The beauty and madness of Bikram Yoga

I used to experience yoga vicariously, through photos and little anecdotes of people whose lives always seem so much better compared to yours, and so much more exciting. When I realized even my closest friends had started practicing yoga, I wondered what I was missing out on. But I never really thought about it seriously until I met Chris Ranson. Chris taught yoga, and he was willing to let me try it for free. Since classes are expensive, it seemed silly not to accept the offer. Unable to touch my toes without bending my knees, I was quite nervous. Also, I had a vague idea of what would happen - I expected chanting, intolerable silence, and pain. But I figured, unless all my friends were closet masochists, there must be something to yoga.

The day before the class, Chris told me to drink lots of water, and to make sure I didn't eat at least two hours before the yoga session. He also told me to wear as little as possible. It was only then that I realized what I was getting into. This wasn't just yoga, but Bikram yoga, as in extreme stretching in extreme heat. I wondered if it was too late to back out. To add to my fear of physical activity, the fact that I had to be barely dressed in full view of strangers was scary. For a moment I felt like I was twelve again, hating physical education classes because it meant undressing in a room full of girls. As it turns out, it didn't matter. "It doesn't matter, everyone's ugly!" said Yeyey, laughing. Perfecting poses Despite the group classes, yoga is a very solitary activity. "The only person you beat is yourself, and the way to do it is not to try and beat yourself," explained Chris. He added that unlike competitive sports, it isn't about scoring a goal, or running faster, or beating another player. On the other hand, Em, who attends classes regularly, loves the idea of being one with a group, all working toward your own breakthroughs. “I believe in doing my best to perfect the poses because the energy I create impacts on my neighbor on the other mat, and impacts on the teacher and how he/she leads the class," she says. Yoga is associated with relaxation, and yes, it’s not competitive. But it takes a lot of effort. "In a class, you'll burn 600-900 calories... And it also speeds up your metabolism, so you have to eat," says Chris. He warned me that some people on crash diets come into the room and just sit down. "They can't do anything," says Chris. Fortunately, there's no punishment for just sitting down. The only rule is, you can't leave the room. It was a bit reassuring at first. I thought, fine, no pressure. But even just sitting is difficult in the 105F-degree room. Chris explains that while you can definitely practice yoga without the heat, it warms you up and helps you stretch. Also, it makes you sweat - the detoxification is better, and you burn more calories. "The more you practice, it raises your body temperature slightly, triggering white blood cell production, increasing your immune system," he tells me. Besides, the heat helps you focus. "You're in the room. It's hot. You're sweaty. You've got a teacher talking at you for ninety minutes - you try thinking about something else," he says. Well, I have to admit I was able to think about a lot of things, like, was I breathing correctly? Was I even supposed to be thinking about breathing? Was I forgetting to breathe while thinking about breathing? Of course, when you see photos, you see people gracefully contorted into impossible-looking pretzel shapes. The first time you do yoga, all your pretzel-dreams will probably be shattered. You'll look at the people in front of you and wonder, how can they do that? Is that even possible? Chris tells me that it's different for everyone, and even he wasn't flexible to begin with. In fact, he began practicing yoga because he was in a “not very nice place." "The reason I teach is because, I got so much out of it personally. I was thirty pounds heavier. I couldn't touch the floor. I had no flexibility. Some people come in and it's really easy, but I found it really hard," he says. Em, who also attends classes where Chris teaches, says that Bikram yoga is absolutely life-changing. "I can actually imagine myself doing this for the rest of my life, until I'm able," she says. Taking flight When I took the class, the first few minutes felt like forever. When Chris said the warm-up was almost over, I honestly thought he was kidding. At some point, Chris was telling us to think of a 747 taking flight, but I felt more like a soggy paper plane. I was dripping pools of embarrassingly brownish sweat all over my snow-white towel. Oh well, I thought as I bade the toxins goodbye. As Shrek would say, better out than in. After the class, Chris said I did well, and although he was referring to the fact that I didn't give up, I took this as a compliment. He also said that when he practices after going out on a big night, the sweat is different. "I feel the toxins coming out of my eyes. It's painful," he says. I thought about all the drinking I've done and all the junk food I ever ate, and I nod, understanding. Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises. I imagine that the repetition can get monotonous, but my friends tell me otherwise. According to them, it's the same every session, but also different. "Whenever I get to move an inch, a centimeter, or even a fraction of a millimeter closer to a perfect yoga pose, I am reminded that every little thing counts… every little positive change is still a breakthrough, and I live for those breakthroughs," says Em. "There's a reason they call it "yoga practice" and not "yoga perfect" -- you have the rest of your life to work on it, to perfect each pose, and I don't mind that. It teaches me patience, and it teaches me to look to myself as my own teacher," says Em, who always finds ways to fine-tune her practice, even after six years. She recalls her first teacher Pye Trinidad telling her that yoga is the only activity in the world that creates energy. “When I was starting, sure, I sort of thought it was bull, because this yoga is no joke – it takes up a lot of energy and mind power to be staying in that hot room and performing the poses, but there is always that feeling you get after," says Em, quoting the Nike advertisement: "After... When the beautiful kicks in." “You just swear you can feel yourself glow," she says. On the other hand, Jenny, a theater actor, did yoga for around a year, and then stopped. “I guess it was just appropriate at that time of my life... I discovered that yoga helped, to keep calm and to remind myself of what really matters," she says. But yoga continues to influence her, even after she stopped practicing. "It taught me to pay attention to my body, whether I'm healthy or not. It makes you aware of what you're putting into your body," says Jenny, who became vegetarian for a while when she was doing the Ananda Marga yoga. "We had to give up onions and garlic, and eggs. Milk is okay," she explains, because it contains the "energy of life ... It's just borrowed from another species, but no eggs, because basically you're eating someone that's died already." Jenny adds, "Because I was raised in a culture where the first thing you smell in a kitchen is garlic, it was hard for me to give that up, that especially." She says that it was harder to stop doing yoga, and even now, she misses it, although she can't afford to go back to it. "That kind of attention - I don't think I can commit to it," Jenny says. For Em, it's not just a commitment to the practice, because yoga goes beyond the hot room and the one and a half-hour session. "I think my passion for yoga comes from the physical and mental benefit that I derive just by doing it - there is always that duality in yoga, as it targets not just strength but also flexibility, physical, also mental, and the poses themselves are always combinations of pushes and pulls - it's a quest for balance. It's my aim in life, on and off the mat," she concludes. - YA, GMA News *All photos shot at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School of Design and Arts campus. Thumbnail illustration by Manix Abrera. For more information, please visit http://www.bikramyogaeastwood.com.