« 10 Ways to Know You're A Hot Yoga Teacher | Main | Lock it down, lock it in »
Saturday
Jan252014

How you do hot yoga is how you do everything

35 days ago I was a hot yoga beginner.

Today I finished a 30 Day Hot Yoga Challenge - a month of consecutive hot yoga classes, the same poses, the same script-and now it makes sense.

Hot yoga is not just something that happens in hot yoga.

Once the script gets into your brain, you can begin to see how the lessons of hot yoga relate to your actual life.

Here are my top 12 hot yoga learns:

  1. Don't worry what anyone else is doing; take each pose to your own limit for that day. There's no point comparing yourself to your neighbor
  2. Yoga does not improves in a straight line. Some days will be better then others, and some days you may have to just lie down
  3. Yoga is a whole experience: what you do before, after and between the yoga poses counts.  Savasana (the resting pose between action poses when you are relaxed and taking a deep breath to prepare you for the next pose) also needs to be done right and complete
  4. Keep your eyes open and be present
  5. Breathe in and out deeply and through your nose to calm yourself. open-mouthed breathing is a panic response and actually speeds up your heart rate
  6. Savasana is actually the hardest yoga pose: stand still like a statue with your palms facing forward, elbows tucked, and your head up looking into your own eyes. And that's it. You can't scratch that itch,  fix your shirt, ot move at all.... stay grounded no matter how impossible it seems
  7. Have the utmost respect for your teacher and the class. There is a reason for the rules such as no talking (watching others break this rule allowed me to gain a new respect for the quiet)
  8. You can lie down whenever you want just stay present and aware of your actions....
  9. Nobody cares if your belly is sticking out from under your shirt; everyone has their own issues
  10. Everybody sweats.
  11. Trader Joe cookies are the best
  12.  Opening your hips relaxes everything


That's all I have for now but as the days go on, I expect more hot yoga moments will find their way into my life...and I may just have to keep coming back for more.

Reader Comments (5)

Wonderful info!!! Loved reading all so true. Ps love the one about the cookies. 😄

January 28, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterJulie Druzak

Beautiful insights and congratulations on your yoga challenge! It's a beautiful journey...And yes, every detail of the class is a teaching just waiting to be uncovered...as you're more and more attuned and open in class - they'll continue to pop out at you! It's part of the fun! :-)

February 1, 2014 | Registered CommenterMelina

Fun is certainly the key word, Melina (and cookies, Julie). At the edge of struggle, things become fun again. It's a full circle that always meets at both ends. One way to find the fun again is to give something 100% of your focused effort, which is what a 30 Day Hot Yoga Challenge challenges you to do. And once you reach the end of it - despite all the possible distractions - you realize that you are WAY more powerful than you thought....and that everything can be fun. I supposed that's why they say "It's always darkest before the dawn....' which is true in nature and symbolic in life.

February 2, 2014 | Registered CommenterRhonda Uretzky, E-RYT

Yes, yes, yes and yes. I also have learned those things ! What a wonderful world hot yoga has opened up for me. It is a journey. For me a journey of self discovery. Learning that 'I Can" really do pretty much anything if I really want it. That by trusting the Universe, I can Have, Do, or Be anything that I can imagine! My relationship with self is changing somehow to something much better than it was. I care a lot less about what my neighbor is doing and even less about thier opinion of me. I can look myself in the eye in the mirror during my hot yoga class and not only do I respect me more, I like me more. Another important note: Hot Yoga Heals. And that is something that needs to be shared with EVERYBODY ! :)

May 3, 2014 | Registered CommenterKimA

Nice, Kim. And....what heals? Is it hot yoga or is it hot....you? A pen is not always a pen..and hot yoga is different for everyone. You, their teacher, holds it up to the light and presents it as a pac eof healing...and they can rise up to meet that anytime.

PostPost a New Comment

Enter your information below to add a new comment.

My response is on my own website »
Author Email (optional):
Author URL (optional):
Post:
 
Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>