The following post has been written by George Lawson, one of our society members. Please contact us on Facebook if you’d like to become a guest blogger.
As we entered the room it wasn’t as hot as I initially thought, leaving me to underestimate how difficult Bikram Yoga would be. Little was I to know, however, that it was about to get much, much hotter in there and I was to regret wearing the baggy trackies I had covering my legs… After some time sat down, our instructor strode in confidently in just his bright red boxers. He then stepped high onto the podium and commanded us to follow him in elaborate breathing exercises which involved holding your hands to your chin and sucking in as much air possible through your nose. (Not your mouth – as a member of our team was to discover the hard way, doing such would lead to hyperventilation and fainting in such intense heat.)
And indeed the heat got more and more intense, until the instructor reminded us it was simply pointless to wipe the gushing sweat from our foreheads as we contorted our body into various yoga positions at 40 degrees Celsius; Bitilasana (Cow pose), Vrksasana (Tree pose), Natarajasana (Lord of the Dance pose), Bhujangasana (Cobra pose) and Ustrasana (Camel pose). These poses required great concentration to get into, as our minds kept telling us; “I feel Sick!” and “I’m going to faint!” But as our experienced mentor reminded us time and time again – our goal was to focus and be mindful of the present moment, not our protesting rational minds.
As the room began to cool down, we entered into the restorative Shavasana (corpse pose), alternating between this and lighter poses to calm our bodies and reckless minds. It had been an emotional session. Tapping into parts of your body that lie dormant and tense for years brings up truer parts of your nature that you have long left repressed. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt, however, it’s probably that I should wear just boxers next time rather than long baggy trackies…
– George
BU Health & Fitness 
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