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Jed and Kylee on Day 60
Jed Brewer captured my admiration at Bikram Nashville one day when it was his third class in a triple as part of a 60 day challenge. Here are his stats:
60 yoga classes in 60 days
6 Doubles 
1 Triple 
7 Classes in a 4-day period


The first class of Jed’s 60-day challenge happened to be his first ever class.   He knew right away that Bikram Yoga was key to some dramatic changes.   Impressively, this proved true!   Jed lost 30 pounds over the course of the 60 days without a major overhaul in eating habits (though of course he drank a lot more water), and he said he sleeps better than ever before since doing Bikram Yoga. Following is a conversation with Jed shortly after he completed the challenge:     

SB:  What advice can you offer for anyone who has not tried Bikram Hot Yoga yet but is considering it? 
JB:  Don't over think it.  Just jump in and try it out. However, do yourself a favor: No matter how hard day one is, or how bad you think you did, don't stop after just one day. Come back the next two days and try to be there 4-5 days in the first week. After completing the 60 day challenge, I am a firm believer in and walking example of what Bikram says: Come everyday for the next 2 months and I will give you a new body, a new life.

SB:  Does it feel strange to be a guy doing yoga?
JB:  To the guys thinking about trying Bikram Yoga out: Bikram Yoga is not just for chicks.   Come to the studio and do what we do for 90 minutes, just once, and then tell me how girly yoga is. Seriously though, it’s one of the best workouts I’ve ever had. Just put on a pair of board shorts, grab a bottle of water and join us in class (I had a class last week with 12 guys and 3 girls.) If you think yoga is only for girls, I dare you to tell that to one of the NFL D-lineman I practice beside. 

SB:  Did you change your diet or eating habits during the challenge? 
JB:  Don't think that doing yoga is going to require you to radically change your diet (unless you live on canned chili and spam.) I generally still have the same diet. I have a smoothie or sausage/biscuit for breakfast, deli-style sandwich for lunch and for dinner I usually eat what I'm craving after practice (for me that usually consists of steak, cheeseburgers or chicken!)

SB:  What’s next for you?
JB:  Right after the challenge I enjoyed a nice extended weekend in the Smokies, and the chance to disconnect and relax.  It was a great reward for completing 60 days. The last week, doing 7 classes in 4 days including a triple, wore me down. I needed a day or two away at that point.  Now I’m back in class, though.   My plan now is to try and cut back to practicing ever other day. I enjoyed the initial 60 days non-stop, but it does get hard to find time to get here every day. 
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Jed in Locust - Day 60
Jed is one of those people in class whose focused mindset and determination to improve is contagious.  His "no excuses" commitment is extra inspiring as the 60 day period occurred despite the demands of his job at Cardagin Technology.  Along the way, he got hooked on the “Bikram High” and has become a friend and a bit of a hero for Nashville yogis of all shapes and ages.  


Have you been inspired in your Bikram Yoga practice lately?  If you have a story to tell about yourself or someone else who made an impression, please reply in the comments or e-mail sbleecher@comcast.net.
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No perfect bodies.
 In this day and age, the media bombards us with images of the “perfect” body.   A few extra pounds, lack of muscle tone, or the natural effects of aging often are considered a personal failure.  Bikram yoga helps people overcome this misperception, embracing the idea that “trying the right way” – which looks and feels different for every individual  - is the attainable ideal.  
“Everywhere I go I teach my students to listen to their bodies,” said Diane Ducharme, pre-eminent Bikram Yoga Master Teacher.  “Most have been taught from a young age to trust and respect others, not ourselves.  But the body is always communicating with us, sending illuminated messages how to get full benefit from this healing yoga.” 
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I recently had the privilege to attend a Posture Clinic led by the legendary Diane Ducharme, one of the few Bikram Yoga Master Teachers worldwide certified to conduct this type of seminar.  Diane is an expert in reading bodies, and since the 1990s has worked closely with Bikram Choudhury honing when to correct, how to correct and how to size up exactly how much each individual is capable of doing.  The event took place at Bikram Yoga Delray Beach, Florida, and after that day, which consisted of a six-hour seminar followed by a 90-minute class, my practice never will be the same. 

