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| Myself, one of my sisters and my friend are all experiencing some pretty strong anger right now. We all think it's part of coming to Bikram, of course. I just wanted to see some discussion about release here.
I was thinking. For the three of us, we're losing wieght pretty rapidly due to practicing Bikram and when all of the physical stuff just disappears, of course the emotion and crap we've stuffed into our tissues will be released.
It's pretty crazy. I can tell you that I've wept through class, laughed through class, and wanted to hug everyone at times. My husband goes sometimes and for him it's just physical. jerk...  
Edited by Sanity 2009-06-01 1:03 PM
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| YES. This totally happens and it's a big deal, and pretty amazing, too. You are discovering all the "issues in the tissues"! That's awesome that you guys are all losing weight, too. That's gotta feel amaaaazing.
I hardly ever get angry, but I've had a lot of things come up through yoga that I thought were long buried - all kinds of insecurities and anxieties from YEARS ago that I had pretty much forgotten about sort of floated back to the surface after a while. It was really surprising, like, "whoa, I didn't even realize I was still feeling that way!" But once they come up, then you can start to get RID OF THEM, which is awesome. Free therapy!!
I've also often noticed that when something in my life is REALLY bothering me before yoga class, I feel MUCH better about it by the time class ends. After those 90 minutes, I can still remember WHY I was upset, but it's like all the emotion has been leeched out of it and I can see the situation for what it is. You know how people say that if something's bothering you, you should "sleep on it" before you make a decision? My rule NOW is that I have to "practice on it" before I do or say anything. Works even better.  |
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Veteran
Posts: 149
 
| nice ! |
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| Not on the emotional side, but I am vegan and have been for years, and I can smell people in class who have too much dairy in their diet . . . they things THEY are releasing. Doesn't happen very often, but it is kind of gross when I can smell that.
I can't say I have had too much in-class emotional release (yet), but I am definitely a calmer, happier person now than I was before Bikram. Things that would've gotten me upset/angry/frustrated in the past affect me a lot less. |
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| Dancing J- You've just described my life! I have a husband who had an affair, a house that's in foreclosure and PTSD from my crazy childhood. Anxiety is a way of life for me. WAS a way of life. And not going to practice isn't an option unless I want to be stuck on pharmacuetical or other drugs. But Bikram heals me. Ah. Yoga.
And jtho--Oh my, well you don't want to be next to this pot smoking, meat eating, milk guzzling girl in class! The only thing I can compare what comes out of me to is cat pee! |
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| Sanity - I don't mind if anyone does any of those things!! And I think the majority of the ppl at my studio eat meat and dairy (and probably smoke pot, too), and pretty much everyone smells fine. Some ppl just have so much dairy in their diet that I can smell it. I think I have only noticed this 3 times this year though, so it is pretty uncommon! |
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| yeah, I'm amazed at how deep I can dig as far as dealing with burried issues.
it's like a archological dig. Every new layer is such a cook discovery that opens up a whole new world.
Of course the deeper you go the harder the thing is to deal with - that's why it was burried in the first place!
but, the more rewarding it is to deal with it finally.
once you deal with it, you won't see how you managed to keep it burried all those years. life will be so much better. the whole world will seem a little brighter.
yes, it's hard, and frustrating, and angering at times.
but you now are gaining the stregnth to deal with more things. just let it happen. |
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| After starting yoga I also noticed emotional changes.
I used to practice yoga once a week or two. But after breaking up with my boyfriend of 4 years, getting financial troubles, divorce of my parents, and many other smaller issues in a period of two months of this spring, I recalled that sports have always been the best stress relief for me, running in particular. However, after two weeks of everyday 2-3 hour running sessions I injured my ankle. So I had to start practicing yoga frequently. I started two times a week, then 3 times and four... now I do yoga everyday!
During my first sessions, I had such strong negative emotions that I almost cried during the class. After each class I felt much better though. Now, three months after, I feel nothing but positive emotions during the class: if I fall or something goes wrong, I just smile or laugh. The same is in everyday life! I don't see troubles and issues in my life as the end of the world but as a challenge I'm eager to take!
Today, I dropped my iphone and broke it of course. My reaction was: I laughed! Who cares! It's just an iphone, not end of the world! |
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| I have yet to experience any swirling of emotions that I can attribute to the
"cleansing" process of Bikram. It seems like Bikram has become an extension of my meditation practise. I feel pretty steady most of the time.
