What did I gain from completing my Bikram 4X4 Challenge with Bikram Yoga Alabang?
New Yoga Friends Lorena and Maru continue to inspire me with their dedication to their practice.
-some new yoga friendships
-a thinner waistline
-better time management skills
-a kick start commitment to take better care of myself
Images from the culminating pot luck for all the challengers. Cupcakes were yummy, thanks Maru 🙂
I joined the Bikram 4X4 Challenge this past July, thinking that I would be able to kick start my commitment to living a healthier lifestyle because I’m turning 40 this year. UGH. 40. The number is like something difficult to swallow. It’s dry and bitter, powdery and crumbly. It’s still stuck in my 39 year old throat.
The dedicated teachers of BYA continued to keep classes fresh and exciting, remembering the challenges that the students were facing. Frank, Ginger, and Betty kept students coming back by making sure classes were positive and fun.
When my friend Ginger and I were talking about the challenge, I was thinking to myself that there is no way I can carve out that much time for myself in my schedule. I’m working, I’m writing, I’m raising four kids, I cook all our meals, I try to be an active parent, and of course I have to nurture my relationship with my husband. If I take so much time for myself (90 minutes 4X a week?) then I surely won’t be able to complete all of my responsibilities at home and for work. I nodded when she spoke about the success stories. I shared her joy, commitment and enthusiasm for her students prior who took the challenge and prevailed. I didn’t give her any verbal commitment because while I have not always been so good at keeping my word in the past…I felt that this is something that I couldn’t just “agree” to while we were talking and then suddenly find an excuse to “back out” of or “beg off” of later.
I can’t find any reason better than the four in this picture to get healthy. These kids are my life. If I won’t do it for myself-then I must do it for them.
So, I thought about it for the weekend. I mulled over the changes and adjustments I would have to make in my routine to include the time I would need to devote to my classes. And after thinking about it, writing about the benefits of Bikram for Rappler, and thinking about it some more, I made the commitment to myself to “JUST DO IT.”
The more I practiced, the more I wanted to push myself. My edge became something I liked flirting with.
I attended class on Monday morning, and signed my name up on the sheet to take the challenge. My newfound commitment to my practice had been set in motion. Take note: I love all types of yoga. I have tried many. I enjoy them all for the different aspects of the practice that they bring into my life. But, I truly think Bikram has grounded me in my practice. I will continue to enjoy Vinyasa, Iyengar, Hatha, Gentle, and even Ashtanga practices. But I know I will always return to Bikram. I love the sequence, the predicitability, the sweat, and now that I have become friends with some of the other practitioners I see in class day in and day out; I love the community.
THIS GUY. I had to include his picture in my post. He started a 60 day challenge-30 days before we started in July. His goal was to attend 60 classes in 60 days. HE DID IT. AMAZING! (and he lost 26 lbs. in the process)
Yoga truly is about the community. If you like where you practice- you will keep coming back for more. If you like the people and the energy in the room where you are all breathing together, then you will keep coming back for more. If you like the heat and the detox that Bikram provides-then you will definitely keep coming back for more.
All of the 30 day challengers and the 4X4 challengers in a group shot together. Thanks BYA for helping me realize this goal!
So-now that I have been out for more than a week, I realize…it’s time to go back for more…again. The next challenge is in January, after the bulge of the Holiday season. I still have plenty of time to prepare and psych myself up for the challenge from now till then.
If it’s anything that my 4×4 challenge has done for me-it’s the fact that my yoga community has grown deeper, and believe it or not, the yoga community is still continuing to grow here in Manila. Bikram Yoga Alabang is just one of the many studios which participate in Global Mala every year. I will be teaching Kids Yoga on September 21st, and I look forward to seeing a class full of bright eyed and bushy tailed yogis and yoginis. We will have tons of fun while moms and dads take the time to enjoy over 20 different yoga classes, healing modalities and lectures. Look for the upcoming blog post with more information once the schedule of classes is released. But for now-if you would like to learn more about Global Mala and the mission behind what we do, visit the Facebook page.
Come.
Come be part of the community that I am so proud to be a part of.
