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changing from Bikram Moderators: Moderators Jump to page : 1 2 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page]	View previous thread :: View next thread
Yoga -> Bikram Yoga	Message format

gogirl58

Posted 2005-09-19 3:44 PM (#32400)
Subject: changing from Bikram

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100

OK,
I have accepted the suggestion that it is good to check out other classes. I don't want to
be a Bikramophile without good data. I want to a Iyengar class. I had had a very very stressful week. My son had fallen off of a roof and had his arm broken in multiple places. He had had two surgeries and 5 days in the hospital.

I was too wasted to deal with Bikram. I felt too weak to deal with the heat.

I hoped for a nice mellow class. I experienced just that. Mellow was an overstatement.

The class was about 10 postures, then savasana. I couldn't believe the class was over when it ended. it felt as though it had lassted about 45 minutes. All in all, I thought it was very restful, but its an expensive rest. The last 3 postures were various back bends in which we rested, then
a savasana in which we rested from the resting. Nothing was stressful. There were two hamstring
stretches which hurt, but not THAT much. Generally I didn't see the point of spending $15.00
to stretch a few times, then rest.

I will try other classes, maybe Iyengar isn't for me.

I had no new spring in my step, no feeling of ectasy, no large feeling of peacefulness.

To make it more irritating the teacher chastised me for not watching her demonstration enough
because I put my block on top of my blanket, not next to it. She had no way of guessing
how strange it is to deal with all of these props. After you spend 2 or 3 minutes getting everything set up, you are in the pose for maybe 20 seconds. Very irritating. She also would
talk us through poses by mentioning how they compare to other poses. It you don't have the
frame of reference, it makes it difficult. Then, at the end, she referred to Bikram as a "way
out" yoga.

Hey, I guess I'm way out, but a Bikram class makes me feel great. I may be angry half of the
class because I'm hot..... but boy that Savasana is great.

tourist

Posted 2005-09-19 6:41 PM (#32417 - in reply to #32400)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

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Oh my goodness, what a lot to deal with!

If it is any consolation at all, even if you didn't care for the class, I think from the sound of it, it is exactly what the doctor ordered for you that day

If the classes are labelled "restorative" you can expect that sort of thing every time but otherwise, I doubt you will have another Iyengar class like that for awhile. Many studios do all restorative the last week of the month. The rest of the time, you can expect to be doing challenging standing poses, forward bends, twists and inversions plus you will find fewer props in use except for closer to the end of the class as they wind down to savasana.

Just out of curiosity, is this a certified Iyengar person or someone who teaches Iyengar "style"?

Hope your son is ok.

Cyndi

Posted 2005-09-19 6:57 PM (#32418 - in reply to #32400)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

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gogirl58 - 2005-09-19 3:44 PM

Then, at the end, she referred to Bikram as a "way out" yoga.

Alls I have to say is WTF does "way out" mean???

Anyway, there were times when I would be in an Iyengar type class with my Bikram instructor...she would always tell me that when we were doing a similar pose to a Bikram pose that I was conditioned to Bikram...not to worry. Especially once when I was facing one way in Savasana and they were all facing the other direction..I was like, oh well, it didn't bother me, it just bothered my instructor more, seeing me in what she deemed the *wrong* direction,

So, are you glad to be back home or what??

Cyndi - who's I guess way out there some where in this universe too, at least I'm still connected,

Edited by Cyndi 2005-09-19 6:58 PM

Posted 2005-09-19 7:40 PM (#32419 - in reply to #32418)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

I have to rant here and again say why take ANY abuse from somebody you're paying? Do we just have some sort of ingrained, whipped mindset that a "teacher" must be minded even when conducting themselves in roles other than how adults interact? Often I kid here about opening some whoop ass on wise-ass teachers; however, beneath the smile is truth--do not take the crap. Your public practice is yours in yogic terms as well as capitalistic--you're the real teacher as well as the customer.

A couple of years ago, I was in a university program and from the auditorium's podium, the teacher began addressing the assembly as a bunch of grade school students due to the inattention of a couple in attendance. I did some quick math, left my seat and approched her telling her privately, "There are 200 people in this auditorium and each has paid this school a thousand dollars. I recommend you address the trouble makers privately or refund the 198 people here there money. Are you prepared to do that?" She apoliogized and we later became friends. The bottom line I suggest is--take no crap--ever.

