Trying to get centered

I tried out a new kind of yoga this morning. It has taken me this long - I have been home just over two months - to try out another type of yoga other than Bikram. There is still just this nagging procrastination and hesitancy to try something new. If practicing yoga in Bali and also taking Bikram has given me anything, it is the confidence that I can walk into pretty much any type of yoga class and physically make it through the class with out passing out or (which is almost more humiliating) being that one person in the class that is moving completely different than everyone else.

Bikram feels like a mind-body cleanse to me. I was looking for a type of yoga with perhaps a little less sweating and a little more meditation. Trying to hold one outstretched leg back (so far it will hopefully eventually touch the back of your head) while simultaneously leaning forward all while perched on the other locked leg in 104 F degrees surrounded by underweight scarcely dressed people doing the pose much better than you imagined possible has a way of completely wiping the palette of the mind clean and snapping off the mindless monkey chat in one's mind. I have seen and experienced what it looks like when a thought flashes through someone's head while in such a pose. It is usually those people falling on the ground. "Oh, my God! Look at the cellulite on my thigh!" "Bam! Owwww!"

The Centered Yoga class I took was definitely less sweaty. In fact, I left my long sleeved tee shirt on for the duration of the class because I was kind of cold. A lot of focus is put on elongating the back, twisting, and stretching out the hips. I could definitely feel all that. I think, though, that the lack of intense heat in the room probably intensified my awareness. Overall, it was a very relaxing class. The poses stretched me enough to release much of the tightness I hold in my neck, shoulders, and hamstrings. The class was relatively less structured so I felt like I could really push myself in a pose and then relax into it. Bikram is so austere and regimented. We have an hour and a half to get through two iterations of 26 poses. In the Centered Yoga class, we did at the most twelve poses in an hour and ten minutes.

Oddly, I miss Bikram. It is addictive. Like a marathon is for a runner; like a cliff wall is to a rock climber - the intensity of having to be in each moment and the gratification of just finishing the class and maybe being able to do one more pose and go deeper into another feels great and can really be hard to come by so relatively easily for most people. I live in one of the flattest countries on the planet, for instance, and even if I enjoyed climbing or running, my joints and muscles just are not up for those challenges. For the price of the class and mat rental and a one mile bike ride, I can get a taste (the biggest bite I can handle, really) of the accomplishment super athletes must feel. From Bikram, I am so focused on my body that I literally go out of my mind. I get that stillness of mind so central to relaxation, personal growth, and spirituality that I have rarely felt before.

Oh, and there is the heat. Winter is setting in here quickly with what feels like constant rain showers and bone chilling dampness. I love that hour and a half of feeling like I am in the tropics. It is a chance for my feet, nose, and fingers to actually thaw.

A new yoga studio has opened up literally down the street from us. I can't wait to try it out this week. It offers classes in hatha and vinyasa yoga. I expect, though, that I will combining this new studio with trips to Bikram.