Notes from a 10 Day Bikram Challenge

Bikram yoga is a specific type of yoga practice. Each class is 90 minutes in duration and includes the same sequence of 26 postures (or poses) each done twice with a breathing exercise at the beginning of class and one at the end. The yoga room is heated to 104 degree Fahrenheit with humidity at 40% hence why it’s referred to as hot yoga.

My local dedicated Bikram yoga studio, Bikram Yoga Hilton Head, offers a 10 Day Challenge in which it is encouraged to attend class 10 days in a row.

I wanted to do this challenge to experience the reputed physical benefits (stretching, balancing, strengthening, sweating) and energetic shift of a 10 day challenge. After my marathon I did not wisely rest, recover, and restore long enough. I had never run 26 miles before and, therefore, had never practiced recovering from 26 miles. I ran the marathon on Saturday, November 8th and was back running the next Thursday without much stretching in between. The running shoes that I trained and ran the marathon in were questionable in fit (especially the left foot) from the beginning. Consequently I developed plantar fasciitis (severe pain on bottom of feet) for the first time in my life. About a week before the 10 Day Challenge I twisted my right ankle badly in the local rec center shower after swimming laps in the pool. So I took a break from running and swimming to heal both of my feet and my right ankle. I thought 10 days of Bikram could be instrumental and enlightening.

Day 1 – Thursday, January 1, 2015 4:30 pm with Heather
Was glad to get back in the studio after being away for long a while. The session was comfortable and not too difficult because I was fresh and not sore. My feet did not bother me and my ankle started to complain only a little bit towards the end of the session while doing some kneeling floor postures. I felt great afterwards…cleansed, stretched, and peaceful. Really thankful that I started the new year with this challenge. Had it easy: room temperature was 105 but humidity was only 20 percent. Took to class my yoga mat, a beach towel to put over my yoga mat, and a hand towel for wiping my face. By the end of class these towels are drenched. Drank my special lemon oil salt water drink during class.

Day 2 – Friday, January 2, 2015 12:00 pm with Joseph
A little sore today, especially in the quadriceps. Humidity was up to standard so sweating was much more prolific today compared to yesterday. Ankle was fine until tree pose during which it hurt a bit so I was careful not to torque it.

Felt so good to stretch my shoulder blades during Half Tortoise pose.

This is the first time I’ve ever done Bikram two days in a row. Drank lemon oil salt water during class. Great Green veggie juice (image below) shortly after. Had the notion that with drinking water, eating an abundance of water dense foods, and receiving colon hydrotherapy and then sweating profusely all on a regular basis is one way of getting into the literal flow of life, being a drop in the ocean or river, and becoming the sponge, absorbing, squeezing, and releasing. All water is recycled and so it’s curious to think through whom these hydrogen and oxygen molecules have passed over the years.

Day 3 – Saturday, January 3, 2015 12:00 pm with Gina
Much more sore today, especially in the upper hamstrings which is from where I suspect my plantar fasciitis stems – tight hams, tight calves, tight plantar fascia. I love Balancing Stick Pose. I feel like I am a capital T, but I can’t see myself in the mirror to tell if I actually am. It feels good and strong to do this pose.

It felt great to stretch out my shoulder blades with Rabbit Pose. My forehead doesn’t quite touch my knees. I pushed/forced it one time long ago and over-stretched my neck so am much more cautious now.

I really like Head to Knee Pose because I am flexible this way and we’re told to look in the mirror. It’s vain, yes, but when I pull my toes and my arms flex while being super sweaty, I look like a cyclist down my my handlebars winning the race. LOL!

And I (narrow-hipped) have been historically terrible at the seated Spine Twisting Pose, but this time I nailed it! Enjoyed lemon oil salt water during class and a Great Green veggie juice afterwards. Legs and buttocks were really sore the rest of the day.