GreenJello

Posted 2005-09-19 8:06 PM (#32420 - in reply to #32400)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

Bruce makes an interesting point about not taking crap from anybody, which I agree with for the most part. However, I don't think I'd let just one class decide me on a particular teacher, unless you thought it really stank. Then, if you're feeling really nice, you might say something to her about what you disagreed with. Personally, I think it's often a waste of my time, so I just move on. (For all his chest beating, Bruce is doing a very nice thing, to have bothered to say anything.)

I also think it's probably a bad sign the teacher feels the need to run down other people's yoga styles. OTOH, Bikram has a bad rep, and it's a fine line between making snide remarks, and warning people about bad things.

I'd also say that you shouldn't judge an entire style from a single teacher. I've been to an ashtanga class from almost every teacher at the studio just to see what interesting things they might mention in class. Each one has a different style, and I sometimes go out of my way to find out what the differences are.

*Fifi*

Posted 2005-09-19 8:07 PM (#32421 - in reply to #32400)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

Wow, I hope your son is alright! I know kids are pretty durable and bones get stronger (from the scar tissue) when they repair themselves from a break - but still!

I love Bruce's response. It's never a good idea to take crap from anyone. BUT, (and I would like to read other people's thoughts on this) sometimes the teacher knows best, like the old geezer in The Karate Kid.

What I read in Bruce's post is that we all have bull-****-o-meters. We know when someone is yanking our chain and often Bikram (and other forms of yoga) teachers yank it hard. They end up sounding like cult leaders. "It's bad if you leave the hot room, the temple, the church, etc..."

Anyway, this community is a good way to solidify your yoga boundaries. I think most of us can relate (not necessarily to a child falling off a roof!) and have had experiences with weirdo teachers who dish out bull****.

Waxing Off~ Fifi

Bay Guy

Posted 2005-09-19 10:17 PM (#32427 - in reply to #32421)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

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I can't comment on the particular teacher or class, of course, other
that to say that my first Iyengar experience (while I was a Bikramite)
hit me about the same way. I didn't do Iyengar yoga again for almost
two years.

But that was just one data point. I did an Iyengar class yesterday that
involved *so* much arm and leg work that my triceps and quads are sore
as hell tonight. (And I'm a person who puts in 2+ hrs a day on the mat.)
And then there was the time our teacher kept us in full arm balance for
3 minutes, or for 15 minutes in headstand, and so on.

You can't understand Iyengar yoga from just one or two classes. The spectrum
of possibilities is just too broad.

Anyway, I do hope your son is doing well. And I hope you find the right yoga
for you.

sdaraio

Posted 2005-09-20 12:02 AM (#32433 - in reply to #32400)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

I am amazed at the amount of controversy Bikram engenders in folks! I'm not sure where people are practicing, but at the studio I practice at the teachers are respectful. A few even focus on alignment (beyond Bikram script!).

At one point in the practice you are asked to step off your mat and do some standing poses just on the carpet (triangle pose, head to knee..etc). Well...I don't know about anyone else, but the STICKY mat has a purpose for me--and if I'm OFF the sticky mat I am slipping and sliding all over the place. So...I usually leave one foot on the mat (why can't we just turn around and use the whole mat I wonder???). One time a teacher repeated 3 times for all of us to move off the mat--I knew she was repeating for my benefit--but I stayed where I was. She then walked over to me and asked me if I had an injury. I told her that I did not have any injury and she asked me to move off my mat. I told her that I appreciated her suggestion and I would be using the mat for the next series of poses. She just looked at me--and walked away.

This is the ONLY weird-ish thing that has happened to me. For that I am grateful. And I agree with Bruce--take your space respectfully!

Hope your son is doing better.

Stacey

catherine

Posted 2005-09-20 9:28 AM (#32445 - in reply to #32400)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

I hope your son is okay. I'm glad you enjoyed savasana at least.
I am planning on checking out other yoga styles as well for many of the same reasons. I know that at some point I will want some more variety in postures, but I can see myself always wanting to practice Bikram every once in a while.
When I first came to this forum, I was surprised by all of the negativity towards Bikram. It made me want to stop going on principle, but I realized that I really liked some aspects of it and owed it to myself to explore it further. I go to a good studio where the teachers do focus on alignment - I am told to focus on alignment before depth which I think is good. sdaraio's studio sounds like mine - the mat thing during separate leg stretching is a touchy subject. We are told that we need to use thigh muscles to prevent slipping. All I can say is that slipping out of triangle would be a disaster - at least for me.
I guess that nothing is perfect. I guess all styles have good teachers and bad teachers. But, trying out other things is always good.

