Yoga ain't for the weak .2

I am yet again working on getting back on track with my physical fitness.  I attended a Bikram's Hot Yoga class this morning (6am mind you) and while I was kicking myself for how inflexible I've let myself become, it was refreshing to at least get past my fears of hip pain, waking up at 5am, an hour and a half of rigorous sweating to finish strong, start my day (a monday to be exact) off healthy and allow myself to feel proud.
Now, I've been paying these Bikram people lots of money since I signed a year contract with them last April (and that was to get the discounted rate.. ha!).  But in the past 5 months I have only gone around maybe 7-10 times (uhg!).   I was going to cancel the year membership, and therefore pay a contract breach fee, or I could stick it out and try to go as many times as possible until April and count my losses at that time.   But apon finishing the class today I remembered why I had signed up for the yearly price tag, to (supposedly) force myself to continue this healthy exercise and reap the numerous benefits that come from Hot Yoga practice.  And it short, im very happy that i've stuck with it. : )

  Here is something I wrote to the owner of the Missoula Bikram Yoga studio when they offered a discount off of retail when you sent in your testimonial.  It also got put into the monthly e-newsletter too :)   Here's how I got started with Bikram Yoga:

   I first was introduced to Bikram yoga by my Boss.  She invited a few of her employees to come to a class with her and after that one class I was hooked.   I grew up doing Gymnastics (and now teach it) and in so I have grown to have a deep appreciation for physical/mental strength and body awareness.  Bikram's Yoga is 110% just that, physical/mental strength aquired from complete body awareness.   For the last 5 years I have had an annoying hip/lowback pain that never seemed to go away and would even hurt so suddenly at the most inconvenient times that my leg would give out from under me (not a good thing while trying to spot a gymnast flipping off an apparatus!).  I started seeing a physical therapist who worked with me and had me wear a "belt" to help with my weak hip joint.  I had to wear this "belt" all day and all night.  Eventually I wouldn't have to wear it all the time but that I would always have to wear it during any type of exercise.  I was prepared to live with it forever and just learn to be cautious.  After my first class I apologized to Lora for being unable to perform some of the poses and told her about my "belt" I was supposed to wear.  She told me there would be no need to wear the brace.  My first class hurt but going through my first month of Bikram yoga the pain in my hip slowly began to fade, until one day I completed a whole class without any pain at all!  This was HUGE for me, where as I had been living with this pain for so long, to be able to do any form of exercise without feeling any sharp stabs of pain was amazing and made me so grateful to have found this practice.  I am proud to say I have not once had to wear that dreaded "belt" ever since.  Thank You Lora, and Thank You Bikram Yoga!

~NELLI :)

http://www.bikrammissoula.com/