I do get a little put off by some vegans in the class. I remember being beside one particular pasty vegan and the smell of zuchini and red peppers were simply overwhelming. I much prefer the "release" of a person who had a high quality steak.  |
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| Wow, Ram. I guess you're lucky to have such a steady practice.
Like it does for TheDancingJ, yoga (and Bikram especially) seems to force out whatever emotional stuff I'm dealing with at the time. There's a koan/story/whatever that goes like this.
What do you get when you squeeze an orange?
Duh, orange juice, right?
So what do you get when life squeezes you?
*cricket cricket*
You get yourself, and all of the little neuroses that you're desperately keeping trapped in the closet, right?
I think yoga simulates that squeezing that life does to you on a daily basis. It's like this little simulacra where you can deal with all of your shit so that when you're in the "real world" you don't have a panic attack, you don't get as depressed, or whatever the problem may be.
Without it, I'd definitely be on meds. No joke. But that's just why I practice :-) Not only does it get me through the day, it gets me through life.
Edited by Randomfemale 2009-08-11 12:33 AM
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| jtho - 2009-06-01 8:41 PM
Sanity - I don't mind if anyone does any of those things!! And I think the majority of the ppl at my studio eat meat and dairy (and probably smoke pot, too), and pretty much everyone smells fine. Some ppl just have so much dairy in their diet that I can smell it. I think I have only noticed this 3 times this year though, so it is pretty uncommon!
I don't know much about the dairy/smell connection. If you're not completely grossed out, could you elaborate? :-) |
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| I've always wondered about how teachers say Camel brings up lots of emotions. I've never experienced it but have seen someone cry one time coming out of it, and not from physical pain but emotional. Interesting. |
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| Veggiepose, I totally get that. Backbends in general are said to bring up emotions. It's usually in the spine-strengthening series that I have to resist bolting from the room, but camel is the worst for me. If camel were towards the beginning and not at the end there would be no way I could make it through the class! :-) |
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Member
Posts: 42
| Sanity -- if your sweat is smelling like cat pee, that ammonia smell, think about taking more electrolytes, and drinking more water. Is there any other advice we Bikram give each other? If you google around for Ammonia sweat, you'll see that runners also get it, on occasion usually because of dehydration.
Just an idea. |
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| veggiepose - 2009-08-11 4:39 PM
I've always wondered about how teachers say Camel brings up lots of emotions.
That posture takes a lot of faith: Bending backward, on your knees . . . the world is upside-down . . . you're utterly vulnerable! Camel can draw an emotional response because the heart / chest is open, exposed. Whether you're emotionally prepared or not, the posture exposes.
We're more accustomed to shielding our hearts, to defensive posturing, so getting into Camel can be frightening and distressing, and coming out of it can be unnerving, confusing, yet also beautiful to return to one's 'real' world. Heck, it runs the whole gamut!  I love it! |
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| I've heard some really good explanations for why backbending brings up so many strong feelings. Backbends aren't something that most people experience in their day-to-day life, so they can come as a real shock. It's basically just like joysweat says - it makes you totally open and vulnerable, and you can't see what's in front of you, so there are a lot of strong biological triggers that get set off.
Backbends open up the three most vulnerable centers on your body - your throat, your chest, and your genitals. If someone is attacking you or you're in fear or uncomfortable, those are the places that you instinctively close up, hide, and protect. So yeah, to open all of those up is a big deal. |
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| Sanity-
Have you ever considered that it is your self chosen life style (pot smoking, meat eating, milk guzzling) that are causing all the problems in your life. No Yoga will fix these things. Just an observation- don't get mad. |
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| It's funny because for all the Bikram yoga I have done it has never brought up anything emotional for me which is really surprising given my nature. When I think back to my other yoga classes before Bikram's there was a huge amount of emotion triggered. It's not that painful things stopped happening when I started Bikram's - I just don't find it the soothing nurturing kind of environment that triggers emotional release. After some painful losses in my life I couldn't go near my non Bikram yoga for fear of completely falling apart in class but never felt that way about Bikram's. I'm relieved though - I love the Bikram yoga more than any othe form of exercise.
Curious to think of being able to figure out one's diet based on body smell in class. The only thing I've really noticed is when a person has eaten a lot of garlic - WOW classes in Italy take on a whole new meaning! |
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| And yet, Camel is my very favorite pose! : ) |
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Oh, the things we release