Diane’s seminar was comprehensive, using different body types from among the 50 or so attendees to show “before” and “after” examples of the 26 postures, and how each pose influences others in Bikram’s brilliantly crafted sequence.  As a strong-but-inflexible body type, here are my Top 3 “Aha! Moments” from the Posture Clinic:
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When I see photos of yogis in beautiful and perfect poses, the first instinct is to say, “Well, that is another level – I will never be able to bend like that.”  However, I have found that channeling these talented yogis instead of putting them on a pedestal is a tactic that repeatedly has taken me beyond where I thought I could go.   Here are three examples from my own Bikram practice.
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 In the second set of locust pose, every single class – I become Bikram Nashville teacher Liz Altman.  For just 10 seconds out of a 24 hour day, I am not tight, achy middle-aged me, but the lithe and flexible Liz.    Maybe it sounds crazy, but with this image burning in my mind, I have gotten from lifting my legs maybe two inches off the floor to way up there, legs straight, feet together with a nicely arched back. 
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J, McCann, Champion, stretches backstage.
Last week’s National Yoga Asana Championships in New York precipitated lively dissension in the worldwide yoga community and propelled forward Rajashree Choudhury’s dream for yoga “eventually in the future” to become an Olympic sport.   The winners will compete in the Bishnu Charan Ghosh Cup, an international championship scheduled for June 2012 in Los Angeles.  This event is strategically organized both to comply with International Olympic Committee (IOC) criteria and to dovetail with publicity for the 2012 Summer Olympics kicking off July 27 in London.

Yoga is not the first discipline where mind-body connection is essential to seek a spot on the Olympic program.  Other non-traditional “sports” aspiring to the same goal include Sheep Shearing and Pole Dancing, and the 2012 London Games will include Taekwando, Synchronized Swimming and Artistic Gymnastics.  So why is the topic of Yoga in the Olympics so uniquely thorny? 

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The experienced teachers at Bikram Nashville/Cool Springs have many tricks to keep you motivated. They talk you through the postures but often throw in comments that are emotional, provocative and inspiring to get you that one step deeper.   On other occasions they simply add in something to help you release tension and laugh.    Here are some of my favorites, with credits noted for the Bikram Nashville / Cool Springs teachers  who say it best!  

Bikram Practice - The only “bad” class is the one you didn't come to.  –Caroline Pedersen

Half Moon Pose with Hands to Feet Pose – Grab your heels like you’re covering up the numbers on your bowling shoes.  - Sra. Ariel Russell
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Me, Erik & Jagdish
I love to make time for a Bikram yoga class whenever I am on the road – for business and vacation both.  Not only does it fend off that stiff and crusty feeling from air travel and all the compromised food choices, but it is so much fun to connect with yogis from other places.  It’s like speaking the same language while each studio has its own unique micro-culture.

Right now I am on a flight home from my first trip to India, where my husband and I attended a good friend’s wedding in Mumbai.  This was a multi-day, multi ritual affair where everything was new and foreign for me – so exotic with hundreds and hundreds of people and bling-bling everywhere, including my first saree.

Indian Perception of Western Yoga 
The first thing that shook up my thinking happened before the plane even landed.  I met Anita, a woman from outside Mumbai, about 12 hours into the 16-hour flight.  We were both standing up to stretch out a bit and we started talking about yoga.   

I think about India all the time when I practice – from the Sanskrit names of the postures, to the focus on mind-body connections and the way yoga connects me to my inner life.  From this conversation it struck me that for Indian people, yoga is perceived as an ancient thing, for one, and predominantly as a form of meditation.  Many types of yoga we are accustomed to here – including Bikram – are considered a Western adaptation of the Indian discipline.  Anita reflected in our conversation that yoga is a sort of cultural treasure that is underappreciated in its homeland.

Throughout our weeklong stay, whenever I enjoyed conversations with the many Indian people I met on this trip, they felt complimented by my passion for the practice and the appreciation it has given me for their culture.  They also were extremely curious and interested to hear about the spiritual and physical benefits I have attained from Bikram.