Mitch

Posted 2005-09-20 11:06 AM (#32456 - in reply to #32400)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

My theory is that the enmity towards Bikram is a result of yoga fundamentalism.

By it's very nature, Bikram Yoga focuses only on yogasana. Bikram has divorced asana practice from Patanjali's eight-limbs. His opinion is that one must detox the body first. Valid point. However, he provides no method within his system of going deeper. Not just deeper as in more postures, but deeper as in the other seven limbs. In my experience, many Bikram teachers (that I've encountered, certainly not all) are not necessarily students of Yoga. They are class leaders for Bikram's 26 postures. Throw in some sketchy alignment advice ("lock the knee") and you have a potentially injurious, physically-based beginner's yoga series. For some people that's enough. They can pursue the other 7 limbs on their own and they can keep exploring the postures.

Many students of the Krishnamacarya lineage, chiefly dedicated Iyengis and Ashtangis, generally appear to me to be more involved with yoga as a life-style. They're 8-limbers and see yogasana as one very important, very fun part of their practice. But they tend to approach yoga as more than just a great workout or a physical pursuit. They learn sanskrit, read the gita and the sutras, and really get into it.

Is one approach better? I'm not sure if I'm smart enough to know. But if yoga is truly about union with god and asana is a preparation for meditation, then Bikram falls short.

Personally, I am ever grateful for Bikram for turning me on to the path. But I realized that the excessive heat was counter-productive to my practice (and my pitta dosha). Yes, it felt great to sweat, but I don't want to just "get through" a class, I want to relish every (sometimes painful) moment.

I am sure that there are many great yogis who teach and practice Bikram yoga and many jerks with advanced Iyengar or Ashtanga practices. It's all yoga - what's right for one person is not for another. Find your path and stick to it. But the criticism of Bikram is not necessarily wrong - it's just based on how one personally defines and practices yoga.

*Fifi*

Posted 2005-09-20 1:31 PM (#32462 - in reply to #32433)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

sdaraio - 2005-09-20 12:02 AM

the STICKY mat has a purpose for me--and if I'm OFF the sticky mat I am slipping and sliding all over the place.
Stacey

Yes, Why? Why? Why are we supposed to get off our mats for the poses that require them the most? I never did figure that one out. I was thinking of wearing Yoga Paws on my feet so I don't have to fidget with my mat so much. I won't b/c of the bad attention it'll bring in class.

In fact, I hate the Bikram triangle. It's more like a sliding lunge.

There's more of Bikram Yoga that I like than dislike, which keeps me coming back.

Cyndi

Posted 2005-09-20 3:43 PM (#32470 - in reply to #32462)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

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*Fifi* - 2005-09-20 1:31 PM

sdaraio - 2005-09-20 12:02 AM

the STICKY mat has a purpose for me--and if I'm OFF the sticky mat I am slipping and sliding all over the place.
Stacey

That sounds so ridiculous..like duh?? what the heck do you think the mat is for??? I vote for staying on the mat and I also vote for washing the sweat off the mat after several uses too!! Like, I have 3 mats that I rotate around with just for that reason

Posted 2005-09-20 4:44 PM (#32475 - in reply to #32400)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

i too am so sorry to hear about your son! i hope that he's ok and will be back into things in no time.

i have to agree with bay guy about iyengar yoga classes. they can run a broad spectrum. but then, any yoga style can, even bikram. sometimes, it's what you like, sometimes it isn't what you like--often just based on the teacher and whatehver the specific thing is for that day.

my iyengar classes are tough. my classes in classical yoga with dharma mittra are hella tough--yet others think those are gentle. i dunno, maybe i'm off my rocker.

maybe i just try too hard.

is it so wrong that i'm really into that first pranayama that bikram does? i've done it every day for ten days so far. it's just getting me going or something. i like it. i've also been doing breath of fire at the end. . .i'm pranayama crazed.

i think it's because of you people here on yoga.com.

tecaterocks

Posted 2005-09-20 4:56 PM (#32481 - in reply to #32400)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

I have to get off the main topic but regarding the Sticky Mat Thing....

