Bikram Yoga is a 90 minute class practiced in front of mirrors. Lots of mirrors. Mirrors in front, sometimes mirrors to the side, mirrors behind, it depends on the studio. But always mirrors in front. When I first started practicing this yoga, I found it unnerving to stare at myself for 90 whole minutes. That's a long time in front of a mirror. Especially for someone who, when starting, had a less than stellar self image and never liked the image looking back at her from said mirror. So stepping into a class and being told at the beginning of the class, "Focus one point on yourself in the mirror. Don't move your eyes. Don't blink your eyes."...yeah right. Are you kidding me, lady? But there were all of these people in class doing it! I was amazed. I remember that part of being a beginner...the awe I felt for those students in the front row (so darned close to those mirrors!) who had this intense focus on themselves the whole class. 90 minutes, looking straight ahead, no distractions, complete stillness...it intimidated me to no end. I wanted that too. I wanted that confidence, that focus, to stare at myself, to see myself in the mirror. To see my strengths, my beauty and my flaws and to keep staring.
So I kept coming to class. More and more, at first a few times a week and then at least 5-7 days per week. I was addicted. And I was determined to find my focus, to look in the mirror for 90 minutes...to see (and I didn't know it at the time) and to love what I saw looking back at me. Honestly, when I started this yoga, I had no idea what I wanted to get out of it, nor did I think that it would give me all that is has or open my eyes so wide.
I can't tell you exactly when it happened...I know that it was a gradual process. But through my practice, I have found more confidence, more self-love, more focus than I ever imagined. I can stare at myself in the mirror, for 90 minutes at a time, with love, with compassion but also with truth. The mirror doesn't lie. It tells me when my ego has joined me on the mat, when I've brought my worries into the room with me and also when I need to give myself a break. I still have classes where I see things that I don't like, of course, and the old voices try to resurface and take control. But they don't last long, not anymore, as I've gained too much strength in my mind and also my body and that makes me feel beautiful.
When I see my foot coming up over my head in Standing Bow, that is beautiful. When I lock my knee and kick my leg out in Standing Head to Knee, that is powerful. When I have sweat rolling into my eyes and I stand in stillness, that is focus. When I look at myself in the mirror at the end of my 90 minutes, no matter what kind of class I've had, that is pure joy. Because I've found the focus, the concentration...and most important, the love. For me, for all that I am and all that I am working to become.
"Bikram Yoga is the first time you start loving yourself because it's the first time you start seeing yourself." Rajashree Choudhury
Love from India.
So I kept coming to class. More and more, at first a few times a week and then at least 5-7 days per week. I was addicted. And I was determined to find my focus, to look in the mirror for 90 minutes...to see (and I didn't know it at the time) and to love what I saw looking back at me. Honestly, when I started this yoga, I had no idea what I wanted to get out of it, nor did I think that it would give me all that is has or open my eyes so wide.
I can't tell you exactly when it happened...I know that it was a gradual process. But through my practice, I have found more confidence, more self-love, more focus than I ever imagined. I can stare at myself in the mirror, for 90 minutes at a time, with love, with compassion but also with truth. The mirror doesn't lie. It tells me when my ego has joined me on the mat, when I've brought my worries into the room with me and also when I need to give myself a break. I still have classes where I see things that I don't like, of course, and the old voices try to resurface and take control. But they don't last long, not anymore, as I've gained too much strength in my mind and also my body and that makes me feel beautiful.
When I see my foot coming up over my head in Standing Bow, that is beautiful. When I lock my knee and kick my leg out in Standing Head to Knee, that is powerful. When I have sweat rolling into my eyes and I stand in stillness, that is focus. When I look at myself in the mirror at the end of my 90 minutes, no matter what kind of class I've had, that is pure joy. Because I've found the focus, the concentration...and most important, the love. For me, for all that I am and all that I am working to become.
"Bikram Yoga is the first time you start loving yourself because it's the first time you start seeing yourself." Rajashree Choudhury
Love from India.
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