Practice at Bikram Mumbai – Bandra
Well, between the wedding, visiting with friends, sight seeing and hours traveling in the pandemonium of Mumbai traffic, I did not get to a Bikram practice until our last day.  I attended a 6:30 AM class at the Bikram Yoga College of India location in the Bandra.   This is a nicer district of Mumbai, which is less British Colonial than other parts, with winding streets and traditional Indian shops and restaurants.  

The studio was on the 5th and 6th floor of a Western-style sport complex, and as I had allowed over-ample travel time from the hotel, I was the first student to arrive.   I walked up the stairs and peeked into the studio on my way up to the reception / locker room area, and immediately felt at home and ready to practice.  Two of my Indian friends from Mumbai met me there – it doubled the “cool factor” not only to practice, but also to introduce two new people to this form of yoga.   As Bikram is the studio owner, there were photos of him with different celebrities on one wall, which added a splash of glamour to an otherwise typical studio.

The class was surprisingly full for such an early one – I would guess about 20 people, and most were Indian.  I saw only one other blonde, but focused not so much on observing during the class, as I really had to still my mind and get out of “head spinning” mode. 

Erik Persson (a Swede!!) was a tough, experienced teacher – one of the ones able to move along the full class of people at all different levels of strength, flexibility, mindfulness and endurance – and simultaneously call out individual corrections to new students and regulars alike.  I was able to attain the mindful engagement I wanted during the class, despite that my muscles were even tighter than normal due to travel. 

After class I wanted to talk with everyone there about where they came from, how they discovered Bikram Yoga and how the practice fit into their lives.  But I couldn’t do that – just got to exchange smiles with a few people and that was all.  I had to focus on my two friends I had invited and I wanted to connect with Erik and thank him for the practice.   

The whole time in India – at my friends’ wedding, all the sight seeing and just getting from place to place in Mumbai - I could not believe my eyes.  It felt good to come “home” to a Bikram practice and for a moment I was the confident and internationally connected woman of the world I aspire to be.  

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 “I can’t do yoga – that’s just for flexible people.”   I have heard it countless times when I speak passionately about my Bikram Yoga practice and invite friends to share a class with me sometime.  Well, that’s just a myth - in fact, one good reason people take yoga in the first place is to become more flexible. 

Mental and physical strength are at least as essential to Bikram Yoga as flexibility.  Case in point - me.   I have a genetically tight body to begin with, plus years of elite competitive cycling, weight lifting and running so my hamstrings are tight as can be.  My back injuries, knee injuries and shoulder injury always are lurking, ready to flare up with one tiny misstep.   My personal balance is, say 85% strength and 15% flexibility.  That is part of the reason is why I take such pride in the moderate amount of flexibility my Bikram practice has given me.  I see the photos of myself in Rabbit and Camel pose (shot by professional photographer Gay Mayes) and feel like I have mastered the impossible.

After class, every Bikram yogi I’ve ever met feels a rush of elation and well being – regardless of how flexible and strong they are.  This, to me, is proof that yoga uses the body and mental discipline as portals to the spirit.   I have read that great yogis in history have practiced yoga as a precursor to meditation and an enlightened state.   I have flirted with this sensation in other endurance sports, but through Bikram it is available every day to everyone.     

In the end, Bikram Hot Yoga is about balance.   The assumption is that every person’s balance is “perfect” on any given day, and the Bikram practice is designed to meet you wherever your talents and ability may be, provided you are willing.   Caroline Pedersen, co-owner of Bikram Nashville summed it up best.  “Yoga as taught in our studio and all Bikram studios is a beginning practice – that’s the beauty of it,” she said.  “We gear the class for beginners and celebrate all levels of flexibility, strength and mental determination.  The more advanced students can find infinite challenges in their own practice – and everyone inspires one another.”

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Nashville is a networking town –  no one will tell you anything different.  The luncheons, dinners, cocktail mixers and events are beloved mainstays of local culture, but they come with a price.  Particularly for those of us in client facing positions, constant networking can make it difficult to take care of ourselves physically, and sustaining a Bikram yoga practice is no exception.  So why not mix networking and a Bikram practice?  Let’s call it sweat-working.  Do you see a bit of yourself in any of these personas? 

Windy - A 34 year old Business Development Director for an IT Consulting  firm.   
“If I do not have a lunch, dinner or drinks date at least four times a week I feel like I’m not doing my job.  The clients have come to expect this.  We’re all getting tired of the routine, not to mention it’s taking a toll on my waistline.  People would love it if they could get in a workout and check networking off the list at the same time.”  

