Balancing Stick and Celery Sticks

Photo via Flickr.

I strolled back into the hot room last night, excited to take class with one of my favorite teachers. She greeted me happily at the front desk when I walked in. "Hey, how have you been?!" As the answer, "Great!" came out my mouth, the thought that crossed my mind was: "And about to get better!"


I know it's been a while since I've Bikramed when I set up my mat and can't help but look around the room. I found it funny last night, observing all of the little pre-class rituals people have. I watched an older guy hold a headstand, his legs swaying off to the left like the undercurrent of a stream. I was surprised how well he could balance there, slightly off-center.


A lady in front of me who always parks in the front row performed her little dance/stretch routine, bending in deep squats, pushing her joints around to align the muscle groups, rolling into a quick plough pose. I wonder how she would survive class without her little warm up routine; I don't think I've ever seen her come in and meditate in stillness before class.


I watched ladies in the back push into down dog, relieved that I'm not the only one to bring non-Bikram poses into the room.

Photo via Flickr.

I was pleased that I could do every posture in the series, and even happier to find that I actually enjoyed every pose! Standing Forehead to Knee proved an enjoyable challenge. I loved that our teacher demonstrated step one -- leaning forward to grab the foot -- since this seemed to motivate all of us to move more quickly into the posture. She also did this with Balancing Stick, joining in with the movement of the arms overhead and the bending forward at the waist to take the shape of a capital letter "T."


We floated in and out of the postures, growing stronger with every series.


Complete side note: celery sticks make an awesome post-Bikram snack! I was happily surprised to find how much I enjoyed them. They're watery, with a pleasant crunch, and they satisfy that side of you that's longing for pure, natural hydration after class. Normally I'm not so fond of celery, but now I know when to eat it. I also highly recommend salt and vinegar chips and YogaEarth Purity coconut water. Refreshing!