Ode to Bikram

As many of you know, it is my volition to attend Bikram Teacher training. To that end, provided that I am granted a sabbatical at my current position (please everyone send out some positive energy into the universe in hopes that it will be approved!), I have put together the following purpose statement…

I have always sensed that I am one small part of a greater whole, and that belief has been confirmed wholeheartedly through my dedication to Bikram yoga. At the end of my 90 minute practice, I quietly and internally thank the fellow yogis that flank my either side for sharing with me their energy.

For the past 29 years, I have been wandering through my life unsure of my purpose and unable to find my path. When I came into Bikram yoga two years ago, something instantly clicked. I became passionate about my practice and wanted to share the overwhelming sense of joy I experienced with everyone I knew. Above all else, I have always known that I want to make people happy. I love to take care of people, make them laugh and smile, instill in them a sense of lightheartedness. It has always been a gift of mine but I have never quite understood how to translate this skill and infuse it into every waking moment of my life. In teaching Bikram, I would be able to do just that.

Bikram yoga is one of the most challenging things I have ever done, and I do it almost every day. I am almost always immediately reminded once practice begins why I should never go to class with any expectations as to how I am going to perform. Occasionally, my fortitude and aloofness rapidly melt and give way to a feeling of weakness as though my entire body is lined with lead. Sometimes, I feel light, lithe, malleable and strong. The humidity of the room is sometimes oppressive and overwhelming—I can only stare at the reflection of my forehead for the entire 90 minutes focusing on nothing but my breath with an iron clad will. As I always do, no matter the struggle, I make it to the end of practice and wilt onto my mat—feeling tenderized, whisked, beaten, baked and flambéed.

I was an artichoke with layers upon layers of complexity: frustration, excitement, confusion, elation, concern, care, impatience, vanity, desire, indignance, and hyperactivity. Through my practice, those undesirable layers have been peeled back to expose a more centered, peaceful, content, and focused me. I feel more myself than I have ever felt in my entire life and want to share this incredibly important practice with the world so that we may all be more, humbled, contented, happier and more connected people. Bikram practice truly can, in my opinion, make the world a better place.