在幾位女友多次鼓動之下，我首次嚐試了五節 ”高溫瑜伽“課。本文是我登在Facebook上關於初學者感受的文章。沒有時間翻成中文，希望不會引起太多不便。
“高溫瑜伽”也就是比克拉姆瑜伽（Bikram Yoga），是由印度瑜伽大師Bikram Choudhury 及妻子始創於美國的一種新興的熱門瑜伽流派。它是將人體置於一個38 ～ 42℃，且濕度會隨著溫度的變化相應變化的通風良好的環境中，結合24 個特定的伸展瑜伽姿勢和2 個呼吸方式的健身課程，在每次長達90 分鍾的練習過程中，身體會大量排汗排毒，從而迅速達到肌肉塑形、燃脂瘦身，同時提高身體的柔韌度、強化肌肉和各個關節及韌帶、鬆弛身心的目的。Choudhury說：“人沒有‘變老了’這種說法，堅持每日鍛煉至少兩個月，你會發現說自己變老了是一件很愚蠢的事情“。
A few friends have been raving about hot yoga and bugging me to give it a try. So I finally gave in and got myself a pack of 5 classes. And here is my experience over the last two weeks:
Class #1: what the heck am I doing to myself and why am I here? 
Got intimidated before even stepping into the room when a few underwear clad men and women yogis walked by. Once inside the spacious room, I was hit by the Texas heat wave mixed with sweat stink probably woven into the carpet. Ok, don't panic. There is no escape. So let's just roll with it. The instructor Melissa seemed really nice. As I followed each pose to stretch, balance, bend, fold, twist, wrap and torture myself in the unbearable 104 degree of heat, I nervously watched my water bottle getting empty. Fortunately, we got to the last pose before I ran out of water. The best part of the class? when it was over. To whomever asking how I liked the class, "I hate it" is the answer. But I had to say that I felt light and flexible afterwards.
Class #2: am I crazy? Why do I come back here again?
Still hot and stinky. Everyone else had a half gallon water bottle while I brought a puny 16 ounce one. But that was enough water carrying me through the 90 minutes. Not much panic this time, though my heart was still pounding like it could jump out of my chest. Super relieved when the torture finally ended. Still hate it.
Class #3: is it okay to chew gum?
I dragged myself back with a piece of gum in my mouth. It made me feel calm and relaxed. And perhaps it stimulated saliva, so that I didn't feel the need to drink water until much later in the class. Amazingly, I didn't finish my bottle of water by the end of the 90 minutes. The room didn't feel as hot as before either. Did the instructor turn down the temperature a bit? I think I can do this again.
Class #4: the end of the tunnel is near...
My goal is to complete the 5 classes no matter how much I hate it. This is number 4! My body is getting used to the heat and I feel less miserable. And I can breathe more easily, while sweating profusely. Normally I don't sweat much at all. The backward bending poses 20 and #22 are less prohibitive. I definitely feel a bit stronger and slightly more nimble. Though the health benefits are supposedly much more than becoming more flexible.
Class #5: Burn! Baby, burn!!
Finally finished the 5th class. The heat is easier to deal with and I've barely noticed the sweat stink in the room this time. I've never sweat this much in my life. Where is all that water coming from? I am dripping from all over: forehead, cheek, temples, chin, neck, chest, shoulders, arms, back, top of my head... And I am the only one who obsessively keeps trying to wipe off the sweat during the half second between poses. It's because I am sweating so much that I no longer mind the heat. I even feel a bit proud of myself. The instructor Constantine is full of life and energy, keeping everyone on his or her toes. He noticed me chewing gum and actually called me out: "Ms. R., are you chewing gum?" He sounds incredulous, walking over and handing me a box of tissue so that I could dispose the gum. "I feel like a second grade teacher", he said.
It's a good studio and I'm glad to have experienced Bikram yoga. But one and a half hour plus another hour of commuting and finding parking is a lot of time. Not sure if I can do that regularly like some of the people there do. They are in really great shape, I must admit. Now, the 55 minute Tracy Anderson's exercise video that I thought was too much time to commit regularly looks really easy.
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