I have always been told that there is a purpose in moving your feet off the mat in that it would build up the inner thigh muscles used in that particular posture. I too would often keep one foot on the mat during the posture and would blame the carpet being wet from the class before or just being slippery in general. However, after continual pestering from the instructors (yes i actually took their suggestion without confrontation) i now find my feet solid on the carpet in these postures. Granted it took 2+ years to build up my non-existant thigh muscles but they eventually did appear.

I think there is alwasy a problem finding the balance of taking an instructors suggestions as a personal offense to you verusus constructive criticisim. I have found that if i disagree with the suggestion given in class i still go ahead and try it during class. I then will bring it up to the instructor after class and try to get an explanation. I rarely find that the suggestions given by the instructors are rooted in non-sense or personal vendetta. Most of the time it seems there is a reason they are giving the suggestion. It never hurts to ask them why.

*Fifi*

Posted 2005-09-20 5:03 PM (#32483 - in reply to #32400)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

Pranayama is a good thing! How often do we under-utilize the power of our breath. It's a way we can truly alter our consciousness naturally. And it's free!

I have a couple different yoga mats, too, Cyndi. I definitely have my Bikram mat. I love it. It's about 10 years old but still in decent condition. It's the mat I don't mind getting "Bikram-dirty". I wash the sweat out using an enzymatic cleanser. I add a scoop of enzyme booster to the wash when I do my Bikram clothes.

Bay Guy

Posted 2005-09-20 10:45 PM (#32522 - in reply to #32475)
Subject: RE: changing Bikram/Dharma M.

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zoebird - 2005-09-20 4:44 PM

my iyengar classes are tough. my classes in classical yoga with dharma mittra are hella tough--yet others think those are gentle. i dunno, maybe i'm off my rocker.
.

Ooohh, Dharma Mittra is terrific. I've done his [forget what he calls it] Advanced class,
and really loved it. And I just like watching him do yoga. He has such ability, a man in
his late 60's who still does handstands and deep backbending inversions so well. I look
to my teachers to help me understand aging, which no one ever prepares us for. The
last time I saw Dharma, he spent considerable time on the point that yoga is not just
a physical practice, and I found his comments very instructive, particularly coming from
the guy who made the 908 Asanas poster.

Edited by Bay Guy 2005-09-20 10:50 PM

tourist

Posted 2005-09-21 12:13 AM (#32528 - in reply to #32522)
Subject: RE: changing Bikram/Dharma M.

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Bay Guy - 2005-09-20 7:45 PM
I look to my teachers to help me understand aging, which no one ever prepares us for.

BG - I agree. My teacher is turning 75 this year and she is such an inspiration. I live in a community that is a real retirement Mecca and I look at people in the grocery store that are similar ages and I KNOW I want to be like my teacher at that age, not like the grey old folks. Karma may have a walker or a wheelchair scooter in my future but I am going to keep working to avoid it if at all possible. "The pains that are to come can and should be avoided," right? Name that sutra!

Mitch

Posted 2005-09-21 10:12 AM (#32556 - in reply to #32400)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

Tourist...this is too weird...

I just read that sutra this morning on the train...

2.16 - heyam duhkham anagatam

By the by, Sri Swami Satchidananda's translation/commentary is awesome. It's just so readable and enjoyable. He rocks!

tourist

Posted 2005-09-21 10:38 AM (#32562 - in reply to #32556)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

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I love Satchidananda's commentaries as well. Very practical and down to earth. I have read that he was very well loved, even back in the days of sivananda's ashram when he was young. Swami Sivananda Radha's books talk about him quite a bit. I'm off to grab his sutra book

Posted 2005-09-22 2:21 PM (#32679 - in reply to #32400)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

i like those commentaries too. i'll have to break them out again. it's been a while.

paulette

Posted 2009-06-10 10:54 PM (#116454 - in reply to #32456)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

But if yoga is truly about union with god and asana is a preparation for meditation, then Bikram falls short.

