Sweat & The City

I have a feeling that livingsocial.com and groupon.com are going to get constant "shout outs" on this page.  Thanks to these daily emails, I am constantly finding new things to try in Chicago and the Western Suburbs!  My first purchase?  A two-month, unlimited pass to... wait for it... BIKRAM YOGA!  What?!?  I suppose it's not the first activity one might think of when considering what the "Windy City" has to offer, but at $30.00, how could I possibly pass this up?  Now, I've never tried Bikram Yoga (or regular yoga, for that matter) and if you know me, I'm not all that in to sports or exercise... or sweating, but I'm desperate to find some type of fitness activity that can keep me motivated (livingsocial.com, you had me at $30.00/unlimited). 

I already know that Bikram Yoga is considered to be the "hot" yoga, but not much more than that.  My next step is to find out a little bit more about this program, and of course, consult a friend who has actually tried it.  After reading about the class on the website, I learn that I will be taught to manueuver through 26 yoga poses in a heated environment, for 90 minutes.  In all honesty, I'm a little concerned about the heat, but after considering all those times I've been to Las Vegas in the summer and the fact that I briefly lived in Texas, I'm starting to feel a little more confident.  Next point of reference?  My friend, Melissa.  I shoot her a quick text to get her opinion: 

Amy: Hey!  U did bikram yoga, right?  Did u like it?

Melissa:  Hey hun!!  I LOVED it!!  At first you love/hate it, but then it turns into just love.  It's challenging, but you can see yourself improve if you take it regularly.  It helps any other workout you do, and you sweat out all the toxins in your body & burn about 700 and something calories.  =)  and that's my txt informercial for Bikram.  Heehee.

Yeah, I basically signed up for the class after Melissa's sparkly review.  How could I not?

I arrived at the Bikram studio thirty minutes early, just as the web site instructed.  Upon check in, I was given a run down of the facility and instructions for the class.  Shoes off at the door, bag and personal items in the locker room, and then off to the classroom with my yoga mat, towels and bottle of water.  You would figure that since I have already done some research, I would have already anticipated that class was being held on the sun!  My goodness, it really is HOT in that room!  I'm pretty sure that I broke a sweat just unrolling my yoga mat.  Not only am I already sweating, but since I prefer to be early to anything, I spend about 20 minutes in the classroom before the class even starts.  I'm watching the people as they filter in and I notice that after they set up their area, they lay down on their mats, facing the back of the room.  I'm not sure why they're doing this, but who am I to question the process?  I, of course, imitate my classmates and lie down as well.  So far, I'm pretty sure I can handle this.

What seems like hours later (but has probably only been about 10 or 15 minutes) I am doing a pose where I'm bent over, grabbing my heels and trying to be as flat against my body as possible.  I am super hot, but I am really concentrating on keeping my balance, breathing properly, and not thinking about hot I am.     That's when I notice that even my legs are sweating!  Wow!  By the end of the class, my clothes are completely soaked.  I am quite certain that I have never sweat so much in my entire life!

All in all, it was actually a great class.  I had to sit down a couple times (mostly to refocus on the yoga and to stop thinking how super hot I was), but I got through most of the poses like a Bikram Yoga CHAMP!  I look forward to going back (I really am) and getting better.  (By the way, I totally stopped at Whole Foods on the way home.  Something about spending $6.00 on turkey meatballs just made me feel even healthier.)