Bikram ftw!

I recently finished a Bikram 30-day challenge. That's where you do at least one 90 minute class per day for 30 days, doing Bikram's signature 26 posture set in a room heated to 37 degree celsius.

During that challenge I went down to Sydney and did a 12 hour seminar (9 am - 9 pm) with Bikram himself. Great guy - very entertaining, and very dedicated.

Physically and mentally I'm completely exhausted after the effort. I got a flu towards the end, and spent a torturous couple of days in Sydney in a freezing cold hotel room unable to sleep or eat. I lost a few kilos of weight, but got a lot of realization out of it.

I liked Bikram. He joked around and gave his audience "credit for 5% of being humans, no more than that". He also explained that the number one reason for divorce in the West is that "women don't know how to cook". No apologetic annotations here.

Here's a shot of me just after I finished the last class of the 30 days:

I went back to the studio for three days in a row at the end, and each day was "Day 29". Every time I would go back there would be some recalculation. It was like being in the movie "Ground Hog Day", where the lead character keeps waking up to the same day over and over again. I was pretty shattered each time, as I didn't really have the energy to complete the challenge. I'm still trying to recover now, a week later. Hopefully my energy levels will go back up to their pre-challenge levels. I really don't like being lethargic like this.

Anyway, as far as Hatha yoga goes - Bikram is the only way. :-)