The Marathon Mind of Yoga

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This past weekend, I had the pleasure of cheering on many friends and fellow Alabama runners in the 10th annual Mercedes Marathon in downtown Birmingham. It was a beautiful day and even a little on the warm side. The staff of Lululemon (an athletic clothing company that I am affiliated with) and I set up our cheering section in an industrial area of downtown Birmingham.

I love going to marathons and letting the runners know how amazing they are. This was my first time cheering for the almost full 7 hours of the marathon time limit. The courage and strength was very visible in the faces and bodies of the participants.

The Mercedes Marathon regulates that everyone must finish within 7 hours or they must leave the course so that the roads can be reopened to traffic. The pacesetter is the “Balloon Lady”. She walks a 16-minute mile through the entire course and has a bouquet of balloons tied to her waist. If she passes you, your race is over.

There was a pack of about 10 participants just steps ahead of Balloon Lady. They knew she was breathing down their neck. They were putting forth more effort than most that I had seen in the marathon. They were determined not to give up and stay in the race.

Bikram Choudhury, the creator of Bikram Yoga, talks about using your Bengal Tiger strength English Bulldog determination in his class. There is a point when you exert yourself and think that you physically have nothing more to give. At that time, you have to quiet your mind and stop the negative internal chatter. You have to let that extra special something within your being take over.

A Bikram Yoga class can be very similar to the experience of the marathon. It’s your event, you may have a goal to finish strong, or maybe just to finish. There can be distractions and moments of weakness, but you have to learn that they are only temporary. You have a teacher on the sidelines to guide you and encourage you throughout your experience. You have other participants around you who want to do well and want you to do well. There is a wonderful feeling of accomplishment, gratitude and peace when you are finished.

We each have our own “Balloon Lady” in our lives. It could be stress, lack of focus, injury, obesity or disease. Ideally, we never want to see the Balloon Lady, but various factors can suddenly pop up in our lives, and BOOM, there she is! We have to train and learn to manage these variables. A consistent Bikram Yoga practice gives you the opportunity to stay miles ahead of the Balloon Lady! Never give up!

Yoga kids

Last week, I had the opportunity to teach yoga to the students of Pizitz Middle School in Vestavia Hills, AL. The seven classes ranged in size from about 40 - 100. Many were eager to try something new while others were skeptical. The attitudes were no different than adults that I seen in my regular classes.

What surprised me was the inflexibility that these 11 - 13 year old students exhibited. I teach younger children in my regular classes all of the time. The younger children usually demonstrate a high level of flexibility and are able to do Bikram's Beginning Yoga postures.

I realized that some major lifestyle change occurs between elementary school and middle school. Children become less active and more sedentary. I think this might be the point where many of us lose the majority of our flexibility. At this stage we become more susceptible to injury and obesity. Yikes!

The heat of a Bikram Yoga Class will help restore flexibility and create a lifestyle practice that will help avoid injury and obesity. What we've lost over the years can return in a matter of weeks or months with a consistent yoga practice at Bikram Yoga Birmingham! Get ready to get hot!

Make your checklist!

This is my beautiful grandmother, Julia. She lives on the Laguna Pueblo Indian Reservation near Albuquerque, NM. This picture was taken last September, in preparation for our annual feast day festivities. During Laguna Pueblo feast days (honoring of the village's patron saint, St. Joseph), traditional Native dances take place and spectators travel from all over to witness the ceremonies. The residents of the village prepare their homes to welcome and feed guests all day long. We normally have between 200- 300 people come eat and relax at our family home throughout the day. We really don't have a big family. It's usually just, my grandmother, my mother, my cousin, my aunt and I who prepare all of this food for the hundreds of guests.

With so much food to prepare, it takes a great deal of organization and preparation. Grandma is a drill sergeant as she directs us. We all feverishly work to complete our assignments. Taking short cuts is not an option.

My grandmother uses the same checklist and the same recipes every year. They never change. The dishes have been the same for many generations. We think so many people come to our home because they know what to expect. They know they will get a traditional and tasty meal. There's no need to change anything, because we know our system works.

The screen saver on my phone and computer are the picture above. Whenever I have the notion to put off something on my to do list for the studio, I see Grandma. I realize putting the task off is not an option. I do it, and I do it to the best of my capability.

I hope to bring Grandma's values to Bikram Yoga Birmingham. Bikram is a man who created a genius system of yoga that has been proven to work. As Certified Bikram Yoga teachers, we are given a checklist of sorts. When we teach the exact way that Bikram instructed us to teach, then the students receive the maximum benefits and results. Bikram Yoga Birmingham will strive to keep the yoga as traditional, simple and pure as possible.

Thank you Grandma and Bikram.