I don't know if you can pick on just Bikram in that sense. I'm a beginner, but I've tried a few different styles at a few different schools over the past year, and none of them teach anything other than the physical aspect of yoga. I, too, am yearning for more; the lifestyle and even spirituality (Recommend any books?), so every class I've taken has been a bit disappointing. It must be the western world; I think here in the US the vast majority of yoga classes, regardless of the style, focus only on the body.

As a side note, I want to say that I have read so many awful testaments to Bikram yoga and I really had no idea of the entire controversy until searching online. I attend a Bikram class every week and have had 4 different teachers. Every single one has been wonderfully kind, respectful, and they encourage students to only go as far as it feels right--not to strain or push ourselves into an injury. Bikram has been my favorite, because of the heat (for some reason it actually helps me focus)--and it has been nothing like the experiences I read. In fact, some of the "regulations" don't apply--we practice on a wood floor, one of the teachers comes over to give us physical adjustments all the time, and all of them usually walk around and help students individually. It in no way feels competitive. Maybe it's because I'm on the east coast? Does Bikram Choudhary no longer have control over licensing and all of those crazy regulations? This whole thing intrigues me.

Posted 2009-06-11 3:04 AM (#116457 - in reply to #116454)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

Holy moly! I've never read this thread before and there are SO many topics in it that I want to go into. First:

paulette - 2009-06-10 7:54 PM

But if yoga is truly about union with god and asana is a preparation for meditation, then Bikram falls short.

We've talked about this in a few places here recently, but it never hurts to bring it up again! Paulette, just so you know, the theory behind Bikram yoga is that the body and mind have to be cleared and restored to health before any sort of meditation can be attempted. That's why there is no explicit mention of meditation in the class; everyone needs to come to it in their own time and way. Instead of telling you to meditate, the instructors fill your brain with so much information and make you focus so hard on the postures that meditation is basically INDUCED. It's like the pure distillation of that meditative state that a lot of people get into through other rigorous exercises like running. So yes, the class focuses on the body, because that is the only way to clear the cobwebs out of the mind and make meditation possible.

I bet others on here will have lots of good reading suggestions for you. I'm currently reading through "How Yoga Works" by Roach and McNally, which is amazing. Bikram's "Hot Yoga" book (the newer, orange cover one) also has some really good explanations of the spiritual and philosophical side of the yoga.

As for licensing, all of the studios are supposed to follow Bikram's guidelines, but he doesn't ACTUALLY have yoga police running around doing quality control (at least not that I've seen recently!), so some regions get more lax than others. There is a LOT of variation between studios. There are hundreds of studios - what are they REALLY going to do? (Bk has been trying to franchise for a while and quality control is ALWAYS a big issue.) There are lots of by-the-book studios on the East coast and super-relaxed studios on the West coast, so location isn't necessarily a deciding factor.

As for the original topic of other yoga styles... ok, here we go... I am a TOTAL by-the-book Bikram purist, but I am also a big fan of checking out other yoga classes now and then, especially if you are practicing all the time. How do you KNOW that Bikram is the best unless you test your hypothesis? ;)

I had taken plenty of other yoga classes before I started Bikram. I especially liked Forrest yoga for focus on breath and core strengthening and Iyengar for its focus on alignment and precision. Bikram hooked me in a way that none of the others had, just because it was a TOTAL body workout. I'd taken plenty of classes that worked my abs, or my butt, or my arms, but I'd never encountered one that worked EVERY single muscle I had, along with a few that I'd never even heard of before! So that was the first difference that I noticed. Then I noticed that my body was actually CHANGING with Bikram, pretty quickly and pretty drastically, which had never happened in any other class. And then a lot of other things followed...

I spent a couple weeks checking out other yoga classes just this Spring, when I was in a bit of a yoga rut (after a near-daily Bikram practice for nearly 2 years). That was great for me. It was GREAT to be out of my comfort zone as the clueless beginner again. It gave me so much empathy for what the Bikram newbies go through!

As for the classes, I went to a variety of styles and they were all different. I took one generic beg/adv yoga class, and that was interesting. We did some nice things, and one of the floor exercises gave me an unexpected insight into standing head to knee! But overall the class seemed very haphazardly put together. This reminded me of how much I love the mathematical precision of Bikram's series, where each posture follows logically from the one before.

