Bikram 10-day challenge: Day 6

Showing up for class #6 today meant that I was more than half-way done.

I rewarded myself by buying a fancy yoga mat and a 20 class card (the special for new students is $250 for 20 classes, but you have to purchase during the 10-day trial period). The classes expire in 6 months, so when I get back from Cambodia, I'll have about 5.5 months to get through 20 classes. If I assume a few travel snags, that puts me on track for a minimum of one class per week when I'm home. Ideally, I'd like to do more (possibly 3 or 4), but I like the idea that at I'm financially committed to at least one class per week after Cambodia.

Today's class was the most crowded class I've attended so far (apparently there are many weekend warriors in Bikram).

Z, the new student from yesterday, came back and stayed through the entire class. We waived hello at the beginning and high-fived at the end.

The heat and humidity felt like it was much harder for me than the last couple of classes, but whenever I looked, the thermometer appeared to be in the 104-105F range rather than inching up to 108 or 107 as it had in prior classes. Perhaps all the sweat and exhalation from that many people noticeably increases the humidity? Or, perhaps more realistically, last night's date night full of fancy food and wine made efficiently handling the heat a bit difficult on my system?

I rested during the first bow pulling pose, tree pose (but did tree instead of toe-stand), and the second half lotus pose. I wanted to opt out of more of the poses, or, just leave the room on several occasions, so I was struggling quite a bit.

Tomorrow, my goal is going to be to focus on completing the pose I'm doing. Nothing more, nothing less. I think I get wrapped up in how much of the class is left, how tired and uncomfortable I already am, and I spend too much time thinking about how the class might play out, which interferes with my ability to focus and just be in the current pose.

That being said, I definitely pushed several of the poses today to levels I haven't reached in a long time. How do I know? Oh, my hamstrings, lower back, and shoulders are more sore today than they have been since I started this process.

It would appear, at least in my case, there's something to Bikram's claim that the heat makes it a safer practice. I definitely wasn't trying to push the limits of my strength or flexibility (or even really making myself too sore) the first few classes. Instead, I was entirely focused on surviving the heat.

Tomorrow, I've got 2 options, 8 AM or 10 AM. I'd love to get up and bust it out by 8, but sleeping in may trump. We'll see.