BIKRAM IN BLACK

Do you believe in love at first sight?  When it comes to romantic human relationships, I most likely have spent more time questioning the validity of such a phenomenon, to the point of renaming it "compelling chemical reactions at first sight" instead.  However, I have fallen in love with the following thus far, both oddly originating in India: butter chicken curry and bikram yoga, the latter being the focus of this post. I may bore you with my love for Halle Berry, Angel Lola Luv (Lola Monroe), or my mother some other time.

Allow me to first explain the nature of my physical activity and my limited perceptions of yoga prior to February 2010, when I first dared to begin the beautiful struggle that is bikram yoga.  I  had already embarked on a healthy course, having eliminated dairy, white sugar and soda from my diet, regularly drink half my body weight in ounces of water daily, completed a few lemonade diet master cleanses, survived bootcamp workouts with former green beret Eddie Lima @Trinity Boxing Gym, and I ran a NYC half marathon in 2009.  Clearly I was focused on wellness to some extent, but this is not a prerequisite at all to practicing yoga.
I was not familiar with yoga at all, let alone bikram yoga, until a school friend updated her facebook status asking friends if anyone would join her in trying it.  I was curious because yoga did not have a visible presence in black communities I knew.  Count me among the ignorant who believed yoga was an esoteric practice enjoyed solely by white folks, females and gay men.  The idea that non whites practiced often never really crossed my mind; none of my friends or family discussed or promoted it as I am now, for example.  I was quickly disabused of such fallacious reasoning after doing simple research and coming across an International Black Yoga Teachers Association, Yoga Teachers in Ghana, and the Society of Kemetic Yoga, to name a few.  A cursory search reveals that many Black people in the U.S., from Brooklyn to San Francisco, are learning about and teaching all types of yoga.  Take a look for yourself:  http://ynottony.com/yoga%20teachers.htm

Potentially being a part of this global network of Black yogis excited me as well so once my friend said we could purchase an unlimited initial one week package for $20, roughly the price for newcomers at any bikram yoga studio in NYC, I did not think twice!  To me, one week of anything geared towards self-improvement and wellness for that price is well worth a try.  I then feverishly began the research on Youtube and Google, watching videos on the topic, reading many testimonials, seeking insight from any experienced friends and coworkers, and listening to interviews of the mastermind of the practice, Bikram Choudhury.  What I learned motivated me to accept the challenge and step into what Bikram himself calls "the torture chamber."

                                   WHAT IS BIKRAM YOGA?

Bikram yoga is a 26 posture sequence, selected, developed and legally protected by Bikram Choudhury, that systematically works every part of the body, to give all the internal organs, all the veins, all the ligaments, and all the muscles everything they need to maintain optimum health and maximum function.  Before and after these postures there are two breathing exercises (known in Sanskrit as pranayama and khapalbhati breathing, respectively), and the studio is heated to at least 105 degrees. It is an intense 90 minute rigorous spiritual journey.  Yes, I said it...at least 105 degrees, also at about 40% humidity, for an hour and a half!! The heat is essential, since when you sweat, impurities are flushed out through the largest organ of the body, your skin.  Also the seemingly insane temperature level is meant to potect your muscles, allowing you to go deeper into a pose.  According to the Bikram Yoga College of India website, this style of yoga, known as hatha yoga, "flushes away the waste products, the toxins of all the glands and organs of your body. It provides a natural irrigation of the body through the circulatory system, with the help of the respiratory system. It brings nourishment to every cell of your body so that each one can perform its function and keep your body healthy."  When I found an online calories-burned calculator, I, at 200lbs, apparently lose 1361 calories in one session!!??  Feel free to calculate yours @  http://www.bikram-yoga-noosa-australia.com/weight-loss-and-yoga.htm  Although I am certain this calorie burned count may be debatable, I was still SOLD!!
The practice has been known to help decrease incidents of high blood pressure, heart disease, certain cancers, stress, migraines, injuries and works the following biological systems: cardiovascular, endocrine, renal, digestive, muscular, nervous, reproductive, respiratory, and skeletal, while boosting your immune system and even reversing the process of bone loss.  NFL players specifically use it often to heal leg, back and neck injuries.  Bikram himself attributes the healing of his shattered leg to the practice.  Without yoga, he may have taken the advice of European doctors, which was to have his leg amputated.  Since I had ACL surgery over 10 years ago, another goal I had was to hopefully help further rehabilitate my right knee (thanks Dale!).  Lastly, it is marketed as "healing from the inside out" and I had to experience this myself!

