Who's that wimp in hot yoga class?
There you are, smashing through Standing Bow Pulling.
The mirror confirms how rockin' you are today - finally, these asanas are easy.
This hot yoga is a snap. Your Cobra pose is hissing. Your Standing Stick is straight on. Even your Camel doesn't make you want to puke.
Meanwhile, that poor guy next to you is wheezing and gasping on his knees, trying his best to breathe in and out through the nose. And, hey, isn't that your teacher in the back in secret Savasana?
Guess who's the wimp in hot yoga class today? You are.
The key to hot yoga is to try 100% correctly, folllowing the teacher's detailed instructions for every pose. A Whatever-It-Takes attitude is the yoga of this yoga. And that may be exactly why that guy beside you is down for the count for now; he just gave it up at hot yoga class. while you're sitting - or standing pretty. To the untrained eye, it may just look like he's the one who wimped out, but...
Meanwhile, you may have gone quietly into your comfort zone, that place where the poses pose no problem. You're hanging out lazily at your limits, sure of your footing and unwilling to venture or risk any further. Wimp.
Never judge a yogi by his poses.
You can certainly admire the beauty of a pose perfectly executed and be amazed at the limitless ability of the ordinary human body to perform in ways that were heretofore reserved for Cirque De Soleil performers. A standing splits in Dandayamana Daurasana is a sight to behold - but don't lose sight of the yogi himself. You have no idea of the effort it took to get to Standing Splits today, just as you have no clue if that woman clawing for her water bottle at the break just did a superhuman feat of strenght in holding out til now for her first sip
And anyway, you'refocus is supposed to be on you.
Staying fully present with yourself is the essence of this hot yoga practice - present for the pleasure and for the pain. Two sides of the same backward bend.
Most of us aren't used to giving 100%. Most of us are used to doing "the best I can." But when you commit to something 100%, you awaken your inner Warrior - and not just in the hot yoga room. Once you find her, she will pop out in other places in your life. Like when you almost "Yes" when you really mean, "No." She won't take your "I tried to be on time but..." bullshit anymore.
And when she says something, it will become Law. You can count on her word because she will do whatever it takes every time...and not offer up wimpy excuses later.
When you give it your Warrior all and all fall out of a yoga pose in splat, you haven't let yourself down.
And when it feels like you've taken a step backwards in your hot yoga practice because you took a pose off today, remember this thought from Hot Yoga Champion Benjamin Lorr: "It never gets any easier if you're doing it right."
But it does get more and more interesting....and rewarding.
Reader Comments (5)
They say in poetry to never begin with a disclaimer... Disclaimers are usually that self defeating attitude. Like Oh I feel this way and I am sorry I do... Or here are the reasons why I can't do this. I'm petrified.... I know them by heart because I've said them that often. In fact I've followed their watery footsteps right into the studio. I can say very candidly that when I was 19 I did not think I would make it to my 21st birthday. I then counted my blessings every year after. This practice has changed me in a way that I could never imagine possible. Just last year, I couldn't leave the house. This year, I do yoga. It's so much more than being limber and sweating. it vindicates a person in any way possible.
"Big Love" again. Knowing you better now, I see (said the blind man). I did laugh. I did not always get this or I was limited by my beliefs. So, a peaceful WARRIOR enters Riverflow Hot Yoga Studio giving 100%/110% every time and accessing a deeper and deeper resolve that I now allow myself to experience. Thank you.
I used to feel bad about myself when taking a pose off and lying down in savasana. Now I see these times as an opportunity. When giving 100% in a the sequenced pose is not an option because I am overwhelmed (in one or many ways), I know I can give 100% in savasana. Therefore, it is possible to go through the entire class giving 100% even if you took a pose (or two off)---perspective is everything.
If you can switch from feeling bad about yourself in the yoga room to feeling good about yourself - for the very same things from doing a pose to lying down - that little shift makes all the difference. And feeling better is always a choice.
The second time I did two am classes in a row I swore (Never ever again). I had to lie down the room was so crowded and I had wary too much coffee that morning (no surprise). But yeah, Laura. I felt bad too. Like oh wow I couldn't even make it through standing series tsk tsk. But looking back, Don't we all have times in our practice where we need to take a pose off? I still felt shamed about it though. Interesting. And Rhonda, That's something I never understood until recently. Feeling good is a choice. Wow. That is such a powerful thing.