EXTREME surrender

A couple of weeks later on the way to work I noticed a Bikram Yoga sign. Immediately I’m on the case. I found myself being lead into a back alley just behind Tooley Street. How exciting! Upon entering the sanctuary, the Zen, vitality and calm was palpable. Clearly this was a place committed, not only to the physical but also the spiritual benefits. Feeling slightly out of my depth, having only experienced yoga classes on Tuesdays at my local gym, I was a little apprehensive to approach the front desk. “What if I’m not good enough to practice here yet?” was my irrational thought.

“Your challenge today is to stay in the heat, breathe and only do as much as you can

However, instantly made to feel at ease by the lady at the desk, any self doubt was soon obliterated. “You’d be surprised by the range of people that we have here, regardless of age or ability,” she said enthusiastically. The vast demographic that yoga attracts never ceases to amaze me. Even in my local gym, women and men 70+ look ready for an Olympic marathon. Before I know it, I am booked in and very excited by the prospect of my first Bikram yoga class.

Upon my return some days later, I am eagerly greeted by the same woman. After taking me through the procedure (shoes are to be taken off at the door etc.), she asks me to fill out a form. I noticed ‘Emergency contact details required’ ominously printed at the bottom of the sheet.

“What am I letting myself in for?” is my first thought.

Shoes off, mat laid out, I’m in the studio already struck by the intensity of the heat. It is kept at about 105°F (40°C) and 60% humidity. The heat warms up your body allowing you to stretch into the postures (asanas). The combined heat and humidity promotes sweating which in turn flushes toxins from your body.

There are two windows slightly ajar and with ‘emergency contact detail required’ resounding in my head, I place my towel nearby. A sea of beautiful bodies ranging from old to young are dotted around this gigantic heated chamber. They seem to be either meditating or limbering up before the class begins. I join them.

Laying on my mat and feeling like a bit of a fraud, I close my eyes and pretend to meditate. My mind is far from clear and I began to wish I was back in Café Nero with a biscuit and a newspaper. But then a husky American voice greets us with “Namaste, your practice begins.”

He asks, “Where is Phoebe?” and I raise my hand.

“Your challenge today is to stay in the heat, breathe and only do as much as you can.”

I try to stay with this thought but my state of mind shifts after about forty minutes; the physical exercise has now become a mental endurance and I see other people sitting out or laying in The Savasana or Corpse Pose. The next thing I know is I am planning my escape route over the masses of bodies.

Everyone is dripping with sweat and I’m wishing I was wearing less like everyone else but I join in again for the last breathing challenges. Everyones’ ego seems to have been obliterated. We throw ourselves unselfconsciously into the last exhalations until we are all fully and finally released by the instructor, bowing to each other and saying “Namaste.”

Calm, vigour and light pervade the room. We rise and leave what now feels like a temple. Nobody speaks. Nothing more to be said. “I am ready to take on the world” is my thought as I glide out of the alley in to the sunlight, ready for the day ahead.

Hot Bikram Yoga
1A Magdalen Street
SE1 2EN
t: 020 7036 3855
w: www.hotbikramyoga.co.uk

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