First off, hello, I’m new.
I’ll give a brief background about me and yoga. I’ve been going to the gym doing the typical western workout for about 2 years. Several months ago I met a good friend that is really into Bikram, and she brought me to try a class, I had never tried any yoga prior to that. At the time I couldn’t continue going. One month ago, I signed up for a trial month at a Bikram studio in my town, and I went 3 days a week for the past 4 weeks. That brings me to current time.
The good: I’m more flexible and balanced (physically), my normal gym workout saw improvements with my focus and posture, I’ve seriously re-thought my diet and am changing it to what I think is better.
The bad: I’m very concerned about the potential over-training aspects of Bikram yoga. I’ve learned in my normal gym routine, that if you leave feeling like you’ve been kicked in the face and it takes a couple hours (or even a full night’s sleep) to recover, you over did it. That’s the sensation I get about half the time with Bikram. While Bikram may be good, I get the feeling that it’s too much of a good thing. It’s the same way I feel about marathon runners. Just because you can do it doesn’t mean it’s good for you.
I don’t really know anything about the poses or the philosophy. I can do most of them ok. Some hurt though, and it’s of the “I shouldn’t do that” variety of pain. And the teacher says that is ok and to push yourself further. That raised a red flag to me. I’m also of the personality type that has no problems pushing myself way too far.
Anyway, I like the benefits I’ve gotten, but I’m unsure about paying for a 2nd month. I’m realizing I basically answered my own question by typing this, but does anyone have any thoughts about this? I’m completely ignorant about the other types of yoga, but I’d like to continue something of that nature.