’Tis the Season to Sweat Out your Demons by da-AL

Posted on by da-AL
Thank you, Ryan McGuire of Gratisography.com
Thank you, Ryan McGuire of Gratisography.com

“These people are nuts,” I thought when I first heard about Bikram yoga.

Little did I know…

That I’d be doing it myself a couple of years later — desperate for anything that would make me feel like I was living rather than dying.

Cancer. That’s what drove me to try anything — even Bikram! I’d found a lump, had it biopsied, had gotten the terrible news, and now, several days later, cancer was all I could think of. Day and night? Night and day? 24/7? Hell no. More like 48/7.

Bikram is tough — the heat, the poses, everything. All classes are considered beginner level, but just getting through the heat definitely takes extra strength — or in my case, absolute end-of-the-rope desperation — to get through.

The poses are challenging, but to Bikram’s credit, they’re only as challenging as one makes them. What matters is how hard you push yourself.

I pushed myself as if my life depended on those poses, because they did. My mental health decimated by cancer, Bikram made me focus. Each 90-minute class was a mental vacation — being forced to get  through that heat, to truly listen to instructors, since they don’t demonstrate poses — made me not think about cancer. What a relief! As treacherous those 90 minutes were, they were also a refuge. A respite from contemplating the myriad decisions I needed to make for my grim situation. I’m not great at meditation, but the classes taught me laser focus!

In an hour and a half, my body, my mind, and my soul were pummeled. Sweat rained out of me. As my body became strong, balanced, flexible, and focused, so did the rest of me.

“Bikram’s Beginning Yoga Class,” the book Bikram Choudhury published with the help of Bonnie Jones Reynolds, helped speed the process.

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It’s everything one could need from such a book! Without wasting a lot of ink, paper, and the reader’s time, it starts with how Bikram put together his workout. Then explains the do’s and don’ts of the 26-pose routine he designed to address every part of the body. In his words, the sequence heals one “head to toes, bones to skin.”

Photos abound to thoroughly demonstrate poses, some modeled by 1970s celebrities, such as Dick of the Smothers Brothers in his Speedos.

Thank goodness for the non-celebs in it, too. They illustrate how women and men, oldsters and youngsters, huge and petite, can do this yoga! Simple, direct, straightforward, and best of all, inspiring and effective.

All yogas have benefitted me more than no yogas. Here’s the great friendly place I currently attend that even offers a free class a month.

Here’s where I talk more about cancer and about the wonder of public libraries that house many more marvels besides this book.

What’s worked best for you to stay mentally and physically fit?

Published by da-AL

Happiness Between Tails blog/podcast speaks to and from the heart. It connects lovers — of pets, authors, reading — and of my still-unreleased novels. “Flamenco + the Sitting Cat” and “Tango + the Sitting Cat,” are my love letters to all who fear they're too odd, too damaged, too old, too whatever to find love and happiness with or without a partner. HappinessBetweenTails.com • ContactdaAL@gmail.com • BuyMeACoffee.com/SupportHBT

27 thoughts on “’Tis the Season to Sweat Out your Demons by da-AL”

  1. I promised myself a course one I’m back on my feet, literally. I’ve always wanted to try it.
    On and off, I did it on my own, following people on utube, but I sure need a proper course to show me all the stuff I need. I feel rusty, so I bet it’s gonna be painful.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Hi Daal, I’m home from spending Christmas with my daughter and her husband. Good to visit your blog. Awaiting for your book launching party! I did yoga for a couple years. The gym seems to lose good instructors frequently. I hope they’ll have stable, good instructors soon because I love doing yoga. Follow to get more of your posts!!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. When I was recently in Latvia, I read about the technologically very advanced treatment they offer at 2 hospitals: it’s called CyberKnife. In Latvia, the cost of treatment is 8000 euros. Not sure, how much in North America, but, I would think, it’s much more. They offer these treatments to patients from abroad, too. 90% success rate. It’s available in a few hospitals in Canada, and most likely, in the States, as well. Realistically, it’s probably offered only to difficult to treat patients, but I would think, it is possible to apply it in any case because it really decreases side effects to minimum. Hopefully, you have some not advanced stage and might not need something like that, but if you would ever do, I’d say go to either Germany for their extremely alternative treatments with very high success rate, but one has to observe abnormally strict discipline and diet, or for this very much healthy parts and tissues saving robotized therapy. Treatments are so advanced in some countries (not sure if available to everybody in the USA) that there are huge chances not to suffer from regular, widely applied standard treatments, that, in fact, cause abnormal harm.
    Other than that, I would love you stopped by in the future at my lifeschool blog, because I always was having huge interest in the ways energy affects us, in the way we create, consume and release energy. That involves also developing our mental perception and working on ourselves. I just got huge new knowledge about many processes, and I am about to try delivering it to people who are suffering from different conditions. That mainly is helping ourselves which you are already doing. I wish you all the best, but especially patience, strength and internal toughness.
    Yoga is lifestyle and mental focus, it’s nice you can accept it.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. I’d never tried yoga before, but I have a former colleague who swears by it for developing mental strength. (This surprised me. I knew only that it was good for the body.) I’m very glad to hear you found it so helpful to you too.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks for your good thoughts, Bun

      Before doing this yoga, I never knew that it was good for everything – helps bones, muscle strength in addition to flexibility — plus internal organs get a workout with poses that involve contracting & relaxing.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. You are so kind to write back here!

      By your picture & whereabouts, I thought you might be an acquaintance classmate.

      I’m glad you enjoyed my post. Would looove for Sharon to join me – I don’t know what city she lives in, however & I think she’s closer to you than to me. Isn’t she in Orange County? If you go together (isn’t bloggsphere wonderful?), or separately, then many studios offer good intro/trial deals, ie low cost first week/unlimited classes and groupon specials.

      Foremost, my blog isn’t meant to advertise anyone or anything other than my to-be-published novels, fellow wonderful bloggers, & the fab photogs who let me borrow their pix. While this type of yoga works superbly for me, I’m sure that most any yoga is better than no yoga at all for anyone.

      My grandmother back in Argentina took up yoga at age 70ish, lived to vibrant 95! Surely other factors were in play, but yoga can’t have hurt.

      Wishing health & happiness to you & yours 🙂

      Like

  9. I’ve also found that the best way to fight demons and fears is by doing something I’ve never done before. Though I’ve never dealt with cancer myself, you present a good life strategy, applicable for all situations. I wish you well and hope your battle is successful.

    Liked by 2 people

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