                              HOW WAS MY EXPERIENCE?

So, I met my friend at a studio on 116th between 5th and Madison in East Harlem, NYC, aptly named, "Bikram Yoga East Harlem."  I had also invited another friend and we all bumped into each other and waited outside to be buzzed in for the 6pm class with Vivian, an Asian instructor.  As we waited outside, more students showed up, predominantly Black and Latina women of various ages.  We were buzzed in, walked upstairs, greeted the receptionist, and I was pointed in the direction of the men's locker room and shower area.  Once I walked in, I saw two Black men, one an older man with dreads, drying off, having just showered after a session.  Always the inquisitive one, I peppered them with "quick questions" and learned that one of them had completed a 30-day challenge in the past, and the other spoke of his love for it, urging me to take my time and enjoy it.  With that, I took my shirt off, put on my shorts and was ready to go.  Before I left, they told me they believed the instructor was Japanese, who speaks fast and it may be hard for me to understand her.  I thanked them for their guidance, but knew privately that my time in Tokyo teaching English would help me follow along with no complications.
She was a great teacher, demanding at times but not overbearing.  I was sweating a river before the first two postures were done.  We were challenged to "go beyond your flexibility" and focus on our breathing throughout each posture.  I noticed some students needed to take a break, and we were told taking time out was okay; there was no judgment, and listening to our bodies was crucial.  Time flew, and the next thing I know I was in the final posture, shavasana, which Bikram calls the most important...and is featured in the inserted image.

Shavasana

This posture is also known as "dead body pose".  This is the final pose and the instructor asks students to remain in this posture for at least 2 mins, eyes closed, urging us to stay even longer so long as we leave before the next class, and some even stay for 15 mins.  Dead Body Pose "facilitates powerful blood flow, then lets circulation return to normal, creating internal cleansing and greatly magnifying the benefits of the postures that precede it."  Your goal here is to consciously relax every part and each muscle of your body, from feet to head, all the while deeply inhaling/exhaling through your nose.

As I walked down 116th after class towards the 2 train on Malcolm X Blvd drinking coconut water (you must replenish electrolytes lost through sweat), I simultaneously felt exhausted and exhilarated...a natural high, not minding the sound of honking horns, playful children, or the smell of fish from the local market.  I continued to breathe deeply while flexing my abs, squeezing out the bad air from my lungs as I learned in class. This feeling remained with me for at least two hours that night and I slept like a baby.  I began incorporating these breathing techniques in my daily life.  I returned about two weeks later to do a 30-day challenge (if you complete it you earn an entire unlimited month for free!!), which turned into almost 50 classes in a row!  I loved it, felt somewhat infatuated or obsessed, often traveling from my apartment in Newark, NJ at 4:30am, braving the winter elements to make the 6am class in East Harlem!  The love eventually grew such that I considered moving to the East Harlem area, to be closer to my baby.  And it loved me back in the form of an even better attitude of gratitude, deeper sleeps, and a reshaping of my body like never before (lost a couple inches in the waist)!  The love is so deep that people have begun to call me "bikram," as I often share stories with people in person and on Facebook about my experiences, how bikram has refined my ability to focus and empowered me to go beyond my comfort zone and overcome fears in other areas of life.   
The main fear I have overcome is expressing my feelings, being open, and honest/truthful.  The ego is more suppressed.  I can admit to almost falling in love with one of the instructors early on in my practice, half joking to myself that I wanted to either marry her, or someone who teaches bikram, or at the very least a woman who practices bikram faithfully.  The wedding ring on the instructor's finger was clear evidence that such a marriage was unlikely, so after awhile I rid my mind of that fantasy, and began to wonder why I started feeling this way (she is no longer there today).  And it dawned on me that one of the poses, the camel pose (ushtrasana in Sanskrit), may have been the culprit.

