Been trying to get healthy and doing more physical activities, because the old bones are starting to creak. Yes mga titas, we gotta move it, move it, or else baka mahirapan na gumala.
My current activity of choice is Bikram Yoga. I go to the studio in 88 Corporate Center, ran by the fantabulously energetic and gorgeous Teacher Ollay (and Feng Shui Master to boot). Kasama ko dun ay mga fellow yoga titas of manila and there is such a great energy in the studio all in all.
(photo from Bikram Yoga Manila)
Sa mga hindi nakakaalam, Bikram Yoga is the hot yoga class, where you practice for 90 minutes in a heated (as in mga 42 degrees C) room. I love it, though I know it is not for everyone. Surprisingly though, napupuno ang class usually, even on week nights! Pero dahil nga kakaiba na ang yoga to begin with, tapos samahan mo pa ng init, may iba’t ibang thoughts and experiences na ang pumapasok sa utak ko before, during and after the practice:
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1. Mabubulag na ako sa pawis.
Kakapatiwarik tiwarik namin, shempre gumugulong yun pawis sa mata mo at some point. Tagaktak ang pawis ko so parang may waterfall ng maalat na tubig ang pumapasok sa mata ko. Pag tayo ko ulit, blurred na vision ko, and nagdadasal ka na lang na hindi permanent ang effects sa eyesight mo.
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2. I should have gone to the banyo.
(photo from Bikram Yoga Manila)
Gaaad… ilang beses ko na tong pagkakamali. Yun kakain ng madami before yoga. Tapos tutuwad ako in front of my classmate. Sometimes I wonder if nagging firm yun pwet ko dahil sa leg lifts or dahil naka-clench ako madalas sa class holding my fart in.
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4. Is that me??
You actually get desensitized of odor inside the enclosed heated classroom. But then all of a sudden you get a whiff of something in the air that’s not … usual. Iisipin mo kung nakalimutan mo mag-deodorant or yung katabi mo, and what kind of smell is that anyway??? But you’re too worried about getting into the next pose that you just basically let it go… until it haunts you after you’ve left the studio.
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5. Grabe pawis ko! For sure I am losing pounds by the minute!!!…
Then after your last savasana, ang naiisip mo lang eh: “I worked out soooo hard. I need recovery food. Like a rack of ribs.”
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5. Teacher goes..”Fall back, more back, way back….”
(how I wish that’s me…photo from Bikram Yoga)
… TAENAAAAAA!! Hindi pa ba tapos??? Mababali na likod ko!!! Nanginginig na tiyan ko!!! Tapos na!?! TAPOS NA?!?? “…Chaaaaaange….” THANK YOU LORD.
6. Doing Half Moon Pose (Ardha-Chandrasana)…
PUCHANGNA… nakalimutan ko mag-shave…
(photo from Bikram Yoga Manila)
Oh well.
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7. I’m not going to faint. I am not going to faint. I am not going to faint.
… Oh look, there are pretty twinkling stars around my head…
(momentary black out … or maybe an out of body experience…)
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8. On my dreaded pose (Everyone has one)
(photo from Doyouyoga.com)
OMG! Dati hindi ko kaya ‘to!!!! Nagagawa ko na sya today! Everyone look! Teacher look! I AM THE STRONGEST PERSON EVAAAAARRRRR!!!
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9. Savasana… let me just lay here for 30 minutes.
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10. Binuksan ni teacher ang pinto in the middle of practice… enter hangin.
(photo from wonderopolis)
HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! I am not going to die!!!
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I think everyone should try Bikram at least once. It’s fun and you discover yourself, at least your body, quite fast. Everyone is welcome, and there are no “levels”. Even those who have been practicing for years still aim to get better with every class. I have 70 year old ++ classmates, and classmates who are just starting on their fitness journey.
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What I love about this yoga is that it has gotten me stronger, at my own pace, on my own terms. I used to have chronic back pains, and now they are practically gone. I am more aware of my body, and actually it has made me more conscious of what I eat without the struggle of dieting. I have learned how to support and strengthen my back and do it even when I am outside of the studio. My spine is decompressed and I am more confident about my body and what I can do with it.
Kahit panget form, basta may paninindigan. #tiwala na hindi ka masusubsob
Whatever your fitness journey is, I hope you have fun doing it because otherwise it will always be a struggle and a pain. Whether it’s running, swimming, biking (or all three!), or yoga, or dancing, or weight-lifting, I think the important thing is that you connect with the practice and it allows you to discover your body and naturally instill a desire to move. Movement is a form of prayer after all – a way of appreciating the body that you have been given and what it can do.
Namaste.
Bikram Yoga Manila (Makati) is located at the 15/F, 88 Corporate Center, 141 Valero Street Corner Sedeno Street, Makati 1227 🙂
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