad that I chose to feel good instead of continuing to suffer needlessly. What did I learn? A lot. Most importantly, there is a form of Yoga for everyone and that makes the world a better place.