Then I tried an Int Vinyasa flow class. That was interesting too. Some of it was fine, some was impossible, and some was surprisingly do-able. It was pretty fun and I liked working my arms, but decided that all that down-dog stuff just doesn't do ANYTHING for me! The main thing that I disliked, besides all the dogs, was having the instructor do all the postures with us! I know that people are often surprised in Bikram when the instructor doesn't demonstrate, but this reminded me of WHY we do it this way. I just kept wondering, "how the heck does she know what we are doing when she is trying to do the whole class herself?" It seemed like the class lacked precise instructions because of this. So this reminded me of why I loved the detail of Bikram's dialogue.

Then I went to a totally random yoga class with a very popular area teacher. He played music for the class - I'm pretty sure it was his iPod on shuffle - he spent TONS of time talking about philosophy, we did all kinds of awkward stuff that I didn't know how to do, and there were a few times when we just jumped around to music like kids in our rooms. I LOVED IT. I went back a number of times, and I want to go again this summer. It was fun, silly, spontaneous, spiritual, and the polar opposite of Bikram, but somehow the teacher's message was the same. Something resonated. It filled some kind of spiritual need, to hear someone talk clearly and eloquently about all of the non-physical things that have been on my mind more and more often. Loved it. It felt like going to church (which I haven't done in years). Can't wait to go back.

Um... anyone else??

Ram

Posted 2009-06-11 4:08 PM (#116471 - in reply to #32400)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

One can argue any form of Yoga is "way out there".

I dont get offended by people's views of yoga, it's such a beautiful practise I'm just grateful I discovered it.
I think it's a great idea to check out other yoga's until you discover what's good for you. My first classes ever was in L.A. with Bikram himself. What a weird dude I thought. It was good yoga but I was too interested in other forms of exercise to stay with it.
Over the years I mostly did other forms of yoga and all of them had their pluses and minuses. The only yoga I thought was rather lame was the yoga classes at L.A. Fitness. But I turned again to Bikram to heal my spine. So far it's been the best thing I ever did and what I love is over time I have discovered that Bikram has been a great extension of my meditation practise.
As far as meditation Bikram is actually very condusive to meditation. The familiarity with the poses puts you at ease and the degree of concentration required puts your mind in that quiet zone which is all meditation really is. I think most people dont see Bikram as a "spiritual" yoga because they dont chant mantra's or have any Indian music during the class. But spiritual is attitude on the whole. You either see things as spiritual or you dont.

Edited by Ram 2009-06-11 4:11 PM

paulette

Posted 2009-06-11 5:01 PM (#116472 - in reply to #116457)
Subject: RE: changing from Bikram

thedancingj - 2009-06-11 3:04 AM

We've talked about this in a few places here recently, but it never hurts to bring it up again! Paulette, just so you know, the theory behind Bikram yoga is that the body and mind have to be cleared and restored to health before any sort of meditation can be attempted. That's why there is no explicit mention of meditation in the class; everyone needs to come to it in their own time and way. Instead of telling you to meditate, the instructors fill your brain with so much information and make you focus so hard on the postures that meditation is basically INDUCED. It's like the pure distillation of that meditative state that a lot of people get into through other rigorous exercises like running. So yes, the class focuses on the body, because that is the only way to clear the cobwebs out of the mind and make meditation possible.

I bet others on here will have lots of good reading suggestions for you. I'm currently reading through "How Yoga Works" by Roach and McNally, which is amazing. Bikram's "Hot Yoga" book (the newer, orange cover one) also has some really good explanations of the spiritual and philosophical side of the yoga.

Wow, thank you for all the insight! Yes, I have recently read that's the theory behind Bikram. I just was left disappointed because upon attending the actual classes, nobody seems to tell you this stuff and I think they should! Maybe I need to go on a retreat!

I feel the same way about Bikram. My body craves that kind of challenge. I am excited however to keep exploring. That class you mentioned at the end sounds amazing. Wish I could find something like that here on the east coast!

Posted 2009-06-12 7:42 AM (#116480 - in reply to #32400)
Subject: Re: changing from Bikram

Paulette--Rajashree (Bikram's wife) holds workshops frequently all over; she goes into depth on yoga in general as well as Bikram's approach--a nicer more informed woman you'll never meet.

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