Day 4 – Sunday, January 4, 2015 4:00 pm with Gina
About an hour before heading to class I was feeling a bit off & lightheaded. Not feeling very sore today, which is nice. Once class started my lightheadedness incrementally got worse. Perhaps my dinner last night (too much oil fat? high dose of vinegar? not enough lemon salt water?) was impacting my blood pressure and/or blood sugar. I haven’t felt this lightheaded in a long time since I was chronically hypoglycemic years ago. Maybe it was a perfect storm of low body pressure and low blood sugar in a very hot room which felt hotter than usual. As long as my head stayed below my heart, I was fine, but if my head rose above my heart I worried that I might faint. During Tree Pose I took Savasana (dead corps pose) instead…lying flat on the back totally relaxed. All poses after Tree are floor postures so I felt supported and safe to continue. It’s an amazing awareness to feel that I bring a different body into class each day. This sensation is highly accentuated by doing Bikram during back-to-back days. For example, couldn’t nail Spine Twisting Pose today at all!!! Drank lemon oil salt water during class.

Day 5 – Monday, January 5, 2015 5:45 pm with Brandon
Halfway! I am definitely an afternoon exerciser. Doing yoga or running in the morning sends me in a quandary because I’m so hungry first thing in the morning and I love my big fruit breakfast but I don’t feel that I can eat at all or eat much before working out. But then my belly grumbles during exercise and I’m so intensely hungry afterwards. Morning time is my thinking time and I much prefer bodywork time in the afternoons after eating all day but not too close to exercise time.

I struggled with food today as I’m not used to sweating & exercising this intensely (peak heart rate intervals during Bikram instead of steady elevated heart rate like while running or swimming) on back-to-back days so I’ve been VERY hungry. Ate my usual breakfast today and then I was empty-belly hungry very early in the afternoon. It was that kind of hungry that used to send me into a big batch of egg salad: dense, heavy calories. In an effort to remove all animal foods from my diet, I resisted and instead jumped on some pan sautéed tempeh with Just Mayo. It satisfied my angry belly, but this was a horrible choice before going to Bikram. So I ate three bananas. And drank some tea. Good sugar fuel, but poor sequence of food choices, and too much too close to exercise time. So most of my practice today was an effort to keep the food & liquid down through inversions, compressions, and purposeful breathing. Not an easy task! I was somewhat lightheaded and afraid to burp.

The best part of today’s class besides the postures was Brandon saying “it’s not pain! It’s therapeutic discomfort!” This applied to me in more ways than one. Feeling as though my food was going to come up and out, it was therapeutic discomfort in that I remedied my impulse to ever do THAT again! Sipped lemon oil salt water during class.

Day 6 – Tuesday, January 6, 2015 6:30 pm with Heather
Best class yet! I remembered all the preparation details to best set myself up for a great session: hair in a side bun (to accommodate much head-to-floor action), clips to keep wispy hairs under control,  no rings on fingers (to avoid discomfort from much interlocked finger action), coconut water AND lemon oil salt water (two different bottles). Whew! Today my muscles were tight but not sore. And I had absolutely no light-headedness. Ate my usual frozen fruit ice cream breakfast and then a big box of cut mixed fruit a few hours before yoga. Good sugar fuel and great hydration!

Tonight’s class seemed quick probably because my main focus was not to internally say “ugh” when the next posture was announced. I wanted to receive the next posture with without positive or negative but neutral reaction. The best line of the night was when Heather said “look up the definition of exercise in the dictionary. It will say stretching. Therefore the only real exercise is yoga.” Of course I had to look this up and I think there is truth to this in the word origin: ex- + arcēre to enclose, hold off. Stretching and compression stops blood flow, breathing increases oxygen, and releasing the stretch allows newly oxygenated blood to flood the previously compressed area. This nourishes ligaments, tendons, and muscle tissue.

This is the second class that I noted how wrinkly my fingers get during class from all the sweat as if I had been bathing in a tub for an hour. Amazing! Tonight’s favorite pose was Standing Deep Breathing because I finally felt what it feels like to truly fill my lungs with air fully. The trick was to successfully contract my abdominal muscles, inhale, and feel the air inflate my upper lungs near my collar bones.

Day 7 – Wednesday, January 7, 2015 5:45 pm with Brandon
Wait! This was the best class yet! Did all the same preparation work that I did yesterday and it proved to be a successful formula. Before heading to class I had my head in Tony Robbins’ new book Money: Master the Game. He was going through why people don’t change and the three key points to address in order to change: story (past), state (of mind…present), and strategy (how to get where you want to be…future). With every pose I distracted my brain by thinking of these elements and it was very empowering. I changed my story about what I think about each pose, my state of mind was “I’ve got this!” and my strategy was to simply hold the posture and take my head out of the equation.