Sandy - A 41 year old Commercial Real Estate Executive.
Sandy believes that a workout makes sense as a way to win business and close deals.  “Vulnerability yields intimacy and ultimately, trust.  When you’re dripping sweat and the teacher says ‘reach back, see the wall behind you – it’s supposed to hurt’ it breaks down a barrier.  What’s more, clients would make better decisions post workout than after a few drinks.”

Sunny – A 53 year old sole proprietor of an Inbound Social Media company. 
Sunny finds a tough balance between creating excellent programs for legacy clients and building new relationships for the future.  Simultaneously, the Bikram practice keeps her focused on the big picture, and she does not have a lavish expense budget for entertainment.  “It would be a lifesaver if one or two of key relationships also could become my ‘yoga buddies.”

Astrid – A 28 year old IT Manager for a national hospital system 
AStrid works with a team of consultants and colleagues from remote locations. There is 25% travel to Chicago and Portland, OR, plus a constant stream of out-of-town stakeholders while at the home office.   “We have found that Bikram yoga is a great team-building exercise.  There is a core group of us that like to ‘suffer’ together to relieve the stress no matter which office we’re working out of.”

Admittedly, sweat-working may not be appropriate for the unprepared client.  For example, there are people out there who have not worked out for over a year, and the idea of a 90-minute practice in 105 degree heat may take some getting used to.  But we have seen and heard enough to believe that the potential always is there.  After all, as Bikram is oft quoted, “You're never too old, never too bad, never too late and never too sick to start from the scratch once again.” 
 
Tell us your Sweat-Working Story and get $5!!
Bikram Nashville / Cool Springs is curious to collect case studies on this topic, and now offers a $5 Off gift certificate for your next purchase at our studio.   Any form works fine for us – the phone , a personal interview at the studio, an e-mail or a written document.     We are excited to hear your real-life sweat working success!  Contact yoginibeast@bikramnashville.com with a story or any questions.

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While many Bikram studios discourage practicing more than twice in one day, other factions of our culture admire and aspire to multiple consecutive classes. To name a few examples:
The trigger for me was a blog post I found from Master Bikram Teacher Mary Jarvis:
If those three could do eight, then I could do a measly triple.   Sandra Lee, my Bikram mentor and Cool Springs/Nashville studio owner, supported the effort, providing I would be mindful about hydration and electrolytes.  What’s more, I have a strong regular practice and successfully had completed two doubles in the previous three weeks.  December 17 would be the day.

Class 1 – 8:30 – 10:00
I snuck in hoping that no one would remember what I so boldly had proclaimed I would do .   The first class went great – after all, I had on my lucky snakeskin tights. At the end, right before Kapalbhati breathing, Sandra publicly asked – “Stephanie, is today the day?”  I nodded confidently.  Away went any possibility of bailing.    

Class 2 – 10:30 - 12 Noon
It was crowded and hot hot hot hot from the previous class.  Jen “Third Eye” Rogers was teaching.   I cracked and had to sit down for one set of Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee.  Then I felt my endurance fading and deliberately sat out the second set of Half Tortoise– taking out insurance that I could push hard in the master postures Camel and Rabbit, then finish strong, which I did.
 
Class 3 – 1:30 – 3:00
I resolved to make the third class the strongest one of the day.  It helped that “Sir Nasser” was teaching – he always makes the 90 minutes go by fast and focused.   It was not my best ever class, but one to be proud of in any circumstances, right through the final Savasana.

Afterwards
I experienced the best ever post yoga glow all that evening, and the next morning could hardly wait to get to practice. I had hoped on that day to get deeper into the postures than possible in a double, but that experience - or at least my perception of that experience - eluded me.  Without question, the success of my triple deepened and inspired my practice for today and the future.  I am looking at schedules for either a second triple or maybe a quadruple in January. 

NOTE:  Comments and stories from all Bikram Yogis about multiple classes in a single day are most welcomed.  We hope to hear points of view from those who discourage this as well.  Please click on "Add Comment" below and help keep the conversation lively!. 


 

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