I experienced my first Bikram Yoga class this weekend. I think it has the potential to change my life.

As a newcomer to Bikram, I am just discovering all the background on this form of yoga. Basically, it is a carefully constructed series of yoga poses done over 90 minutes in a room heated to about 37 degrees Celsius.

If you have never done Bikram yoga before, be mindful of the following things:

1. It’s hot so be prepared to sweat like crazy. Bring an extra towel to use during the session.
2. When you arrive, enter the room a few minutes before the class starts and find a spot on the floor. Lie down on your mat and relax until the class starts.
3. Don’t worry if you cannot do a pose. Try your best, then sit it out. Pick it up on the next pose. Try not to leave the session before it is over as this is disrupting to the others. But use reason. It is more disrupting if you pass out in the class due to the heat.

I have done regular yoga before and felt its transformative potential – but never stuck with it. The difference with Bikram is that the experience is so intense. The heat combined with the stretching and compression of the body has this incredible effect of flushing you out. It actually felt like I’d be wrung out like a dish cloth. I drank lots of water before the class, then sweated lots of water out and drank more after the class.

What I love is the effect of all this sweating. It feels so cleansing. And refreshing.

So I’m going back. Sometime soon.

(P.S. Many thanks to AS and JS for introducing me and treating me to my first taste of Bikram yoga.)