I Thought ‘I Might Die’

I had read about it; but that wasn’t enough – I must try it for myself!  This was what was going through my head as I pondered becoming a fabulous yoga guru.

Off I went yesterday at 3 p.m. to Bikram’s Yoga for my 90 minute class.  90 minutes?  Sounds okay – some stretching, some weird poses, I could do that for an hour and a half.  Ha ha ha…here it goes…

Excited and nervous at the same time – I enter and meet the instructor.  She advises me to leave my shoes at the door, head into the ladies locker room if necessary, then wait in the practice room until its time to begin.  So I do.  Water bottle, yoga mat, and towel in hand – I drop my gym bag off in the locker room and proceed to enter.

I walked in to a room that is kept at a not only hot, but humid, 105 degree temperature.  Seriously?  I can hardly breathe in here and the stretching hasn’t even begun!  Okay, don’t panic, it only feels like hell.  I find a spot in the back, it’s going to be fine.  I lay out my mat, sit on the floor and wait.  As I wait I watch everyone around me – people of all shapes and sizes, ethnicities, and ages.  Hey, if everyone else can do this – so can I.  Right?

The instructor walks in and class begins.  We stand up and begin our poses and stretches…think positive, I can do this. 

15 minutes in and my face is wet.  This isn’t easy like I thought it would be.
30 minutes in and my shirt is wet.  How can she do that with her legs?
45 minutes in and my shirt is off.  I think I’m close to death, I need to sit down.
60 minutes in and I think I could pass out this very second.  Can you leave in the middle of class?
Oh my God, finally, we’re starting to slow down.  How can one person sweat so much?
75 minutes in and I’m getting a headache, but somehow I’m enjoying this.
90 minutes is up.  Class is over and I’m shocked that I didn’t die or at a very minimum pass out.

Am I a masochist?  I loved it!  Is that normal?  I am coming back tomorrow – IF I can get out of bed in the morning.