Ushtrasana

Camel Pose is an intense back bend and is known as a great heart opener. While in this pose, the instructor usually cautions students to be aware of powerful emotions that may surface, to embrace it while not letting it overpower us.  In the first few classes I recall thinking, "Whatever, there is no way some yoga pose is going to make me all sensitive and lovey-dovey!"  Well, it just may have.  In reading more about this posture, I learn that it represents the ability to accomplish the impossible: that if you feel disconnected from the world, family or other relationships, practicing camel pose "can help you express your feelings and find compassion towards others."  This posture opens up the heart chakra, the center in your body from which feelings of love emanate.  It benefits the body also by tightening the thighs, waist and hips, strengthening the arms, shoulders, knees and thighs, while massaging the kidneys and bladder.
Now I understand why I may have expressed certain things to certain people this year, or ended relationships that were unhealthy.  Now I see why I have become shy again, worried that I am feeling too much love too early, vulnerable even, and i am not adept at channeling it properly yet.  It explains why I decided to randomly contact and converse with my ex-father, my mother's ex-husband...who never bothered to contact me in any way since i was a pre-teen.  This may have led to my reading the entire Bible and the Qur'an this year. And I know it is what keeps me going back for more bikram, more love...and it is an eternal attraction.  

Before I completed this 30-day challenge, I was so obsessed I began to research what it would take to get a license to become an instructor, and possibly run my own studio one day as the lovely ladies of Bikram Yoga East Harlem below are doing.  This plan has been put on the backburner since I am certain one would need to have mastered each posture, and be among the most flexible to serve in that capacity, and I have a long way to go in that regard.  Word of this unique studio spread so fast that it was featured in many articles and blogs, on the morning news shows, and even the August 2010 edition of Essence magazine...all before the studio's 2nd anniversary.  And in January 2011, it was named among the top ten bikram yoga studios in the United States.  Feel free to read for yourself:  http://www.details.com/culture-trends/critical-eye/201102/10-best-bikram-yoga-studios-in-america   

Jennifer Pope & Stephanie Pope Caffey

Recently, I completed another 30-day challenge, which ended this year on October 30. This time i noticed feeling more powerful at the end of the month than last time and my knee has gained more strength than ever before.  I also noticed that my practice was getting stronger towards the end; my transitions from pose to pose were more fluid, and I think I felt a kind of awakening, a compelling clarity of mind/spirit that demanded further investigation.  The next plan is to complete a 60-day challenge in 2011, which may warrant it's own blog so keep an eye out for that.

Bikram yoga has facilitated personal healing and has allowed me to become more of an intuitive and alert being, I hope.  As such, I urge you to give bikram yoga a try, or any yoga for that matter.  If in New York, I recommend Bikram Yoga East Harlem, as you will meet great owners, be exposed to a diverse group of dedicated and supportive students and instructors, and a clean, non-judgmental, welcoming environment.  I dare you to transform via bikram yoga, "like a flower petal blooming."  No matter your age, shape, size or ethnicity, bikram yoga benefits everyone.  I congratulate the owners of this studio for "helping Harlem get healthy" one yogi at a time.  And I will continue to push the boundaries and challenge perceptions of what a yoga practitioner looks like. 

In closing, I give you Bikram Choudhury's words during a 2005 interview with a Southern California free yoga magazine called, "LA YOGA Ayurveda & Health Magazine ":

"I wish that every human being should do yoga. They should not suffer, they will never need drugs, medication, and have a happy, healthy peaceful life! No anger, which is the number one disease, especially in America."

Namaste