For this class I chose to be in the back of the room for a change. I’m a typical Capricorn “sit-in-the-front-of-the-class” type student and so it’s natural for me to gravitate there. Being behind other students for a change was entertaining and a bit distracting. It’s more challenging to stay in literal balance when you can see someone else falling out of balance. While it’s not encouraged, I do enjoy watching how the bodies around me move. We are all so beautiful & unique. This class went VERY quickly. You’d think that I could predict the next posture by now, but I still don’t have the sequence memorized…and I really don’t want to. I still love the element of micro-surprise.

There is one transition between postures that hurts my head every time I do it. After Bow Pose, which is a really intense back bend, we move into Fixed Firm pose which begins with kneeling Japanese-style.

(Don’t think for a second that my Bow looks like that!) I have to hang my head below my heart for a bit to adjust the blood pressure and surge of newly oxygenated blood otherwise the pounding is very intense. Drank coconut water and lemon oil salt water during & after class.

Day 8 – Thursday, January 8, 2015 6:30 pm with Gina
Tired! Stayed up late the past two nights reading & laughing out loud from Just Passin’ Through to my husband as we lay in bed. What a fun book….great storytelling from The Appalachian Trail about the assorted people who visit Mountain Crossings as told by the outposts’ owner.  So for class I was about 80% there in mind and body. I even spaced out a few times and lost not only my balance by my attention to what we were supposed to be doing.

Also I ate a jar of pickled okra after work, not long before class and well let’s just say that pickled okra burps do not mix well with coconut water.

I still got a great workout and learned new things….like why we do Spine Twisting Pose only once at the end of the series instead of twice like every other pose. Care to guess why? Drank coconut water and lemon oil salt water during & after class.

Day 9 – Friday, January 9, 2015 5:45 pm with Heather
I was a good listener tonight and completely fell for Heather’s prank instruction to step out and prepare for a third round of Awkward Pose. LOL! I was totally zoning out and literally following instruction. Falling asleep twice in Savasana before class began let me know just how tired I am.

I like Half Moon Pose. For some strange reason I can really bend far to the left and to the right. I think my long torso allows for more space between ribs and hips than many other people. My long torso is then a challenge when it comes to touching my forehead to my knee in Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee Pose.

My ankle was complaining tonight, especially in Tree Pose. I did learn tonight that I’ve been holding my foot with my hand incorrectly all along in this pose.

Class just keeps getting faster and faster even though I started day dreaming about Friday night dinner out around the second posture. Hungry!!! Drank coconut water and lemon oil salt water during & after class.

Day 10 – Saturday, January 10, 2015 10:00 am with Heather
I did it! I did it! Whew, a bit challenging to practice later in the day yesterday and then again early this morning. What a sweat fest! Perhaps it was due to the soy sauce I enjoyed with my vegan sushi rolls last night that had me so full of water today. Bending over sent streams of sweat into my eyes, nose, and ears. What a flush!

My butt hurts! The tops of my hamstrings and or my lower gluteal muscles are so sore. It almost hurts too much to sit on the hard floor. It feels good knowing that they have been stretched so well but it also feels like they need a break.

Super fast class. Good spot in the room – not under a light fixture or vent, second row. Drank coconut water and lemon oil salt water during & after class.

Afterwards
Glad to start wearing my rings again. I left them off for most of the challenge to avoid having to struggle getting them off each day before class. My hands are tired and mildly inflamed from all the interlaced finger holds and compression. Actually, my whole body and mind are tired! I foresee a few days of little to no exercise and extra sleep.

Amazing how I adjusted to the temperature of the room over the course of the challenge. By the 10th day, the room didn’t seem particularly hot. It helped that it was quite cold outside & felt so good inside!

I look forward to resuming swimming and eventually running (in new shoes!) while keeping Bikram as an integral practice to stay stretched, flexible, and in touch with the foundation I have acquired.

My right ankle has become much stronger though it is not completely healed yet and my plantar fasciitis seems to have reduced and is now concentrated mostly just under my left heel.

Thank you Heather, Brandon, Gina, and Joseph. I am now officially….a Bikram beginner!

All posture images courtesy of Pure Om Bethesda