Namaste, you've just won the Super Bowl
Forget all that stuff I said about the conservative approach to hydration, all the water and coconut water in the world wasn’t going to get me into the next day’s class after my heat-induced debacle the day before. Trust me, I left that class with everything short of a coconut water I.V. and a five-gallon drum of Poland Spring. I told myself that if I woke up in the same cloud with the same dead legs I’d go artificial. If you know me personally, I’d rather die than do something fake.
It’s difficult for me to admit that a woman with breast implants is pretty. I will induce vomiting if I find out I’ve just eaten something containing high fructose corn syrup. I won’t associate with people who are “into” things but not “about” them. Long story short, I hate fakeness, and I think of dedication, determination, and discipline before I think of the fake quick fix. I feel like a rare breed in this, the fakest of societies. Before I get all Holden Caufield on everyone, I had to be a phony just to recover, and I’m happier for it. Sixty-four ounces of Gatorade’s corn-concoction G2, an orange flavored FRS and a O.N.E. Acitve were enough to make me feel like the most unnatural of the phonies out there, and as I started to feel better, I so deeply wished I didn’t need anything for hydration or energy. Especially anything made by Gatorade.
"Ok, it's 'party time,' the first and only official water break..."
It all helped me bounce right back though. It was another class taught by Jon and it was an evening class, so getting over twenty-four hours of rest and knowing the teacher’s cadences helped a great deal. I even took time during “camel” pose to ask a question about my breathing and if there’s any special technique, like “80/20″ breathing during the posture. My Tuesday teacher, Nadia, who was taking class in the front row called this a “smart boy question” and then after class showed me a personal laminated Bikram dialogue where it said nothing about breath during “camel.” Things like that, and many other things are why this is my favorite Bikram studio and why this isn’t merely a great place to practice, but a great place to improve your practice.
A little about the studio:
Bikram Yoga Harlem is owned by Adam Roper and Erik Cummings, two experienced Bikram Yoga teachers. More importantly though, they are running a beautiful and spacious (for Bikram Yoga) second-floor studio on 145th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway in New York City. For a style of yoga mired by a really corporate feel in some places, and a cultish feel in others, this is the ideal place to try Bikram Yoga and actually continue practicing. They offer reasonable rates, a friendly atmosphere, and teachers who are all dedicated to helping students progress properly through each stage of their practice.
